Category: LENT

Posted in DEVOTIO, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, LENT, MORNING Prayers, NOTES to Followers, SPEAKING of .....

Thought for the Day – 12 February – Preparing for Lent – 2 days to go!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 12 February – Preparing for Lent – 2 days to go!

Lent is a season of grace.   The joy of the Risen Lord Jesus depends on how we live out the holy season of Lent.   God’s generosity has no limits but we often fall short in giving God our whole hearts so that He can fill them with His love.

Why not strive to live out this Lent as if it were to be the Last Lent in your lives!

Decide on your Lenten sacrifice.   Lent is a season of solemnity and sacrifice commemorating Jesus’ exodus into the desert;  our sacrifice is a reminder of the sacrifice of self Jesus made to save us from our sins.   Because of this, it is a Lenten tradition to sacrifice something for these 40 days.
Think about all the trivial things in your life that shift your focus away from God.   Do you find that you dedicate more time to sending text messages and posting status updates than to prayer and time with God?   Do you have a habit of eating junk food excessively?   What is something your life could do without?

In addition to sacrificing something, include something special in your Lenten routine.   Giving up chocolate or Facebook for 40 days is great but why not do something positive, too, instead of just removing the negative?   Resolve to be more mindful of others’ needs, spend more time with your family, pray more and forgive old grudges.

Attend Holy Mass as often as possible.   In addition to weekly Sunday service, it’s good to go to Mass and receive the Holy Eucharist frequently, especially during Lent.   Lent begins on Ash Wednesday when we remember that we come from dust and to dust we shall return.

Go to Confession, is a wonderful way to turn away from sin and reunite yourself with Christ.   If you don’t already, try getting into the habit of going to Confession on a regular basis.   The Catholic Church has made it obligatory that all the faithful receive the sacrament of Penance at least once a year and once during the season of Lent, though it’s recommended that you attend Confession at least once a month if possible.

Spend time on prayer and devotions.   Though not required, devotions are a great way to put yourself in the right mindset for Lent.   The Church highly encourages Adoration of God or the veneration of the Blessed Virgin and the saints.   Your local parish probably has regular Eucharistic Adoration, where you can go to sit and engage in deep prayer, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.   To practice veneration, you could say a decade of the Rosary daily, or pray to your patron saint.
Any prayer, so long as it means something to you, is a step in the direction God intended. If you have a prayer you’ve grown up with that speaks to you, resolve to spend more time focusing on what it truly means and how you can embody that prayer in your everyday life.   Perhaps start the Liturgy of the Hours, there are many sites online offering this devotion.

Take time for self-examination and reflection.   Christmas and Easter are times of happiness and joy;  while the preceding and succeeding seasons are cheery and bright, the same cannot be said about Lent.   It is a time of simplicity and solemnity.   It is a time to reflect on your dependence on God’s mercy and your understanding of faith.   Take moments during this time to think about how you embody Christ’s love.

Get ready to Fast and Abstain – think about how you will incorporate these practises into your life.   All Catholics aged fourteen and older are asked to abstain from meat on Lenten Fridays, though fish is allowed to be eaten.   Additionally, Catholics aged 18-59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Lenten Fridays, meaning that only one full meal may be eaten in the day.   Of course, do this however you feel is safe and effective.
Some people should definitely not fast (the pregnant or the elderly, for example).   If fasting isn’t a reasonable option for you, fast from something other than food.   Make sure it’s something that’s a challenge — like your phone or email — so you can feel the sacrifice you’re making.

Promote your Parish almsgiving project – perhaps think about volunteering your help. Ensure that you find a way to fulfil this vital Lenten requirement – it could be as simple as saving your spare change for your Parish charity or to have Masses said for the holy souls!

Make a Lenten calendar.   Such a calendar will help you to focus on the progression of the Lenten season and is a great reminder to see the days ticking away, leaving Sundays out.   It ends the Friday before Easter (the last day being Holy Thursday);   count backwards from there.
Hang the calendar in a common area in your home.   Every day, tick off a box.   As you get closer and closer to Easter, how do you find yourself feeling?   Are your sacrifices becoming more or less difficult to maintain?

A Blessed and Holy Lent to you all!Preparing to clean up - lent - 12 feb 2018lent - preparing our hearts - 30 jan 2018-no 2

 

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes, LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SPEAKING of ....., Thomas a Kempis

Quote/s of the Day – 12 February “Speaking of Lent”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 12 February

“Speaking of Lent”

The Imitation of Christ
“Without the Way, there is no going,
Without the Truth, there is no knowing,
Without the Life, there is no living.”without the way there is no going - thomas a kempis - 9 jan 2018

“Follow Me. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Without the Way, there is no going.
Without the Truth, there is no knowing.
Without the Life, there is no living.
I am the Way, which you must follow,
the Truth, which you must believe,
the Life, for which you must hope.
I am the inviolable Way,
the infallible Truth,
the unending Life.
I am the Way that is straight,
the supreme Truth,
the Life that is true,
the blessed, the uncreated Life.
If you abide in My Way, you shall know the Truth
and the Truth shall make you free
and you shall attain life everlasting.”follow me - the imitation of christ - for lent - 12 feb 2018

“If you wish to enter into life, keep My commandments.
If you will know the truth, believe in Me.
If you will be perfect, sell all.
If you will be My disciple, deny yourself.
If you will possess the blessed life, despise this present life.
If you will be exalted in heaven, humble yourself on earth.
If you wish to reign with Me, carry the Cross with Me.
For only the servants of the Cross find the life of blessedness and of true light.”if you wish to enter into life - imitation chapeter 56 - 12 feb 2018

“MY CHILD, the more you depart from yourself,
the more you will be able to enter into Me.
As the giving up of exterior things, brings interior peace,
so the forsaking of self, unites you to God.
I will have you learn perfect surrender to My will,
without contradiction or complaint.”

“Take courage, brethren, let us go forward together
and Jesus will be with us.
For Jesus’ sake we have taken this cross.
For Jesus’ sake let us persevere with it.
He will be our help as He is also our leader and guide.
Behold, our King goes before us and will fight for us.
Let us follow like men.
Let no man fear any terrors.
Let us be prepared to meet death valiantly in battle.
Let us not suffer our glory to be blemished
by fleeing from the Cross.”

The Imitation of Christ Chapter 56

“If, however, you seek Jesus in all things,
you will surely find Him. “

The Imitation of Christ, Book II, ch. 7my child, the more you depart from yourself, 3 quotes from the Imitation for Lent - 12 Feb 2018

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC

Thought for the Day -30 January – Lent is Coming!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day -30 January – Lent is Coming!

Ash Wednesday is on Valentine’s Day!

