Our Morning Offering – 27 March – “Spy” Wednesday in Holy Week
In Thine Hour of Holy Sadness By St Bernard (1090-1153) Father & Doctor of the Church
In Thine hour of holy sadness could I share with Thee, what gladness should Thine Cross to me be showing. Gladness past all thought of knowing, bowed beneath Thine Cross to die! Blessed Jesus, thanks I render that in bitter death, so tender, Thou now hear Thy supplicant calling, Save me Lord! and keep from falling, from Thee, when my hour is nigh. Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 26 March – Tuesday of Holy Week – Tuesday of Holy Week – Jeremias 11:18-20, Mark 14:32-72; 15, 1-46 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“And some began to spit on Him and to cover His face and to buffet Him and to say unto Him: Prophesy; and the servants struck Him with the palms of their hands.”
Mark 14:65
“See the destined day arise! See a willing Sacrifice! Jesus, to redeem our loss, hangs upon the shameful Cross; Jesus, Who but Thee could bear wrath so great and justice fair? Every pang and bitter throe, finishing Thine life of woe?”
“Hail, O Altar, Hail, O Victim, For the glory of Thy Passion, By which Life endured death And by death, restored life!”
St Venantius Fortunatus (c530 – c609)
“Fix your minds on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Inflamed with love for us, He came down from Heaven to redeem us. For our sake, He endured every torment of body and soul and shrank from no bodily pain. He, Himself, gave us an example of perfect patience and love. We, then, are to be patient, in adversity!”
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 26 March – Tuesday in Holy Week – Jeremias 11:18-20, Mark 14:32-72; 15, 1-46 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“What a fall was this which pierced the Heart of Our Lord! ” St Francis de Sales
“Before the cock crows twice, thou shalt thrice deny Me. And he began to weep …” Mark 14:72
Never Stop Weeping!
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritatis
“One of the Apostles, Saint Peter, greatly wronged his Master, for he denied and swore he never knew Him and, not content with that, cursed and blasphemed against Him, protesting that he did not know who he was (Mt 26:69). What a fall was this which pierced the Heart of Our Lord! Alas, poor Saint Peter, what are you doing? What are you saying? You do noy know Who He is, you do noy know Him? You, who were called to be an Apostle by His own mouth, who confessed Him to be the Son of the living God? (Mt 16:16). Oh, wretched man that you are, how could you dare to say you do not know Him? Was it not He Who,, only recently, was at your feet washing them (Jn 13:6), who fed you with His own Body and Blood?…
So let no-one rely on their good works and think they have nothing more to fear, since St Peter, who had received so many graces and had vowed to accompany our Lord to prison and even to death itself, nevertheless, denied Him at the mere whisper of a chambermaid!
Hearing the cock crow, St Peter recollected what he had done and what his good Master had said to him and then, realising his fault, he went out and wept so bitterly that, on this account, he received a full, Plenary Indulgence and remission for all his sins. O blessed St Peter who, through such contrition for your faults, have received a general forgiveness for such great disloyalty… I am very certain, it was our Lord’s Holy Look which pierced his heart and opened his eyes, to make him recognise his sin (Lk 22:61)… From that time on, he never stopped weeping, above all when he heard the cock crow at night and in the morning… In this way, from being a great sinner, he became a great Saint!” (From ‘Le Livre des quatre amours’ Bk 10).
One Minute Reflection – 26 March– Tuesday of Holy Week – Jeremias 11:18-20, Mark 14:32-72; 15, 1-46
“ I know not this man of whom you speak. And immediately the cock crew again. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said unto him: Before the cock crows twice, thou shalt thrice deny me. And he began to weep.” – Mark 14:71-72
REFLECTION – “The first time Peter denied, he did not weep because the Lord had not looked at him. He denied a second time and did not weep because the Lord still did not look at him. He denied a third time; Jesus looked at him and he wept very bitterly (Lk 22:62). Look at us, Lord Jesus, so that we might know how to weep for our sins. This shows us that even the fall of the Saints may be useful to us. Peter’s denial has done me no wrong, on the contrary, I have gained from his repentance – I have learned to be beware of faithless companions. …
So Peter wept and wept bitterly; he wept so fiercely he washed away his offence with his tears. And you, too, if you would win pardon, wipe out your guilt with tears. At that very moment, in that same hour, Christ will look at you. If some kind of fall happens to you, then He, the ever-present Witness of your intimate life, looks at you to call you back and cause you to confess your lapse. Then do as Peter did, who thrice said: “Lord, Thou knowest I love Thee” (Jn 21:15). He denied three times and three times he also confessed. But he denied by night; he confessed in broad daylight!
All this has been written, to make us understand, that no-one should be puffed up. If Peter fell for having said: “Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be” (Mt 26:33), who is there to count on himself? … From whence then, Peter, shall I call you to mind, to teach me your thoughts as you wept? From heaven where you have already taken your place among the choirs of angels, or from the grave? For that death, from which the Lord was raised, did not reject you in your turn. Teach us what use your tears were to you. But you taught it without delay for having fallen before you wept, your tears caused you to be chosen to guide others, you who, to begin with, did not know how to guide yourself.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church – Commentary on St Luke’s Gospel, 10,89f.
PRAYER – Almighty and eternal God, grant us so to celebrate thy mysteries of our Lord’s Passion, that we may deserve to obtain forgiveness. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 25 March – Monday in Holy Week – Isaias 50:5-10, John 12:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” Matthew 25:40
“For the poor you have always with you but Me, you have not always.” John 12:8
Pour Precious Perfume On the Lord’s Feet and Wipe Them With Your Hair!
