Category: MORNING Prayers

Posted in BAPTISM, CHRIST the LIGHT, CONFESSION/PENANCE, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SACRED HEART ASPIRATIONS, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 June – What … shall this child be?

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One Minute Reflection – 24 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus”– Within the Corpus Christi Octave – The Nativity of St John the Baptist – Isaias 49:1-3, 5-7 – Luke 1:57-68 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“ What … shall this child be? For the hand of the Lord was with him.” – Luke 1:66

REFLECTION – “Rightly then, did the birth of this child make many rejoice then and does make many rejoice today – born in the old age of his parents, he was to preach the grace of rebirth to an aging world. Rightly does the Church solemnly venerate this birth which is wonderfully brought about by grace and, at which nature wonders.

To me certainly, the birth of the world’s Lamp (Jn 5:35) brings fresh joy, for it enabled me to recognise the true Light shining in the darkness but not mastered by the darkness, (Jn1:5.9). His birth brings me a joy utterly unspeakable, for so many outstanding benefits accrue to the world through it.
He is the first to give the Church instruction, to initiate it by penance, to prepare it by Baptism. When it is prepared, he delivers it to Christ and unites it with Him, (Jn 3:29). He both trains it to live temperately and, by his own death, gives it the strength to die with fortitude. In all these ways, he prepares a perfect people for the Lord. (Lk 1:17).” – Bl Guerric of Igny (c1080-1157) Cistercian Abbot (Sermon 1 for Saint John the Baptist).

PRAYER – O God, Who made this a day most worthy of our celebration because of blessed John; grant Thy people the grace of spiritual joys and direct the minds of all the faithful into the path of eternal salvation. T hrough Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Sweet Heart of my JESUS, Make me love Thee ever more and more!
INDULGENCE – 300 Days. i. Partial, Every time ii. Plenary, once a month. Pope Pius IX, 26 November 1876 Raccolta 162

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, FATHERS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, St JOHN the BAPTIST

Our Morning Offering – 24 June – Antra Deserti – Thou, in thy Childhood

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Our Morning Offering – 24 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Within the Corpus Christi Octave – The Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist

Antra Deserti
Thou, in thy Childhood
By Paul the Deacon (c720s-c799)
“Cassinensis (of Monte Cassino)”
Monk, Spiritual Author, Historian, Poet

Thou, in thy childhood, to the desert caverns
Fleddest for refuge from the cities’ turmoil,
Where the world’s slander might not dim thy luster,
Lonely abiding.

Camel’s hair raiment clothed thy saintly members;
Leathern the girdle which thy loins encircled;
Locusts and honey, with the fountain-water,
Daily sustained thee.

Oft in past ages, seers with hearts expectant
Sang the far-distant advent of the Day-Star;
Thine was the glory, as the world’s Redeemer
First to proclaim Him.

Far as the wide world reacheth, born of woman,
Holier was there none than John the Baptist;
Meetly in water laving Him who cleanseth
Man from pollution.

Praise to the Father, to the Son begotton,
And to the Spirit, equal power possessing,
One God whose glory, through the lapse of ages,
Ever resoundeth.

This Hymn, “Ut queant laxis resonare fibris”, is in three parts.
The Breviary and Roman Missal list the above for Matins today, on the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 23 June –Leave there thy offering before the Altar and go first to be reconciled to thy brother

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One Minute Reflection – 23 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Within the Corpus Christi – The Vigil of the Nativity of St John the Baptist or St John’s Eve – – 1 Peter 3:8-15 – Matthew 5:20-24 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Leave there thy offering before the Altar and go first to be reconciled to thy brother and then, coming, thou shalt offer thy gift.” – Matthew 5:24

REFLECTION – “The measure with which you measure shall be measured out to you” (Mt 7:2). And the servant who, after having had all his debt forgiven him by his master, would not forgive his fellow-servant, is confined to prison. Because he was unwilling to forgive his fellow-servant, he lost the forgiveness which had been granted him by the Lord (Mt 18:23f). And these things Christ sets forth still more strongly in his precepts by the greater force of his censure. He says: “When you stand praying, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your transgressions” (Mk 11:25) …

For God commands us to be peacemakers and of one heart and of one mind, in His House. And such as He has made us by a second birth, so by a second birth He wishes to preserve us that we, who are the children of God, may abide in the peace of God and that we ,who have one spirit, may have one heart and mind. Thus God does not receive the sacrifice of a person who is in disagreement but commands him to go back from the Altar and first be reconciled to his brother that so God also, may be appeased by the prayers of the peacemaker. The greater sacrifice to God is our peace and fraternal concord and a people united in the unity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” – St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop of Carthage, Martyr, Father of the Church (The Lord’s Prayer, 23).

PRAYER – O God, Thou Who hast prepared good things as yet unseen for those who love Thee, pour a burning love into our hearts, so that we, loving Thee, in and above all things, may obtain Thy promises which surpass all desire. Through 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).

EUCHARISTIC Heart of JESUS, have mercy on us.
INDULGENCE: 300 Days. TQ Toties Quoties = any number of times.
St Pius X, 26 July 1907; 26 December 1907 – Raccolta 176.

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, JESUIT SJ, Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 23 June – Anima Christi

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Our Morning Offering – 23 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Within the Corpus Christi Octave

Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
Good Jesus, hear me
Within Your wounds, shelter me
from turning away, keep me
From the evil one, protect me
At the hour of my death, call me
Into Your presence lead me
to praise You with all Your saints
Forever and ever,
Amen

For many years the Anima Christi was popularly believed to have been composed by Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) , as he puts it at the beginning of his Spiritual Exercises and often refers to it. In the first edition of the Spiritual Exercises Ignatius merely mentions it, evidently supposing that the reader would know it. In later editions, it was printed in full. It was by assuming that everything in the book was written by Ignatius that it came to be looked upon as his composition. On this account the prayer is sometimes referred to as the Aspirations of St. Ignatius Loyola and so my image shows St Ignatius at prayer.

