JESUIT SJ – Page 16

Novena to St Anne – Day Eight – 24 July

Posted on July 24, 2019July 23, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Anne – Day Eight – 24 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

EIGHTH DAY:

Next to Mary, Anne is the favourite name for all the world. It is the symbol of her motherly virtues. It is so intimately associated with Mary and with Jesus that it commands our affection. Thousands of girl babies each year are named for the mother of Mary. Time was, when the highest honour that could be conferred upon a baby girl, was to call her Mary Anne, linking in a double name the virtue and intercession of the world’s two most powerful women.

Today that name remains the symbol of strength and power.

We call upon Anne, knowing that the Saviour will listen to the prayers of His devoted grandmother.

In her name we ask favours and blessings, sure that the God, who chose her daughter, to be His Mother, will be generous to the woman who shaped His Mother to her high career.

Fortunate the women whose name is Anne.

Blessed the millions across the world who pray to the great Saint Anne, knowing that her name is dear to God and that prayer to her is prayer that the Saviour, her Grandson, will willingly heed.

To her whose name and fame we love, we pray:

Daily Prayer:

O glorious St Anne,
you are filled with compassion
for those who invoke you
and with love for those who suffer!
Heavily burdened with the weight of my troubles,
I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you
to take the present intention
which I recommend to you in your special care.
…………………(make your intention)
Please recommend it to your daughter,
the Blessed Virgin Mary
and place it before the throne of Jesus,
so that He may bring it to a happy issue.
Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted.
But, above all, obtain for me the grace, one day,
to see my God face to face
and with you and Mary and all the saints,
to praise and bless Him for all eternity.
Amen

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

O Jesus, Holy Mary, St Anne, help me now and at the hour of my death.

Good St Anne, intercede for me.

EIGHTH DAY

Hail, St Anne! I rejoice at your exalted glory.
You gave birth to Mary,
whose divine Son brought salvation to our lost world
by conquering death and restoring life and hope to sinners.
Pray to Him who, for love of us,
clothed Himself with human flesh
in the chaste womb of your daughter.
Glorious S. Anne,
with your blessed daughter,
deliver me from everything that is displeasing in the sight of God.
Pray to your gentle and powerful Grandson,
that He may cleanse my soul in His precious blood,
that He may send His Holy Spirit to enlighten
and direct me in all that I do,
always obedient to His holy inspirations.
Good mother, keep a watchful eye on me.
Help me bear all my crosses.
Please give me the fullness of your bounty
and sustain me with courage.
Amen day eight st anne novena - 24 july 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to St Anne – Day Four – 20 July

Posted on July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Anne – Day Four – 20 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

FOURTH DAY:

Hope is a beautiful virtue.

Hope without prayer is a wasted thing. It is groundless optimism without root in faith.

We hope because we know that God, in His love, will do what is best for us. We pray so that He may know our desires and that if they are for our good, He may fulfil them.

In the long days of patient waiting before the coming of Mary, Anne prayed from a humble and a loving heart. Her life was a long simple prayer committing her to God’s Holy will.

Of a Sabbath, she and her husband, Joachim, went together to the synagogue to pray with the other faithful Jews, who cried aloud for the long-delayed Saviour.

At daybreak she offered to God in heaven everything that she would do throughout the day.

Before and after meals, she thanked the creator of the universe for the gifts of His Fatherly goodness. At night she looked back upon the day and presented it as a gift to God.

And always, underlying her prayer, was the hope that the Saviour would soon be born and that God would send her a child – perhaps the child who would be nurse to the Messias.

To this model of prayer we pray:

Daily Prayer:

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

O Jesus, Holy Mary, St Anne, help me now and at the hour of my death.

Good St Anne, intercede for me.

FOURTH DAY:

Good St Anne,
you offered your prayer with hope and love
and our Holy and loving Father
answered them by granting you the Mother of His Son,
as your daughter.
By the happiness which then filled your heart,
I beg you to present me to your Grandson Jesus.
Offered by you, I will be agreeable in His sight.
Kind St. Ann, take me forever under your protection.
Deliver me from the temptations, which continually assail me.
Above all, attend me in my last hour.
As I lie on my deathbed, be present with your daughter
to console and strengthen me.
Holy Mary and good St Anne,
show yourselves to be mothers indeed,
by obtaining for me the grace of a good death.
When my soul goes forth,
lead it to God’s tribunal so that,
by your powerful help and intercession,
it may obtain a favourable judgement.
Amen day four st anne novena 20 july 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to St Anne – Day Three – 19 July

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

Novena to St Anne – Day Three – 19 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

THIRD DAY:

Like all Jewish women of her day Anne dreamed of the promised Saviour. Surely the Messias was sorely needed in her day when the plight of her people was so unhappy.

Never for a moment did she think that such an honour would come to her-but perhaps from her line, the noble line of David, there would come a woman worthy to be the Mother of the Messias.

To Anne was not given the beautiful privilege of motherhood.
She prayed that God would send her and Joachim a son or a daughter.

Neighbours pitied her, as the Jews always pitied a childless woman. Around her grew up a flock of nieces and nephews. But no child of her own came to rest in her arms. She prayed for a child and in the same breath she added: ‘. . . . . if it be thy will, my Father.

No impatience with God. No envy of more fortunate relatives. No self-pity. But a hope that never faded. And faith in God, who would do for her what was for His honour and her happiness.

No wonder that to Anne there was born at length in her old age the beautiful little girl who was Mary, fairest flower of womankind.

To this model of hope we pray:

Daily Prayer:

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

O Jesus, Holy Mary, St Anne, help me now and at the hour of my death.

Good St Anne, intercede for me.

THIRD DAY

Hail, good St Anne,
who first responded to the needs of Mary,
Mother of our Saviour and Queen of Angels.
Hail to you and to your husband St Joachim,
who watched over her infancy,
presented her to the Lord in the temple and,
according to your promise,
consecrated her to the service of God.
Hail St Anne, good mother!
I rejoice in the marvels you continually perform,
because they encourage all to seek your intercession.
Good St Ann, by the great power that God has given you,
show yourself my mother, my consoler, my advocate.
Reconcile me to the God I have so deeply offended.
Console me in my trials,
strengthen me in my struggles.
Deliver me from danger in my time of need.
Help me at the hour of death
and open to me the gates of paradise.
Amen day three st anne novena day three - 19 july 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, NOVENAS, PRAYERS to the SAINTS

Novena to St Anne – Day Two – 18 July

Posted on July 18, 2019July 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Anne – Day Two – 18 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

SECOND DAY:

It was in the peaceful little house of Anne and Joachim that Mary, the Mother of God, spent her girlhood. There Mary knew the example of a woman who lived the simple ways of wife and mother.

Unknown, save in the limited circle of Nazareth, Anne prepared the meals for her family, made and mended their plain garments and filled the house with the perfume of her devoted service. She was a model of a wife’s diligence and a mother’s solicitude.

The young Mary watched this model of the simple domestic virtues. This obedient daughter saw perfection in her mother, the perfection of small tasks done out of love for God and devotion to family.

Each day had a time for prayer.

Each day was filled with deeds of neighbourliness and acts of charity quietly and happily performed.

Mary saw in her mother how a woman can be simple yet great, how the deeds that God asks of us – however unnoticed or unimportant, these maybe – are, the deeds that win His gratitude and make us saints before Him and benefactors before the world.

To this model of the simple domestic virtues we pray:

Daily Prayer:

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

O Jesus, Holy Mary, St Anne, help me now and at the hour of my death.

Good St Anne, intercede for me.

SECOND DAY:

From the depths of my heart, good St Anne,
I offer you my homage this day
and ask you to shelter me under the mantle of your motherly care.
You know, good mother, how much I love you,
how gladly I serve you,
how happy I am to praise you,
how eager I am to call on you in time of distress.
Good St Anne,
be pleased to extend your helping hand in all my wants.
Listen to my prayers, for I place my trust in your gracious bounty.
Make all my thoughts and desires worthy and righteous.
Jesus my God, I thank You for all the graces
which in Your infinite goodness, You have lavished upon St Anne,
for having chosen her, among all women,
to be Your grandmother on earth
and exalted her in heaven with such great and miraculous powers.
In the name of her merits,
I humbly recommend myself to Your infinite mercy.
Amen DAY TWO ST ANNE NOVENA 18 july 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, NOVENAS, PRAYERS to the SAINTS

Novena to St Anne – Day One – 17 July

Posted on July 17, 2019July 16, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Anne – Day One – 17 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

FIRST DAY:

‘Who shall find a valiant woman?