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“Whoever you are, if you wish to be faithful, pour precious perfume on the Lord’s Feet, along with Mary. This perfume is uprightness… Pour perfume on the Feet of Jesus – follow in the Lord’s Footsteps by a holy way of life. Wipe His Feet with your hair – if you have more than enough, give to the poor and in this way you will have wiped the Lord’s Feet… Perhaps the Lord’s Feet on earth, are in need. Indeed, is it not about His Members, He will say at the end of the world: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of Mine, you did for Me” (Mt 25:40)?” – (Sermons on Saint John’s Gospel No 50: 6-7).
Quote/s of the Day – 24 March – Palm Sunday – Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 26:36-75; 27:1-60 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Behold the hour is at hand and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.”
Matthew 26:45
“Yesterday, Christ raised Lazarus from the dead; today, He is going to His own death. Yesterday, He tore off the strips of cloth which bound Lazarus; today, He is stretching out His Hand, to those who want to bind Him. Yesterday, He tore that man away from darkness; today, for humankind, He is going down into darkness and the shadow of death. And the Church is celebrating. She is beginning the feast of Feasts, for she is receiving her King as a Spouse, for her King is in her midst.”
St Ephrem (306-373) (Attri) Father ad Doctor of the Church
“Oh! how blessed are they whom our Divine Master chooses to carry Him, who are covered with the Apostles’ cloaks, that is, clothed with apostolic virtues, which render them worthy of bearing our dear Saviour and of being led by Him. Blessed are they who conduct themselves here in lowliness and humility. They will be exalted in Heaven [Matt. 18:4; 23:12; Lk. 14:11; 18:14]. Their patience will win for them perpetual peace and tranquility; for their obedience they shall receive a crown of glory [Tab. 3:21; James 1:12]; finally, they shall be covered with the hundredfold of blessings in this life and shall bless the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, eternally in the next. May God give us this grace. Amen.”
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 24 March – Palm Sunday – Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 26:36-75; 2 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world ” John 1:29
“Behold the hour is at hand and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Matthew 26:45
PALM SUNDAY – Behold the Lamb
St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Towards the Lamb of God arise ,the Hosannas of the people, all those pressing round Him in the crowd, praise Him with one and the same confession of faith: “Hosanna to the son of David!” (Mt 21:9). This praise already echoes the choir of Saints, singing: “Salvation comes from our God, Who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb!” (Apoc 7:10). He goes up to where, day-by-day, He will give His last teaching (Lk 20:47). It is there He will accomplish the sacrament of the Jewish Passover, faithfully observed hitherto. He Himself, will bestow a new Pasch on His own, when, having left for the Mount of Olives, He will be put to the test by His enemies and, the following day, set on the Cross. Of such is the Paschal Lamb, see Him draw near today to the place of His Passion and fulfil the prophecy of Isaias: “Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers” (53:7).
He desires to enter His City five days before His Passion; by this He proves that He is indeed the Lamb without blemish Who comes to take away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29). He is indeed the Paschal Lamb, Who, when sacrificed, will set the new Israel free from its slavery in Egypt (Ex 12). It is truly five days before His Passion when His enemies irrevocably agree on His death. Today He shows us by this that He is going to redeem us all by His Blood (Apoc 5:9). As from today, He enters God’s Temple amongst the joyful jubilation of those who surround him (Mt 21:12). The “Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (1Tm 2:5) will suffer for humankind’s salvation – that indeed is why He came down to earth from Heaven – and today, He wills to draw near to the place of His Passion. Thus it will be clear to all that He bears His Passion of His own free will and by no means by force.” (Sermon No 23).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 23 March – Saturday in Passion Week – Jeremias18:18-23, John 12:10-36 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Shall evil be rendered for good because they have dug a pit for my soul?” Jeremias 18:20
“The hour is come when the Son of man should be glorified.” John 12:23
What Happened on the Cross?
St John Damascene (675-749) Father and Doctor of the Church
“By nothing else except the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ has death been brought low:
The sin of our first parent destroyed, hell plundered, resurrection bestowed, the power given us to despise the things of this world, even death itself, the road back to the former blessedness made smooth, the gates of paradise opened, our nature seated at the right hand of God and we made children and heirs of God.
By the Cross all these things have been set aright…
It is a seal that the destroyer may not strike us, a raising up of those who lie fallen, a support for those who stand, a staff for the infirm, a crook for the shepherded, a guide for the wandering, a perfecting of the advanced, salvation for soul and body, a deflector of all evils, a cause of all goods, a destruction of sin, a plant of resurrection and a tree of eternal life.”
(Reflections on the Cross of Christ from the Early Church Fathers – Orthodox Faith 4).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 22 March – Friday in Passion Week, the Fifth Friday in Lent, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows – Judith 13:22, 25; John 19:25-27 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Virgin of all virgins best, Listen to my fond request: Let me share thy grief divine. Let me to my latest breath, In my body bear the death Of that dying Son of thine.” Stabat Mater
“And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.” John 19:27
At the Lord’s Cross with His Mother and Ours
Blessed Guerric of Igny O. Cist. (c1080-1157) Cistercian Abbot
“When Jesus was going round towns and villages preaching the Gospel, Mary was His inseparable companion, clinging to His footsteps and hanging upon His words, as He taught, so much so, that neither the storm of persecution, nor dread of punishment, could deter her from following her Son and Master.