However, the prayer actually dates to the early fourteenth century and was possibly written by Pope John XXII but its authorship remains uncertain. It has been found in a number of prayer books printed during the youth of Ignatius and is in manuscripts which were written a hundred years before his birth. The English hymnologist James Mearns found it in a manuscript of the British Museum which dates to about 1370. In the library of Avignon there is preserved a prayer book of Cardinal Pierre de Luxembourg (died 1387), which contains the prayer in practically the same form as we have it today. It has also been found inscribed on one of the gates of the Alcázar of Seville, which dates to the time of Pedro the Cruel (1350–1369).

The invocations in the prayer have rich associations with Catholic concepts that relate to the Eucharist (Body and Blood of Christ), Baptism (water) and the Passion of Jesus (Precious Blood and Holy Wounds). And yes – that is St Ignatius in my image.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on MISSION, SACRED HEART ASPIRATIONS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 22 June – Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city …’ Luke 14:21

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One Minute Reflection – 22 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – The Solemnity of Corpus Christi and Within the Corpus Christi Octave – St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431) Bishop, Confessor, Father of the Church –1 John 3:13-18 – Luke 14:16-24 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The servant went and reported this to his Master. Then the Master of the house was angry and commanded His servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and bring in here, the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame…” – Luke 14:21

REFLECTION – “He turned to the Gentiles from the careless scorn of the rich. He invites both good and evil to enter, in order to strengthen the good and change the disposition of the wicked for the better. The saying that was read today is fulfilled, “Then wolves and lambs will feed together.” He summons the poor, the maimed and the blind. By this, He shows us, either that handicaps do not exclude us from the Kingdom of Heaven that the Lord’s mercy forgives the weakness of sinners. Whoever glories in the Lord, glories as one redeemed from reproach, not by works but by faith.

He sends them into the highways because Wisdom sings aloud in passages. He sends them to the streets because He sent them to sinners, so that they should come from the broad paths, to the narrow way which leads to life. He sends them to the highways and hedges . They, who are not busied with any desires for present things, hurry to the future on the path of goodwill. Like a hedge, which separates the wild from the cultivated and wards off the attacks of wild beasts, they can distinguish between good and evil and extend a rampart of faith against the temptations of spiritual wickedness.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 7).

PRAYER – O God, Who promised to those who forsake all things in this world for Thee, a hundred-fold reward in the world to come and life everlasting, mercifully grant that, following closely in the footsteps of the holy Bishop, Paulinus, we may look upon earthly things as nought and long only for those of Heaven. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

MAY the Heart of JESUS in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen. Indulgence 100 Days, Once a day. Raccolta 161 Pope Pius IX, 29 February 1868.

Posted in EUCHARISTIC, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 22 June – Soul of My Saviour, Sanctify My Breast

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Our Morning Offering – 22 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – he Solemnity of Corpus Christi and Within the Corpus Christi Octave

Soul of My Saviour,
Sanctify My Breast
Trans. Attri. to Fr John Hegarty (1752-1834)

Soul of my Saviour,
sanctify my breast;
Body of Christ,
be Thou my saving Guest;
Blood of my Saviour,
bathe me in Thy tide;
Wash me with water
flowing from Thy side.

Strength and protection,
may Thy Passion be;
O Blessed Jesus, hear
and answer me;
Deep in Thy Wounds, Lord,
hide and shelter me;
So shall I never, never,
part from Thee.

Hear me, Lord Jesus,
listen as I pray;
“Lead me from night,
to never-ending day.
Fill all the world,
with love and grace Divine,
And glory, laud and praise,
be ever Thine.”

This Hymn is based on the original Latin text of the Anima Christi. Fr Hegarty is attributed with its translation and/or arrangement.
He was born in County Derry, Ireland, educated at Dublin University and was Ordained in June 1890 and spent most of active apostolic years in Brisbane, Australia. He died aged 82 years.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on Love of Self, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, SACRED HEART ASPIRATIONS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 21 June – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” 

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One Minute Reflection – 21 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Within the Cor[us Christi Octave –St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591) Confessor – Ecclesiasticus 31:8-11 – Matthew 22:29-40 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Master, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” … Matthew 22:36

REFLECTION – “O Lord, what is it that you require of Your servants? “Take my yoke upon you,” you say. And what sort of yoke is this? “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” Now who would not willingly bear a yoke that does not press down but gives strength; a burden that does not weigh heavily but refreshes? As You rightly added: “And you will find rest” (Mt 11:29). And what is this yoke of Yours that does not tire but gives rest? It is the first and greatest of the commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” What could be easier, better or more agreeable than to love the goodness, beauty and love that is most perfectly Yours, O Lord my God?

Do You not offer a reward to those who keep the com­mandments, which are “more desirable than a heap of gold and sweeter than honey from the comb?” (Ps 19[18]:11) So in every way You offer a very ample reward, as James the Apostle says: “The Lord has prepared, the crown of life, for those who love Him” (Jas 1:12) (…) And Paul quotes these words from Isaiah: “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9).

That first and great commandment is not only profitable for the man who keeps it, or for God Who commands it, – the other commandments of God, also make perfect him who obeys them, improves him, instructs him and makes him illustrious – in a word, they make him good and holy. If you understand this, realise that you have been created for the glory of God and for your own eternal salvation. This is your end, this is the object of your soul and the treasure of your heart. You will be blessed if you reach this goal but miserable if you are cut off from it.” – St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church (The Ascent of the Mind to God, 1).

PRAYER – O God, bestower of heavenly gifts, Who in the angelic youth Aloysius joined wondrous innocence of life to an equally wondrous love of penance; grant, by his merits and prayers, that we who have not followed him in his innocence may imitate him in his penance. Through 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 Lady of the Sacred Heart, Pray for Us! – Indulgence 100 Days. Everytime – Raccolta 174 St Pius X, 9 July 1904.

