Our Morning Offering – 3 September – Thursday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time – The Memorial of St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) – Father & Doctor “Father of the Fathers”
Prayer of Praise By St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor “Father of the Fathers”
It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind, to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of loving-kindness toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son. Dear Jesus, You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father by Your Blood poured forth in loving-kindness. You cleared away the darkness of sin by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection. You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror. You reconciled heaven and earth. Our life had no hope of eternal happiness before You redeemed us. Your Resurrection has washed away our sins, restored our innocence and brought us joy. How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love! Amen
One Minute Reflection – 2 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Wednesday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Psalms 33:12-13, 14-15, 20-21, Luke 4:38-44
“Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on everyone of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.” … Luke 4:40-41
REFLECTION – “But observe again, I pray, how great is the efficacy of the touch of His holy flesh. For It both drives away diseases of various kinds and a crowd of demons and overthrows the power of the devil and heals a very great multitude of people in one moment of time. And though able to perform these miracles by a word and the inclination of His will, yet, to teach us something useful, He also lays His hands upon the sick. For it was necessary, most necessary, for us to learn, that the holy flesh which He had made His own, was endowed with the activity of the power of the Word, by His having implanted in it, a godlike might. Let It then take hold of us, or rather let us take hold of It, by the mystical “Giving of thanks,” that It may free us also from the sicknesses of the soul and from the assault and violence of demons.
He would not permit the unclean demons to confess Him; for it was not fitting for them to usurp the glory of the Apostolic office, nor with impure tongue, to talk of the mystery of Christ. Yea! though they speak ought that is true, let no-one put credence in them – for the light is not known by the aid of darkness, as the disciple of Christ teaches us, where he says, “For what communion hath light with darkness? or what consent hath Christ with Beliar?” … … St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Incarnation
PRAYER – Heavenly God and Father, through Your Son, Lord God, You shed Your eternal light on all mankind. You gave us our mission, You taught us our way. Grant us the grace to acknowledge the full splendour of our Redeemer, so that, in His steps, we may grow from strength to strength in evangelising all. Fill us with Your Spirit to enlighten and guide us and may the prayers of the Sorrowful Mother of Our Lord Jesus, be our perpetual succour. Through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, God for always and forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 2 September – Wednesday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time
Prayer for Five Graces By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Eternal Father, Your Son has promised that You would grant, all the graces we ask of You in His name. Trusting in this promise and in the name of and through the merits of Jesus Christ, I ask of You five special graces: First, I ask pardon for all the offenses I have committed, for which I am sorry with all my heart because I have offended Your infinite goodness. Second, I ask for Your divine Light, which will enable me to see the vanity of all things of this earth and see also Your infinite greatness and goodness. Third, I ask for a share in Your love, so that I can detach myself from all creatures, especially from myself and love only Your holy will. Fourth, grant me the grace to have confidence in the merits of Jesus Christ and in the intercession of Mary. Fifth, I ask for the grace of perseverance, knowing that, whenever I call on You for assistance, You will answer my call and come to my aid. I fear only, that I will neglect to turn to You in time of need and thus bring myself to ruin. Grant me the grace to pray always, O Eternal Father, in the name of Our Lord Jesus. Amen
And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”… Luke 4:36
REFLECTION – “God is Spirit (Jn 4:24) and, being Spirit and incorporeal, He begot spiritually, by an inscrutable and incomprehensible generation. The Son Himself says of the Father: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you'” (Ps 2:7). This ‘today’ is not recent but eternal; this ‘today’ is timeless, before all ages. “From the womb before the morning star I begot you” (Ps 109 [110]:3). So believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. He is the Only-begotten Son according to the words of the Gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave his Only-begotten Son, so that they who believe in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16) (…) Saint John witnessed to this saying: “We saw his glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten from the father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14).