“By the Lord’s Cross there stood Mary, His Mother.” Truly a Mother, who did not abandon her Son, even in the face of death! How could she be frightened of death, when “her love was as strong as death,” (Sg 8:6) or rather, stronger than death? Truly she stood by Jesus’ Cross, when, at the same time, the pain of the Cross crucified her mind and, as manifold a sword, pierced her own soul, (Lk 2:35) as she beheld the body of her Son, pierced with wounds. Rightly, therefore, was she recognised as His Mother there and by His care, entrusted to a suitable protector, in which both the mother’s unalloyed love for her Son and the Son’s kindness toward His Mother, were proved to the utmost …
Loving her as He did, Jesus “Loved her to the end” (Jn 13:1), so as not only to bring His life to an end, for her but also, to speak almost His last words for her benefit. As His last will and testament, He committed, to His beloved heir, the care of His Mother… The Church fell to Peter, Mary to John. This bequest belonged to John, not only by right of kinship but too, because of the privilege, love had bestowed and the witness, his chastity bore… It was fitting that none other than the beloved of her Son, should minister to the Mother of the Lord… Providence too arranged, very conveniently that he who was to write a Gospel, should have intimate conferences with her, who knew about them all, for she had taken note from the beginning, of everything that happened to her Son and “treasured all the words concerning Him, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19).” – (4th Sermon for the Assumption).
One Minute Reflection – 22 March – Friday in Passion Week, the Fifth Friday in Lent, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows – Judith 13:22, 25, John 19:25-27 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
REFLECTION – “Mary, the Mother of the Lord, stood by her Son’s Cross. No-one has taught me this but the holy Evangelist John. Others have related how the earth was shaken at the Lord’s Passion, the sky was covered with darkness, the sun withdrew itself and how, the thief was, after a faithful confession, received into paradise. John tells us what the others have not told, how the Lord, while fixed on the Cross called to His Mother. He thought it was more important that, victorious over His sufferings, Jesus gave her the offices of piety, than that He gave her a Heavenly Kingdom. For if it is the mark of religion to grant pardon to the thief, it is a mark of much greater piety, that a mother is honoured with such affection, by her Son. “Behold,” He says, “thy son.” “Behold thy mother.” Christ testified from the Cross and divided the offices of piety, between the mother and the disciple.
Nor was Mary below what was becoming the Mother of Christ. When the Apostles fled, she stood at the Cross and with pious eyes beheld her Son’s wounds. For she did not look to the death of her offspring but to the salvation of the world. Or perhaps, because that “royal hall” knew, that the redemption of the world would be through the death of her Son, she thought that by her death, she also might add something to that universal gift. But Jesus did not need a helper, for the redemption of all, Who saved all without a helper. This is why He says, “I am counted among those who go down to the pit. I am like those who have no help.” He received indeed, the affection of His Mother but sought not another’s help. Imitate her, holy mothers, who in her only dearly beloved Son, set forth so great an example of maternal virtue. For neither have you sweeter children, nor did the Virgin seek the consolation of being able to bear another son.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Archbishop of Milan, Great Western Father and Doctor (Letter 63)
PRAYER – O God, in Whose Passion the sword, according to the prophecy of blessed Simeon, pierced through the soul of Mary, the glorious Virgin and Mother, mercifully grant that we, who reverently commemorate her piercing through and her suffering, may, by the interceding glorious merits of all the saints faithfully standing by the Cross, obtain the abundant fruit of Thy Passion. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 21 March – Thursday of Passion Week – Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6, Matthew 19:27-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“He asked life of Thee, Thou hast given him length of days, forever and ever.” Psalm 20:5
“And everyone who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My Name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life everlasting.” Matthew 19:29
Seek for Nothing!
By St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
“Seek for nothing, desiring to enter for love of Jesus, with detachment, emptiness and poverty in everything in this world. You will never have to do with necessities greater than those to which you made your heart yield itself – for the poor in spirit are most happy and joyful in a state of privation and he, who has set his heart on nothing, finds satisfaction everywhere.
The poor in spirit (Mt 5:3) give generously all they have and their pleasure consists in being thus deprived of everything for God’s sake and out of love for their neighbour … Not only do temporal goods – the delights and tastes of the senses – hinder and thwart the way of God but, spiritual delights and consolations also, if sought for or clung to eagerly, disturb the way of virtue.” – (Spiritual maxims, nos. 352, 355,356, 364; 1693 Edition).
Our Morning Offering – 21 March – Thursday in Passion Week
A Lenten Offering By St Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face of Lisieux (1873-1897)
O my God! I offer Thee all my actions of this Lent for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to Its Infinite Merits and I wish to make reparation for my sins, by casting them into the furnace of Its Merciful Love. O my God! I ask of Thee for myself and for those whom I hold dear, the grace to fulfil perfectly Thy Holy Will, to accept for love of Thee, the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in Heaven, for all eternity. Amen
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 20 March – Wednesday in Passion Week – Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25; John 10:22-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“O Lord my God, I have cried to Thee and Thou hast healed me.” Psalm 29:3
“My sheep hear My Voice. And I know them and they follow Me.
” John 10:27
Seize Christ with the Hands of Faith
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“If the Law calls them gods to whom the Word of God came and Scripture cannot be set aside, how can you say that the One Whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? Yes indeed, if God has spoken to us, so that we might be called ‘gods,’ how could the Word of God, the Word which is in God, not be God? If we have been made sharers in His nature and have become gods because God speaks to us, how could this Word, through which this gift comes to us, not be God? … As for you, you approach the Light and receive it and are counted among the children of God but, if you draw back, you become dark and are counted among the children of darkness (cf 1 Thes 5:5). …
“Believe the works, so that you may realise and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father.” The Son of God does not say “the Father is in Me and I in the Father” in the same sense as we are able to do. In effect, if our thoughts are good, we are in God; if our lives are holy, God is in us. When we are sharers in His Grace and enlightened by His Light, then we are in Him and He in us. But … recognise what is proper to the Lord and what is a gift made to His servant. What is proper to the Lord is His equality with the Father but the gift granted to His servant is to participate in the Saviour.