Posted in MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 21 June – Consecration to Our Lady of the EucharistAfter Holy Communion

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Our Morning Offering – 21 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Saturday within the Corpus Christi Octave

Consecration to Our Lady of the Eucharist
After Holy Communion
By the Claretian Fathers Teaching Ministry
Order founded by St Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870)

Mary is called Our Lady of the Eucharist, because
without her, there would be no physical Body of Jesus
to be present in the Eucharist. (See John 6:51)

Most kind Mother,
we consecrate to thee, our bodies,
which have just been
honoured and sanctified,
by the presence of thy Divine Son,
our souls which have
conversed with Him
and our hearts which have loved Him.
O dearest Mother,
may the words which we have spoken, be made
acceptable to Him. through thy intercession.
Tell Him the things which we should have said
but were unable to express.
Love Him and beseech Him for us,
thy poor children.
Receive and keep us in thine heart.
Warn us, protect us
and guide us during this day
that we may faithfully serve thy Divine Son
and please Him
in all our thoughts, desires and actions.
Amen

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, SACRED HEART ASPIRATIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 June – The “bread of life” …

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One Minute Reflection – 20 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Within the Corpus Christi Octave – St Pope Silverius (Died 538) Martyr – 1 Corinthians 23-29 – John 6:56-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“This is the Bread which has come down from Heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this Bread shall live forever.” – John 6:59

REFLECTION – Christ is “the bread of life” for those who believe in Him: to believe in Christ is to eat the bread of life, to possess Christ within one, is to possess eternal life…
“I am the bread of life,” He says; “your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they are dead” (Jn 6,48f). By this is to be understood spiritual death. Why are they dead? Because they believed in what they saw and did not understand what they could not see… Moses ate manna, Aaron ate it and many others, too, who pleased God and are not dead. Why are they not dead? Because they understood, in a spiritual fashion, they were spiritually hungry, they tasted the manna spiritually, so that they might be spiritually satisfied. “This is the bread that came down from heaven: whoever eats it will never die” (v.50).
This manna – that is to say, Christ, who Himself spoke like this…, was prefigured by the manna but was able to do more than manna could. For manna could not, of itself, prevent dying spiritually… But the righteous saw Christ in the manna, they believed in His coming and Christ, of whom manna was the symbol, grants to all who believe in Him that they should not spiritually die. Hence He says: “This is the bread come down from heaven; whoever eats it will never see death.” Here on earth, here now, before your eyes, your eyes of flesh: here is to be found the “bread from heaven” (v.51). The “bread of life” we spoke of a moment ago is now called “living bread.” Living bread because it contains, within itself, the life that abides and can deliver from spiritual death and bestow life. First He said: “Whoever eats it will never die” now he speaks clearly, concerning the life He gives: “Whoever eats this bread will live for ever” (v.58). Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury (c 1125-1190) Cistercian – The Sacrament of the Altar II

PRAYER – Look forgivingly on Thy flock, Eternal Shepherd and keep it in Thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Sylverius Thy Martyr and Sovereign Pontiff, whom Thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church. Through 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).

ALL PRAISE, honour and glory to the Divine Heart of JESUS. Indulgenced– 50 Days, once a day. 168 Pope Leo XIII, 14 June 1901.

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, INDULGENCES, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, Our MORNING Offering, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 20 June – O Divine Jesus! Lonely in So Many Tabernacles Indulgenced Prayer By St Pius X

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Our Morning Offering – 20 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Within the Corpus Christi Octave

O Divine Jesus!
Lonely in So Many Tabernacles
By St Pope Pius X (1835-1914)
“Pope of the Blessed Sacrament”

O Divine Jesus!
Lonely today in so many Tabernacles,
without visitor or worshipper,
I offer Thee my lonely heart.
May it’s every beat be a prayer of love to Thee.
Thou are ever watching under the Sacramental Veils,
in Thou love, Thou never sleeps
and Thou are never weary of Thy vigils for sinners.
O Loving Jesus!
O Lonely Jesus!
may my heart be a lamp,
the light of which shall burn and beam
for Thee alone.
Watch, Sacramental Sentinel!
Watch for the weary world,
for the erring soul
and for Thy poor lonely child.

O Jesus, my God, I adore Thee,
here present in the Sacrament of Thy love.
Amen

Indulgences:
100 days each time before the Tabernacle
300 days each time before the Blessed Sacrament Exposed
(St Pope Pius X – 3 July 1908)
Prayers to the Sacred Heart
15th Ed 1936

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 June – ‘ …Christ the Lord, for Whom we should ceaselessly hunger! …’St Columban

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One Minute Reflection – 19 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Corpus Christi – 1 Corinthians 11:23-29. – John 6:56-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“For My Flesh is food indeed and My Blood is drink indeed.” – John 6:56

REFLECTION – “Beloved brethren, quench your thirst at the waters of that Divine Spring we want to tell you about – quench it but do not extinguish it; drink but do not become satisfied. The Living Spring, the Source of Life, calls us and says: “Let anyone who thirsts come to Me and drink” (Jn 7:37). Understand what it is you are drinking. Let the Prophet tell you and let the Source Itself tell you: “Listen to the word of the Lord, they have forsaken Me the Source of Living Water” (Jer 2:13). So the Lord our God Himself, Jesus Christ, is He Who is that Source of Life and that is why He invites us to come to Him so that we might drink Him. Whoever loves Him, drinks Him; whoever feeds on the Word of God, drinks Him. … Drink, therefore, from this Source that others have forsaken!

That we might eat of this Bread and drink from this Spring … He refers to Himself as “the Living Bread which gives life to the world” (cf Jn 6:51) which we are to eat. … See from where this Spring flows! see from where this Bread comes down! For one and the same person is both Bread and Spring, the Only-begotten Son, our God, Christ the Lord, for Whom we should ceaselessly hunger!

It is our love which gives Him as food to us, our desire which makes us eat Him and when we have been satisfied, we desire Him still. Let us go to Him as to a fountain and drink of Him in our overflowing love, let us drink Him always with ever-new desire, finding our joy in the sweetness of His Love. The Lord is gentle and good. We eat and drink Him without ceasing to hunger and thirst for Him, for we cannot exhaust this Food and Drink. We eat of this Bread yet do not run out of it; we drink at this Spring, yet it does not run dry. This Bread is eternal; this Stream flows without end!” – St Columban (543-615) Father of the Church, Monk, Irish Missionary, Abbot, Writer, Reformer, Teacher, Miracle-worker, Founder of numerous Nonateries. (Spiritual instructions 12, 2, 3).