This was the cry of Solomon long before the time of the noble women who watched for Christ’s coming to earth. The valiant woman . . . strong in her stainless virtue.

The valiant woman. . . . keeping the laws and traditions of her people.

The valiant woman. . . . fighting the quiet. battle of purity and decency.

The valiant woman . . . protecting her home, the strength of her husband, the future of her children. The valiant woman. . . . whom God loves and whom the powers of evil dread as their relentless enemy. The valiant woman . . . like glorious Saint Anne, mother of Mary.

To Saint Anne the Catholic world has looked in admiration, has reached out in confidence – from her have come protection and generous love.

To the grandmother of Christ we pray:

Daily Prayer:

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

O Jesus, Holy Mary, St Anne, help me now and at the hour of my death.

Good St Anne, intercede for me.

FIRST DAY

Dear St Anne,
though I am but a prodigal child,
I appeal to you
and place myself under your great motherly care.
Please listen to my prayers and grant my requests.

See my contrite heart
and show me your unfailing goodness.

Deign to be my advocate and recommend me to God’s infinite mercy.
Obtain for me forgiveness of my sins
and the strength to begin a new life that will last forever.

Blessed St Anne, I also beg of you the grace to love,
to serve and to honour your daughter,
the most holy Virgin Mary.
Please recommend me to her and pray to her for me.
She refuses none your requests
but welcomes with loving kindness all those for whom you intercede.

Good Jesus, be merciful to the faithful servants
of Your grandmother St Anne.
Amen DAY ONE NOVENA ST ANNE 17 july 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The COMMUNION of SAINTS

Thought for the Day – 9 July – “that they be one,”

Posted on July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 9 July – The Memorial of Saints St Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, Martyrs of China (Died 1648–1930)

“This past Christmas, Catholics in China rejoiced, despite the ongoing tensions between the “underground” and state-recognised church. For the first time in more than six decades, the faithful openly celebrated as one flock, the incarnation of the eternal Word. For the Catholic community in the Middle Kingdom, Christ’s prayer made in agony, “that they be one,” was finally realised.

The quest for unity in the Chinese Catholic Church has been a long one. The current phase can be traced to the 1950s, when Chairman Mao Zedong closed all churches and the “underground” church developed. In the late 1970s, when the government established the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (C.C.P.A.), the underground church was invited to come under government registration. Some of the faithful and members of the clergy accepted. Many did not. With a new agreement between the Vatican and China on the appointment of bishops, the Catholic Church in China has entered a new era.

It is true that the September 2018 accord between Beijing and the Vatican entails significant structural and political challenges and risks but untold hours of the difficult work of dialogue, by many players from both the underground and the registered church—especially in recent decades—have left the church in a better position to navigate the challenges to come.

…One of the most esteemed priests from the unregistered church, Father Luo Wen, made a plea for unity to his brother priests and faithful during a convocation of priests last December: “This is about our faith, not about our opinion or even principles….Faithfulness to the church was the reason we went underground. The same reason, faithfulness, is why we now embrace the accord.” This perspective is shared by Bishop Guo himself, who said, “The main purpose of our work is to try to preserve the integrity of our faith, not the pursuit of our rights or personal honour when obedience and humility are at stake.””

(Excerpt – Article 21 March 2019 by John A Worthley, America Magazine)

This Video is well worth watching. It gives a balanced and encompassing view of the situation in the Church in China.

St Augustine Xhao Rong and all the Martyrs of China,
Pray for the Church in China, Pray for Us All!

JESUIT SJ, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 2 July

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

Bl Benedict Metzler
St Bernadino Realino SJ (1530-1616)
Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2017/07/02/saint-of-the-day-2-july-st-st-bernadino-realino-sj/
Bl Eugénie Joubert (1876–1904)
Bl Giovanni da Fabriano Becchetti
St Jacques Fermin
Bl Jarich of Mariengaarde
St Jéroche
St Lidanus of Sezze
St Martinian of Rome
St Monegundis
St Oudoceus
Bl Peter of Luxembourg (1369-1387) Bishop and Cardinal
About Blessed Peter: https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/02/saint-of-the-day-2-july-blessed-peter-of-luxembourg-1369-1387/
Bl Pietro Becchetti da Fabriano
St Processus of Rome
St Swithun
—
Martyred Soldiers of Rome – 3 saints: Three soldiers who were converted at the martyrdom of Saint Paul the Apostle. Then they were martyred, as well. We known nothing else about them but their names – Acestes, Longinus and Megistus. Martyred c68 in Rome, Italy

Martyrs in Carthage by Hunneric – 7 saints: A group of seven Christians tortured and murdered in the persecutions of the Arian Vandal king Hunneric for remaining loyal to the teachings of orthodox Christianity. They were some of the many who died for the faith during a period of active Arian heresy. – Boniface, Liberatus, Maximus, Rogatus, Rusticus, Septimus and Servus.

Martyrs of Campania – 10 saints: A group of ten Christians marytred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details about them to have survived are their names – Ariston, Crescention, Eutychian, Felicissimus, Felix, Justus, Marcia, Symphorosa, Urban and Vitalis. Martyred in 284 in Campania, Italy.

Martyrs of Seoul – 8 saints: Additional Memorial – 20 September as part of the Martyrs of Korea.
A group of eight Christians who were martyred together as part of the lengthy persecutions in Korea.
• Agatha Han Sin-ae
• Antonius Yi Hyeon
• Bibiana Mun Yeong-in
• Columba Gang Wan-suk
• Ignatius Choe In-cheol
• Iuliana Gim Yeon-i
• Matthaeus Gim Hyeon-u
• Susanna Gang Gyeong-bok
They were martyred on 2 July 1801 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea. Beatified on 15 August 2014 by Pope Francis.

CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, POETRY, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Thought for the Day – 23 June – Through Our Gazing in Adoration

Posted on June 23, 2019June 23, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 23 June – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Through Our Gazing in Adoration

Pope Benedict XVI General Audience, 17 November 2010

Dear friends, fidelity to the encounter with the Eucharistic Christ in Sunday’s Holy Mass is essential for the journey of faith but let us try as well to frequently go to visit the Lord present in the Tabernacle! Gazing in adoration at the consecrated Host, we discover the gift of the love of God, we discover the passion and the cross of Jesus and also His Resurrection. Precisely through our gazing in adoration, the Lord draws us to Himself, into His mystery, to transform us as He transforms the bread and wine.

The saints always found strength, consolation and joy in the Eucharistic encounter. With the words of the Eucharistic hymn “Adoro te devote,” let us repeat before the Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament: “Make me believe ever more in You, that in You I may have hope, that I may love You!”

Thank you.

Adoro te Devote
By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
Trans. Fr Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)

Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows,
shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God Thou art.

Seeing, touching, tasting are in Thee deceived –
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed,
What God’s Son has told me, take for truth I do,
Truth Himself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.

On the cross Thy godhead made no sign to men,
Here Thy very manhood steals from human ken –
Both are my confession, both are my belief,
And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.

I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But can plainly call Thee Lord and God as he,
Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.

O Thou our reminder of Christ crucified,
Living Bread, the life of us for whom He died,
Lend this life to me then – feed and feast my mind,
There be Thou the sweetness man was meant to find.

Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican,
Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what Thy bosom ran—
Blood whereof a single drop has power to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.

Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below,
I beseech Thee send me what I thirst for so,
Some day to gaze on Thee face to face in light
And be blest forever with Thy glory’s sight.
Amen adoro te devote - copus christi 23 june 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, SAINT of the DAY, Ven Servant of God John A Hardon

Thought for the Day – 21 June – ‘God comes through.’

Posted on June 21, 2019June 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 21 June – The Memorial of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)

Excerpt from Ven Servant of God John A Hardon’s SJ (1914-2000)

‘Life of St Aloysius’

“To the one virtue which the Church has chosen and on account of which has chosen him ‘the universal patron of youth,’ was his chastity. All the evidence we have, indicates that he had very strong sexual passions. We know that from his own writing, we know that from people who knew him and we know that from what is called penance from one view-point, what is really, you might say, ‘preventive austerity’ from another. He simply believed that unless he mortified his body and I didn’t tell you one tenth of what he did, he just would not get that passion under control.