On a day typically reserved for chocolates, candies and delicious meals shared with a loved one, the Church asks you to fast, pray and abstain from meat!   Take it as an opportunity to pray with each other and grow deeper in a true and abiding love of God.

Lent lasts 40 days and ends on April 1 (no fools!)

In imitation of Jesus fasting in the desert, the Church instituted a special season of fasting that lasts 40 days.   However, the six Sundays in Lent are not considered part of the official “Lenten fast” (every Sunday is a special remembrance of the Resurrection of Christ).   For this reason, Easter is “technically” 46 days after Ash Wednesday.   This year Easter lands on April 1, but is no joke!

The three pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others.   Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins:  effort at reconciliation with one’s neighbour, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one’s neighbour, the intercession of the saints and the practice of charity ‘which covers a multitude of sins.’”

Lent is a time to practice these essential spiritual practices and clean out our interior house.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics … For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59.   When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal.   The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.

All Fridays in Lent are days of abstinence from meat (unless superseded by a solemnity)

Fridays have always been special days of prayer and penitence in the Church.   Catholic peoples from time immemorial have set apart Friday for special penitential observance by which they gladly suffer with Christ that they may one day be glorified with Him.  This is the heart of the tradition of abstinence from meat on Friday where that tradition has been observed in the holy Catholic Church.

Go Forth – may this be our best Lent ever!lent - preparing our hearts - 30 jan 2018

https://aleteia.org/2018/01/26/lent-is-almost-here-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Thought for the Day – – 29 January – “Speaking of Repentance”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day –  29 January – “Speaking of Repentance”

Catholics have largely deserted the confessional.   Our Communion lines are full and our confessionals are empty.   Unless there has been some radical change in human nature over the past half century, something I see no evidence for, there is something very, very wrong in all this.
Saint Augustine, who once prayed before his conversion, Lord make me chaste but not now, knew the temptation to put off until some theoretical tomorrow repentance.  We know that God will accept our repentance but true repentance means putting away sins we are deeply attached to, or ones we in despair think we cannot summon up the willpower to avoid in future.   Saint Augustine, in Sermon 32 responds to this manana mentality by reminding us that while God has promised us forgiveness He has not promised us endless tomorrows to seek His forgiveness.   As we enter Lent, let us recall these words of the Bishop of Hippo:

I know and as I do every one knows, who has used a little more than ordinary consideration, that no man who has any fear of God omits to reform himself in obedience to His words but he who thinks that he has longer time to live.   This it is which kills so many, while they are saying, Tomorrow, Tomorrow and suddenly the door is shut.   He remains outside with the raven’s croak, because he had not the moaning of the dove.   Tomorrow, Tomorrow- is the raven’s croak.   Moan plaintively as the dove and beat your breast but while you are inflicting blows on your breast, be the better for the beating lest you seem not to beat your conscience but rather with blows to harden it and make an evil conscience more unyielding instead of better.

Moan with no fruitless moaning.   For it may be you are saying to yourself, God has promised me forgiveness, whenever I reform myself I am secure – I read the divine Scripture, In the day that the wicked man turns away from his wickedness and does that which is lawful and right, I will forget all his iniquities.   I am secure then, whenever I reform myself, God will give me pardon for my evil deeds.

What can I say to this? Shall I lift up my voice against God?   Shall I say to God, Do not give him pardon?   Shall I say, this is not written, God has not promised this?   If I should say ought of this, I should say falsely. You speak well and truly;  God has promised pardon on your amendment, I cannot deny it but tell me, I pray you, see, I consent, I grant, I acknowledge that God has promised you pardon but who has promised you a tomorrow?

Where you read to me that you shall receive pardon, if you reform yourself, there read to me how long you have to live.   Thou dost confess, I cannot read it there.

You know not then how long you have to live.

Reform yourself and so be always ready.  Be not afraid of the last day, as a thief, who will break up your house as you sleep but awake and reform yourself today.

Why do you put it off till tomorrow?   If your life is to be a long one, let it be both long and good.   No one puts off a good dinner because it is to be a long one and do you wish to have a long evil life?   Surely if it is to be long, it will be all the better if it be good;  if it is to be short, it is well that its good be as long as possible.

But men neglect their life to such a degree, as that they are unwilling to have anything bad, except it.   You buy a farm and you look out for a good one;  you wish to marry a wife, you choose a good one;  you wish for the birth of children and you long for good ones;  you bargain for shoes and you do not wish for bad ones;  and yet a bad life you do love. How has your life offended you, that you are willing to have it only bad, that amid all your good things, you should yourself alone be evil?reform yourself - st augustine - 29 jan 2018

St Augustine  (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church, pray for us and thank you!st augustine pray for us

Posted in HOLY WEEK, LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Quote of the Day – 12 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 12 April

“The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.”

St. John of the Cross

THE RD IS NARROW-ST JOHN OF THE CROSS

Posted in HOLY WEEK, LENT, MORNING Prayers

Holy Week – Tuesday 11 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Holy Week – Tuesday 11 April 2017

God of such unwavering love,
how do I “celebrate”
the passion and death of Jesus?
I often want to look the other way
and not watch,
not stay with Jesus in His suffering.
Give me the strength
to see His love with honesty and compassion
and to feel deeply
your own forgiveness and mercy for me.
Help me to understand
how to “celebrate” this week.
I want be able to bring
my weaknesses and imperfections with me
as I journey with Jesus this week,
totally aware of His love, His suffering for my sins.

APRIL 11

The Ninth Station:
Jesus Falls the Third Time

STATION 9

My Jesus, even with the help of Simon You fell a third time.    Were You telling me that there may be times in my life that I will fall again and again despite the help of friends and loved ones?   There are times when the crosses You permit in my life are more than I can bear.   It is as if all the sufferings of a life time are suddenly compressed into the present moment and it is more than I can stand.
Though it grieves my heart to see You so weak and helpless, it is a comfort to my soul to know that you understand my sufferings from Your own experience.    Your love for me made You want to experience every kind of pain just so I could have someone to look to for example and courage.

When I cry out from the depths of my soul, “This suffering is more than I can bear,” do You whisper, “Yes, I understand”?    When I am discouraged after many falls, do you say in my innermost being, “Keep going, I know how hard it is to rise”?

There are many people who are sorely tried in body and soul with alcohol and drug weaknesses who try and try and fall again and again.    Through the humiliation of this third fall, give them the courage and perseverance to take up their cross and follow You.
Amen

The Tenth Station:
Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

ST 10

It seems that every step to Calvary brought You fresh humiliation, my Jesus.    How Your sensitive nature recoiled at being stripped before a crowd of people.    You desired to leave this life as You entered it – completely detached from all the comforts of this world. You want me to know without a doubt that You loved me with an unselfish love.    Your love for me caused You nothing but pain and sorrow.    You gave everything and received nothing in return.    Why do I find it so hard to be detached?