PRAYER – O God, Thou Who in this wondrous Sacrament has left us a memorial of Thy Passion, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the Sacred Mysteries of Thine Body and Blood that we may ever experience within ourselves, the effect of Thy redemption. Who lives and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

EUCHARISTIC Heart of JESUS, model of the priestly heart, have mercy on us.
COR JESU Eucharisticum, cordis sacerdotalis exemplar, miserere nobis. – Indulgence 300 Days, Everytime – Raccolta 177St Pius X, 11 Sept

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, EUCHARISTIC, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, Uncategorized

Our Morning Offering – 19 June – Pange Lingua Gl oriosi Corporis Mysterium – Sing, My Tongue By St Thomas Aquinas

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Our Morning Offering – 19 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Corpus Christi

Pange Lingua Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium
Sing, My Tongue
By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Eng trans – Fr Edward Caswell CO (1814-1878)
(Excerpt on the image – the 4 last stanzas)

Sing, my tongue, the Saviour’s glory,
Of His Flesh, the Mystery sing;
Of the Blood, all price exceeding,
Shed by our Immortal King,
Destined, for the world’s redemption,
From a noble Womb to spring.

Of a pure and spotless Virgin
Born for us on earth below,
He, as Man, with man conversing,
Stayed, the seeds of truth to sow;
Then He closed in solemn order
Wondrously His Life of woe.

On the night of that Last Supper,
Seated with His chosen band,
He, the Paschal Victim eating,
First fulfils the Law’s command;
Then as Food to all His brethren
Gives Himself with His own Hand.

Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
By His Word to Flesh He turns;
Wine into His Blood He changes,
What though sense no change discerns.
Only be the heart in earnest,
Faith her lesson quickly learns.

Down in adoration falling,
Lo, the Sacred Host we hail,
Lo, o’er ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail,
Faith for all defects supplying,
When the feeble senses fail.

To the Everlasting Father
And the Son Who comes on high
With the Holy Ghost proceeding
Forth from each eternally,
Be salvation, honour, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia.

Written by St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) the Angelic and Common Doctor of the Church, for the very first Solemnity of Corpus Christi, this Hymn is considered the most beautiful of Aquinas’ Hymns and one of the seven great Hymns of the Church.

The last two stanzas make up the Tantum Ergo (Down in Adoration Falling) which is used at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Hymn is also used on Maundy Thursday during the procession from the Sanctuary to the Altar of Repose, where the Blessed Sacrament is kept until Good Friday.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on TRUTH, SACRED HEART ASPIRATIONS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 June – ‘ … I have lit the light of your torch but it is up to you to see it is kept burning … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 18 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – St Ephrem (306-373)
Father & Doctor of the Church, “The Harp of the Holy Ghost!” – Timothy 4:1-8 – Matthew 5:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel but upon a candlestick that it may shine to all in the house.” – Matthew 5:15

REFLECTION – “Men do not light a candle and put it under a bushel …” Through these words, Jesus again encourages His disciples to lead an irreproachable life, by advising them to watch over themselves constantly because, they are placed in the sight of all humankind, like athletes in a stadium, who are seen by the whole world (1 Cor 4:9).

He told them: “Do not say to yourselves: ‘Now we can stay here quietly sitting, we are hidden in a little corner of the world,’ for you will be visible to all humankind, like a City on top of a mountain (Mt 5:14), like a light in the house which has been placed on the lamp stand … I have lit the light of your torch but it is up to you to see it is kept burning, not just to your personal advantage but also, in the interest of all who will see it and who, through it, will be led to the Truth. The worst wickedness would not put a shadow over your light, if you live with the vigilance of those who are called to bring the whole world to good. So, let your life correspond to the holiness of your mission, so that God’s grace may be proclaimed everywhere.” – St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church (Homilies on St Matthew’s Gospel No 15).

PRAYERS – O God, Who willed to enlighten Thy Church by the wondrous learning and glorious merits of the life of blessed Ephrem, Thy Confessor and Doctor, we humbly pray Thee that, by his pleading, Thou will shield her with Thy lasting power, against the snares of error and evil. Through 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).

MAY the Heart of JESUS in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen. Indulgence 100 Days, Once a day. Raccolta 161 Blessed Pius IX, 29 February 1868.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on JUDGING, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on TRUTH, The HEART, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 17 June – The disciple is not above his Master … Luke 6:40

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One Minute Reflection – 17 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – 1 John 4:8-21 – Luke 6:36-42 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The disciple is not above his Master …” – Luke 6:40

REFLECTION – “The blessed disciples were to be the spiritual guides and teachers of the whole world. It had, therefore, to be clearly seen by all that they held fast to the True Faith. It was essential for them to be familiar with the Gospel way of life, skilled in every good work and to give teaching which was precise, salutary and scrupulously faithful to the Truth they themselves had long pondered, enlightened by the Divine Radiance. Otherwise, they would be blind leaders of the blind. Those imprisoned in the darkness of ignorance can never lead others in the same sorry state, to knowledge of the Truth. Should they try, both would fall headlong into the ditch of the passions.

To destroy the ostentatious passion of boastfulness and stop people from trying to win greater honour than their teachers, Christ declared: “The disciple is not above his teacher.” Even if some should advance so far as to equal their teachers in holiness, they ought to remain within the limits set by them and follow their example. Paul also taught this when he said: “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ,” (1Cor 11:1).

So then, if the Master does not judge, why are you judging? He came not to judge the world (Jn 12:47) but to take pity on it. What He is saying, then, is this: “If I do not pass judgment, neither must you, My disciple. You may be even more guilty of the faults of which you accuse another… Why do you look for the speck in your brother’s eye?” – St Cyril of Alexandria (380-444) Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church (Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, 6).

PRAYER – From all perils of soul and body defend us, O Lord, we beseech Thee and by the intercession of blessed and gloriosus ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of blessed Joseph, of Thy blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul and all the Saints, graciously grant us safety and peace that all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom. Through 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).