The lesson for us in a sex-mad world is obvious. You do not control that passion without mortification, you just don’t. As a result, the Church has held him up as a model of what even the most passionate personality can achieve, always with God’s grace. We may not be able to, given our temperament of the circumstances in which we are living, be able to cope with temptation–we need grace. Very well, how do you get the grace? –through prayer and mortification. And Christ’s words about a certain demon not being able to be driven out except through penance. Well, it’s a non-title to give the devil but, he is the demon of lust, though being without a body himself, he knows how, by stirring this passion, he can lead people into any kind of sin. That’s the first and towering lesson of the life of St Aloysius.

As we look at the short life of Aloysius, depending on the person’s view point, it may seem oppressive. It shouldn’t be but, in modern jargon, it has so much (pardon the expression) of the negative, you know, penance, mortification, sin–and a world that has gone mad, drunk with sin, doesn’t realise, that already this side of eternity, we are to be what Aloysius was literally, we are to be, if it is God’s will, ecstatically happy of that. We are not to be sad. We are not, God forbid, to be unhappy.
The secret and what an open secret it is in the life of Aloysius, is to find the happiness in the right place. That’s all, yes but that’s everything.
In other words, as a closing observation, Aloysius showed that’s why the Church Canonised him, that when Christ gave us the eight Beatitudes, which are eight promises of happiness, He meant it.
The condition for being happy, well, that’s part of the Covenant, that’s what we do but if we do our part, God comes through.

St Robert Bellarmine who knew him well, observed he was sure that Aloysius had never committed a mortal sin.

Saint Aloysius, pray for us.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 21 June – St Aloysius Gonzaga

Posted on June 21, 2019June 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 21 June – The Memorial of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)

“I am a piece of twisted iron,
I entered the religious life
to get twisted straight.”

“He who wishes to love God
does not truly love Him,
if he has not an ardent
and constant desire
to suffer for His sake.”

“Take care above all things,
most honoured lady,
not to insult God’s boundless loving kindness,
you would certainly do this,
if you mourned as dead,
one living face-to-face with God,
one whose prayers,
can bring you in your troubles,
more powerful aid,
than they ever could on earth.”

“When He takes away
what He once lent us,
His purpose is to
store our treasure elsewhere,
more safely and bestow on us,
those very blessings,
that we ourselves
would most choose to have.”

(From A Letter to His Mother)

More of this letter here: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/21/quote-of-the-day-21-june-the-memorial-of-st-aloysius-de-gonzaga-s-j-1568-1591/

St Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591)

JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES on FREEDOM, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 21 June – “…A free heart…”

Posted on June 21, 2019June 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 21 June – Friday Eleventh week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 6:19–23 and the Memorial of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”….Matthew 6:19-21

REFLECTION – “This is really Jesus’ message – have a free heart. Otherwise, if your treasure is in wealth, in vanity, in power or in pride, your heart will be chained there, your heart will be a slave to wealth, to vanity, to pride. On this line of reasoning, have a free heart, precisely because Jesus speaks to us about freedom of the heart. And one can only have a free heart with the treasures of heaven – love, patience, service to others, worshipping God. These are the true riches that cannot be stolen. The other types of treasures — money, vanity, power — weigh down the heart, chain it, don’t allow it freedom.”…Pope Francis (Santa Marta, 20 June 2014) one can only have a free heart- pope francis - 21 june 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Father almighty, as we wait and work and pray and fast in joyful hope of our eternal life with You, grant we pray that we may always remain steadfast in Your love. Let your light so penetrate our minds, that walking by Your commandments, we may always follow You, our leader and our guide. St Aloysius Gonzaga, pray for us that we will fully utilise the many gifts our Almighty God has bestowed on us as we journey home. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord, in union with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

CHILDREN / YOUTH, EYES - Diseases, of the BLIND, JESUIT SJ, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 21 June – St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)

Posted on June 21, 2019June 21, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 21 June – St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591) Jesuit Seminarian, Mystic, Marian devotee, Apostle of Charity. Patronages – Catholic youth, Jesuit scholastics, the blind, eye ailments, AIDS patients, care-givers, Jesuit students, for relief from pestilence, young people, Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy, Valmonte, Italy. st aloysius blk wht

The Lord can make saints anywhere, even amid the brutality and license of Renaissance life. Florence was the “mother of piety” for Aloysius Gonzaga despite his exposure to a “society of fraud, dagger, poison and lust.” As a son of a princely family, he grew up in royal courts and army camps. His father wanted Aloysius to be a military hero.

At age 7 Aloysius experienced a profound spiritual quickening. His prayers included the Office of Mary, the psalms and other devotions. At age 9 he came from his hometown of Castiglione to Florence to be educated, by age 11 he was teaching catechism to poor children, fasting three days a week and practising great austerities. When he was 13 years old, he travelled with his parents and the Empress of Austria to Spain and acted as a page in the court of Philip II. The more Aloysius saw of court life, the more disillusioned he became, seeking relief in learning about the lives of saints.

A book about the experience of Jesuit missionaries in India suggested to him the idea of entering the Society of Jesus and in Spain his decision became final. Now began a four-year contest with his father. Eminent churchmen and laypeople were pressed into service to persuade Aloysius to remain in his “normal” vocation. Finally he prevailed, was allowed to renounce his right to succession and was received into the Jesuit novitiate.

st aloysius gonzaba — This is a detail of a painting by Guercino, titled the Vocation of St Aloysius. St Aloysius is shown renouncing the crown for the Cross.

Like other seminarians, Aloysius was faced with a new kind of penance—that of accepting different ideas about the exact nature of penance. He was obliged to eat more and to take recreation with the other students. He was forbidden to pray except at stated times. He spent four years in the study of philosophy and had Saint Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), Doctor of the Church, as his spiritual adviser. st aloysius gonzaga adoration

In 1591, a plague struck Rome. The Jesuits opened a hospital of their own . The superior general himself and many other Jesuits rendered personal service. Because he nursed patients, washing them and making their beds, Aloysius caught the disease. A fever persisted after his recovery and he was so weak he could scarcely rise from bed. Yet, he maintained his great discipline of prayer, knowing that he would die within the octave of Corpus Christi, three months later, at the age of 23. st aloysius gonzaga unsual

As a saint who fasted, scourged himself, sought solitude and prayer and did not look on the faces of women, Aloysius seems an unlikely patron of youth in a society where asceticism is confined to training camps of football teams and boxers and sexual permissiveness has little left to permit. Can an overweight and air-conditioned society deprive itself of anything? It will, when it discovers a reason, as Aloysius did. The motivation for letting God purify us is the experience of God loving us in prayer.

JESUIT SJ, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 20 June – Jesus, My Friend

Posted on June 20, 2019June 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 20 June – Thursday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year C

Excerpt from Jesus, My Friend
By St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682)

O Jesus!
You are my true Friend,
my only Friend.
You take a part in all my misfortunes;
You take them on Yourself;
You know how to change them into blessings.
You listen to me with the greatest kindness
when I relate my troubles to You,
and You have always balm to pour on my wounds.
I find You at all times;
I find You everywhere;
You never go away;
if I have to change my dwelling,
I find You wherever I go.
You are never weary of listening to me;
You are never tired of doing me good.
O Jesus!
Grant that I may die praising You,
that I may die loving You,
that I may die for the love of You.
Amen jesus-my-friend-by-st-claude-de-la-colombiere-18-june-2018

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, NOVENAS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, Ven Servant of God John A Hardon

Announcing the NOVENA to the SACRED HEART BEGINS Wednesday, 19 June

Posted on June 17, 2019June 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Announcing the NOVENA to the SACRED HEART
BEGINS Wednesday, 19 June

Devotion to the Sacred Heart
By Ven Servant of God John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is as old as Christianity. When the side of Christ was pierced on Calvary, there immediately flowed out blood and water. The Church has interpreted this to mean, the outpouring of grace through the Church, which began the moment that Christ expired on the Cross.
Over the centuries, the gratitude of the faithful for this manifestation of divine love has centred on the physical Heart of Jesus as the symbol of God’s love for man. We may, therefore, say, that devotion to the Sacred Heart is really devotion to the love of God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
When God became man, it was God – who is love – who became man. In the languages of all nations, the heart is identified with love. Consequently, our devotion to the Heart of Jesus is directed to the love of Jesus in different ways.
We love Him as our God, who has loved us from all eternity and out of selfless love brought us into existence and destined us to possess Him for all eternity.
We love Him as our God Incarnate, who loved us so much that He assumed our human nature and by His bodily death redeemed us from the eternal death we deserved for our sins.
We love Him as our Redeemer who rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He is preparing a place for us. Where He is, our God united with His human body and soul, we hope to be in His blessed company.
We love Him as our Eucharistic Lord who is on earth in His humanity, in the Blessed Sacrament. He offers Himself in the Mass through which He now communicates the graces He won for us on the Cross. By His Real Presence, He invites us to offer Him our adoring love and ask Him to work the miracles He performed during His visible stay in Palestine.
To be emphasised is the unique character of devotion to the Sacred Heart. It is nothing less than a synthesis of Catholic Christianity in its loving response to the unspeakable love of God for the sons and daughters of the human family.