In Your loving mind, dear Jesus, did You look up to the Father as You stood there on that windy hill, shivering from cold and shame and trembling from fear and ask Him to have mercy on those who would violate their purity and make love a mockery?    Did you ask forgiveness for those whose greed would make them lie, cheat and steal for a few pieces of cold silver?

Forgive us all, dear Jesus. Look upon the world with pity, for mankind has lost its way and the principles of this world make lust a fun game and luxury a necessity. Detachment has become merely another hardship of the poor and obedience the fault of the weak.    Have mercy on us and grant the people of this day the courage to see and know themselves and the light to change.
Amen

Stations by Mother Angelica

Posted in HOLY WEEK, LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 11 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 11 April

“If you really want to love Jesus,
first learn to suffer
because suffering teaches you to love.”

St. Gemma Galgani

if you really want to love Jesus - st gemma galgani

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes, HOLY WEEK, LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

One Minute Reflection – 11 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 11 April

I know my sheep and my sheep know me…..
for these sheep I will give my life……John 10:14-15

REFLECTION – “Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is at the same time light and love.
That is to say, He is the truth in charity.”…………..Servant of God Pope Pius XII
“If I saw the gates of Hell open and I stood on the brink of the abyss,
I should not despair, I should not lose hope of mercy because I should trust in You, my God.”………………..St Gemma Galgani (Memorial today 11 April)

PRAYER – Lord Jesus, let me be attached to You in truth, love and trust. Grant that I may always follow You as my Shepherd amid the perils and trails of this life. St Gemma Galgani pray for us, amen.

JOHN 10-14-15THE GOOD SHEPHERD-PIUS III should trust in you my God-St Gemma GalganiST GEMMA -PRAY FOR US

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, GOOD FRIDAY, Holy Name PRAYERS, HOLY WEEK, LENT, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 11 April – Hail, Sweet Jesus! Prayer to Christ in His Passion and Death

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 11 April

 

Hail, Sweet Jesus!
Prayer to Christ
in His Passion and Death
By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

Hail, sweet Jesus!
Praise, honour and glory be to Thee, O Christ,
Who, of Thou own accord, embraced death,
and recommending Thyself to Thy heavenly Father,
bowing down Thy venerable Head,
did yield up Thy Spirit.
Truly thus giving up Thy life for Thy sheep,
Thou hast shown Thyself, to be the Good Shepherd.
Thou died, O Only-begotten Son of God.
Thou died, O my beloved Saviour,
that I might live forever.
O how great hope,
how great confidence have
I reposed in Thy Death and Thy Blood!
I glorify and praise Thy Holy Name,
acknowledging my infinite obligations to Thee.
O good Jesus,
by Thy bitter Death and Passion,
give me grace and pardon.
Give unto the faithful departed,
rest and life everlasting.
Amen

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers

Holy Week – Monday 10 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Let me receive Your forgiveness and mercy.
The second Servant song shapes our reflection today
as we watch that amazing dinner scene on Tuesday of this passion week.

We experience the pain of His knowing
that He will be betrayed and denied.
Yet, the hour He is about to face is the hour of His Glory.
And He promises that where He is going, we will surely follow.

Our desire is to celebrate the gift being offered us.

It is too little, he says,
  for you to be my servant,
  to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
  and restore the survivors of Israel.
I will make you a light to the nations,
  that my salvation may reach
  to the ends of the earth.
Isaiah 49

APRIL 10 STATIONS 7&8

The Seventh Station:
Jesus Falls A Second Time

st7

My Jesus, one of the beautiful qualities the people admired in You was Your strength in time of ridicule – Your ability to rise above the occasion.    But now, You fall a second time – apparently conquered by the pain of the Cross.    People who judged You by appearances made a terrible mistake.    What looked like weakness was unparalleled strength!

I often judge by appearances and how wrong I am most of the time.    The world judges entirely by this fraudulent method of discerning.    It looks down upon those who apparently have given their best and are now in need.    It judges the poor as failures, the sick as useless and the aged as a burden.    How wrong that kind of judgment is in the light of your second fall!    Your greatest moment was Your weakest one.    Your greatest triumph was in failure.    Your greatest act of love was in desolation.    Your greatest show of power was in that utter lack of strength that threw You to the ground.

Weak and powerful Jesus, give me the grace to see beyond what is visible and be more aware of Your Wisdom in the midst of weakness.    Give the aged, sick, handicapped, retarded, deaf and blind the fruit of joy so they may ever be aware of the Father’s gift and the vast difference between what the world sees and what the Father sees that they may glory in their weakness so the power of God may be manifest.
Amen

The Eighth Station:
Jesus Speaks to the Holy Women

st 8

My Jesus, I am amazed at Your compassion for others in Your time of need.    When I suffer, I have a tendency to think only of myself but You forgot Yourself completely. When You saw the holy women weeping over Your torments, You consoled them and taught them to look deeper into Your Passion.    You wanted them to understand that the real evil to cry over was the rejection You suffered from the Chosen people – a people set apart from every other nation, who refused to accept God’s Son.
The Act of Redemption would go on and no one would ever be able to take away Your dignity as Son of God but the evil, greed, jealousy and ambition in the hearts of those who should have recognised You was the issue to grieve over.    To be so close to God made man and miss Him completely was the real crime.

My Jesus, I fear I do the same when I strain gnats and then swallow camels – when I take out the splinter in my brother’s eye and forget the beam in my own.    It is such a gift – this gift of faith.    It is such a sublime grace to possess Your own Spirit.    Why haven’t I advanced in holiness of life?    I miss the many disguises you take upon Yourself and see only people, circumstances and human events, not the loving hand of the Father guiding all things.    Help all those who are discouraged, sick, lonely and old to recognise Your Presence in their midst.
Amen

Stations by Mother Angelica

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Quote of the Day – 10 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 10 April

“As they were looking on, so we too,
gaze on His wounds as He hangs.
We see His blood as He dies.
We see the price offered by the redeemer,
touch the scars of His resurrection.
He bows His head, as if to kiss you.
His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love to you.
His arms are extended that He may embrace you.
His whole body is displayed for Your redemption.
Ponder how great these things are.
Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind:
as He was once fixed to the Cross
in every part of His body for you,
so He may now be fixed in every part of your soul!”