HEART of JESUS burning with love of us, inflame our hearts with love of Thee. – 100 Days, once a day. (See Instructions. – Unless otherwise stated, e.g., “once a day,” a partial Indulgence may be gained any number of times in succession.) [169 Raccolta or Collection of Indulgences, 1910] Pope Leo XIII, 16 July 1893.

Posted in EUCHARISTIC, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS

Our Morning Offering – 17 June – Prayer in Adoration of the Sacred Heart By St Margaret Mary Alacoque

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Prayer in Adoration of the Sacred Heart
By St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
Visionary and Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God,
Whom I believe to be really present
in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar,
receive this most profound Act of Adoration
to supply for the desire I have,
to adore Thee unceasingly
and in thanksgiving,
for the sentiments of love
which Thy Sacred Heart
has for me in this Sacrament.
I cannot better acknowledge them,
than by offering Thee,
all the Acts of Adoration,
resignation, patience and love
which this same Heart has made
during its mortal life
and which it makes still
and which it shall make eternally in Heaven,
in order that through it,
I may love Thee, praise Thee
and adore Thee worthily,
as much as it is possible for me.
I unite myself to this Divine Offering
which Thou dost make to Thy Divine Father
and I consecrate to Thee,
my whole being,
praying Thee, to destroy in me,
all sin and not to permit
that I should be separated from Thee,
in time and eternally.
Amen.

Posted in "Follow Me", CARMELITES, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, The HOLY GHOST, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The SIGN of the CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 16 June – But, if Each One is distinct, how can we say that the Three are One Essence? St Teresa

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One Minute Reflection – June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Resumed Mass of Sunday – Ferial Day – St John Francis Régis SJ (1597-1640) Priest, Confessor, Missionary – Rom 11:33-36 – Matthew 28:18-20 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, Baptising them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19-20

REFLECTION – “God gave me to see clearly the truth of the most Holy Trinity. It is just as learned theologians told me but I did not understand it as I do now… What I have seen is this – Three distinct Persons, Each One visible and Who speaks and to Whom we can speak. Afterwards, I thought how the Son alone took human flesh, which shows clearly that the Three Persons are distinct. The Persons love each other, communicate and know each other. But, if Each One is distinct, how can we say that the Three are One Essence? For this is what we believe. This is deepest truth and I would die for it a thousand times. In these Three Persons there is but One Will and One Power and One Might; neither can One be without the Others. There is One Sole Creator of all created things. Could the Son create an ant without the Father? No! because Their Power is One. The same is to be said of the Holy Ghost.

Thus, there is one God Almighty and the Three Persons are One Majesty. Is it possible to love the Father without loving the Son and the Holy Ghost? No, for those who please One of the Three Persons, please all Three Persons and those who offend One, offend all. Can the Father exist without the Son and without the Holy Ghost? No, for they are One in Being and where One is, there are the Three; they cannot be divided.

How is it, then, that we see that the Three Persons are distinct? And how is it that the Son, not the Father, nor the Holy Ghost, took human flesh? This is what I have never understood – theologians know it. What I know is that the Three were there when that marvellous work was done. I do not busy myself with much thinking about this, all my thinking comes down to this – God is Almighty, that He has done what He would do and can do what He wills. The less I understand it, the more I believe it and the greater the devotion it excites in me. May He be blessed for ever! Amen.” – St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Carmelite, Founder, Reformer, Doctor of the Church (Relations, 33).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, unto all Thy servant, that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness, both of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, Thy Saints, remembering Thy Confessor John Francis Regis, may be delivered from present sadness, and enter into the joy of thine eternal. 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).

MAY the Heart of JESUS in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. – Indulgence 100 Days, Once a Day. Raccolta 161 Blessed Pius IX, 29 February 1868.

Posted in JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS

Our Morning Offering – 16 June – Be the Heart of My Heart

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Our Morning Offering – 16 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus”

Be the Heart of My Heart
By St John Eudes (1601-1680)
Apostle of the Sacred Heart

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

St John Eudes is the Author of the Proper for the Mass and Divine Office of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ and the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin. St John was an ardent proponent of the Sacred Heart and dedicated himself to it’s promotion and celebration. The Masses he compiled for both the Sacred Heart of Jesus and for the Immaculate Heart of Mary, were both first celebrated during his lifetime. He preached missions across France, including Paris and Versailles, while earning recognition as a popular Evangelist and Confessor. St John Eudes was also a prolific writer and wrote on the two Holy Hearts despite opposition from the Jansenists.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The SIGN of the CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 15 June – “ … Baptising them, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” – Matthew 28:29

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One Minute Reflection – 15 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Pentecost I – Trinity Sunday – St Vitus (c290-c 303) – Martyr, One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Died aged 12-13 years of age – Rom 11:33-36 – Matthew 28:18-20.– Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“ … Baptising them, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” – Matthew 28:19

REFLECTION – “This is the order of our faith, the foundation of the edifice and the support of our conduct – God, the Father, uncreated, uncontainable, invisible, One God, the Creator of all – this is the first article of our faith. And the second article – the Word of God, the Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord, Who was revealed by the Prophets according to the character of their prophecy and according to the nature of the economies of the Father, by Whom all things were made and Who, in the last times, to recapitulate all things,’ became a Man amongst men, visible and palpable, in order to abolish death, to demonstrate life and to effect communion between God and man. And the third article – the Holy Ghost, through Whom the Prophets prophesied and the Patriarchs learnt the things of God and the righteous, were led in the path of righteousness and Who, in the last times, was poured out in a new fashion upon the human race, renewing man, throughout the world, to God.

For this reason the Baptism of our regeneration takes place through these three articles, granting us regeneration unto God the Father through His Son by the Holy Spirit – for those who bear the Spirit of God are led to the Word, that is to the Son, while the Son presents them to the Father and the Father furnishes incorruptibility. Thus, without the Spirit it is not possible to see the Word of God and without the Son, one is not able to approach the Father; for the knowledge of the Father is the Son and knowledge of the Son of God, is through the Holy Ghost, while the Spirit, according to the good-pleasure of the Father, the Son administers, to whom the Father wills and as He wills.” – St Irenaeus (130-202) Bishop of Lyons, Theologian and Martyr, Father of the Church (Demonstration of the apostolic preaching 6-7).