For the sake of convenience, we may divide the terms “Sacred Heart” and “Devotion” into two parts:
Sacred Heart stands for the love of God, which means the love that is God, the love that God has shown for us from the dawn of creation until now and the love that God will continue to pour out on us into the endless reaches of eternity.
Devotion stands for our grateful return of love for love, which is shown in loving sacrifice by the total surrender of our wills to the mysterious and demanding will of God, in loving imitation of Jesus Christ, whose virtues as man, are so many manifestations of His divine attributes as God, in loving worship of Mary’s Son, who is present with His living, pulsating human Heart in the Blessed Sacrament, in loving petition for the graces that we and others, need to serve Him faithfully, here on earth and enjoy Him in the life that will never end.
A simple but very effective way of growing in devotion to the Sacred Heart, is to recite daily the very old morning offering, used for centuries within the Catholic heart:

O Jesus,
through the Most Pure Heart of Mary
and in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world today,
I offer You all my prayers,
works, joys and sufferings of this day,
for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart,
I offer them for
the salvation of souls,
the reparation of sins,
the intentions of all our bishops, priests,
apostles of prayer
and our Holy Father, the Pope.
Amen

Among the promises made by our Lord to St Margaret Mary, was the assurance that, “Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart, never to be blotted out.”

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, GOD is LOVE, JESUIT SJ, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, Ven Servant of God John A Hardon

1 June – the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Posted on June 1, 2019June 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

“The month of June is traditionally dedicated
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the highest human expression of divine love.
The Heart of Jesus is the ultimate symbol of God’s mercy –
but it is not an imaginary symbol, it is a real symbol,
which represents the centre,
the source from which,
salvation for all humanity gushed forth.”

Pope Francis

the month of June - pope francis - 1 june 2019.jpg

Devotion to the Sacred Heart
By Ven Servant of God John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)

We love Him as our God, who has loved us from all eternity and out of selfless love brought us into existence and destined us to possess Him for all eternity.
We love Him as our God Incarnate, who loved us so much that He assumed our human nature and by His bodily death redeemed us from the eternal death we deserved for our sins.
We love Him as our Redeemer who rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He is preparing a place for us. Where He is, our God united with His human body and soul, we hope to be in His blessed company.
We love Him as our Eucharistic Lord who is on earth in His humanity, in the Blessed Sacrament. He offers Himself in the Mass through which He now communicates the graces He won for us on the Cross. By His Real Presence, He invites us to offer Him our adoring love and ask Him to work the miracles He performed during His visible stay in Palestine.

To be emphasised is the unique character of devotion to the Sacred Heart. It is nothing less than a synthesis of Catholic Christianity in its loving response to the unspeakable love of God for the sons and daughters of the human family.

For the sake of convenience, we may divide the terms “Sacred Heart” and “Devotion” into two parts:
Sacred Heart stands for the love of God, which means the love that is God, the love that God has shown for us from the dawn of creation until now and the love that God will continue to pour out on us into the endless reaches of eternity.
Devotion stands for our grateful return of love for love, which is shown in loving sacrifice by the total surrender of our wills to the mysterious and demanding will of God; in loving imitation of Jesus Christ, whose virtues as man are so many manifestations of His divine attributes as God; in loving worship of Mary’s Son, who is present with His living, pulsating human Heart in the Blessed Sacrament; in loving petition for the graces that we and others, need to serve Him faithfully here on earth and enjoy Him in the life that will never end.
A simple but very effective way of growing in devotion to the Sacred Heart is to recite daily the traditional Morning Offering:

O Jesus,
through the Most Pure Heart of Mary
and in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world today,
I offer You all my prayers,
works, joys and sufferings of this day,
for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart,
I offer them for
the salvation of souls,
the reparation for sins,
the intentions of all our bishops, priests,
apostles of prayer
and our Holy Father, the Pope.
Amen

Among the promises made by our Lord to St Margaret Mary was the assurance that, “Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart, never to be blotted out.”

Archbishop Alban GOODIER SJ, LAPSED Catholics, MINI SERIES, PRAYER WARRIORS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SACRAMENTS

Thought for the Day – 16 May – “The Lost Catholic”

Posted on May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 16 May – Thursday of the Fourth week of Easter, C, Gospel: John 13:16–20

Archbishop Alban Goodier, SJ (1869-1939)

“The Lost Catholic”
Part One

1. Introduction
No-one who has once realised what it is to be a Catholic can feel anything but sadness for one who has lost the Catholic faith, who once was a Catholic and is now a Catholic no more, no matter what may have been the reason.

It is sad enough to know so many who, through no fault of their own, have not the Catholic faith, whose forefathers lost it for them and deprived them of their inheritance, who do not know and have never known, all that it means.

But one who has once known it and has lost it, who has been argued or cajoled out of it, whose life has led him to drop it, who has been careless and let it go, who has surrendered it for something else, those who know and love such a one, know also that he has lost, thrown away, something for which nothing else can compensate, something more dear than life itself.

Let, then, such a one not be surprised if those who love him are troubled and sad about him; they cannot help it. They long to give him back what he has lost, they spare no pains that he may be as he was before, they look on that reward as worth all the labour and suffering it may entail.

2. The Catholic no more

Who are they and how has it all come about?

First, there are the children:

who have never learnt to appreciate the value or beauty of their inheritance;

or whose parents have set them a sorry example and so spoilt them;

or who have learnt their religion as a schoolroom lesson only and it has withered;

or who have never seen that it mattered much one way or the other.

Second, there are young boys and girls:

who have been deluded by the prospect of a happy and free life before them.

or who have lived among godless companions and through shame, through human respect, through banter, through a

little coaxing, through temptation, perhaps through sin, have become as they;

or who have been carried away by their surroundings and the faith of their childhood has been ignored or forgotten,

and finally rejected.

Third, there are young men and women:

whose study and, reading, it may be, in the days when they were not yet mature, nor able to form a proper judgement,

has led them to wonder, to doubt, at last to be dissatisfied and turn away;

or who have come under some influence stronger than themselves and they have surrendered;

some unbelieving teacher or friend, whose arguments they could not answer;

some man or woman whom they have loved and who has made them sacrifice their faith for that love some companion who has led them on, till they have lost the reality for the shadow;

or who have found the practice of the faith a hindrance to their ambition in life, to promotion, to association with those who would help them, to the use of such means as their faith will not allow.

Fourth, there are the grown-up:

who are married and who find the laws of their faith concerning married life a burden;

or who, having once, slipped away, or having been away so long, are unable to bring themselves back, and prefer to

remain where they are;

or who have been antagonised by some opposition, by some scandal, by some regulation, which they have resented.

Fifth, and last, among all these classes, among young and old, there are those,

whom, in a proud and passionate moment, self-will has mastered and they have said:

‘I will not serve; or whom this world with its false fascination has mastered and they have said: ‘I will have here my ‘reward; or whom sin and passion have conquered and they hardened conscience and said: ‘I will be free, I will have my own way, I will do my own pleasure.

to be continued…/

Let us Pray:

For the Return of Lapsed Catholics to the Sacraments
By Ven Servant of God Fr John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)

Almighty Father,
You desire not the death of the sinner
but that he may be converted and live.
Pour out upon us Your mercy
and hear the prayers of Your servants.
Soften the hearts of Your children who have strayed,
from the true path, which You established for their salvation.
They are now forgetful of their duties as Catholics
and pursue the pleasures of the world.
Grant that they may quickly return
to the practice of every Christian virtue,
so that their lives may shine
with the integrity of faith,
the fervour of piety
and the ardour of charity.
Restore them to Your sacraments
and the life of Your grace,
through the merits
of the most precious blood of Your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, JESUIT SJ, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 14 May – O Holy Mary

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

Our Morning Offering – 14 May – ‘Mary’s Month’ – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter, C

O Holy Mary
By St Aloysius de Gonzaga (1568-1591)