Trembling before Him the demons said: “Leave us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus, Son of the living God.” So He is the Son of God by nature and not by adoption, being begotten of the Father (…) For the Father, who is true God, begot a Son who is true God like Himself (…) The Father did not beget the Son in the way that the human mind begets speech. For the mind has a substantial reality within us but our speech, once uttered, is scattered on the air and expires. We know that Christ was begotten not as an uttered word but as “the living and abiding Word” (1Pt 1:23), not a word spoken by the lips and scattered but begotten by the Father eternally, indefinably and substantially. “For in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1), the Word who knew the Father’s will and made all things by the Father’s decree, the Word who descended and ascended (cf. Is 55:10-11) (…) This Word is endowed with authority and universal rule, for “the Father has entrusted all things to the Son” (cf. Jn 13:3).” … St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) – Baptismal Catechesis, no. 11, 5-10
PRAYER – God our Father, Your rule is a rule of love, Your providence is full of mercy for Your people. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Word made flesh and His sorrowful Mother, grant the spirit of wisdom and understanding in Your Word, Your Son Jesus Christ. Grant that by the light of His Resurrection we may know our eternal home and strive to attain eternal joy there with You. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
And they rose up and put him out of the city and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away….Luke 4:29-30
REFLECTION – “A doctor came amongst us to restore us to health – our Lord Jesus Christ. He discovered blindness in our hearts and promised the light that “eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered the heart of man” (1Cor 2:9). The humility of Jesus Christ is the cure for your pride. Do not scorn what will bring you healing, be humble, you for whom God humbled Himself. Indeed, He knew that the medicine of humility would cure you, He, who well understood your sickness and knew how to cure it. While you were unable to run to the doctor’s house, the doctor in person came to your house… He is coming, He wants to help you, He knows what you need. God has come with humility precisely in order that man might imitate Him. If He had remained above you, how would you have been able to imitate Him? And, without imitating Him, how could you be healed? He came with humility because He knew the nature of the remedy He had to administer – a little bitter, it is true but healing. And do you continue to scorn Him? He who holds out the cup to you and you say: “But what sort of God is this God of mine? He was born, suffered, was covered with spittle, crowned with thorns, nailed on the cross!” O miserable soul! You see the doctor’s humility and not the cancer of your pride. That is why humility displeases you… It often happens that mentally ill people end up by beating their doctor. When that happens, the unfortunate doctor is not only not distressed by the one who beat him but attempts to treat him… As for our doctor, He did not fear being killed by sick people afflicted with madness, He turned His own death into their remedy. Indeed, He died and rose again.”…St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – My Lord and my God, help me eternal Father, to overcome my weakness! Teach me to be constantly on guard against my pride, to constantly keep watch for temptation and to live constantly in prayer, that Your Son will lead me to safety. St Raymond Nonnatus, you suffered torture but always remain prayerful and awake, imitating the Lord, please pray for me, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 31 August – The last day of the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – Monday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time
Deign, O Immaculate Virgin By St Paschasius Radbertus (785–865)
Deign, O Immaculate Virgin, Mother most pure, to accept the loving cry of praise which we send up to you from the depths of our hearts. Though they can but add little to your glory, O Queen of Angels, you do not despise, in your love, the praises of the humble and the poor. Cast down upon us a glance of mercy, O most glorious Queen, graciously receive our petitions. Through your immaculate purity of body and mind, which rendered you so pleasing to God, inspire us with a love of innocence and purity. Teach us to guard carefully the gifts of grace, striving ever after sanctity, so that, being made like the image of your beauty, we may be worthy to become the sharers of your eternal happiness. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 30 August – Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sweet Sacrament, We Thee Adore By Fr Francis Xavier Lasance (1860-1946) Prayer at the Consecration
I see upon the altar placed the Victim of the greatest love, Let all the earth below adore and join the heavenly choirs above: Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore, Oh! make us love Thee more and more.
Jesus! dear Shepherd of the flock that crowds in love about Thy feet, Our voices yearn to praise Thee, Lord and joyfully Thy presence greet: Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore, Oh! make us love Thee more and more.
One Minute Reflection – 29 August – The Memorial of the Beheading of St John the Baptist, Readings: 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31, Psalms 33: 12-13, 18-19, 20-21, Mark 6: 17-29
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”… Mark 6:24
REFLECTION – “The great forerunner of grace and messenger of truth, John the Baptist, Christ’s shining torch, Now becomes the preacher of eternal Light. The prophetic witness that he never ceased to show In his message, life and all his mighty works, Is signed today by the blood of his martyrdom.
He always went before his Lord: In birth declared his coming to the world. By his baptism of sinners in the Jordan He foretold the one by whom baptism would be instituted And, by shedding his blood for Him with love, John the Baptist also experienced beforehand The death of Christ our Saviour, who gave life to the world.
A cruel tyrant may well conceal him in a prison, bound with irons, Yet in Christ such chains could never bind a man, Whose heart in freedom opens to the Kingdom. How could the darkness and torments of a dungeon dim Gain mastery over one who sees Christ’s glory And receives from Him the Holy Spirit’s gifts? Willingly he gives his head to the executioner’s sword; How could he lose his head Whose Head is Christ?