PRAYER – Almighty, Eternal God, Thou Who have given Thy servants, in the confession of the true Faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of that majesty, to adore its unity, grant, we beseech Thee, in the firmness of this Faith we may ever be protected from all harm. Through 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).

Posted in BLESSED TRINITY PRAYERS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS to THE HOLY GHOST, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, The HOLY GHOST, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Our Morning Offering – 15 June – Patris et Filii Concordia Come Holy Ghost,Love of Father and Son. By St Bede

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Our Morning Offering – 15 June – Trinity Sunday
Patris et Filii Concordi – Pentecost I

Patris et Filii Concordia
Come Holy Ghost,
Love of Father and Son.
By St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

O COME to me, my only Hope,
O Lord my God.
Come to me, true Light,
Father, Almighty God.
Come, Light from Light,
both Word and Son of God,
God Almighty.
Come Holy Ghost, Love of Father and Son,
One God Almighty.
Come One Almighty God,
Father and Son and Holy Ghost.

Teach faith, stir up hope, pour out love.
Thy will is present with me
(yet not from me but from Thee)
to leave the world and the earth
and to seek the Heavens.
But this will is a feeble feather, without Thy help.
Give wings of faith
that I might fly on high to Thee.
Amen

Posted in 7 GIFTS of the HOLY GHOST: Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Strength, Knowledge, Piety, Fear, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, GOD the FATHER, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, SACRED HEART ASPIRATIONS, The HOLY GHOST, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 June – ‘ … As for you, if you want to say or understand something about God … ‘ St Basil the Great

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One Minute Reflection – 14 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Ember Saturday – Pentecost Satuirday – Romans 5:1-5. – Luke 4:38-44 – St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And devils went out from many, crying out and saying: Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them He suffered them not to speak; for they knew that He was Christ.” – Luke 4:41

REFLECTION – “The soul who loves God is never satisfied, yet, to speak of God is bold indeed, our minds are very far from so great a matter … The further one goes in the knowledge of God, the more one feels one’s powerlessness. This is what it was like for Abraham, this, too, was what it was like for Moses, even though they were able to see God – insofar as that is humanly possible – both made themselves least of all. Abraham referred to himself as “dust and ashes” Moses said of himself that he was stumbling and slow in speech (Gn 1827; Ex 4:10). In fact, he was giving testimony; the feebleness of his tongue gave voice to the greatness of Him, Whom his mind grasped. We speak about God, not as He Is but, insofar as we can grasp Him.

As for you, if you want to say or understand something about God, leave your bodily nature behind, forsake your bodily senses … Raise your mind above all created things and contemplate the Divine Nature, it is there, immutable, indivisible, inaccessible light, shining glory, most desirable goodness, inimitable beauty, by which the soul is wounded but unable to worthily put into words.

There is the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost … The Father is the principle of all things, the Cause of being of all that is, Origin of living creatures. He is the one from Whom flows the Source of Life, Wisdom, Power, the Image Who perfectly resembles the invisible God; the Son, begotten of the Father, living Word, Who is God and turned towards the Father (1 Cor 1:24; Heb 1:3; Jn 1:1). From this Name ‘Son’ we learn that He shares the same nature; He is not created through an order but unceasingly shines out from within His Own substance, one with the Father from all eternity, equal to Him in goodness, partaking in His glory … And when our intellect has been purified of all earthly passions and, has set aside every sensible creature, like a fish which rises from the depths to the surface, given back to the purity of its creation, it will then see the Holy Ghost where the Son and the Father are to be found. This Spirit, being of the same essence ,according to its nature, likewise possesses every good: goodness, uprightness, holiness, life … Just as burning belongs to fire and shining to light, so one can no more take away from the Holy Ghost the task of making holy or giving life, than of goodness and uprightness.” – St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermons on Faith).

PRAYER – We beseech Thee, O Lord, hear our prayers which we offer on the festival of blessed Basil, Thy Confessor and Bishop and through his intercessory merits, who had the grace to serve Thee worthily, absolve us from all our sins. Through 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).

DIVINE Heart of JESUS, convert sinners, save the dying, set free the holy souls in Purgatory. Indulgence 300 Days Everytime – St Pius X, 11 September, 1907.

Posted in CARMELITES, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS

Our Morning Offering – 14 June – Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart By St Thérèse

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Our Morning Offering – 14 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus”

Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart
By St Thérèse of the Child Jesus
and the Holy Face (of Lisieux) OCD (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 His Infinite Merits
and I wish to make reparation for my sins,
by casting them into the furnace
of His Merciful Love.
O my God!
I ask of Thee for myself
and for those whom I hold dear,
the grace to fulfil perfectly
Thine 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

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 13 June – O Lord, make haste, come quickly!

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One Minute Reflection – 13 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Ember Friday – Pentecost Friday – St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Cpmfessor, Evangelical Doctor of the Church – Joel 2:23-24; 26-27 – Luke 5:17-26 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“But that you may know that the Son of man hath the power on earth, to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy), I say to thee too – Arise, take up thy bed and go into thy house. ” – Luke 5:24

REFLECTION – “Unhappy Adam! What more could you possibly seek than the Divine Presence? Yet, see how thanklessly you ponder your misdeed: “No! I will be like God!” (cf. Gen 3:5). What insufferable pride! You have only just been created out of clay and mud and, in your insolence, you wish to be like God!?… This is how pride brought forth disobedience, the reason for our misfortune…

What humility is there which could make amends for such a pride? What human obedience is there which could redeem such a fault? Captives who we were, how could we set captives free? Tainted, how could we liberate those stained by sin? Is Thy creature to die, then, my God? “Have Thou forgotten pity? Do Thou in anger withhold Thy compassion?” (Ps 76:10). Ah no! “My thoughts are thoughts of peace, not of woe”says the Lord (Jer 29:11).