O Holy Mary, my mistress,
into your blessed trust
and special custody,
and into the grasp of your mercy
I this day, every day,
and in the hour of my death,
commend my soul and my body.
To you, I commit,
all my anxieties and miseries,
my life and the end of my life,
that by your most holy intercession
and by your merits
all my actions may be directed
and disposed
according to your will
and that of your Son.
Amen o holy mary by st aloysius gonsaga 14 may 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 4 May – Saint Jose Maria Rubio y Peralta SJ (1864-1929) “the Apostle of Madrid” and “Father of the Poor”

Posted on May 4, 2019May 4, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 4 May – Saint Jose Maria Rubio y Peralta SJ (1864-1929) aged 64 “the Apostle of Madrid” and “Father of the Poor” – Professed Jesuit Priest, Confessor, Professor, Preacher, Spiritual Director, Apostle of Eucharistic Adoration, Prayer and the Poor, endowed with the gifts of miracles, prophesy and bilocation. Born on 22 July 1864 in Dallas, Spain and died on 2 May 1929 in Aranjuez, Spain. st jose maria rubio snip 2

José María Rubio was born on 22 July 1864 in Dalías, Spain. His parents were farmers and he was one of 12 children, six of whom died at a young age. He was given a Christian upbringing and in 1875, began secondary school in Almería. As José María felt called to become a priest, he transferred to the diocesan seminary in 1876 to continue his academic pursuits. In 1878 he moved to the major seminary of Granada, where over the years he completed studies in philosophy, theology and canon law. On 24 September 1887 he was ordained a priest. San-Jose-Maria-Rubio-Peralta-Jesuit-founder

At this time, he also felt called to become a Jesuit but since he was impeded by circumstances – he took care of an elderly priest who needed assistance – he could not fulfil this wish for 19 years. In the years after his ordination, Fr Rubio was also busy as a vice-parish priest in Chinchón and then as parish priest in Estremera. In 1890, the Bishop called him to Madrid, where he was given the responsibility of synodal examiner. He also taught metaphysics, Latin and pastoral theology at the seminary in Madrid and was chaplain to the nuns of St Bernard.

In 1906, after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land the previous year, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Granada. On 12 October 1908 he made his religious profession.

Fr Rubio was exemplary in his pastoral ministry, sustained and nurtured by his profound spiritual life. The Bishop of Madrid called him “The Apostle of Madrid” and the faithful sought him out from the early morning hours for confession and to receive spiritual direction. josemariarubio

He was known for his incisive, simple preaching that moved many to conversion . He also had particular devotion to the poor, always providing them with the material and spiritual assistance they needed.

Through his preaching and spiritual direction, Fr Rubio was able to attract and guide many lay people who wanted to live their Christian faith authentically and assist him in the mission of helping the poor. Under his guidance, they opened tuition-free schools which offered academic formation as well as instruction in various trades . They also assisted the sick and disabled and tried to find work for the unemployed.

Fr Rubio was always the heart and soul of all of these works but he remained in the background, preferring to let his collaborators take centre stage. For this reason and to help them develop well, the gifts that God had given them, he gave the laity the main responsibility and taught them to live and act like the Apostles of the Lord Jesus.

Fr Rubio also organised popular missions and spiritual exercises in the poorest zones of the city, because he believed the poor must be helped fully, both spiritually and materially and that they must be encouraged and loved for who they are – for their own human dignity.

The most important aspect of the apostolate for Fr Rubio was prayer, adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was the centre of his entire life. The love of Christ was what Fr Rubio wanted to give to the poor. For him and his collaborators, prayer came first and it was through this intense prayer life that they received the strength to minister in the poorest and most abandoned areas of Madrid and to assist the people spiritually.

Fr José María Rubio died on 2 May 1929 in Aranjuez. He was beatified on 6 October 1985 and Canonised on 4 May 2003 on both occasions by St John Paul II….Vatican.va San José María Rubio. 4 Mayo

St Jose Maria was a withdrawn and a modest man, of great charity and tireless devotion to work. He excelled as a preachre and as a regular confessor, which caused long lines of faithful who were looking into it further support and spiritual help. His effectiveness and reputation grew quickly throughout the city. He was noted for his love of the poor, who came forward for help. He developed his evangelical work in towns and suburbs and founded and organised several associations such as the “Guard of Honour of the Sacred Heart,” the work of the “Marys of the Tabernacles” and social schools in Ventilla neighbourhoods, aided by young teachers Juan and Demetrio de Andrés, known as “Ventilla Martyrs” killed during the Civil War, 1936.

Miracles of St José María Rubio
VISIT TO A DYING MAN
While confessing, a lady came and gave him the directions to a man who had to confess soon, as he was dying. That evening, Father Rubio went to visit the dying man and following the directions, he had to go to a third floor without a lift. When he finally arrived, knocked and asked for the gentleman, “It’s me” the gentleman said “but I think that someone has played a practical joke on you, as you see I’m in perfect health. Come on, man! have a drink and relax after you have had to climb so many stairs.” Entering the room, Rubio saw a portrait on the wall and while the man served him a drink. Father Rubio said that the lady was the one who sent him. The man laughed and said that the lady was his mother who died some years ago. Then, the gentleman said; “Look, anyway, as you are here, I’m going to confess because it’s been years since I entered a church and so your journey will not have been in vain”. He confessed and died that night.

THE SEAMSTRESS
A seamstress from Madrid confessed that her father hated the faith and considered the Christian religion a swindle and a lie. Thus, she was afraid of the eternal damnation of her father. Father Rubio said that she should not be worried, as her father would be saved.

Some days after the confession, during a retreat and preaching, this seamstress came late. At the moment when she arrived, Father Rubio paused for a moment in his speech and said in loud voice: “At this very moment one of you just received a very special grace. Really very, very big. In a few days you will know what it is and whoever of you has received this, that lucky person has to thank our Lord Jesus Christ”.

All women who were there present took note of the time and day, as he was already famous for these prophecies that were fulfilled. The seamstress in a few days noticed that her father died holy and just at that time when Father Rubio was preaching, her father was confessing and receiving the last sacraments.

During his life miraculous events were reported, such as bilocation, healings, prophecy some, perhaps legendary but others ratified by numerous witnesses. What dominates is the testimony of his example and his word, next to the message that holiness is available to all who simply surrender to the will of God. His ultimate favourite and motto was: “Do what God wants and want what God does.”

franciscan OFM, JESUIT SJ, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 4 May

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

St Albian of Albée
Bl Angela Bartolomea dei Ranzi
Bl Angela Isabella dei Ranzi
St Antonia of Constantinople
St Antonina of Nicaea
St Antonia of Nicomedia
St Antonius of Rocher
St Arbeo of Freising
St Augustine Webster
St Cunegund of Regensburg
St Curcodomus of Auxerre
St Cyriacus of Ancona
St Enéour
St Ethelred of Bardney
St Florian of Lorch
Bl Hilsindis
Bl Jean-Martin Moyë (1730-1793)
Biography: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/05/04/saint-of-the-day-4-may-blessed-jean-martin-moye-1730-1793/
St Jose Maria Rubio y Peralta SJ (1864-1929)

St Judas Cyriacus
Bl Ladislas of Gielniów
St Luca da Toro
Bl Margareta Kratz
Bl Michal Giedroyc
St Nepotian of Altino
Bl Paolino Bigazzini
St Paulinus of Cologne
St Paulinus of Senigallia
St Pelagia of Tarsus
St Porphyrius of Camerino Rino
St Richard Reynolds
St Robert Lawrence
St Silvanus of Gaza
Bl Tommaso da Olera/Acerbis OFM Cap (1563-1631)
—
Carthusian Martyrs: A group of Carthusian monks who were hanged, drawn and quartered between 19 June 1535 and 20 September 1537 for refusing to acknowledge the English royalty as head of the Church:
• Blessed Humphrey Middlemore
• Blessed James Walworth
• Blessed John Davy
• Blessed John Rochester
• Blessed Richard Bere
• Blessed Robert Salt
• Blessed Sebastian Newdigate
• Blessed Thomas Green
• Blessed Thomas Johnson
• Blessed Thomas Redyng
• Blessed Thomas Scryven
• Blessed Walter Pierson
• Blessed William Exmew
• Blessed William Greenwood
• Blessed William Horne
• Saint Augustine Webster
• Saint John Houghton
• Saint Robert Lawrence

Martyrs of Cirta: Also known as
• Martyrs of Cirtha
• Martyrs of Tzirta
A group of clergy and laity martyred together in Cirta, Numidia (in modern Tunisia) in the persecutions of Valerian. They were – Agapius, Antonia, Emilian, Secundinus and Tertula, along with a woman and her twin children whose names have not come down to us.