“Then they tried to seize Him.” If only they had seized Him! But by faith and intellect, not so as to mock and put Him to death! At this very moment, as I speak to you … all of us, both you and I, are wanting to seize Christ. To ‘seize’ what does that mean? You have ‘seized’ when you have understood. But Christ’s enemies were looking for something different. You have seized in order to possess but they wanted to seize Him in order to get rid of Him! And because this was how they wanted to seize Him, what does Jesus do? “He escaped from their power.” They were unable to seize Him because they did not have the hands of faith. … We truly seize Christ, if our minds grasp the Word!” – (Sermons on the Gospel of John No 48: 9-11).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 18 March – The Feast of St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Bishop of Jerusalem, Confessor Father & Doctor of the Church
“Blessed is the man who feareth the Lord, he shall delight exceedingly in His commandments.” Psalm 111:1
“Go, sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven.” Matthew 19:21
Use Your Money for Good!
St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Riches, gold and silver do not belong to the devil, as some think. For the whole world of riches belongs to the faithful man but not a penny to the faithless.
Now, nothing is more faithless than the devil,and God says plainly, by the Prophet, “The gold is mine and the silver is mine” (Haggai 2:8) and He gives it to whoever He wills. Simply use it well and there is nothing wrong with money. But whenever you have made bad use of it, you are unwilling to blame your own management, so you impiously throw the blame back at the Creator.
A man may even be justified by money. “I was hungry and you gave Me to eat” that certainly was from money. “I was naked and you clothed Me” that too was certainly from money.
Do you want to learn how money can become a door to the Kingdom of Heaven? “Go,” Jesus says, “sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven” (Matthew 19:21).
Now, I have made these remarks because of those heretics who say that our possessions and our money and our bodies, are cursed. I do not want you to be a slave to money but neither do I want you to treat, as your enemies do, the good things, to be used for good which God has given you.”
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 17 March – Passion Sunday and the Feast of St Patrick (c386-461) “The Apostle of Ireland,” Bishop, Confessor, Missionary. – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“To execute upon them the judgement which is written, this glory is to all His saints. Alleluia.” Psalm 149:9
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, he saw it and was glad.” John 8:56
Binding Ourselves
St Patrick (c386-461) “The Apostle of Ireland”
“The man of God, Patrick, was marvellously favoured with heavenly visions and revelations in prayer. ‘When,’ says his biographer, ‘he everyday, in the Mass, sacrificed the Son to the Father, or devoutly recited the Apocalypse of St John, it was granted to him to see the heavens opened and Jesus standing there, surrounded by a multitude of Angels and whilst he meditated on these great visions, his soul was altogether lost in God.’ Three times in the week the Angel Victor, visited and conversed with him, filling his soul with celestial consolations. The labours of the day, amongst men, seem to have been less arduous than those of the night with God.” (The Life of St Patrick, Apostle of Ireland)
Prayer of St Patrick:
I bind unto myself today the power in the love of the Seraphim, in the obedience of the Angels, in the ministration of the Archangels, in the hope of Resurrection unto reward, in the prayers of the Patriarchs, in the predictions of the Prophets, in the preaching of the Apostles, in the faith of the Confessors, in the purity of the holy Virgins, in the deeds of Righteous men. Amen
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 16 March – Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent – Ferial Day – Isaias 49:8-15; John 8:12-20 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 22:1
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me does not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life. .” John 8:12
Faithful Sheep or Foolish Travellers?
St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father and Doctor of the Church
“… . I know My Own — by which I mean, I love them — and My own know Me. In plain words, those who love Me are willing to follow Me, for anyone who does not love the Truth has not yet come to know it.
… Ask yourselves whether you belong to His flock, whether you know Him, whether the Light of His Truth shines in your minds. I assure you that it is not by faith that you will come to know Him but by love; not by mere conviction but by action. John the Evangelist is my authority for this statement. He tells us that anyone who claims to know God without keeping His commandments is a liar. …
Again He says: My sheep hear My Voice and I know them; they follow Me and I give them eternal life. Shortly before this, He had declared – If anyone enters the sheepfold through Me, he shall be saved; he shall go freely in and out and shall find good pasture. He will enter into a life of faith; from faith, he will go onto vision, from belief to contemplation and will graze in the good pastures of everlasting life.
So Our Lord’s sheep, will finally reach their grazing ground, where all who follow Him, in simplicity of heart, will feed on the green pastures of eternity. These pastures are the spiritual joys of Heaven. There, the elect look upon the Face of God with unclouded vision and feast at the Banquet of Life for evermore.
BELOVED, … let us set out for these pastures where we shall keep joyful festival with so many of our fellow citizens. May the thought of their happiness urge us on! Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith and long eagerly for what Heaven has in store for us. To love thus, is to be already on our way. No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that Heavenly Feast. Anyone who is determined to reach his destination, is not deterred by the roughness of the road, that leads to it. Nor must we allow the charm of success to seduce us, or we shall be like a foolish traveller who is so distracted by the pleasant meadows through which he is passing, that he forgets where he is going!” – (An excerpt from his Homily 14).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 15 March – Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent – 3 Kings 17:17-24; John 11:1-45 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Now, by this I know t hat thou art a man of God and the Word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.” 3 Kings 17:24
“ Lazarus, come forth!” John 11:43
Do Not Fall Back Again Into Death!