O Lord, make haste, come quickly! Behold the tears of the poor; see, “the sighs of the prisoners come before Thee” (Ps 78:11). What a happy time it will be, what a glad and desirable day, when the Voice of the Father resounds: “Because of the misery of the wretched and the tears of the poor, now will I arise” (Ps 11:6)… Yes, “Come Thyself to save us, Lord, for there are no longer any more Saints” (cf Ps 11:2).” – St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167) Cistercian Abbot (Sermon for the Nativity).

PRAYER – May the solemn feast of blessed Anthony, Thy Confessor and Doctor, make Thy Church rejoice, O God, so that, ever sustained by spiritual help, she may deserve to reap everlasting joy. Through 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).

Sweet Heart of my JESUS, make me love Thee ever more and more! 300 Days Once a Day. ii. Plenary, Once a month. Raccolta – 162. Blessed Pope Pius IX, 26 November 1876.

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, Holy Name PRAYERS, I BELIEVE!, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, Quotes on SALVATION, The HOLY NAME

Our Morning Offering – 13 June – Sweet Jesus, Thy Name is JoyBy St Anthony of Padua

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Our Morning Offering – 13 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – The Feast of St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Cpmfessor, Evangelical Doctor of the Church

Sweet Jesus, Thy Name is Joy
By St Anthony of Padua OFM (1195-1231)
Doctor of the Church

Sweet Jesus,
is there anything sweeter than Thee?
To remember Thee is more delightful
than everything else.
Thy Name is joy – it is the true
Gate of our Salvation.
What else are Thou, Jesus,
if not our Saviour?
Be our Redeemer.
Give us the virtues of hope and love,
just as Thou hast given us faith,
our primary joy.
Give us the words which we need
to praise Thee always.
With the help and through the prayers
of Thy Mother.
Thou Who art blessed throughout the ages.
Amen

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, EVENING and NIGHT Prayers, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on PRAYER, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 12 June – Let your … lamps burn in your hands.

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One Minute Reflection – 12 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Pentecost Thursday – St Juan de Sahagun (1419-1479) Confessor, Priest and Friar of the Order of the Augustinians – Ecclesiasticus i 31:8-11 – Luke 12:35-40 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Jesus said to His disciples: Let your … lamps burn in your hands.” – Luke 12:35

REFLECTION – “Prayer offered during the hours of night possess great power, even more than that offered during the day. That is why all the Saints were in the habit of praying at night, combating the body’s drowsiness and the sweetness of sleep and overcoming their bodily nature.  The Prophet also said: “I am wearied with sighing; every night I flood my bed with weeping” (Ps 6:7) as he uttered heartfelt sighs in impassioned prayer.  And elsewhere: “At midnight I rise to give Thee thanks because of Thy just ordinances, O just God” (Ps 118:62). For every request for which the Saints desired to importune God, they armed themselves with nocturnal prayer and, at once received that which they besought Him.

Satan himself fears nothing as much as prayer offered during the night watches. Even if they are accompanied by distractions, it does not return fruitless, as long as something inappropriate is not being asked for. That is why Satan engages in severe combat against those who keep watch at night, so as to deter them from this practice if he can, especially if they show themselves to be persevering. But those who are in any way defended against his pernicious wiles and have tasted the gifts God grants, at these times of vigil and, have had personal experience, of the greatness of the help God gives them, wholly despise him, he and all his craftiness.” – St Isaac the Syrian of Nineveh (c613-c700) Bishop of Nineveh, Monk at Mosul, Father of the Church (Ascetical Discourses)

PRAYER – O God, Author of peace and lover of charity, Who endowed blessed John, Your Confessor, with a wondrous grace for reconciling enemies; grant by his merits and intercession that, being ourselves firmly rooted in Thy charity, we may not be separated from Thee by any temptations.Through 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).

weet Heart of my JESUS, Make me love Thee ever more and more! – 300 Days Indulgence Once a day, Plenary Once a month – Pope Pius IX – 26 November 1876

Posted in JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS

Our Morning Offering – 12 June – O Heart of Jesus! By St Gertrude

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Our Morning Offering – 12 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus”

O Heart of Jesus!
By St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)

Sanctity of the Heart of Jesus,
consecrate my heart;
Providence of the Heart of Jesus,
watch over my heart;
Unchangeableness of the Heart of Jesus,
strengthen my heart;
Purity of the Heart of Jesus,
purify my heart;
Obedience of the Heart of Jesus,
subjugate my heart;
Amiability of the Heart of Jesus,
make Thyself known to my heart;
Divine attractions of the Heart of Jesus,
captivate my heart;
Riches of the Heart of Jesus,
do ye suffice for my heart;
Floods of grace and blessing
which flow from the Heart of Jesus,
inundate my heart.
O Heart of Jesus! be Thou my joy,
my peace, my repose in this world
and in the next.
O Heart of Jesus! adored in Heaven,
Invoked on earth, feared in hell,
Reign over all hearts,
Reign throughout all ages,
Reign forever in celestial glory.
Amen

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Our Morning Offering – 11 June – Feast of St Barnabas the Apostle – Exsultet Orbis!

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Our Morning Offering – 11 June – Feast of St Barnabas the Apostle, Martyr, The “Son of Encouragement.”

Exsultet Orbis!
Let the World Rejoice!
Unknown Author

Now let the earth with joy resound,
And Heaven the chant re-echo round;
Nor Heaven nor earth too high can raise
The great Apostles’ glorious praise.

O ye who, throned in glory dread,
Shall judge the living and the dead,
Lights of the world forever more!
To you the suppliant prayer we pour.

Ye close the Sacred Gates on high.
At your command apart they fly.
O loose for us the guilty chain
We strive to break and strive in vain.

Sickness and health your voice obey,
At your command they go or stay.
From sin’s disease our souls restore;
In good confirm us more and more.

So when the world is at its end.
And Christ to Judgment shall descend,
May we be called, those joys to see
Prepared from all eternity.

Praise to the Father, with the Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One;
As ever was in ages past
And so shall be while ages last.
Amen

(Roman Breviary for the Common of Apostles)
An Office Hymn that was traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time.
The Hymn is found as early as the 10th Century in a Hymnal of Moissac Abbey.