St. Augustine

AS THEY WERE LOOKING ON SO WE TOO GAZE ON HIS WOUNDS-ST AUGUSTINE

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 10 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 10 April

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit……Luke 23:45-46

REFLECTION – “He died, but He vanquished death; in Himself He put an end to what we feared;  He took it upon Himself and He vanquished it, as a mighty hunter He captured and slew the lion.
Where is death? Seek it in Christ, for it exists no longer; but it did exist and now it is dead.
O life, O death of death!  Be of good heart; it will die in us, also.   What has taken place in our head will take place in His members; death will die in us also.   But when?   At the end of the world, at the resurrection of the dead in which we believe and concerning which we do not doubt.”…………….St Augustine (Sermon 233:3-4)

PRAYER – God of love, my prayer is simple:  Your son, Jesus, suffered and died for me.
I know only that I cannot have real strength unless I rely on You.   I cannot feel protected from my many weaknesses until I turn to You for forgiveness and your unalterable love. Help me to share this strength, protection and love with others.   St Fulbert of Chartres you worked your whole life to bring the truth and love of God to all, please pray for us, amen.

LUKE 23-45-46he died but he vanquished death-st augustineST FULBERTPRAY FOR US

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers

Thought for the Day – Passion or Palm Sunday – 9 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – Passion or Palm Sunday – 9 April 2017 – The Legend of the Vatican Palms

The obelisk in St. Peter’s Square was originally erected in Heliopolis, Egypt sometime between 2494 and 2345 BC. After 63 BC it was moved to Alexandria, then Caligula moved it to Rome in 37 AD.    It moved to its current location in 1586.    It’s the only obelisk in Rome that hasn’t fallen since antiquity.    It used to be topped with a globe that was rumoured to contain Caesar’s ashes.    That turned out to be wrong and today it’s topped with a reliquary that contains a piece of the True Cross.

tumblr_nm024z3tUt1qzftfio3_1280

That much is true… this a legend I heard in Rome about what allegedly happened when the architect/engineer Domenico Fontana was re-erecting the obelisk for the last time in 1586.    Fontana gathered 900 men and 140 horses (as shown in the engraving above). Pope Sixtus V forbid anyone to speak while the obelisk was raised, so no one would break their concentration.    In silence, the massive team began to lift it.    But one sailor noticed that the ropes were smoking from the friction.    Against the pope’s orders he yelled, “Water on the ropes!”

tumblr_nm024z3tUt1qzftfio2_1280
Fortunately, they heeded his advice.    The water cooled down the ropes and the obelisk went up successfully.    However the sailor was still hauled in front of the pope for breaking his decree.    But instead of punishing him, the pope thanked him and offered him a reward.    The sailor asked that his family’s farm in Bordighera supply the palms for Palm Sunday every year, as long as they owned the land.

tumblr_nm024z3tUt1qzftfio4_1280

To this day, the Vatican sources their Palm Sunday fronds from Bordighera.    That much is true too.

The thought is this – “speak out when you know the truth be not afraid!”

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord – 9 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord – 9 April 2017

This Sunday we hold palm branches in our hands,
and wave them to greet our Lord’s entry into the city of our salvation.
Last year’s palms were burned to form the ashes
that marked our foreheads to begin this Lenten journey.
We can place these palm branches – perhaps from each member of the family –
in a special place in our home (maybe cutting a small piece and putting it some place where I work).

Each day this week they can represent our celebration of His love for me.
That symbol can say so many words –
all that I am about to celebrate and accept as love for me,
and all the entry into Jerusalem experiences in my life.

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory!
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!

STATIONS-PALM SUNDAY

The Fifth Station:
Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

st5

My Jesus, Your tormentors enlisted a Simon of Cyrene to help You carry Your cross.   Your humility is beyond my comprehension.   Your power upheld the whole universe and yet You permit one of Your creatures to help You carry a cross.   I imagine Simon was reluctant to take part in Your shame.   He had no idea that all who watched and jeered at him would pass into oblivion while his name would go down in history and eternity as the one who helped his God in need.   Is it not so with me, dear Jesus?   Even when I reluctantly carry my cross as Simon did, it benefits my soul.

If I keep my eyes on You and watch how You suffered, I will be able to bear my cross with greater fortitude.   Were you trying to tell all those who suffer from prejudice to have courage?   Was Simon a symbol of all those who are hated because of race, coloUr and creed?

Simon wondered as he took those beams upon his shoulders, why he was chosen for such a heavy burden and now he knows.   Help me Jesus, to trust your loving Providence as you permit suffering to weave itself in and out of my life.   Make me understand that You looked at it and held it fondly before You passed it on to me.   You watch me and give me strength just as You did Simon.   When I enter Your Kingdom, I shall know as he knows, what marvels Your Cross has wrought in my soul.
Amen

The Sixth Station:
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

st6

My Jesus, where were all the hundreds of peoples whose bodies and souls were healed by you?   Where were they when You needed someone to give You the least sign of comfort?   Ingratitude must have borne down upon Your heart and made the cross nearly impossible to carry.   There are times I too feel all my efforts for Your Kingdom are futile and end in nothingness.   Did your eyes roam through the crowd for the comfort of just one individual – one sign of pity – one sign of grief?

My heart thrills with a sad joy when I think of one woman, breaking away from fear and human respect and offering.   You her thin veil to wipe Your bleeding Face.   Your loving heart, ever watching for the least sign of love, imprinted the Image of your torn Face upon it! How can You forget Yourself so completely and reward such a small act of kindness?

I must admit, I have been among those who were afraid to know You rather than like Veronica.   She did not care if the whole world knew she loved You.   Heartbroken Jesus, give me that quality of the soul so necessary to witness to spread Your Word – to tell all people of Your love for them.   Send many into Your Vineyard so the people of all nations may receive the Good News.   Imprint Your Divine Image upon my soul and let the thin veil of my human nature bear a perfect resemblance to your loving Spirit.
Amen

Stations of the Cross by Mother Angelica

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers

Quote of the Day – 9 April – Palm Sunday 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 9 April – Palm Sunday 2017

“Crowd, celebration, praise, blessing, peace –
it is a climate of joy that is being experienced.
Jesus has reawakened many hopes of the heart,
above all in the humble people, the simple, poor,
forgotten, those who do not count in the eyes of the world.
He understood human misery,
He manifested the face of God’s mercy
and deigned to heal the body and soul. This is Jesus.
This is His heart that looks upon all of us,
that looks upon all of our afflictions, our sins.
Jesus’ love is great.
And so he enters into Jerusalem with this love
and looks upon all of us. It is a beautiful scene,-
full of light—the light of Jesus’ love,
the light of His heart—of joy, of celebrating.”

(Pope Francis, Palm Sunday Homily, 2013)

POPE FRANCIS PALM SUNDAY QUOTE 2013

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Fifth Week – Saturday 8 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Fifth Week – Saturday 8 April 2017

Now we rejoice in Your great love.
Our journey has brought us here.
It is as though we too, are gathering in Jerusalem
to celebrate our Passover week.
We are ready to enter into the Passion drama
and to celebrate the Paschal Mystery,
with mind and heart renewed.