St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Laid to rest in the tomb, you heard the resounding call. Is there any Voice greater than that of the Word? Then you came out, you who were dead not merely for four days but for a very long time indeed. You were raised with Christ … your burial bands fell to the ground. Do not fall back again now into death; do not rejoin those who dwell in the tombs; do not allow yourself to be stifled by the burial bands of your sins. For would you be able to come back to life once again? Would you be able to bring out, from the death of here below, the resurrection of all men at the end of time? …
So let the Lord’s call resound in your ears! Do not close them today to the teaching and admonitions of the Lord. If you used to be blind, without light in your tomb, open your eyes lest you sink into the sleep of death. In the Light of the Lord, behold light! in the Spirit of God, fix your eyes on the Son. If you take to yourself the Word, in its entirety, then you focus onto your soul, all the power of Christ Who heals and restores to life …. Do not be afraid to put some work into preserving your Baptismal purity and set the ways that lead to the Lord, within your heart. Take care to preserve the act of acquittal which you received through pure grace ….
Let us be Light, as the disciples learned, from He Who is the Great Light: “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14). Let us be lamps in this world by holding up on high the Word of Life, by being a life force for others. Let us set out in search of God, in search of the One Who is the First and Purest of Lights.” – (Sermon on Holy Baptism).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 14 March – Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent – 4 Kings 4:25-38, Luke 7:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Seek the Lord and be strengthened, seek His Face evermore.” Psalm 104:4
“Young man, I say to thee, arise!” Luke 7:14
His Life-giving Eucharist
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Even for restoring the dead to life, the Saviour did not stop at acting by Word alone, although it was the bearer of Divine Commands. For such a surpassing work, He took His own Flesh as His assistant – if one might put it that way – that He might show, that it has the power to give life and, that He might cause it to be seen that it is entirely One with Him. For, it is indeed His very own Flesh and not an alien body.
This is what happened when He restored life to the synagogue leader’s daughter, saying to her: “My child, arise!” (Mk 5:41). He took her by the hand, as it is written. As God, He gave her back her life, by His all-powerful command and animated her too, by contact with His Holy Flesh. Thus, He bore witness that, in Flesh as in His Word, one and the same Divine energy was at work. In the same way, too, when he came to a Town called Nain, where the widow’s only son was being buried, He touched the coffin, saying: “Young man, I say to thee, arise!” (Lk 7:14).
Thus, He not only conferred to His Word the power to raise the dead but He even touched the dead, to show that His Body is Life-giving and, through His Flesh, He caused life to pass into their corpses. If the touch alone of His Sacred Flesh restores life to a corrupting body, what profit shall we not discover in His Life-giving Eucharist when we make of it our food? It will wholly transform into its own property which is immortality, those who participate in it.” – (Commentary on the Gospel of John Ch 4).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 13 March – Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Lent – Isaias 1:16-19, John 9:1-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your deeds from my eyes …” Isaias 1:16
“And Jesus passing by, saw a man who was blind from his birth. … As long as I Am in the world, I Am the Light of the world. When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and spread the clay upon his eyes,” John 9:1,5-6
A Command and A Promise
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“The Lord tells us – I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me, will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of life. In these few words He gives a COMMAND and makes a PROMISE. Let us do what He commands, so that we may not blush to covet what He promises and to hear Him say on the Day of Judgement: “I laid down certain conditions for obtaining My Promises. Have you fulfilled them?” If you say: “What did you command, Lord our God?” He will tell you: “I commanded you to follow Me. You asked for advice on how to enter into life. What life, if not the life about which it is written: With Thee is the fountain of life?”
Let us do now what He commands! Let us follow in the footsteps of the Lord! Let us throw off the chains which prevent us from following Him. Who can throw off these shackles without the aid of the One addressed in these words: You have broken my chains? Another psalm says of Him: The Lord frees those in chains, the Lord raises up the downcast.
Those who have been freed and raised up follow the Light. The Light they follow speaks to them: I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me, will not walk in darkness. The Lord gives Light to the blind. Brethren, that Light shines on us now, for we have had our eyes anointed with the eye-salve of faith. His saliva was mixed with earth to anoint the man born blind. We are of Adam’s stock, blind from our birth, we need Him to give us Light. He mixed saliva with earth and so it was prophesied: Truth has sprung up from the earth. He Himself has said: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. …
If you love Me, follow Me. “I do love you,” you protest “but how do I follow you?” If the Lord your God said to you: “I am the Truth and the Life,” in your desire for truth, in your love for life, you would certainly ask Him to show you the way to reach them. You would say to yourself: “Truth is a great reality, life is a great reality – if only it were possible for my soul to find them!” – (An excerpt from: On John [Treatise 34]).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 12 March – Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Lent – St Gregory the Great (540-604), Pope, Confessor, Father & Doctor of the Church, “Father of the Fathers” “The Apostle of England”
Pride, Strength, That I May See!
St Gregory the Great (540-604), Pope, Confessor, Father & Doctor of the Church
“Whenever something is to be done needing great power, Michael is sent forth, so that from his action and from his name, we can understand that no-one can do what God can do. Hence that old enemy, who through pride, desired to be like God, saying, “I will scale the heavens, I will set up my throne, I will be like the Most High,” is shown at the end of the world, left to his own strength and about to undergo the final punishment, as destined to fight with Michael the Archangel. Similarly, Gabriel was sent to Mary; he who is called “strength of God” came to announce Him, Who deigned to appear in humility to conquer the powers of the air. And Raphael is interpreted, as we said, “Medicine of God,” for when he touched the eyes of Tobias to do the work of healing, he dispelled the night of his blindness.”