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PENTECOST, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 10 June – ‘ … Do not go astray in the mists, listen to the Shepherd’s Voice. …’ St Augustine

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 10 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Pentecost Tuesday – Acts 8:14 -17 – John 10:1-10 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10

REFLECTION – “Thus says the Lord: “I Myself will come’”… This is what He has undoubtedly done and what He will yet do: “I Myself am coming: I will seek out My sheep, I will tend them as a shepherd tends His flock.” The wicked shepherds took no care of them because they did not redeem their sheep, with their blood… “My sheep hear My Voice. I will seek out My sheep from the midst of the scattered sheep and will bring them out from all the places they were scattered, on the day of clouds and darkness. No matter how difficult it is to find them, I will find them… I will rescue My sheep from foreign lands, I will gather them and lead them back to their own homes; I will lead them to pasture on the mountains of Israel.”

These “mountains of Israel” are the writers of Sacred Scripture. They are the pastures where you are to feed, if you wish to do so safely. Savour everything you learn from them and reject everything outside. Do not go astray in the mists, listen to the Shepherd’s Voice. Gather on the mountains of Sacred Scripture. There, you will find true delight for your heart. There, is nothing poisonous there, nothing dangerous; they are rich pastures… “I will lead them beside rivers, in the best places.” From those mountains we were just talking about, rivers of Gospel preaching pour down since “the voice [of the Apostles] resounds to the ends of the earth” and all the ends of the earth provide pleasant and fertile pastures for the sheep.

“I will cause them to feed in good pasture… and their sheepfold will be there,” that is to say, there, they will rest, there, they will be able to say: “It is good to be here; true enough, it is perfectly clear, we have found the truth.” They will take their rest in the glory of God as in a sheepfold.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (Sermon 46, On the shepherds; CCL 41, 529).

PRAYER – Let the power of the Holy Spirit be present within us, O Lord, graciously to cleanse our hearts, as well as to guard us from all harm. Through 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).

SACRED Heart of JESUS, Thy Kingdom come! – Indulgence 300 Days – Every time – Raccolta 179 St Pius X, 6 November 1906.

Posted in ACT of LOVE, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS

Our Morning Offering – 10 June – Act of Love to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 10 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Penticost Tuesday

Act of Love to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
By Servant of God
Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930)

Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus
and show me Its attractions.
Unite me to It forever.
Grant that all my aspirations
and all the beats of my heart,
which cease, not even while I sleep,
may be a testimonial to Thee,
of my love for Thee
and may it say to Thee –
“Yes, Lord, I am all Thine”
the pledge of my allegiance to Thee,
rests forever in my heart
and will never cease to be there.
May Thou accept,
the slight amount of good that I do
and be graciously pleased,
to repair all my wrong-doing –
so that I may be able,
to bless Thee,
in time and in eternity.
Amen

Servant of God Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930) – In his first Consistory, on 9 November 1903, when St Pius X announced the elevation of Abbot Merry del Val to the dignity of Cardinal to the Sacred College, the Pope did not fear to affirm that he had personally observed his “noble gifts of soul and of character, as well as his outstanding prudence in dealing with the affairs of the Church.”
The Holy Father made the following reply to the comments made by one of the Cardinals: “I chose him because he is a polyglot – born in England, educated in Belgium, of Spanish nationality and living in Ital; the son of a diplomat and himself a diplomat, he is acquainted with the problems of all countries.
He is very modest, he is a saint. He comes here every morning and informs me of all the questions concerning the world.
I need never make an observation to him and he knows no compromise.”

Posted in BAPTISM, CHRIST the LIGHT, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PENTECOST, QUOTES on TRUTH, The HOLY GHOST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 June – But he who does the truth comes to the light … John 3:21

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One Minute Reflection – 9 June – “The Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Pentecost Monday – Acts 10:34, 42-48 – John 3:16-21 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“But he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, for they have been performed in God.” – John 3:21

REFLECTION – “Being Baptised, we are illuminated; illuminated, we become children; being made children, we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal. God says: “I have said you are gods and all children of the Most High” (Ps 81:6).

This work of Baptism is variously called grace, illumination, perfection and washing. Washing, by which we cleanse away our sins; grace, by which the punishment owing to our sins is remitted; illumination, by which the holy light of salvation is beheld, so that we clearly see the divine things; perfection, because nothing is lacking. For what is yet lacking to one who knows God? Or how could we call “God’s grace” something which is not perfect? Being perfect Himself, God only bestows perfect gifts …

Therefore, we have hardly been regenerated than, as the name suggests, we have been “illuminated” set free from darkness and, in the same instant, filled with light… We are relieved of the sins which concealed the divine Spirit like a cloud and, behold, the eye of the Spirit is set free, uncovered and full of light – that eye which alone enables us to contemplate divine things.” – St Clement of Alexandria (c150- c215) Theologian and Philosopher, Professor who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. (The Instructor [Paedagogus] 1:6).

PRAYER – O God, Thou Who gave the Holy Spirit to Thy Apostles, grant that the devout prayers of Your people may be effective and, as Thou hast given us faith, also grant us peace. Through Jesus Christ Thy Son, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in INDULGENCES, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, Our MORNING Offering, PAPAL PRAYERS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS

Our Morning Offering – 9 June – Indulgenced Prayer, O DIVINE Heart of JESUS By Pope Leo XIII

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Our Morning Offering – 9 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Pentecost Monday

O DIVINE Heart of JESUS
By Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903)
Indulgence 100 Days, Once a day
Raccolta 167
13 March 1901.

O DIVINE Heart of JESUS,
grant, we beseech Thee,
eternal rest to the souls in purgatory,
the final grace to those who shall die today,
true repentance to sinners,
the light of the faith to pagans
and Thy Blessing to me and mine.
To Thee, O most compassionate Heart of JESUS!
I commend all these souls
and I offer to Thee, on their behalf,
all Thy merits,
together with the merits
of Thy most Holy Mother
and of all the Saints, Angels
and all the Sacrifices of the Holy Mass,
Communions, prayers and good works,
which shall be accomplished today,
throughout the Christian world.
Amen