Happy is he who wins today his forerunner’s title By his departure from this world of ours. Today his death proclaims his testimony while living: Christ who comes and who now is here. Could hell hold fast the messenger who escapes it? The just, the prophets and the martyrs are full of joy As they go with him to meet the Saviour. All surround John with their praises and their love And, with him, beg Christ to come at last to those who are His own.
O great forerunner of the Redeemer, he delays no longer Who sets you free from death for evermore. Led by your Lord, Enter into glory with the saints!” … St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – God our Father, You appointed St John the Baptist to be the herald of the birth and death of Christ Your Son. Grant that as he died a martyr for justice and truth, so we may also courageously bear witness to Your Word. We make our prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever. St John the Baptist, pray for us, amen.
“The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.” … Matthew 25:3-4
REFLECTION – “It is some great thing, some exceedingly great thing, that this oil signifies. Do you think it might be charity? If we try out this hypothesis, we hazard no precipitate judgement. I will tell you why charity seems to be signified by the oil. The apostle says, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” “If I speak with the tongue of mortals and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” This is charity. It is “that way above the rest,” which is, with good reason, signified by the oil. For oil swims above all liquids. Pour in water and pour in oil upon it, the oil will swim above. If you keep the usual order, it will be uppermost, if you change the order, it will be uppermost. “Charity never fails.” … St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor – Sermon 93
PRAYER – Renew in Your Church, we pray , O Lord, the spirit with which You endowed Your Bishop Saint Augustine, that, filled with the same spirit, we may thirst for You, the sole fount of true wisdom and seek You, the author of heavenly love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. St Augustine, pray for us! Amen
Our Morning Offering – August 28 – Friday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Augustine (354-430) – Doctor of Grace
Only You! By St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You and desire nothing save only You. Let me hate myself and love You. Let me do everything for the sake of You. Let me humble myself and exalt You. Let me think of nothing except You. Let me die to myself and live in You. Let me accept whatever happens as from You. Let me banish self and follow You and ever desire to follow You. Let me fly from myself and take refuge in You, That I may deserve to be defended by You. Let me fear for myself. Let me fear You and let me be among those who are chosen by You. Let me distrust myself and put my trust in You. Let me be willing to obey for the sake of You. Let me cling to nothing save only to You, And let me be poor because of You. Look upon me, that I may love You. Call me, that I may see You and forever enjoy You. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 27 August – Thursday of the Twenty First week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 1: 1-9, Psalms 145: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, Matthew 24: 42-51 and the Memorial of Bl Amadeus of Lausanne OCist (1110—1159) Bishop
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! … for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” … Matthew 24:42,44
REFLECTION – “Listen to my words and give ear to my humble discourses,I cry out to you all, I exhort you: “Lift up your hearts to God, unbind yourselves from your attachment to the passions!” Here is what the prophet cries to you: “Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob” (Is 2:3), which is that of impassibility and let us contemplate with the eyes of our mind,s the joy held in store for us by the heavenly promises. My beloved children, gather up your fervour, take wings of fire like the dove, as it is written, fly away (cf. Ps 54[55]:7), place yourselves among the virtuous, those on the right side (Mt 25:33). Receive joy, spiritual desire, impassioned for God. Taste the great sweetness of His love (cf. Rev 10:9-10) and, by it, considering all else as secondary, tread vainglory underfoot, the desire of the flesh and bitter anger! (…) Let us hike up our tunics, be on the alert, have eagle eyes – this is the speediest flight for the trip which leads us from earth to Heaven! It is true, travellers can have something to endure. And this happens to you too – indeed, as you see, you struggle under hard labours, you tire yourselves, you work the ground until you are out of breath, you pour with sweat, you are at the end of your strength, hungry, thirsty, one of you labouring at the plough, the other cultivating the vineyard, another pressing oil, or cooking, constructing, making bread or busy about the cellar. Briefly, each is at their post. All go forward on the highway to God, they approach the great City and, in death, they will have entry to the unutterable joy of the good things God reserves for all those who have loved Him! … May we be accounted worthy of the kingdom of Christ Himself, our God, to whom belongs all glory and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, world without end. Amen.” … St Theodore the Studite (759-826) Monk at Constantinople – Catechesis 16
PRAYER – Lord God, renew Your Church with the Spirit of wisdom and love which You gave to St Amadeus. Lead us by that same Spirit, to seek You, the only fountain of true wisdom and the source of everlasting love. May we turn to You in sorrow and true repentance when we fail and strive always and everywhere to live in Your truth and Your love for all and thus be ready when You come. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, in union with the Spirit, one God, forever and ever. St Amadeus, pray for Holy Mother Church and for us all, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 27 August – Thursday of the Twenty First week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God CP (1792-1849)
One of Blessed Dominic’s major Conversions, St John Henry Newman, will do the honours today.