Practice: If I am tempted to pride today I will ask St Michael to help me conquer my pride. I will have great confidence in his prayers for this intention since it was he who brought down Lucifer, the very spirit of pride. “Who is like unto God!” And to St Gabriel, in my weakness, I may ask prayers for strength and of St Raphael, his prayers to cure my many hurts, both physical and spiritual.
Our Morning Offering – 12 March – Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Lent and the Memorial of St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) – Father & Doctor
Lucis Creator Optime O Blest Creator of the Light By St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Father & Doctor “Father of the Fathers”
O blest Creator of the light, Who mak’st the day with radiance bright, And o’er the forming world did’st call The Light from Chaos First of all.
Whose wisdom join’d in meet array The morn and eve and nam’d them day; Night comes with all its darkling fears; Regard Thy people’s pray’rs and tears.
Lest, sunk in sin and whelm’d with strife, They lose the gift of endless life; While thinking but the thoughts of time, They weave new chains of woe and crime.
But grant them grace that they may strain The heav’nly gate and prize to gain; Each harmful lure, aside to cast, And purge away each error past.
O Father, that we ask be done, Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son; Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee, Shall live and reign eternally. Amen
This hymn is used for Vespers (II) on Sundays throughout the year in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Breviary. Trans John M Neale (1818-1866), 1851. Tune: “Lucis Creator Optime” Gregorian Chant, Mode VIII, traditional.
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 10 March – Laetare Sunday / The Fourth Sunday in Lent – Galatians 4:22-31, John 6:1-15 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“They who trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion which is immovable; which forever stands.” Psalm 124:1-2
“Make the men sit down.” John 6:10
On the Tender Compassion which Jesus Christ Entertains Towards Sinners
St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
“WE read in this day’s Gospel that, having gone up into a mountain with His disciples and seeing a multitude of five thousand persons, who followed Him because they saw the miracles which He wrought on them that were diseased, the Redeemer said to St Philip: “Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat ?” “Lord,” answered St Philip, “two-hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient that every one may take a little.” St Andrew then said: There is a boy here that has five barley loaves and two fishes but what are these among so many? But Jesus Christ said: “Make the men sit down.” And he distributed the loaves and fishes among them. “The multitude were satisfied and the fragments of bread which remained, filled twelve baskets.” The Lord wrought this miracle through compassion for the bodily wants of these poor people but, far more tender is His compassion, for the necessities of the souls of the poor that is, of sinners, who are deprived of the Divine Grace.
But, my Lord, since Thou hast resolved to take human flesh, would not a single prayer offered by Thee be sufficient for the redemption of all men? What need, then, was there of leading a life of poverty, humiliation and contempt, for thirty- three years, of suffering a cruel and shameful death on an infamous gibbet and of shedding all Thy Blood by dint of torments? I know well, answers Jesus Christ, that One Drop of My Blood, or a simple prayer, would be sufficient for the salvation of the world but neither,would be sufficient to show the love which I bear to men and, therefore, to be loved by men when they should see me dead on the Cross, for the love of them, I have resolved to submit to so many torments and to so painful a death. This, He says, is the duty of a good Shepherd “I Am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth His Life for His sheep… I lay down My Life for My sheep.” (John 10:11, 15) …
This tenderness of Jesus Christ was experienced by the sinful woman (according to St Gregory, — Mary Magdalene) who cast herself at the feet of Jesus and washed them with her tears. (Luke 7:47 and 50) The Lord, turning to her with sweetness, consoled her by saying: “Thy sins are forgiven … thy faith hath made thee safe; go in peace.” (Luke 7:48 and 50.) Child, thy sins are pardoned; thy confidence in Me has saved thee; go in peace. It was also felt by the man who was sick for thirty- eight years and who was infirm, both in body and soul. The Lord cured his malady and pardoned his sins. … We have also a proof of the tender compassion of the Son of God for sinners, in his conduct towards the woman caught in adultery.
… Jesus Christ has come, not to condemn,but to deliver sinners from hell, as soon as they resolve to amend their lives. And when He sees them obstinately bent on their own perdition, He addresses them with tears in the words of Ezechiel: “Why will you die, O house of Israel?” (18:31). My children, why will you die? Why do you voluntarily rush into hell, when I have come from Heaven to deliver you from it by death?” He adds: you are already dead to the grace of God. But I will not allow your death — return to Me and I will restore to you the life which you have lost.
Let us then, sinners, return instantly to Jesus Christ. If we have left Him, let us immediately return, before death overtakes us in sin and sends us to hell, where the mercies and graces of the Lord shall, if we do not amend, be so many swords which shall lacerate the heart for all eternity!” – (Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent – Intro, 3,8,9,11,12).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 9 March – Saturday of the Third Week in Lent – Proverbs 31:10-31, Matthew 13:44-52 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness, above thy fellows.” Psalm 44:8
“So shall it be at the end of the world. The Angels shall go out and shall separate the wicked from among the just. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:49-50
HEAVEN or HELL?