Martyrs of England: 85 English, Scottish and Welsh Catholics who were martyred during the persecutions by Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. They are commemorated together on 22 November.
• Blessed Alexander Blake • Blessed Alexander Crow • Blessed Antony Page • Blessed Arthur Bell • Blessed Charles Meehan • Blessed Christopher Robinson • Blessed Christopher Wharton • Blessed Edmund Duke • Blessed Edmund Sykes • Blessed Edward Bamber • Blessed Edward Burden • Blessed Edward Osbaldeston • Blessed Edward Thwing • Blessed Francis Ingleby • Blessed George Beesley • Blessed George Douglas • Blessed George Errington • Blessed George Haydock • Blessed George Nichols • Blessed Henry Heath • Blessed Henry Webley • Blessed Hugh Taylor • Blessed Humphrey Pritchard • Blessed John Adams • Blessed John Bretton • Blessed John Fingley • Blessed John Hambley • Blessed John Hogg • Blessed John Lowe • Blessed John Norton • Blessed John Sandys • Blessed John Sugar • Blessed John Talbot • Blessed John Thules • Blessed John Woodcock • Blessed Joseph Lambton • Blessed Marmaduke Bowes • Blessed Matthew Flathers • Blessed Montfort Scott • Blessed Nicholas Garlick • Blessed Nicholas Horner • Blessed Nicholas Postgate • Blessed Nicholas Woodfen • Blessed Peter Snow • Blessed Ralph Grimston • Blessed Richard Flower • Blessed Richard Hill • Blessed Richard Holiday • Blessed Richard Sergeant • Blessed Richard Simpson • Blessed Richard Yaxley • Blessed Robert Bickerdike • Blessed Robert Dibdale • Blessed Robert Drury • Blessed Robert Grissold • Blessed Robert Hardesty • Blessed Robert Ludlam • Blessed Robert Middleton • Blessed Robert Nutter • Blessed Robert Sutton • Blessed Robert Sutton • Blessed Robert Thorpe • Blessed Roger Cadwallador • Blessed Roger Filcock • Blessed Roger Wrenno • Blessed Stephen Rowsham • Blessed Thomas Atkinson • Blessed Thomas Belson • Blessed Thomas Bullaker • Blessed Thomas Hunt • Blessed Thomas Palaser • Blessed Thomas Pilcher • Blessed Thomas Pormort • Blessed Thomas Sprott • Blessed Thomas Watkinson • Blessed Thomas Whitaker • Blessed Thurstan Hunt • Blessed William Carter • Blessed William Davies • Blessed William Gibson • Blessed William Knight • Blessed William Lampley • Blessed William Pike • Blessed William Southerne • Blessed William Spenser • Blessed William Thomson •
They were Beatified on 22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II.

Martyrs of Novellara: A bishop and several his flock who were martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian and whose relics were kept and enshrined together. We know nothing else about them but the names – Apollo, Bono, Cassiano, Castoro, Damiano, Dionisio, Leonida, Lucilla, Poliano, Tecla, Teodora and Vespasiano. They were Martyred on 26 March 303. Their relics were enshrined in the parish of Saint Stephen in Novellara, Italy in 1603.

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, JESUIT SJ, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, POETRY, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Thought for the Day – 1 May – Devotion for May – the Month of Mary

Posted on May 1, 2019April 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 1 May – Devotion for May – the Month of Mary

“God wills that all his gifts should come to us through Mary” (St Bernard)

It was in Rome, towards the end of the eighteenth century, one fine evening in May. A child of the poor gathered his companions around him and led them to a statue of Mary, before which a lamp was burning, as is the custom in that holy city. There, these fresh young voices sang the Litany of our Lady. The next day, the little group, followed by other children, again gathered at the feet of the Mother of God. Next came their mothers, to join the little assembly. Soon, other groups were formed and the devotion rapidly became popular. Holy souls, troubled by the disorderly conduct which always increases and becomes graver at the return of the pleasant springtime, saw in these growing practices the hand of God and they co-operated with the designs of Providence by approving and promoting this new devotion, as a public and solemn act of reparation. The Month of Mary was founded….A Carthusian, A Month with Mary

“This is the month in which, in the churches and individual homes, the most affectionate and fervent homage of prayers and devotions from the hearts of Christians are raised to Mary. It is also the month in which from His throne descend upon us the most generous and abundant gifts of the Divine Mercy.”….St Pope Paul VI, The Month of Mary,1967.

In our own times, we Catholics, wanting to be close to her always, offer her special presents in May – pilgrimages, visits to churches dedicated to her, little sacrifices in her honour, periods of study and well-finished work offered up to her and a more attentive recitation of the rosary…. may-the-month-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-1-may-2018

MARY: THE MOTHER OF GOD
“When the Blessed Virgin said yes, freely, to the plans revealed to her by the Creator, the divine Word assumed a human nature — a rational soul and a body — which was formed in the most pure womb of Mary. The divine nature and the human were united in a single Person – Jesus Christ, true God and, thenceforth, true man, the only begotten and eternal son of the Father and from that moment on, as man, the true son of Mary. This is why our Lady is the mother of the Incarnate Word, of the second person of the Blessed Trinity, who has united our human nature to Himself forever, without any confusion of the two natures. The greatest praise we can give to the Blessed Virgin is to address her loudly and clearly by the name that expresses her very highest dignity: ‘Mother of God’.”

Let us offer to our Mother today:

Brief but frequent prayers of love, such as:

“Mother of God, your petitions are most powerful.”

St Josemaria Escriva – “Mother of God and Our Mother,” Friends of God, 274.

May Magnificat
Poem by Fr Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)

May is Mary’s month and I
Muse at that and wonder why:
Her feasts follow reason,
Dated due to season—

Candlemas, Lady Day
But the Lady Month, May,
Why fasten that upon her,
With a feasting in her honour?

Is it only its being brighter
Than the most are must delight her?
Is it opportunest
And flowers finds soonest?

Ask of her, the mighty mother:
Her reply puts this other
Question: What is Spring?—
Growth in every thing—

Flesh and fleece, fur and feather,
Grass and greenworld all together,
Star-eyed strawberry-breasted
Throstle above her nested

Cluster of bugle blue eggs thin
Forms and warms the life within,
And bird and blossom swell
In sod or sheath or shell.

All things rising, all things sizing
Mary sees, sympathising
With that world of good,
Nature’s motherhood.

Their magnifying of each its kind
With delight calls to mind
How she did in her stored
Magnify the Lord.

Well but there was more than this:
Spring’s universal bliss
Much, had much to say
To offering Mary May.

When drop-of-blood-and-foam-dapple
Bloom lights the orchard-apple
And thicket and thorp are merry
With silver-surfed cherry

And azuring-over greybell makes
Wood banks and brakes wash wet like lakes
And magic cuckoocall
Caps, clears, and clinches all—

This ecstasy all through mothering earth
Tells Mary her mirth till Christ’s birth
To remember and exultation
In God who was her salvation.

JESUIT SJ, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 April – “You know me?”

Posted on April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 and celebrating St Vincent Ferrer and Blessed Mariano de la Mata

“You know me and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord; he who sent me is true and him you do not know.”…John 7:28

REFLECTION – “The crowds are surprised to see Jesus teaching in public, despite the death threats and so wonder if He could indeed be the Messiah. The crucial question here is, whether or not one perceives Jesus as having been sent by God. The answer to this question determines whether one is on the right track or engaged in only superficial reflection. God, in Jesus, continues to come to us in various disguises and forms. If we decide in advance how He must come, then there is the danger that we too might continue to miss Him. The way to be able to find Him in all things and all things in Him, is to be open and receptive and let God be God. It is to open our eyes, ear and every fibre of our being to the revelation that He will make and to be prepared for that revelation, in the most unexpected persons, places and events!”…Fr Errol Fernandes SJ

PRAYER – Loving God and Father, open our eyes and ears and our hearts. Help us to recognise the Light of Christ in the world around us. Too often we are hard of heart and closed up in our ‘rites’ – He is there but He is not only there and we are blind. May the prayers of the saints and angels help us to be open to Him. Mary, the Mother He gave us, pray for us. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen. mother mary pray for us - 5 oct 2018.jpg

GOD the FATHER, JESUIT SJ, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE

Our Morning Offering – 2 April – I Put My Trust in You

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

Our Morning Offering – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth week of Lent

I Put My Trust in You
By St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682)