Raise My Heart St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
O my God, whatever is nearer to me than You, things of this earth and things more naturally pleasing to me, will be sure to interrupt the sight of You, unless Your grace interfere. Keep You my eyes, my ears, my heart, from any such miserable tyranny. Keep my whole being fixed on You. Let me never lose sight of You and while I gaze on You, let my love of You grow more and more everyday. Amen
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” … Matthew 23:27
REFLECTION – “You are before God. Question your heart, see what you have done and what you have been yearning for there—your salvation or the windy praise of men. Look within, for a person cannot judge one whom he cannot see. If we are assuring our heart, let us assure it in His presence. “Because if our heart thinks badly”—that is, if it accuses us within, because we aren’t acting with the spirit with which we should be acting —“God is greater than our heart, and he knows all things” (v.20). You hide your heart from man – hide it from God if you can . How will you hide it from Him to whom it was said by a certain sinner in fear and confession: “Where shall 1 go from your spirit, and where shed! I flee from your face?”… For where does God not exist? “If,” he said, “I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to hell, you are present” (Ps 139[138]:7-8). Where will you go? Where will you flee? Do you want to hear some advice? If you want to flee from Him, flee to Him. Flee to Him by Confessing, not from Him by hiding, for you cannot hide but you can Confess. Tell Him. “You are my refuge” (Ps 32[31]:7) and let there be nursed in you the love that alone leads to life.”…St Augustine (354-430) – Doctor of Grace
PRAYER – Lord, be the beginning and the end of all that we do and say. Prompt our actions with Your grace and complete them with Your all-powerful help. Fill us with the grace of Your true love, that our hearts may be made of flesh and not of stone. May our hearts, minds and souls belong to You alone. May the guiding hand of the Mother of Your Son lead us, with unfailing tenderness, to You. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, ‘totus tuus’ Maria – please pray for us, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 26 August – Wednesday of the Twenty First week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Mary of Jesus Crucified OCD (1846-1878)
Holy Spirit, Inspire Me By St Mary of Jesus Crucified OCD (1846-1878)
Holy Spirit, inspire me. Love of God, consume me. Along the true road lead me. Mary, my mother, look upon me. With Jesus bless me. From all evil, from all illusion, from all danger, preserve me. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 25 August – Tuesday of the Twenty First week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-3a, 14-17, Psalms 96: 10, 11-12,13, Matthew 23: 23-26 – The Memorials of Sts Louis IX, (1214-1270) King of France, St Thomas de Cantelupe of Hereford (c 1218–1282) and St Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648) Founder
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier things of the law – judgement and mercy and fidelity. [But] these you should have done, without neglecting the others…” … Matthew 23:23
REFLECTION – “Not only among the Jews but among ourselves as well, we find people sinning in these ways. They are swallowing camels. People of this type frequently show off their religion even in the smallest of things. They are rightly called hypocrites for wanting to exploit their religiosity before men but being unwilling to undertake that very faith, which God Himself has justified. Therefore, the imitators of the scribes and Pharisees must be dislodged and sent away from us, lest a woe, touches us, in the same way it touches them. The scribes could be described as those who valued nothing found in the Scriptures, except its plain sense interpreted legalistically. Meanwhile, they condemn those who look into the very depths of God Himself. Mint and dill and cumin are only spices for food but are not themselves, substantial food. What substantive food would mean in conversion, would be that which is necessary for the justification of our souls—faith and love—unlike these legalisms, which are more like condiments and flavourings. It is as if, a meal might be thought to consist, more of condiments and flavourings than the food itself. The seriousness of judgement is neglected, while great attention is given to minor matters. Spiritual exercises which in and of themselves are hardly justice, are spoken of as justice and compassion and faith. It is lacking in justice to treat these small parts as the whole. When we do not offer to God the observance of all that is necessary for worship, we fail altogether.” … Origen (c 185-253) – Priest, Theologian, Father – Commentary on Matthew, 19