We are ready to rejoice that the death of Jesus is “for me”
and that it is the ultimate victory over sin and death –
my sin and my death.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS SAT 8 APRIL

Christ was sacrificed so that he could gather together
the scattered children of God.
John 11:52

Collect:
O God, who have made all those reborn in Christ
a chosen race and a royal priesthood,
grant us, we pray, the grace to will and to do what you command,
that the people called to eternal life
may be one in the faith of their hearts
and the homage of their deeds.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with yYu in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever

st3


The Third Station:
Jesus Falls the First Time

My Jesus, it seems to me, that as God, You would have carried Your cross without faltering but You did not.    You fell beneath it’s weight to show me You understand when I fall.    Is it pride that makes me want to shine even in pain?    You were not ashamed to fall- to admit the cross was heavy.    There are those in world whom my pride will not tolerate as I expect everyone to be strong, yet I am weak.    I am ashamed to admit failure in anything.

If the Father permits failure in my life just as He permitted You to fall, then I must know there is good in that failure which my mind will never comprehend.    I must not concentrate on the eyes of others as they rest upon me in my falls.    Rather, I must reach up to touch that invisible hand and drink in that invisible strength ever at my side.

Weak Jesus, help all men who try so hard to be good but whose nature is constantly opposed to them walking straight and tall down the narrow road of life.    Raise their heads to see the glory that is to come rather than the misery of the present moment.

Your love for me gave You strength to rise from Your fall.    Look upon all those whom the world considers unprofitable servants and give them the courage to be more concerned as to how they stand before You, rather than their fellowmen.
Amen

st4


The Fourth Station:
Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother

My Jesus, it was a great sorrow to realize Your pain caused Mary so much grief. As Redeemer, You wanted her to share in Your pain for mankind.    When You glanced at each other in unutterable suffering, what gave you both the courage to carry on without the least alleviation – without anger at such injustice?

It seems as if You desired to suffer every possible pain to give me an example of how to suffer when my time comes.    What a humiliation for You when Your mother saw you in such a pitiable state – weak – helpless – at the mercy of sinful men – holiness exposed to evil in all hideousness.

Did every moment of that short encounter seem like an eternity?    As I see so much suffering in the world, there are times I think it is all hopeless.    There is an element of lethargy in my prayers for mankind that says “I’ll pray, but what good will it do?    The sick grow sicker and the hungry starve. ” I think of that glance between You and Mary – the glance that said, “Let us give this misery to the Father for the salvation of souls. The Father’s power takes our pain and frustration and renews souls, saves them for a new life – a life of eternal joy, eternal happiness.    It is worth it all.”    Give perseverance to the sick so they can carry the cross of frustration and agony with love and resignation for the salvation of others.
Amen

Stations of the Cross by Mother Angelica

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Fifth Week – Friday 7 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Set us free.
On this Friday before Good Friday,
it might be most appropriate to make the Stations.
Our desire is becoming more focused and more intense.
After our weeks of reflection, we know that our selfishness has placed us in ruts,
has made us slaves to some very unhappy and sometimes death-dealing patterns.
The celebration of our freedom and healing is close at hand.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS TEMPLATE

Jesus carried our sins in his own body on the cross
so that we could die to sin and live in holiness;
by his wounds we have been healed.
The Communion Antiphon – 1 Peter 2:24

st1

1st Station
The First Station:
Jesus Is Condemned To Death

My Jesus, the world still has You on trial.   It keeps asking who You are and why You make the demands You make.   It asks over and over the question, If You are God’s Son, why do You permit the world to be in the state it is in?   Why are You so silent?

Though the arrogance of the world angers me, I must admit that silently, in the depths of my soul, I too have these questions. Your humility frustrates me and makes me uncomfortable.   Your strength before Pilate as You drank deeply from the power of the Father, gives me the answer to my question – The Father’s Will.   The Father permits many sufferings in my life but it is all for my good.   If only I too could be silent in the face of worldly prudence – steadfast in the faith when all seems lost – calm when accused unjustly – free from tyranny of human respect – ready to do the Father’s Will no matter how difficult.

Silent Jesus, give us all the graces we need to stand tall in the face of the ridicule of the world.   Give the poor the strength not to succumb to their privation but to be ever aware of their dignity as sons of God.  Grant that we might not bend to the crippling disease of worldly glory but be willing to be deprived of all things rather than lose Your friendship.   My Jesus, though we are accused daily of being fools, let the vision of Quiet Dignity standing before Monstrous Injustice, give us all the courage to be Your followers.
Amen

st2


The Second Station:
Jesus Carries His Cross

How could any human impose such a burden upon Your torn and bleeding body, Lord Jesus?   Each movement of the cross drove the thorns deeper into Your Head.   How did You keep the hatred from welling up in Your Heart?   How did the injustice of it all not ruffle your peace?  The Father’s Will was hard on You – Why do I complain when it is hard on me?

I see injustice and am frustrated and when my plans to alleviate it seems futile, I despair.   When I see those burdened with poverty suffer ever more and cross is added to cross my heart is far from serene. I utterly fail to see the dignity of the cross as it is carried with love. I would so much rather be without it.

My worldly concept is that suffering, like food, should be shared equally.  How ridiculous I am, dear Lord.   Just as we do not all need the same amount of material food, neither do we need the same amount of spiritual food and that is what the cross is in my life, isn’t it – spiritual food proportional to my needs.
Amen

Stations of the Cross by Mother Angelica

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, Uncategorized

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Fifth Week – 6 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Fifth Week – 6 April 2017

Come to us, free us, help us and guide us.
We pray more intensely now, just a week before Holy Thursday.
We desire more and more that we might be free.
Sorrow leads to profound gratitude,
when we experience the depth of unconditional love offered us.
The gratitude of a loved sinner leads to great generosity.

Christ is the mediator of a new covenant so that since he has died,
those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised to them.
The Entrance Antiphon – Hebrews 9:15

What an exquisitely beautiful things is this loving, painstaking Providence of God!
A fatherly care that can turn even our sins to good use!
I think what hurts us most in our sins and our mistakes is the awful feelings of guilt they bring – and the terrible sense of waste.
“If only I could do it all over again!” we say with remorse. “If only I could undo the harm I’ve done, soothe the feelings I’ve hurt, straighten out the mess I’ve made!”Lord, what a joy to know that through Your Death and Resurrection, through Your Father’s loving care, the harm is already undone!
That once we are sorry for our sins, there is never any waste.
All, all is turned to good.
Your wisdom can straighten what my sins have entangled, through the love You gave us in sending Your only Son to die.
Your Providence can take the broken pieces of my life and mend them – and make me into a saint!
I look forward now, my Lord, not back.
Take me – I abandon myself to a new life in Him who will die for my sins but will rise again!

