Category: LENT 2021

Posted in "Follow Me", GOD is LOVE, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, LENT 2021, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on TRUTH, SACRED HEART QUOTES, SACRED HEART REFLECTIONS, SAINT of the DAY, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The SIGN of the CROSS

One Minute Reflection – 18 February – ‘The world, mad, doesn’t listen.’ – Luke 9:22-25

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One Minute Reflection – 18 February – Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Readings Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4, and 6, Luke 9:22-25 and the Memorial of St Theotinius (1082-1162) The First Saint of Portugal

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” – Luke 9:23

REFLECTION – “What joy to live in the Cross of Christ!
Who could complain of suffering?
Only the insensate man who does not adore the Passion of Christ, the Cross of Christ, the Heart of Christ, can in his own griefs, give way to despair… How good it is to live united with the Cross of Christ.
Christ Jesus… teach me that truth, which consists in rejoicing in scorn, injury, degradation; teach me to suffer with that humble, silent joy of the saints; teach me to be gentle towards those who don’t love me or who despise me; teach me that truth, which from the mound of Calvary You reveal to the whole world.
But I know: a very gentle voice within me explains it all; I feel something in me which comes from You and which I don’t know how to put into words; so much mystery is revealed that man cannot apprehend it.
I, Lord, in my way, do understand it.
It is love.
In that is everything.
I know it, Lord, nothing more is needed, nothing more, it is love!
Who shall describe the love of Christ?
Let men, creatures and all things, keep silent, so that we may hear in the stillness, the whisperings of love, meek, patient, immense, infinite, which from the Cross, Jesus offers us with His arms open.
The world, mad, doesn’t listen.” – St Raphael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938) a Spanish Trappist Monk – Spiritual writings 07/04/1938

PRAYER – God of mercy, teach us to live as You have ordained. Help us to follow Your commandments with courage and steadfast devotion. Let our Saviour be our Master, help us to learn from Him, the ways of prayer in silence, the ways of love. Fill us with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that we may learn. Grant blessed Trinity, that by the prayers of St Theotonius, we may grow in holiness. Through Jesus our Lord, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, LENT 2021, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS

Our Morning Offering – 18 February – Jesus, Pierce My Soul with Your Love By St Bonaventur

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Our Morning Offering – 18 February – Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Jesus, Pierce My Soul with Your Love
By St Bonaventure OFM (1221-1274)
The Seraphic Doctor

Jesus, pierce my soul with Your love
so that I may always long for You alone,
the fulfilment of the soul’s deepest desires.
May my heart always hunger and feed on You,
my soul thirst for You,
the source of life,
wisdom, knowledge, light
and all the riches of God.
May I always seek and find You,
think about You,
speak about You
and do everything for Your honour and glory.
Be always my hope,
my peace, my refuge and my help,
in whom my heart is rooted,
so that I may never
be separated from You.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, LENT 2021, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The HOLY NAME, Thomas a Kempis

Ash Wednesday – 17 February- Day One of our Lenten Journey

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Ash Wednesday – 17 February- Day One of our Lenten Journey

Imitating Christ with Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)

In Your Light Lord, we see light

“HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness,” (John 8:12) says the Lord.
By these words of Christ, we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart.
Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.
(Book 1, Ch 1:1)

DISCIPLE: IT IS the mark of a perfect man, Lord, never to let his mind relax in attention to heavenly things and to pass through many cares as though he had none; not as an indolent man does but, having by the certain prerogative of a free mind, no disorderly affection for any created being.

Keep me, I beg You, most merciful God, from the cares of this life, lest I be too much entangled in them.
Keep me from many necessities of the body, lest I be ensnared by pleasure.
Keep me from all darkness of mind, lest I be broken by troubles and overcome.
I do not ask deliverance from those things, which worldly vanity desires so eagerly but, from those miseries which, by the common curse of humankind, oppress the soul of Your servant, in punishment and keep him from entering into the liberty of spirit as often as he would.

My God, Sweetness beyond words, make bitter all the carnal comfort that draws me from love of the eternal and lures me to its evil self, by the sight of some delightful good in the present.
Let it not overcome me, my God.
Let not flesh and blood conquer me.
Let not the world and its brief glory deceive me, nor the devil trip me by his craftiness.
Give me courage to resist, patience to endure and constancy to persevere.
Give me the soothing unction of Your spirit, rather than all the consolations of the world and in place of carnal love, infuse into me the love of Your Name.

Behold, eating, drinking, clothing and other necessities that sustain the body are burdensome to the fervent soul.
Grant me the grace to use such comforts temperately and not to become entangled in too great a desire for them.
It is not lawful to cast them aside completely, for nature must be sustained but Your holy law forbids us to demand superfluous things and things that are simply for pleasure, else the flesh would rebel against the spirit.
In these matters, I beg, let Your hand guide and direct me, so that I may not overstep the law in any way.
(Book 3 Ch 26:1-4)

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, franciscan OFM, LENT 2021, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MERIT, QUOTES on REPARATION/EXPIATION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The SIGN of the CROSS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 17 February – Ash Wednesday

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Quote/s of the Day – 17 February – Ash Wednesday

“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

“He need not fear anything,
nor be ashamed of anything,
who bears the Sign of the Cross
on his brow.”