PRAYER – Dear Lord, help me to teach others about You by my example as well as my words. Grant that I may spread Your truth and Your light wherever I go. St Louis and St Joseph of Calasanz, you are examples of the way to true faith and love, assist us by your prayers, in living the true way of life in this world to attain our true home in heaven. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 25 August – Tuesday of the Twenty First week in Ordinary Time and The Memorial of St Louis IX (1214-1270) King of France
O God, We Love You
Prayer inspired by St Louis’ Last Instructions to his Eldest Son, Philip (Perhaps Philip prayed thus)
O God, we love You. We want to do nothing to displease You. If we have troubles, let us thank You. If we don’t, we also humbly thank You. Let us look for ways to grow closer to You, whether in Confession, prayer, or at Mass. Let us open our hearts to afflicted people and do what we can to comfort them. Let us look for ways to improve our society. Thank You for friends who help us bear our burdens and help us grow in holiness. Let us turn away from gossip or swearing. Let us always do what is right for those we serve and promote peace among our neighbours. Let us be quick to defend our Faith. O Holy Trinity, all You holy saints, please defend us from all evils. Please give us grace to do Your will always, so that You are honoured and so we may be with You forever. Amen
“Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” … John 1:48
REFLECTION – “Now Jacob had been called in Scripture a man without guile. Jacob himself, as you know, was surnamed Israel. That is why in the Gospel, when the Lord saw Nathanael, he said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile.” And that Israelite, not yet knowing who was speaking to him, replied, “How do you know me?” And the Lord said to him, “While you were under the fig tree I saw you,” as though to say, “While you were under the shadow of sin, I predestined you.” And Nathanael, remembering he had been under the fig tree where the Lord had not been, recognised the divinity in Him and answered, “You are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel.” Though he was under the fig tree, he did not become a withered fig tree – he acknowledged Christ. And the Lord said to him, “Because I said, While you were under the fig tree I saw you, is that why you believe? You shall see greater things than that.”
What are these greater things? “Amen, I tell you.” Because that man is an Israelite in whom there is no guile, look back to Jacob, in whom there is no guile and recollect, when Jesus tells you, the stone at his head, the vision in his sleep, the stairs from earth to heaven, the beings coming down and going up and then see, what the Lord says to the Israelite without guile: “You shall see heaven opened”—listen, guileless Nathanael, to what guileless Jacob saw—“and angels going up and coming down”—to whom?—“to the Son of man.”” … St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace – Sermon 89
PRAYER – Collect: Strengthen in us, O Lord, the faith, by which the blessed Apostle Bartholomew clung wholeheartedly to Your Son, and grant that through the help of his prayers Your Church may become for all the nations, the sacrament of salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 24 August – Feast of St Bartholomew, Apostle of Christ
Great Saint of God, Bartholomew Breviary Hymn for the Feast of St Bartholomew
Great Saint of God, Bartholomew, Apostle now enthroned above, Our lowly supplications hear, Accept our hymn of praise and love.
With tender eyes Christ welcomed you. Among His Twelve you would have part. You wondered as He greatly praised Your deep sincerity of heart.
He whom the prophets had foretold, Foreshadowed too in many ways, The great Messiah, come at last, Smiled back to greet your joyous gaze.
Heart spoke to heart and from that day, Your faith and love in strength would gain, For you would follow Him in death And then for ever with Him reign.
Apostle and close friend of Christ Who rules beyond the chain of time, You share in joy your Master’s life, And help us from that fount sublime.
To Him be glory and all praise Who by your help and loving prayer, Will grant that we in heaven’s home Your everlasting joy may share. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 23 August – Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Isaiah 22: 19-23, Psalms 138: 1-2, 2-3,6, 8 (8bc), Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20 and the Memorial of St Tydfil (Died c 480) Martyr of Wales
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ” … Matthew 16:17-18
REFLECTION – “We feel Ourself perfectly safe on the rock of Holy Church. … Supernatural force has never … been found wanting in the Church, nor have Christ’s promises failed; … nay, they are endowed with even greater force for Us after having stood the test of centuries and so many changes of circumstances and events.