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritas
“CONSIDER THAT THE CHOICE you make in this life will last forever in the next! Consider too, that while both are open to receive you, according to your choice, yet God, Who is prepared to give the one by reason of His Justice, the other by reason of His Mercy, all the while desires, unspeakably that you should select Paradise. offering you countless graces on God’s part, countless assistance to attain to it. Consider that Jesus Christ, enthroned in Heaven, looks down upon you in loving invitation – ‘O beloved one, come unto Me and joy forever in the eternal blessedness of My Love!’ Behold His mother yearning over you with maternal tenderness, ‘Courage, my child, do not despise the Goodness of my Son, or my earnest prayers for thy salvation.‘ …
O Hell, I abhor thee now and forever; I abhor thy griefs and torments, thine endless misery, the unceasing blasphemies and maledictions which thou pourest out upon my God and turning to thee, O blessed Paradise, eternal glory, unfading happiness, I choose thee forever as my abode, thy glorious mansions, thy precious and abiding tabernacles.
O my God, I bless Thy Mercy which gives me the power to choose, O Jesus, Saviour, I accept Thine Eternal Love and praise Thee for the promise Thou hast given me, of a place prepared for me, in that blessed New Jerusalem, where I shall love and bless Thee forever. ” (Excerpt – ‘Introduction to the Devout Life’ 9th Meditation).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 8 March – Friday in the Second Week of Lent – Ecclesiasticus Sirach 31:8-11, Matthew 22:34-46 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, he shall delight exceedingly in His commandments. …” Psalm 111:3
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ” Matthew 22:37-39
The Lord Asks of Us Only Two Things
St Teresa of Jesus of Avila (1515-1582) Carmelite, Doctor of the Church
“The Lord asks of us only two things – love of His Majesty and love of our neighbour. These are what we must work for. By observing them with perfection, we do His will and so, will be united with Him. But how far, as I have said, we are from doing these two things, as we ought, for so great a God! May it please His Majesty to give us His grace, so that we might merit, if we wish to reach this state that lies within our power.
The most certain sign, in my opinion, as to whether or not we are observing these two laws, is whether we observe well, the love of neighbour. We cannot know whether or not we love God, although there are strong indications for recognising that we do love Him but, we can know, whether we love our neighbour. And be certain that the more advanced you see you are, in love for your neighbour, the more advanced you will be in the love of God, for the love His Majesty has for us, is so great that to repay us for our love of neighbour, He will, in a thousand ways, increase the love we have for Him. I cannot doubt this. That is why, it is important for us to walk, with careful attention, to how we are proceeding in this matter, for if we practice love of neighbour with great perfection, we shall have done everything.I believe that, since our nature is bad, we will not reach perfection in the love of neighbour, if that love does not rise from love of God, as its root.” – (Interior Castle, Fifth Dwelling Places Ch 3).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 7 March – Wisdom 7:7-14; Matthew 5:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“For she is an infinite treasure to men! which they that use, become the friends of God” Wisdom 7:14
“Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel but upon a candlestick …” Matthew 5:15
Exercise Your Soul
St Clement of Alexandria (c150-c215) Father of the Church
“A well, when pumped regularly, produces purer water. If neglected and no-one uses it, it changes into a source of pollution. Use keeps metal brighter but disuse produces rust.
For, in a word, exercise produces a healthy condition, both in souls and bodies.
So “No-one lights a candle and puts it under a bushel but upon a candlestick that it may give light.”
For of what use is wisdom, if it fails to make those who hear it wise?” (Stromateis 1)
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 6 March – Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent – Ecclesiasticus Sirach 51:13-17; Matthew 13:44-52 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Nor then do thou leave me, Angelical friend! But at the tribunal Of Judgement attend And cease not to plead For my soul, till, forgiven, Thou bear it aloft To the Palace of Heaven!”
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field.” Matthew 13:44
Sweet Angel of Mercy! By Fr Edward Caswell C.Orat. (1814-1878)
Sweet Angel of mercy! By Heaven’s decree Benignly appointed To watch over me! Without thy protection, So constant and nigh, I could not well live; I should tremble to die.
All thanks for thy love, Dear companion and friend! Oh may it continue With me to the end! Oh cease not to keep me, Blest guide of my youth, In the ways of religion And virtue and truth.
Support me in weakness, My spirit inflame; Defend me in danger, Secure me from shame, That safe from temptation, Or sudden surprise, I may mount the straight path That ascends to the skies.
When Satan his snares For my ruin shall lay, Be thou, gentle comrade, My comfort and stay And in every event Which may happen to me, Make all my desires With thine to agree.
When I wander in error, My footsteps recall, Remove from my path What might cause me to fall. Preserve me from sin And in all that I do, May God and His glory Be ever in view.
O thou who didst witness My earliest breath, Be with me, I pray, In the hour of death. Console me in sadness, Refresh me in pain And teach me how best I may mercy obtain.
That, cleansed by confession Complete and sincere, From every defilement Afflicting me here, All glowing with love, I may gladly depart. With faith on my lips And with hope in my heart.
Nor then do thou leave me, Angelical friend! But at the tribunal Of Judgement attend And cease not to plead For my soul, till, forgiven, Thou bear it aloft To the Palace of Heaven!