Loving and tender providence of my God,
into Your hands I comment my spirit,
to You, I abandon my hopes and fears,
my desires and dislikes,
my temporal and eternal prospects.
To You, I commit the wants of my perishable body,
to You, I commit the more precious interests
of my immortal soul,
for whose lot I have nothing to fear,
as long as I do not leave Your care.
Though my faults are many,
my misery great,
my spiritual poverty extreme,
my hope in You surpasses all.
It is superior to my weakness,
greater than my difficulties,
stronger than death.
Though temptations should assail me,
I will hope in You,
though I break my resolutions,
I will look to You confidently
for grace to keep them at last.
Though You should kill me,
even then I will trust You,
for You are my Father,
my God,
the support of my salvation.
You are my kind,
compassionate,
indulgent Parent
and I am Your devoted child,
who casts myself into Your arms
and begs Your blessing.
I put my trust in You
and so trusting,
shall not be confounded.
Amen I put my trust in you - st claude de la colombiere 2 april 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of Our Lady and the Saints – 22 March

Posted on March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Lady of the Seven Veils:
About: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/03/22/memorial-of-our-lady-of-the-seven-veils-and-memorials-of-the-saints-22-march/

Our Lady of Sorrows of Castelpetroso:
About the Apparitions: http://mariancalendar.org/our-lady-of-sorrows-castelpetroso-italy/ picture_castelpetroso-1 basilica minor of our lady of seven sorrows

castelproso our lady of seven sorrows.JPG

St Avitus of Périgord
St Basil of Ancyra
St Basilissa of Galatia
St Benevenuto Scotivoli of Osimo
Bl Bronislaw Komorowski
St Callinica of Galatia
Bl Clemens August von Galen (1878-1946)

St Darerca of Ireland
St Deghitche
St Epaphroditus of Terracina
St Failbhe of Iona
Bl François-Louis Chartier
St Harlindis of Arland
Bl Hugolinus Zefferini
St Lea of Rome
Bl Marian Górecki
St Nicholas Owen SJ (1562-1606)
Dear St Nicholas Owen – The Priest-Hole Builder:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/03/22/saint-of-the-day-22-march-st-nicholas-owen-s-j-1562-1606-the-priest-hole-builder-martyr/

St Octavian of Carthage
St Paul of Narbonne
St Saturninus the Martyr
St Trien of Killelga

Archbishop Alban GOODIER SJ, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 17 March – The Mystery of Love

Posted on March 17, 2019March 16, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Sunday Reflection – 17 March – The Second Sunday of Lent, Year C

The Mystery of Love

By Archbishop Alban Goodier SJ (1869-1939)

You loved me from all eternity,
therefore, You created me.
You loved me, after You had made me,
therefore, You became man for me.
You loved me, after You became man for me,
therefore, You lived and died for me.
You loved me, after You had died for me,
therefore, You rose again for me.
You loved me, after You had risen for me,
therefore, You went to prepare a place for me.
You loved me, after You had gone to prepare a place for me,
therefore, You came back to me.
You loved me, after You came back to me,
therefore, You desired to enter into me
and be united to me.
This is the meaning of the Blessed Sacrament,
The Mystery of Love!

The mystery of love - sun reflec 17 march 2019 - archbishop alban goodier.jpg

JESUIT SJ, LENT 2019, Our MORNING Offering, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

Our Morning Offering – 15 March – I have nothing, O my Saviour and my God!

Posted on March 15, 2019March 14, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 15 March – Friday of the First week of Lent, Year C

I have nothing, O my Saviour and my God!
By Father John Croiset SJ

I have nothing,
O my Saviour and my God!
I have nothing which can be
pleasing unto Thee;
I can do nothing,
I am nothing
but I have a heart
and this is enough for me.
Health, honour and life itself
may be taken from me
but no man can rob me of my heart.
I have a heart
and with this heart
I can love Thee,
O my Saviour Jesus,
worthy of all adoration!
And with this heart,
it is my determination to love You
and always I resolve
to love Thee,
only to love Thee always.
Amen

Fr John Croiset, SJ was spiritual director to St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), the great apostle and visionary of devotion to the Sacred Heart. St Margaret Mary told Fr Croiset that it was Jesus’s ardent wish that he assist her in making devotion to the Sacred Heart, until then a private devotion of chosen souls, generally known to all of the faithful.

After St Margaret Mary’s death, Fr Croiset duly compiled an account of her revelations concerning the Sacred Heart, together with her prayers concerning this devotion, into a volume entitled The Devotion to the Sacred Heart which was published in 1691. In 1704, due to Fr Croiset’s failure to observe certain formalities, the book was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books, where it remained for two centuries. During this time Fr Croiset’s book was nearly forgotten. However, a certain bishop, wishing to call attention to devotion to the Sacred Heart within his diocese, came upon the text and finding that it had been placed upon the Index, called for the Sacred Congregation of the Index to re-examine the book. The Sacred Congregation determined that no error could be found in the work and so it was at last removed from the Index.

JESUIT SJ, LENT 2019, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – The First Sunday of Lent – 10 March

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

Lenten Reflection – The First Sunday of Lent – 10 March
‘Come back to Me with All your Heart’

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil....Luke 4:1-2 the first sunday of lent - luke 4 13 and when the devil had ended - 10 march 2019.jpg

“During the 40 days of Lent, as Christians we are invited to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and face the spiritual battle with the Evil One with the strength of the Word of God. Not with our words, they are worthless. The Word of God – this has the strength to defeat Satan.
For this reason, it is important to be familiar with the Bible, read it often, meditate on it, assimilate it. The Bible contains the Word of God, which is always timely and effective. Someone has asked, what would happen were we to treat the Bible as we treat our mobile phone? were we to read God’s messages contained in the Bible as we read telephone messages, what would happen? Clearly the comparison is paradoxical but it calls for reflection.

Indeed, if we had God’s Word always in our heart, no temptation could separate us from God and no obstacle could divert us from the path of good.”

Pope Francis – Angelus, First Sunday of Lent, 5 March 2017 indeed if we had god's word - pope francis - 10 march 2019 1st sun of lent

Daily Meditation:
Bring us back to you.
This week we pray for a renewal of our lives.
We are beginning to be more attentive and alert.
We are trying new patterns.
The difficulties we encounter keep us humble.

Our desire is clear.
We want the “self-sacrificing love of Christ” –
which brings us mercy and healing – to be “reproduced in our lives.”
In our journey, we seek to savour the meaning of Jesus’ selfless love,
that we might reflect that love to others.
At the end of our journey, we will renew our baptismal promises.
Dying with Jesus in baptism, we have a new life in Him.
Today, we desire nothing less than God’s re-creating us –
breathing new life into us.

Closing Prayer:
Lord God,
You who breathed the spirit of life within me.
Draw out of me the light and life You created.
Help me to find my way back to You.
Help me to use my life to reflect Your glory
and to serve others
as Your son Jesus did.
Help me to grow in love and understanding
of Your Word.
May the Holy Scriptures be my fortress and guide.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

JESUIT SJ, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 10 March

Posted on March 10, 2019March 11, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The First Sunday of Lent, Year C

—

St Alexander of Apema
St Anastasia the Patrician
St Andrew of Strumi
St Attalas of Bobbio
St Blanchard of Nesle-la-Réposte
St Caius of Apema
St Cordratus of Nicomedië
St Droctoveus of Paris
Bl Elias del Socorro Nieves
St Emilian of Lagny
St Failbhe the Little
St Gustav the Hermit
St Himelin
Bl Jean-Marie Joseph Lataste
St John Ogilvie SJ (1579-1615 died aged 36) MARTYR
Biography: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/saint-of-the-day-10-march-st-john-ogilvie/
St John Ogilvie, his Rosary and the Baron: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/st-john-ogilvie-sj-10-march/

Bl John of Vallombrosa
St Kessog
St Macarius of Jerusalem
St Marie Eugénie de Jésus (1817-1898) aged 80
St Peter of Veroli
St Rufinus of Nicomedië
St Sannudius of Bagensena
St Saturninus of Nicomedië
St Sedna of Ossory
St Silvester of Ireland
St Simplicius, Pope
St Victor of North Africa
Bl Wirnto of Formbach
—
Anonymous Martyrs of Persia – A group of 42 Christians martyred in Persia in the 4th century.
Forty Martyrs of Armenia – Forty Christian soldiers of the Thunderstruck Legion of the Imperial Roman army who were tortured and murdered for their faith during the persecutions of Emperor Licinius. They were exposed naked on a frozen pond to freeze to death at Sebaste, Armenia in 320 and their bodies afterward were burned.