Kingdoms and empires have passed away; peoples once renowned for their history and civilisation have disappeared; time and again the nations, as though overwhelmed by the weight of years, have fallen asunder; while the Church, indefectible in her essence, united by ties indissoluble with her heavenly Spouse, is here today radiant with eternal youth, strong with the same primitive vigour with which she came from the Heart of Christ dead upon the Cross. Men powerful in the world have risen up against her. They have disappeared and she remains! Philosophical systems without number, of every form and every kind, rose up against her, arrogantly vaunting themselves her masters, as though they had at last destroyed the doctrine of the Church, refuted the dogmas of her faith, proved the absurdity of her teachings. But those systems, one after another, have passed into books of history, forgotten, bankrupt; while from the Rock of Peter the light of truth shines forth as brilliantly as on the day when Jesus first kindled it on His appearance in the world and fed it with His Divine words: “Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass” (Mt 24:35). (…)
Wherefore, … turn your steps towards this unshaken rock upon which Our Saviour founded the Universal Church, so that the path of him, who is sincere of heart, may not be lost in devious windings.” … St Pope Pius X (1835-1914) (Papal reign: 1903 to 1914 – Encyclical “Iuncunda sane”
PRAYER – God our Father, for love of You, St Tydfil the Martyr, left the world and gave herself to a life of penitence, austerity and charity, loving You and Your Church with the greatest of all loves. Help us by her prayers, so to follow the path of life on earth, in complete love of You and thus of Your children, that we may obtain the fullness of joy in Your presence in heaven and be clothed fit for the wedding feast. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering –23 August – Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Late Have I Loved You By St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
Late have I loved You, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved You! Lo, you were within, but I outside, seeking there for You, and upon the shapely things You have made I rushed headlong – I, misshapen. You were with me but I was not with You. They held me back far from You, those things which would have no being, were they not in You. You called, shouted, broke through my deafness. You flared, blazed, banished my blindness. You lavished Your fragrance, I gasped and now I pant for You. I tasted You and now I hunger and thirst. You touched me and I burned for Your peace. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 22 August – Saturday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 43: 1-7ab, Psalms 85: 9ab,10, 11-12, 13-14, Matthew 23:1-12 and The Memorial of the Queenship of Mary
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” … Matthew 23:12
REFLECTION – “Humility is a secret power the saints receive when they bring all their life’s ascetical practices to a successful conclusion. For indeed, this power is only bestowed on those who attain to the perfection of virtue through the strength of grace … It is the same power the blessed Apostles received in the form of fire. Our Saviour commanded them, in fact, not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the power from on high (Acts 2:3; 1:4). Here Jerusalem stands for virtue; the power is humility and the power from on high, is the Paraclete, in other words the Consoler Spirit.
Now this is exactly what Sacred Scripture had said – these mysteries are revealed to the humble (Lk 10:21). To the humble it is given to receive within themselves that Spirit of revelation that uncovers mysteries. That is why certain saints have said that humility is what brings the soul to fulfilment in divine contemplation. So let no-one start thinking they have attained complete humility because at some moment a thought of compunction came to them or because they shed a few tears …. But if someone has overcome every contrary spirit …, if he has overturned and subjected all the strongholds of the enemy and if he then feels that he has received that grace in which “the Spirit bears witness to our spirit” (Rom 8:16), in the apostle Paul’s words, then there is the perfection of humility. Blessed are they who possess it. For they continually embrace the breast of Jesus (cf. Jn 13,25).” … St Isaac the Syrian of Nineveh (c 613-c 700) Bishop of Nineveh, Monk at Mosul – Ascetical discourses, 1st series, no 20
PRAYER – Almighty God, our Father, You have given us Mary, the Mother of Your Son, to be our Mother and our Queen. Grant that, supported by her example and her prayers, we may learn true humility and come to the kingdom of heaven and to the glory destined for Your children. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 22 August – Saturday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time and The Memorial of the Queenship of Mary
Salve Regina Hail Holy Queen By Blessed Herman the Cripple (1013–1054)
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, Poor banished children of Eve, To thee do we send up our sighs, Mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, Thine eyes of mercy toward us And after this our exile, Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus
This line, below, by St Bernard (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
℣ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, ℟ that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
One Minute Reflection – 21 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Friday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 37: 1-14, Psalms 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Matthew 22:34-40 and the Memorial of St Pope Pius X (1835-1914) (Pontiff 1903-1914)
“On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” … Matthew 22:40
REFLECTION – “When our Master was asked which was the greatest of the commandments, He replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength. There is no other commandment greater than this” (Mk 12:30-31). I think so, too, since it concerns primary and essential Being, God our Father, through whom all things were made, all things remain in being and to whom all who are saved will return. He it is who loved us the first, who gave birth to us. It would be sacrilege to think there exists any being more ancient or more wise. Our thanksgiving may be insignificant compared to his great gifts, yet we cannot offer him any other recognition, he who is perfection itself and has no need of anything. Let us love our Father with all our strength and ardor of soul and we shall win immortality. The more we love God, the more is our nature incorporated and mingled with his own.
