May the Heart of Jesus
be the King of My Heart!
By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of Charity
May Your Heart dwell
always, in our hearts!
May Your Blood
ever flow, in the veins
of our souls!
O Sun of our hearts,
You give life to all things,
by the rays of Your goodness!
I will not go,
until Your Heart
has strengthened me,
O Lord Jesus!
May the Heart of Jesus
be the King of my heart!
Blessed be God.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 25 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Apoc 5:12; 1:6, Ps 71:1, Col 1:12-20, John 18:33-37
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My followers would certainly have fought that I might not be delivered to the Hebrews. But, as it is, My kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to Him, You are then a King? Jesus answered, You say it: I am a King.
John 18:33-37
REFLECTION – “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” The criminal did not venture to make this prayer before he had laid down the burden of his sins with his confession. So you see, O Christian, the power of confession. He acknowledged his sins and paradise was opened; he acknowledged his sins and gained confidence enough to ask for the Kingdom in spite of his deeds of robbery.
Do you want to know the Kingdom? What can you see here that is like it? You have the nails and cross before your eyes but this cross, said Jesus, is itself the very sign of the Kingdom. As for me, when I see him on the cross, I proclaim him king. Isn’t it the duty of a king to die for his subjects? He himself has said that: “The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep,”. This is no less true for a good king; he, too, lays down his life for his subjects. So I will proclaim him king on account of the gift he has made of his life: “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
Do you understand now how it is that the cross is the sign of the Kingdom? Here is yet another proof. Christ did not leave his cross on earth but took it up and bore it with him into heaven. We know this because he will have it with him when he returns in glory. To teach you how much this cross is worthy of veneration, he has made it a sign of glory. When the Son of Man comes: “the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.” Then shall reign a light so bright that even the brightest stars will be eclipsed. “The stars will fall from the sky. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,”. Do you understand the power of the sign of the cross? When a king enters a city, soldiers take up their standards, hoist them onto their shoulders and march in front of him to announce his arrival. In the same way, legions of angels and archangels will go before Christ when he comes from heaven. They will bear this sign on their shoulders announcing the coming of our king.
St John Chrysostom
PRAYER – Come to help us in our weakness, God of mercy, forgive the sins of Your people and as nothing we can do is worthy in Your sight, save us through the intercession of the Mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ. May the prayers of all your saints be offered to You on our behalf. We make our prayer through Jesus with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Prayer before Holy Communion
By St Basil the Great (329-379)
Father and Doctor of the Church
Lord, I know that I am not worthy
to receive Thy Holy Body and Precious Blood;
I know that I am guilty
and that I eat and drink
condemnation to myself,
not discerning the Body and Blood
of Christ, my God.
But trusting in Thy loving kindness,
I come to Thee, Who hast said –
‘Whoever eats My Body and drinks My Blood,
will dwell in me and I in him’;
Therefore, Lord, have compassion on me
and do not put to shame Thy sinful servant
But deal with me according to Thy great mercy
And grant that these holy gifts,
may be for me,
healing, cleansing, enlightenment,
protection, salvation and sanctification
of soul and body.
May they cast out from me
every dark delusion,
sinful deed or work of the evil one.
May they move me to trust and love Thee always,
to amendment of life,
increase of virtue,
obedience to Thy commandments,
communion of the Holy Spirit,
provision for my final journey
and a good defence before the dreadful
seat of judgement.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 24 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary”- Readings: Ps 102:20, Ps 102:1, Tob 12:7-15, John 5:1-4
For an Angel of the Lord used to come down at certain times into the pool, and the water was troubled. And the first to go down into the pool after the troubling of the water was cured of whatever infirmity he had.
John 5:1-4
REFLECTION – Christ’s miracles are symbols of the different events of our eternal salvation, this pool is the symbol of the precious gift the Lord’s Word gives us. To sum up, this water is the Jewish people; the five porticos are the Law that Moses wrote in five books. And so this pool was surrounded by five porticos like the people enclosed by the Law. The water that was stirred and troubled is the Savior’s Passion in this people’s midst. Whoever went down into this water was healed – but only one person so as to express unity. Those who were unable to bear anyone speaking to them about the Passion are the proud; they do not want to go down and are not healed. “What!” says that arrogant man: “Believe a God to be incarnate, that a God was born of a woman, that a God has been crucified, scourged, covered in wounds, that he died and has been buried? No, I would never believe in these humiliations of a God, they are unworthy of him.”
Let your heart speak here rather than your head. The humiliations of a God seem unworthy to the arrogant and that is why they are very far from a cure. So protect yourself from this pride; if you desire your healing, accept to go down. There would be something to be worried about if someone said to you that Christ had undergone some sort of change in becoming incarnate. But no, your God remains what he was, have no fear; he does not perish and he prevents you yourselves from perishing. Yes, he remains what he is; he is born of a woman but according to the flesh. It is as man that he has been seized, bound, scourged, mocked and finally crucified and put to death. Why be afraid? The Word of the Lord remains forever. Anyone who refuses these humiliations of a God does not want to be cured of the mortal swelling of his pride.