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

“Keep a clear eye toward life’s end.
Do not forget your purpose
and destiny as God’s creature.
What you are in His sight,
is what you are and nothing more.
Remember that when you leave this earth,
you can take nothing that you have received…
but only what you have given – a full heart
enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”

St Francis of Assisi (c 1181-1226)

“Fasting, when rightly practised,
lifts the mind to God
and mortifies the flesh.
It makes virtue easy to attain
and increases our merits.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2021, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 17 February – ‘Going to your room …’ St Augustine

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One Minute Reflection – 17 February – Ash Wednesday, Readings Joel 2:12-18, Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17, 2 Corinthians 5:20, 6:2, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 and the Memorial of The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order OSM – Formation on 15 August 1233.

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” – Matthew 6:6

REFLECTION – “Going to your room, is returning to your heart. Blest are they who rejoice at returning to their heart and who find nothing bad there…

They are greatly to be pitied who, returning home, have to fear they will be chased away because of bitter fights with their family. But how much unhappier are they, who do not dare return to their own conscience, for fear of being chased away by remorse for their sins. If you want to return to your heart with pleasure, purify it. “Blest are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” (Mt 5,8) Remove from your heart the stains of covetousness, the spots of miserliness, the ulcer of superstition, remove the sacrilege, the evil thoughts, the hatred. I’m not only speaking of those things against your friends but even of those against your enemies. Remove them all, then return to your heart and you will be happy.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Father & Doctor of the Church – 2nd Discourse on Psalm 33, <8; PL 36,312

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, just as the Seven Holy Founders, were chosen to be messengers of Your love and forgiveness, grant we pray, that by their prayers, we too may bcome bearers of Your gracious love. Holy Father, You have given Yourself to us in the Face of Your Divine Son.   You have given Him to us to be our food and our portion.   You have consoled us with His presence on the Altar of Offering and washed us with His blood, day by day, You have sacrificed Him to save us.  We pray for the assistance of our holy Mother, during our journey to the eternal glory of the kingdom. Through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

Posted in LENT 2021, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Thomas a Kempis

Our Morning Offering – 17 February – Ash Wednesday 2021 – You Alone are my All and Every Good

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Our Morning Offering – 17 February – Ash Wednesday 2021

You Alone are my All and Every Good
By Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)

O Lord, my God,
You are my all and every good.
And what am I, that I should presume to address You?
I am the poorest of Your servants and a wretched worm,
far more poor and worthless,
than I, can ever realise or express.
Yet, Lord, remember that I am nothing,
I have nothing and can do nothing.
You alone are good, just and holy,
You can do all things,
fill all things,
bestow all things,
leaving only the wicked empty-handed.
Remember Your mercies, Lord
and fill my heart with Your grace,
since it is Your will,
that none of Your works, should be worthless.
How can I endure this life of sorrows,
unless You strengthen me
with Your mercy and grace?
Do not turn Your face from me,
do not delay Your coming,
nor withdraw Your consolation from me,
lest my soul become like a waterless desert.
Teach me, O Lord, to do Your will,
teach me to live worthily and humbly in Your sight,
for You are my wisdom,
Who know me truly
and who knew me before the world was made
and before I had my being.
Amen

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, LENT 2021, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, STATIONS of the CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 14 February – LENTEN THOUGHTS

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Quote/s of the Day – 14 February – Readings: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46, Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 11, 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1, Mark 1:40-45

LENTEN THOUGHTS

“You can make me clean”

Mark 1:40

“It is the greatest punishment to commit sin,
though we may remain unpunished –
it is the greatest honour and repose to live virtuously,
though we may be punished.”

St John Chrysostom (345-407)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“I have hidden My glory and,
out of My great love for you,
have freely made My richness poor.
For you, I suffered hunger, thirst, fatigue.
I roamed the mountains, ravines and valleys
looking for you, my lost sheep.
I took the name of Lamb, to bring you back,
calling you with My shepherd’s voice.
And I want to give My life for you,
to tear you away from claws of the wolf.
I bear everything so that you may cry out :
“Blessed are You, the one who comes to call Adam.”

St Romanus the Melodist (c 490-c 556)

“But He still follows behind us and counsels us,
that we have despised Him
but He still does not cease to call us.
We turn our backs on His face, so to speak,
when we reject His words,
when we trample His commandments underfoot
but He who sees that we reject Him,
still calls out to us by His commandments
and waits for us by His patience,
stands behind us and calls us back
when we have turned away.”

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Cast Upon Us a Look of Mercy
By Blessed Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)

O Jesus!
Cast upon us a look of mercy,
turn Your Face towards each of us
as You did to Veronica,
not that we may see it with our bodily eyes,
for this we do not deserve
but turn it towards our hearts,
so that, remembering You,
we may ever draw from this fountain of strength,
the vigour necessary to
sustain the combats of life.
Amen

“… Recollect, that heavy Cross
is the weight of our sins.
As it fell upon His neck and shoulders,
it came down with a shock.
Alas! what a sudden, heavy weight
have I laid upon Thee, O Jesus.
… Ah! how great a misery is it
that I have lifted up my hand
against my God.”

St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)