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 5 March – Tuesday of the Third Week in Lent – 4 Kings 4:1-7; Matthew 18:15-22 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” Luke 11:4
“Then Peter came up to him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times but seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22
Forgiving Our Brother With All Our Heart
By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
“The first word our Lord spoke on the Cross was a prayer for those who were Crucifying Him; thus, He carried out what Saint Paul wrote: “In the days of His flesh, He offered prayer and sacrifice” (Heb 5:7). It is true that those who were Crucifying our Divine Saviour did not know Him … for, if they had known Him, they would not have Crucified Him (1 Cor 2:8). Therefore, our Lord, seeing the ignorance and weakness of those torturing Him, began to make excuses for them and offer this Sacrifice to His heavenly Father for them – for prayer is a sacrifice: … “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). How great was the flame of love burning in our sweet Saviour’s heart, since amidst the strongest of His pains, at the time when the strength of His sufferings seemed to take from Him even the ability to pray for Himself, He came, through the strength of charity, to forget Himself but not those He had created …
By this He wanted to make us understand the love He bore for us, a love which could not be lessened by any kind of suffering and, to teach us, too, what our hearts ought to be feeling with regard to our neighbour …
Now, since this Divine Lord had been occupying Himself in asking forgiveness for us, it is absolutely certain that His request was granted. For His Divine Father honoured Him too much to refuse Him anything He asked.” – (Sermon for Good Friday 25/03/1622).
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 4 March – St Casimir (1458-1484) Confessor, Prince – 4 Kings 5:1-15; Luke 12:35-40 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The just shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow up, like the cedar of Lebanon.” Psalm 91:13
“There were many widows in Israel” Luke 4:25
The Precept of Hospitality
St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
“At that time, when the whole human race was afflicted by famine, Elias was sent to a widow? And see how, for each is reserved her own special grace. An Angel is sent to the Virgin, a Prophet to the widow. In the one case it is Gabriel, in the other Elisha. The most excellent chiefs of the number of Angels and Prophet,s are seen to be chosen! But there is no praise, simply in widowhood, unless there be added the virtues of widowhood. For, indeed, there were many widows but one is preferred to all, by whose example of virtue, they are stimulated … The grace of hospitality is not lost sight of by God, Who, as He hHmself relates in the Gospel, rewards a cup of cold water with the exceeding recompense of eternity (Mt 10:42) and compensates the small measure of meal and oil, by an unfailing abundance of plenty …
Why consider the fruits of the earth are private, when the earth itself is common property? … But we turn aside the warnings of a general utterance to our private advantage. God says: “Every tree which has in it the fruit of a tree yielding seed, shall be to you for food and, to every beast and to every bird and to everything that creeps on the earth.” (Gn 1:29-30). By heaping up, we come to want and need. For we cannot hope for the promise if we do not keep God’s will. It is also good for us to attend to the precept of hospitality, to be ready to give to strangers, for we, too, are strangers in the world.
How holy was that widow, who, when pinched by extreme hunger, observed the reverence due to God! She was not using the food for herself alone but was dividing it with her son. A beautiful example of tenderness but, even more of faith! She should not have set anyone before her son, yet, she set the Prophet of God before her own preservation. You may well believe she not only gave him a little food but all she had to live on. She kept nothing back for herself. So hospitable was she that she gave all she had, so full of faith that her trust was total.” – (On Widows).
Our Morning Offering – 4 March – Monday of the Third Week in Lent
Morning Offering By St Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873 – 1897)
O my God! I offer Thee all my actions of this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to It’s infinite merits and I wish to make reparation for my sins, by casting them into the furnace of It’s Merciful Love. O my God! I ask Thee for myself and for those whom I hold dear, the grace to fulfil perfectly Thy Holy Will, to accept for love of Thee, the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in Heaven for all Eternity. Amen.
Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 3 March – The Third Sunday in Lent – Ephesians 5:1-9; Luke 11:14-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Walk then, as children of the Light. For the fruit of the Light is in all goodness and justice and truth.” Ephesians 5:8-9
“And He was casting out a devil and the same was dumb.” Luke 11:14
On Concealing Sins in Confession
St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
“THE devil does not bring sinners to hell with their eyes open — he first blinds them with the malice of their own sins. “For their own malice blinded them.” (Wis 2:21) He thus leads them to eternal perdition. Before we fall into sin, the enemy labours to blind us that, we may not see the evil we do and, the ruin we bring upon ourselves, by offending God. After we commit sin, he seeks to make us dumb that, through shame, we may conceal our guilt in Confession. Thus, he leads us to hell by a double chain, inducing us, after our transgressions, to consent to a still greater sin the sin of sacrilege!
… St Augustine says that, to prevent the sheep from seeking assistance by there cries, the wolf seizes them by the throat and thus securely carries them away and devours them. The devil acts in a similar manner with the sheep of Jesus Christ. After having induced them to yield to sin, he seizes them by the throat that they may not confess their guilt and thus, he securely brings them to hell. For those who have sinned grievously, there is no means of salvation but the confession of their sins! But, what hope of salvation can he have who goes to Confession and conceals his sins and makes use of the tribunal of penance to offend God and to make himself doubly the slave of Satan? What hope would you entertain of the recovery of the man, who, instead of taking the medicine prescribed by his physician, drank a cup of poison instead? God! What can the Sacrament of Penance be to those who conceal their sins but a deadly poison which adds to their guilt, the malice of Sacrilege? In giving Absolution, the Confessor dispenses to his patient the Blood of Jesus Christ; for it is through the merits of that Blood that he absolves from sin.
What, then, does the sinner do, when he conceals his sins in Confession? He tramples underfoot, the Blood of Jesus Christ. And should he afterwards receive the Holy Communion in a state of sin, he is, according to St Chrysostom, as guilty as if he threw the Consecrated Host into a sink … Accursed shame! how many poor souls do you bring to hell? … Unhappy souls! they think only of the shame of confessing their sins and do not reflect that, if they conceal them, they shall be certainly damned!” (Extract from the Sermon for the Third Sunday of Lent, 1 and 5).
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.