From Meditations on St Paul by Fr James E Sullivan M.S.

LENT-6 APRIL

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers

LENTEN REFLECTION – Wednesday of the Fifth Week – 5 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

LENTEN REFLECTION – Wednesday of the Fifth Week – 5 April 2017

The Cross of Christ and Simon of Cyrene

And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. – Mark 15:21

Our blessed Lord falls again and again beneath the weight of the cross, until it becomes evident to the soldiers that He will never be able to drag it to the place of execution.   They accordingly lay hold of a heathen passing by, Simon the Cyrenian and him they compel to carry the cross.    How little Simon knew the happiness in store for him when those rough soldiers seize him and force him to the ignominious task of carrying for a public criminal the instrument of his punishment!    How often we too fail to recognise in the sudden disagreeables and contradictions we encounter God’s wonderful designs of mercy to us!

Simon at first bore the cross surlily and reluctantly, chafing under the hardship inflicted on him.    But as he carries it, somehow an unaccountable change comes over him.    It has the virtue to change his heart and to make of him a devoted follower of the Crucified, one of the pillars of the Apostolic Church.    Thus many a cross that we carry reluctantly turns out to be really the means of our sanctification and salvation.

Before Simon arrives at the summit of Calvary, the cross has endeared itself to him.    He has recognised that to carry it for Jesus was no hardship but a privilege and a happiness. So too the saints learn to love the cross, to embrace it, to seek it, to carry it with all joy, to be almost discontented if they are without it.    This is the very height of peace and felicity;  for those who find their joy in the cross find everywhere around them cause for rejoicing.

– from The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ: Short Meditations for Lent, by Father Richard Frederick Clark, S.J.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST AND SIMON OF CYRENE

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

LENTEN REFLECTION – Tuesday of the Fifth Week – 4 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

LENTEN REFLECTION – Tuesday of the Fifth Week – 4 April 2017

Look at the cross of Christ – Blessed John Henry Newman

“Look around, and see what the world presents of high and low.    Go to the court of princes.    See the treasure and skill of all nations brought together to honour a child of man.    Observe the prostration of the many before the few.    Consider the form and ceremonial, the pomp, the state, the circumstance and the vainglory.    Do you wish to know the worth of it all? Look at the cross of Christ.

Go to the political world.    See nation jealous of nation, trade rivalling trade, armies and fleets matched against each other.    Survey the various ranks of the community, its parties and their contests, the strivings of the ambitious, the intrigues of the crafty.    What is the end of all this turmoil – the grave!    What is the measure – the cross.

Go, again, to the world of intellect and science.    Consider the wonderful discoveries which the human mind is making, the variety of arts to which its discoveries give rise, the all but miracles by which it shows its power.    And next, the pride and confidence of reason and the absorbing devotion of thought to transitory objects, which is the consequence.    Would you form a right judgment of all this?    Look at the cross.

Again, look at misery, look at poverty and destitution, look at oppression and captivity. Go where food is scanty, and lodging unhealthy.    Consider pain and suffering, diseases long or violent, all that is frightful and revolting.   Would you know how to rate all these? Gaze upon the cross.

Thus in the cross, and Him who hung upon it, all things meet.    All things subserve it, all things need it.    It is their centre and their interpretation.    For He was lifted up upon it, that He might draw all peoples and all things to himself.

………………..And so, too, as regards this world, with all its enjoyments, yet disappointments, let us not trust it.    Let us not give our hearts to it.    Let us not begin with it.    Let us begin with faith.    Let us begin with Christ.    Let us begin with His cross and the humiliation to which it leads.    Let us first be drawn to Him who is lifted up, that so He may, with Himself, freely give us all things.    Let us “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” and then all those things of this world “will be added to us.”

They alone are able truly to enjoy this world, who begin with the world unseen.    They alone enjoy it, who have first abstained from it.    They alone can truly feast, who have first fasted.    They alone are able to use the world, who have learned not to abuse it. They alone inherit it, who take it as a shadow of the world to come and who for that world to come relinquish it.”

LOOK AT THE CROSS OF CHRIST - NEWMAN

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Fifth Week – Monday 3 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Fifth Week – Monday 3 April 2017

ALMSGIVING

Excerpt from a Homily of St John Chrysostum Doctor and Father of the Church (347-407

Nay, if you desire to honour the sacrifice, offer your soul, for which also it was slain; cause that to become golden;  but if that remain worse than lead or potter’s clay, while the vessel is of gold, what is the profit?

Let not this therefore be our aim, to offer golden vessels only but to do so from honest earnings likewise.   For these are of the sort that is more precious even than gold, these that are without injuriousness.   For the church is not a gold foundry nor a workshop for silver but an assembly of angels.   Wherefore it is souls which we require, since in fact God accepts these for the souls’ sake.

That table at that time was not of silver nor that cup of gold, out of which Christ gave His disciples His own blood; but precious was everything there….

Would you do honour to Christ’s body? Neglect Him not when naked; do not while here you honour Him with silken garments, neglect Him perishing without of cold and nakedness.   For He that said, This is my body, and by His word confirmed the fact, This same said, You saw me an hungered, and fed me not; and, Inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me. Matthew 25:42, 45   For this indeed needs not coverings, but a pure soul; but that requires much attention.

Let us learn therefore to be strict in life and to honour Christ as He Himself desires.   For to Him who is honoured that honour is most pleasing, which it is His own will to have, not that which we account best.   Since Peter too thought to honour Him by forbidding Him to wash his feet but his doing so was not an honour, but the contrary.

Even so do thou honour Him with this honour, which He ordained, spending your wealth on poor people.   Since God has no need at all of golden vessels but of golden souls.

And these things I say, not forbidding such offerings to be provided;  but requiring you, together with them and before them, to give alms………..

For what is the profit, when His table indeed is full of golden cups but He perishes with hunger?   First fill Him, being an hungered and then abundantly deck out His table also. Do you make Him a cup of gold, while you give Him not a cup of cold water?   And what is the profit?   Do you furnish His table with cloths bespangled with gold, while to Himself you afford not even the necessary covering?   And what good comes of it?   For tell me, should you see one at a loss for necessary food and omit appeasing his hunger, while you first overlaid his table with silver;  would He indeed thank you and not rather be indignant?   What, again, if seeing one wrapped in rags and stiff with cold, you should neglect giving him a garment and build golden columns, saying, thou were doing it to His honour, would He not say that thou were mocking and account it an insult and that the most extreme?

Let this then be your thought with regard to Christ also, when He is going about a wanderer and a stranger, needing a roof to cover Him;   and thou, neglecting to receive Him, deckest out a pavement, and walls, and capitals of columns and hangest up silver chains by means of lamps but Himself bound in prison you will not even look upon.