The second commandment, Jesus says, yields in nothing to the first: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (…) When the scholar of the Law asks Jesus: “And who is my neighbour?” (Lk 10:29), he does not reply by giving the Jewish definition of neighbour – family, fellow Jews, proselytes, those who live according to the same Law – but tells the story of a traveller who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Wounded by robbers (…), the man was cared for by a Samaritan who “showed himself a neighbour” (v. 36).
And who is even more of a neighbour to me than our Saviour? Who showed more compassion to us when the powers of darkness had left us battered by blows? (…) Jesus alone knew how to heal our wounds and root out the evils planted in our hearts (…). That is why we should love Him just as much as we love God our Father. And loving Christ Jesus, is to carry out His will and keep His commandments.” … St Clement of Alexandria (150-215) Theologian and Father of the Church – Homily “Can the rich be saved?”
PRAYER – Lord God, You filled the saints with strength and courage and gave them the knowledge of unity with You. Grant, we pray, that in imitation of St Pope Pius X, we may defend the Catholic faith and renew all things in Christ, Your Son. Help us Holy Father, to follow the example of St Pius and finally inherit eternal life, with You and all the saints. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 21 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Friday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Pope Pius X (1835-1914) (Pontiff 1903-1914)
O Most Holy Virgin By St Pope Pius X (1835-1914)
Most holy Virgin, who pleased our Lord and became His Mother, Virgin Immaculate in your body and soul, in your faith and love, at this solemn jubilee of the promulgation of the dogma which proclaimed you to the entire world as conceived without sin, look kindly on us, unfortunate ones, who implore your powerful protection. The infernal serpent, upon whom the primeval curse was laid, continues, alas, to attack and tempt the hapless children of Eve. Ah! Do you, our blessed Mother, our Queen and Advocate, who at the first moment of your conception did crush the enemy’s head, do you gather together our prayers and we beseech you (our hearts one with yours), present them before God’s throne, that we may never allow ourselves to be caught in the snares laid for us but that we may reach the portal of salvation and that the Church and Christian society may once more chant the hymn of deliverance, of victory and of peace. Amen
Composed for the fiftieth anniversary of the definition of the Immaculate Conception, 8 September 1903.
Our Morning Offering – 20 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Thursday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) “Doctor of Light”
Run, hasten, O Lady, I Call upon You By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
Run, hasten, O Lady, and in your mercy help your sinful servant, who calls upon you, and deliver him from the hands of the enemy. Who will not sigh to you? We sigh with love and grief, for we are oppressed on every side. How can we do otherwise than sigh to you, O solace of the miserable, refuge of outcasts, ransom of captives? We are certain that when you see our miseries, your compassion will hasten to relieve us. O our sovereign Lady and our Advocate, commend us to your Son. Grant, O blessed one, by the grace which you have merited, that He who through you was graciously pleased to become a partaker of our infirmity and misery, may also, through your intercession, make us partakers, of His happiness and glory. Amen
One Minute Reflection -19 August – Wednesday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 34: 1-11, Psalms 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6, Matthew 20:1-16 and The Memorial of St John Eudes Orat. (1601-1680) “Apostle of Two Hearts” and St Louis of Toulouse OFM (1274-1297)
“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first and the first last.” … Matthew 20:15-16
REFLECTION – “One of the robbers crucified with Jesus cried out: “Lord, remember me; it is to you I now turn (…). Remember not my works, for of these I am afraid. Every man has a feeling for his fellow-traveller; I am travelling with you towards death; remember me, your fellow-wayfarer. I do not say, Remember me now, but, “when you come in your kingdom” (Lk 23:42).