JESUIT SJ, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

Thursday after Ash Wednesday – 7 March -“Let him take up his cross daily and follow Me”

Posted on March 7, 2019March 7, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thursday after Ash Wednesday – 7 March

“Let him take up his cross daily and follow Me”

Lord, help us to see in Your Crucifixion and Resurrection an example of how to endure and seemingly to die in the agony and conflict of daily life, so that we may live more fully and creatively. You accepted patiently and humbly the rebuffs of human life, as well as the tortures of your Crucifixion and Passion. Help us to accept the pains and conflicts that come to us each day, as opportunities to grow as people and become more like You. Enable us to go through them patiently and bravely, trusting that You will support us. Make us realise that it is only by frequent deaths of ourselves and our self-centred desires, that we can come to live more fully,
for it is only, by dying with You, that we can rise with You.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

(A Gift for God – prayers and meditations)

Daily Meditation:
The Journey Begins

God has revealed Himself in Christ. Let us praise His goodness and ask Him from our hearts:
Remember us, Lord, for we are Your children.

Teach us to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Church,
– that it may be more effective for ourselves and for the world as the sacrament of salvation.
Lover of mankind, inspire us to work for human progress,
– seeking to spread Your kingdom in all we do.
May our hearts thirst for Christ,
– the fountain of living water.
Forgive us our sins,
– and direct our steps into the ways of justice and sincerity.

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
Let everything I do this day and in this season of Lent
come from You, be inspired by You.

I long to be closer to You.
Help me to remember, that nothing is important in my life
unless it glorifies You in some way.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day of my life and keep saying,
“Tomorrow, I will spend more time in prayer”
but now my longing meet Your love and I want to do it now.
Help me to rely on You for help.

Please, Lord, remind me that “perfection”
isn’t the crazy, “successful” way I try to live my life
but a perfection of my most authentic, real self.
My “perfection” might be holding my many flaws in my open hands,
asking You to help me accept them.

Make me whole Lord and help me to find You in the darkness of my life.
Let me reach out in this darkness and feel Your hand and love, there to guide me.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen. luke 9 23 thurs after ash wed - if any man will come after me - 7 march 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on PRAYER, The WORD

Remember you are Dust and Unto Dust you shall return

Posted on March 6, 2019March 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Remember you are Dust and Unto Dust you shall return

Ash Wednesday 6 March 2019

Saint Peter Chrysologus (400-450)

Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church

Sermon 8 ; CCL 24, 59 ; PL 52, 208

Exercises for Lent: Almsgiving, Prayer, Fasting

My dear brethren, today we set out on the great Lenten journey. So let us take our food and drink along in our boat, putting onto the chest the abundant mercy we shall need. For our fasting is a hungry one, our fasting is a thirsty one if it isn’t sustained by goodness and refreshed by mercy. Our fasting will be cold, our fasting will flag, if the fleece of almsgiving doesn’t clothe it, if the garment of compassion does not wrap it around.

Brethren, what spring is for the land, mercy is for fasting – the soft, spring winds cause all the buds on the plains to flower; the mercy of our fast causes all our seeds to grow until they blossom and bear fruit for the heavenly harvest. What oil is to the lamp, goodness is to our fast. As the oily fat sets the lamp alight and, in spite of so little to feed it, keeps it burning to our comfort all night long, so goodness makes our fasting shine – it casts its beams until it reaches the full brightness of self-restraint. What the sun is to the day, almsgiving is to our fast: the sun’s splendour increases the light of day, breaking through the dullness of the clouds; almsgiving together with fasting sanctifies its holiness and, thanks to the light of goodness, dispels from our desires anything that could petrify. In short, what the body is for the soul, generosity acts similarly for the fast: when the soul leaves the body it brings about death; if generosity abandons the fast, it is, its death. ash wed and good friday - days of fasting and abstinence

A very special day.

The ashes we use are the burnt palms from last year’s celebration of Passion Sunday.
We begin our Lenten journey aware of where we are going.
We want to enter into the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus for us more fully.
That is the purpose of our journey. It is why we mark our heads with His cross.
It is why we fast today and abstain from meat. from pam fronds to ashes

Our Lenten program is not an effort to save ourselves.
We have been saved by His sacrifice.
Our self-denial helps us, in the darkness that surrounds us,
to prepare ourselves to receive His light.
For this is a journey to the Easter font,
where we will renew the promises of our Baptism,
remembering that in dying with Him in the waters of Baptism,
we are re-born with Him to everlasting life.

This year’s journey begins today.

Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning;

Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Joel 2:12-13 joel 2 12-13 ash wed yet even now - 6 march 2019.jpg

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
it feels like we are embarking
on a Lenten journey together, You and I.
Today, we are invited to let the Holy Spirit
purify our hearts and strengthen us in love.
That feels like what I am looking for –
or what You are looking for in me.
I want to remember how much I need You in my life
and how much my life needs redemption.
I want to remember it clearly and
in the background of my day, today and all through Lent.

On this special day, Ash Wednesday,
may my small sacrifices in fasting be a way to clear away
the clutter in my life to see You more clearly.
May my longing for meat and other food,
help me to focus my life today more outside myself.
Let me be aware of those,
who are in so much more suffering, than I am
and may I be aware of them,
as the brothers and sisters, You have placed in my life.

Lord, I know there is darkness within me and around me.
Bless these days with Your Word.
Let Your Light shine in the darkness.
Help me long for that shining Light
until we celebrate it at the Vigil, six weeks from now.

And most of all Lord,
help me to honour this day with the ashes on my forehead.
They help me remember where I have come from
and where I am going.
May I acknowledge to You my sins
and my deep need for Your loving forgiveness and grace.
I pray that this Lenten season will make me so much more aware
of how much I need Your love and care in my life.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

“The Lord, who always goes before us, said this and did this (Jn 12:24). Whenever we experience the cross, He has already experienced it before us. We do not mount the cross to find Jesus. Instead it was He who, in His self-abasement, descended even to the cross, in order to find us, to dispel the darkness of evil within us and to bring us back to the light.”

Pope Francis

(at the Canonisation of Saints Francisco and Jacinta on 14 May 2017)

the-lord-who-always-goes-before-us-pope-francis-20-feb-2017-sts-francisco-and-jacinta.jpg

JESUIT SJ, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 21 February – Lord, Whatever You Will

Posted on February 21, 2019February 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering-21 February-Thursday of the Sixth week in Ordinary Time, Year C

Lord, Whatever You Will
By Blessed Rupert Mayer SJ (1876-1945)
The Apostle of Munich

Lord, let happen whatever You will;
and as You will, so will I walk,
help me only to know Your will!
Lord, whenever You will,
then is the time,
today and always

Lord, whatever You will,
I wish to accept,
and whatever You will for me is gain,
enough that I belong to You.
Lord, because You will it, it is right,
and because You will it, I have courage.
My heart rests safely in Your hands!
Amen lord, whatever you will by bl rupert mayer sj- 5 nov 2018 his mem 3 nov.jpg

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Novena to St Anne – Day One – 17 July

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St Augustine Xhao Rong and all the Martyrs of China, Pray for the Church in China, Pray for Us All!

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Through Our Gazing in Adoration

Pope Benedict XVI General Audience, 17 November 2010

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Excerpt from Ven Servant of God John A Hardon’s SJ (1914-2000)

‘Life of St Aloysius’

Saint Aloysius, pray for us.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

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St Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591)

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Devotion to the Sacred Heart By Ven Servant of God John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)

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The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pope Francis

Devotion to the Sacred Heart By Ven Servant of God John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)

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Archbishop Alban Goodier, SJ (1869-1939)

“The Lost Catholic” Part One

1. Introduction No-one who has once realised what it is to be a Catholic can feel anything but sadness for one who has lost the Catholic faith, who once was a Catholic and is now a Catholic no more, no matter what may have been the reason.

2. The Catholic no more

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May Magnificat Poem by Fr Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)

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The Mystery of Love

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Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

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Saint Peter Chrysologus (400-450)

Pope Francis

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St Augustine Xhao Rong and all the Martyrs of China,
Pray for the Church in China, Pray for Us All!

Devotion to the Sacred Heart
By Ven Servant of God John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)

Devotion to the Sacred Heart
By Ven Servant of God John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)

“The Lost Catholic”
Part One

1. Introduction
No-one who has once realised what it is to be a Catholic can feel anything but sadness for one who has lost the Catholic faith, who once was a Catholic and is now a Catholic no more, no matter what may have been the reason.

May Magnificat
Poem by Fr Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)