ALMSGIVING-STJOHNCHRYSOSTUM LENT MON 3 APRIL

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, LENT, MORNING Prayers

Our Morning Offering – 3 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 3 April

Lord Jesus, think on me,
and purge away my sin.
From earth-born passions set me free,
and make me pure within.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
amid the battle’s strife.
In all my pain and misery
be Thou my health and life.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
nor let me go astray.
Through darkness and perplexity
point Thou the heavenly way.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
that, when this life is past,
I may the eternal brightness see,
and share Thy joy at last.

By Bishop Synesius of Cyrene (370-430)

From the Breviary – Lent

LORD JESUS THINK ON ME

 

Posted in LENT

Lenten Reflection – 2 April 2017 – The Eucharist, Our Sanctification Fr Raniero Cantalamessa

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 2 April 2017

The Eucharist, Our Sanctification
Fr Raniero Cantalamessa

“We must start practising what we have said as soon as we come out from Mass.   We must really make the effort, each one within his or her own limits, to offer our “bodies” to our brethren and that is to say, our time, energy and attention–in a word, our lives. When Jesus had pronounced the words:  “Take… this is my body; take… this is my blood,”    He didn’t allow much time to pass before doing what He had promised: a few hours later He gave His life and blood on the Cross.    Otherwise, it’s all just empty words, lies.    Therefore, after saying to our brothers and sisters: “Take, eat,” we must really allow ourselves to be “eaten” and especially by those who do not act with the gentleness and kindness we expect.    Jesus said: “What merit have you got if you love only those that love you, greet only those that greet you, invite only those that invite you? Everyone does this” (cf. Matt 5:46-47).    On his way to Rome where he was to die a martyr, St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote: “I am the grain of Christ; that I may be ground by the teeth of wild beasts to become pure bread for the Lord.”   If we think about it, each one of us will realise that there are sharp teeth grinding us: criticisms, contrasts, hidden or open oppositions, different ideas in those surrounding us, differences in character.   We should even be grateful to those who help us like this.   They are of infinitely more benefit to us than those who approve or flatter us.   In another letter, the same holy martyr wrote: “Those that praise me, scourge me.”

(2 images to choose from)

THE EUCHARIST OUR SANCTIFICATION - FR RANEIRO CANTALAMESSA LENT 2017THE EUCHARIST OUR SANCTIFICATION - FR RANEIRO CANTALAMESSA LENT 2017.jpg PURPLE

Posted in LENT

3rd Sunday of Lent (A): JESUS AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN. Summary vid + full text.

Posted on by AnaStpaul
Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Second Week- Saturday 18 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Second Week- Saturday 18 March
St Cyril of Jerusalem,  (315-386)
Father and Doctor of the Church

The symbolic meaning of the sacrament of baptism as sharing in Christ’s passion according to Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop of Jerusalem in the middle of the fourth century and one of the most important sources we have for how the church celebrated the sacraments during that era.  In his Jerusalem Catechesis from which this excerpt comes, St. Cyril instructs new Christians in the days immediately before and after their initiation into the life of the Church at the Easter Vigil.

You were led down to the font of holy baptism just as Christ was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb which is before your eyes.   Each of you was asked, “Do you believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit?”   You made the profession of faith that brings salvation, you were plunged into the water and three times you rose again.   This symbolized the three days Christ spent in the tomb.

As our Saviour spent three days and three nights in the depths of the earth, so your first rising from the water represented the first day and your first immersion represented the first night.   At night a man cannot see but in the day he walks in the light.   So when you were immersed in the water it was like night for you and you could not see but when you rose again it was like coming into broad daylight.   In the same instant you died and were born again; the saving water was both your tomb and your mother.

SAT 18 MARCH LENTEN REFLECTION-ST CYRIL ON BAPTISM

 

Solomon’s phrase in another context is very apposite here.   He spoke of a time to give birth and a time to die.   For you, however, it was the reverse: a time to die and a time to be born, although in fact both events took place at the same time and your birth was simultaneous with your death.

This is something amazing and unheard of!    It was not we who actually died, were buried and rose again.   We only did these things symbolically but we have been saved in actual fact.   It is Christ who was crucified, who was buried and who rose again and all this has been attributed to us.   We share in His sufferings symbolically and gain salvation in reality.   What boundless love for men!   Christ’s undefiled hands were pierced by the nails; he suffered the pain.   I experience no pain, no anguish, yet by the share that I have in his sufferings he freely grants me salvation.

Let no one imagine that baptism consists only in the forgiveness of sins and in the grace of adoption.   Our baptism is not like the baptism of John, which conferred only the forgiveness of sins.   We know perfectly well that baptism, besides washing away our sins and bringing us the gift of the Holy Spirit, is a symbol of the sufferings of Christ.   This is why Paul exclaims: Do you not know that when we were baptised into Christ Jesus we were, by that very action, sharing in his death?    By baptism we went with him into the tomb.

These words of St. Cyril of Jerusalem on the symbolic meaning of the sacrament of baptism, a symbol of Christ’s passion, are read in the Roman Catholic liturgy’s Office of Readings on the Thursday in the Octave of Easter (Cat. 21 Mystagogica 3, 1-3 PG 33. 1087-1091) with the accompanying biblical reading of I Peter 3:1-17.

 

 

 

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Our Morning Offering – 18 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 18 March

The Elder Brother’s Prayer

Teach me, my Lord,
to be sweet and gentle in all the events of life,
in disappointments,
in the thoughtlessness of those I trusted,
in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied.
Let me put myself aside,
to think of the happiness of others,
to hide my little pains and heartaches,
so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.
Teach me to profit by the suffering
that comes across my path.
Let me so use it that it may make me
patient, not irritable.
That it may make me broad in my forgiveness,
not narrow, haughty and overbearing.
May no one be less good
for having come within my influence.
No one less pure, less true, less kind,
less noble for having been a fellow traveler
in our journey toward Eternal Life.
As I go my rounds from one distraction to another,
let me whisper from time to time,
a word of love to Thee.
May my life be lived in the supernatural,
full of power for good,
and strong in its purpose of sanctity.
Amen

PRODIGAL ELDER BROTHER'S PRAYER

 

Posted in LENT, SAINT of the DAY

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Second Week- Friday 17 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Second Week- Friday 17 March

LENTEN REFLECTION FRIDAY 17 MARCH

On the Memorial of St Patrick, there can be few better reflections than the complete Prayer/Hymn of the Breastplate.   St. Patrick came to Ireland and showed all of them the way to the truth of God.   He preached the Good News of God to them and called them to repent their past sins and wickedness.   St. Patrick taught them the truth about God, including what is now famous as his symbol of the Holy Trinity, the three-leaf clover.   He taught them how God is a perfect and loving union of three Divine Persons, of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as inseparable as the three-leaf clover’s parts from each other.