What power, O robber, led you to the Light? Who taught you to worship that despised Man, your companion on the cross? O Light Eternal, which gives light to them that are in darkness! (Lk 1:79) “Take courage! Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” because “today you have heard my voice, and have not hardened your heart” (Ps 95[94]:8). Very speedily I passed sentence upon Adam (…) but you, who today have obeyed the faith, today is your salvation. By the tree Adam fell away; by the tree you are brought into paradise (…)
O mighty and ineffable grace! The faithful Abraham had not yet entered but the robber enters! Paul also wondered at this before you, saying, “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more” (Rom 5:20). They who had borne the heat of the day had not yet entered and he of the eleventh hour entered. Let none murmur against the Master of the House, for He says, “My friend, I am not cheating you. Am I not free to do as I wish with what is my own?” The robber has a will to work righteousness … I accept his faith … I, the Shepherd, have “found the sheep that was lost”; I lay it on my shoulders (Lk 15:5); since he himself has said, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Lord, remember me when You come in Your kingdom.” … St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Bishop of Jerusalem, Father, Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Father of mercies and God of all consolation, You gave us the loving Heart of Your own beloved Son, because of the boundless love by which You have loved us, which no tongue can describe. May we render You a love that is perfect with hearts made one with His. Grant, we pray, that our hearts may be brought to perfect unity, each heart with the other and all hearts with the Heart of Jesus….and may the rightful yearnings of our hearts find fulfilment through Him, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. – Collect from Saint John Eudes’ Mass, Gaudeamus, 1668 St John Eudes and St Louis of Toulouse, Pray for us! amen.
Our Morning Offering – 19 August – Monday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time and The Memorial of St John Eudes Orat. (1601-1680) “Apostle of Two Hearts”
Be the Heart of My Heart By St John Eudes (1501-1680)
O Heart all lovable and all loving of my Saviour, be the Heart of my heart, the Soul of my soul, the Spirit of my spirit, the Life of my life and the sole principle of all my thoughts, words and actions, of all the faculties of my soul and of all my senses, both interior and exterior. Amen
“… Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” … Matthew 19:28
REFLECTION – “In gift-giving it is not the gift itself, that God praises and approves but the will and sincerity of the giver. He excuses and holds more acceptable, the one who gave less but gave it with more perfect sincerity, than the one who gave more, from a fuller store but with less pure affection. Thus, from what is written about the gifts of the wealthy and from the two mites which the widow in the treasury sent for the poor, it is clear that the same also happens to those who leave everything that they possess, for the love of God, so as to follow undistractedly the Christ of God. They will do everything according to His word.
The one who leaves the greater wealth is not more acceptable than the one who leaves the lesser. This is especially so if he leaves the lesser with his whole heart. What Peter left, along with his brother Andrew, was small and of no value but when they both heard, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men, immediately they left their nets and followed him.” Yet they were not valued lightly by God, who knew that they had done this with great love. God knew that even if they had been endowed with much wealth they would still not have been distracted by it, nor would their desire to follow Jesus have been thwarted by it ….
Those who follow the Saviour, therefore, will sit on the twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel and will receive this power in the resurrection of the dead. For this is the regeneration, a new birth, when the new heaven and the new earth are established for those who renew themselves and a New Testament with it’s chalice is given.” … Origen (c 185-253) – Commentary on Matthew, 15
PRAYER – Father of might and power, every good and perfect gift comes to us from You. Implant in our hearts the love of Your name and Your creatures. Increase our zeal for Your service by following behind Your Son with determination and joy. Nourish in us what good and tend it with watchful care. Grant that the prayers and caring love of the Blessed Virgin, our Mother, may help us to follow Jesus our Saviour unreservedly and thus attain eternal life. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord in the union of the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 18 August – Tuesday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of Saint Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850) Monk, Abbot, Defender of Icons, miracle worker
To You, O Master By St Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850)
To You, O Master,
who loves all mankind
I hasten on rising from sleep.
By Your mercy,
I go out to do Your work
and I make my prayer to You.
Help me at all times and in all things.
Deliver me from every evil thing of this world
and from pursuit by the devil.
Save me and bring me to Your eternal kingdom,
For You are my Creator,
You inspire all good thoughts in me.
In You is all my hope
and to You I give glory,
now and forever.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 17 August – Monday of the 20th week in Ordinary Time
Give to Me or Take from Me By Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
O Lord,
let me not henceforth desire health or life,
except to spend them for You
and with You.
You alone know what is good for me,
do, therefore, what seems best.
Give to me or take from me,
conform my will to Yours
and grant that,
with humble and perfect submission
and in holy confidence,
I may receive the orders
of Your eternal providence
and may equally adore,
all that comes to me from You,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
AnaStpaul 
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