And God Who is perfect in Love, and Who is indeed Love, wants to share that love with all of us His people.  That is exactly why He has given us His commandments, His laws and ways and Jesus His Son to be our salvation from the darkness, by bringing us into the light of His new world and life filled with love and grace, no longer with greed, evil, wickedness, ego and all other human ambitions and vileness.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate (also known as The Deer Cry-see the reason below)

St. Patrick of Ireland, 387-460 AD

(translation by Cecil Frances Alexander)

This Celtic hymn, which dates from the late seventh or early eighth century, is ascribed to St. Patrick. It reflects many of the themes found in Patrick’s thought. It is believed that Patrick wrote this hymn as a breastplate of faith for the protection of body and soul against all forms of evil – devils, vice and the evil which humans perpetrate against one another. Legend has it that the High King of Tara, Loeguire, on Holy Saturday 433 AD, resolved to ambush and kill Patrick and his monks to prevent them from spreading the Christian faith in his kingdom. As Patrick and his followers approached singing this hymn, the king and his men saw only a herd of wild deer and let them pass by. This hymn is both a prayer and statement of faith to be recited for protection, arming oneself for spiritual battle, leading us all to reflect upon the power of God in our lives, the strength of His protection and the way we are go on towards our heavenly home.

I bind unto myself today
the strong name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me forever,
by power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
his baptism in the Jordan River;
his death on cross for my salvation;
his bursting from the spiced tomb;
his riding up the heavenly way;
his coming at the day of doom:
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
of the great love of cherubim;
the sweet “Well done” in judgment hour;
the service of the seraphim;
confessors’ faith, apostles’ word,
the patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls;
all good deeds done unto the Lord,
and purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
the virtues of the starlit heaven,
the glorious sun’s life-giving ray,
the whiteness of the moon at even,
the flashing of the lightning free,
the whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
the stable earth, the deep salt sea,
around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
his eye to watch, his might to stay,
his ear to hearken to my need;
the wisdom of my God to teach,
his hand to guide, his shield to ward;
the word of God to give me speech,
his heavenly host to be my guard.
[Against the demon snares of sin,
the vice that gives temptation force,
the natural lusts that war within,
the hostile men that mar my course;
of few or many, far or nigh,
in every place, and in all hours
against their fierce hostility,

I bind to me these holy powers.
Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
against false words of heresy,
against the knowledge that defiles
against the heart’s idolatry,
against the wizard’s evil craft,
against the death-wound and the burning
the choking wave and poisoned shaft,
protect me, Christ, till thy returning.]

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,
the strong name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, and One in Three,
of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation:
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

st-patricks-day-prayer

ST PATRICK PRAY FOR US 2

 

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 16 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 16 March

PRAYER of St JEAN de BREBEUF SJ (1593-149)

“Jesus, my Lord and Saviour,
what can I give You in return
for all the favours you have first conferred on me?
I will take from Your hand the cup of Your sufferings
and call on Your name.
I vow before Your eternal Father and the Holy Spirit,
before Your most holy Mother
and her most chaste spouse,
before the angels, apostles and martyrs,
before my blessed fathers –
Saint Ignatius and Saint Francis Xavier–
in truth, I vow to You, Jesus my Saviour,
that as far as I have the strength,
I will never fail to accept the grace of martyrdom,
if someday You in Your infinite mercy should offer it to me,
Your most unworthy servant…
My beloved Jesus,
here and now I offer my body and blood and life.
May I die only for You, if You will grant me this grace,
since You willingly died for me.
Let me so live that You may grant me
the gift of such a happy death.
In this way, my God and Saviour,
I will take from Your hand the cup of Your sufferings
and call on Your name: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!”

PRAYER OF ST JEAN DE BREBEUF

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Second Week of Lent – Wednesday 15 MARCH

Posted on by AnaStpaul

LENTEN REFLECTION – The Second Week of Lent – Wednesday 15 MARCH

LENTEN REFLECTION WED 2ND WEEK - 15 MARCH

Christ Calls Us Deeper Still.
Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman

Called on from grace to grace
All through our life Christ is calling us.  He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey His voice or not, He graciously calls us still.   If we fall from our Baptism, He calls us to repent;  if we are striving to fulfil our calling, He calls us on from grace to grace and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us.
Abraham was called from his home, Peter from his nets, Matthew from his office, Elisha from his farm, Nathanael from his retreat;  we are all in course of calling, on and on, from one thing to another, having no resting-place but mounting towards our eternal rest and obeying one command only to have another put upon us.   He calls us again and again, in order to justify us again and again—and again and again and more and more, to sanctify and glorify us.

Christ calls us right now
It were well if we understood this; but we are slow to master the great truth, that Christ is, as it were, walking among us and by His hand, or eye, or voice, bidding us follow Him.   We do not understand that His call is a thing which takes place now.   We think it took place in the Apostles’ days;  but we do not believe in it, we do not look out for it in our own case. We have not eyes to see the Lord; far different from the beloved Apostle, who knew Christ even when the rest of the disciples knew Him not.   When He stood on the shore after His resurrection and bade them cast the net into the sea, “that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord” (John 21:7).

Do you accept Christ’s’ call?
There is nothing miraculous or extraordinary in His dealings with us.  He works through our natural faculties and circumstances of life.   Still what happens to us in providence is in all essential respects what His voice was to those whom He addressed when on earth: whether He commands by a visible presence, or by a voice, or by our consciences, it matters not, so that we feel it to be a command.   If it is a command, it may be obeyed or disobeyed; it may be accepted as Samuel or St. Paul accepted it, or put aside after the manner of the young man who had great possessions.

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 15 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 15 March

“I gave myself to God to accept the designs of His Providence, if He willed me to continue, for the remainder of Lent, in a state of interior abandonment and even affliction so as to honour the sufferings of Jesus Christ which the Church places before our eyes.”

“Let us love suffering then
and let us make strong resolutions
to desire as much of it as the will of God
wants us to experience.
Rest assured that it is a sign
of God’s love for you since it is through this
that He makes you somewhat like his Son.
Suffer then, in His same spirit, through
submission to all that God wills of you.”

“The person who does not love does not know God, for God is Charity.”

“Love the poor and honour them as you would honour Christ Himself,”

~~~ St Louise de Marillac

let us love suffering then-st louise de marillacTHE PERSON WHO DOES NOT LOVE-STLDEMARILLACLOVETHEPOOR-STLDEMST LOUISE DE MARILLAC - PRAY FOR US.jpg NO 2