By his incarnation our Lord Jesus Christ has therefore restored hope to our flesh. He assumed the fruits of this earth that are only too well known and common: birth and death. Birth and death: here indeed are goods that the earth possesses in abundance! But in them were found neither resurrection nor eternal life. He found here the unfortunate fruits of this unfruitful earth and gave us in exchange the possessions of his heavenly kingdom.
St Augustine
PRAYER – Lord God of Hosts, in Your all-wise Providence, You assign to Angels and to men, the services they have to render You. Grant that the Angels who adore You in Heaven, may protect and guide us here on earth. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God now and for all eternity, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 23 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ps 131:9-10., Ps 131:1, Heb 7:23-27, Matt 24:42-47
Watch, for you do not know at what hour your Lord is to come. But of this be assured, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would certainly have watched, and not have let his house be broken into.
Matt 24:42-47
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”, which is that of impassibility, and let us contemplate with the eyes of our minds the joy held in store for us by the heavenly promises.
My beloved children, gather up your fervor, take wings of fire like the dove, as it is written, fly away, place yourselves among the virtuous, those on the right side. Receive joy, spiritual desire, impassioned for God. Taste the great sweetness of his love 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 that leads us from earth to heaven! It is true that travelers can have something to endure. And this happens to you too: indeed, as you see, you struggle under hard labors, 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 laboring at the plow, 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
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help me to keep my death constantly before my eyes, for this is my final account. I pray You for a holy life that my death may be holy and that I may come to You and live for all eternity with You. May each moment of my life, the good and the trials, bear abundant fruit for love of You. When my hour is come, bid me come to You, Lord. Hear the prayers of your Saints and the Mother of Your divine Son, who lived each moment of her life for the glory of Your Kingdom. We ask this through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 22 October – Prayer of a Martyr, St Thomas More (1478-1535)
The prayer below, was written by Saint Thomas More while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London, awaiting execution by King Henry VIII.
Give Me Thy Grace, Good Lord!
A Prayer of Hope
By St Thomas More (1478-1535)
Give me Thy grace, good Lord.
To set the world at naught.
To set the mind firmly on Thee
and not to hang upon the words of men’s mouths.
To be content to be solitary.
Not to long for worldly pleasures.
Little by little, utterly to cast off the world
and rid my mind of all its business.
Not to long to hear of earthly things
but that the hearing of worldly fancies,
may be displeasing to me.
Gladly to be thinking of God,
piteously to call for His help.
To lean into the comfort of God.
Busily to labour to love Him.
To know mine own vileness and wretchedness.
To humble myself under the mighty Hand of God.
To bewail my sins past,
for the purging of them,
patiently to suffer adversity.
Gladly to bear my purgatory here.
To be joyful in tribulations.
To walk the narrow way that leads to life.
To bear the Cross with Christ.
To have the last thing in remembrance.
To have ever before mine eyes,
my death that is ever at hand.
To make death no stranger to me.
To foresee and consider,
the everlasting fire of Hell.
To pray for pardon before the Judge come.
To have continually in mind,
the Passion that Christ suffered for me.
For His benefits, unceasingly to give Him thanks.
To buy the time again, that I before have lost.
To abstain from vain conversations.
To shun foolish mirth and gladness.
To cut off unnecessary recreations.
Of worldly substance,
friends, liberty, life and all,
to set the loss at naught,
for the winning of Christ.
To think my worst enemies, my best friends,
for the brethren of Joseph
could never have done him
so much good with their love and favour,
as they did him, with their malice and hatred.
These minds are more to be desired of every man,
than all the treasures of all the princes and kings,
Christian and heathen,
were it gathered and laid together,
all in one heap.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 22 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary”– Readings: Esth 13:9-11, Ps 118:1, Eph 6:10-17, Matt 18:23-35
His fellow-servants therefore, seeing what had happened, were very much saddened, and they went and informed their master of what had taken place.
Matt 18:23-35
REFLECTION – The Lord demands that we ourselves forgive the debts of our debtors just as we, too, ask that our own be forgiven. We should know that we cannot receive what we ask with regard to our own sins unless we do the same for those who have sinned against us. And so Christ says elsewhere: “The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,”. And the servant who, having been freed from all his debt, was unwilling to forgive that of his fellow servant was thrown into prison. Because he would not spare his fellow, he lost that for which his master had spared him. Christ establishes this even more forcibly in his precepts when he decrees that: “When you stand to pray, 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,”.
When Abel and Cain first of all offered sacrifice, God did not look at their offerings but at their hearts. The one whose offering was pleasing to him was the one whose heart was pleasing to him. Abel, the peaceful and just one, by making his offering to God in innocence, taught others to come forward in the fear of God to offer their gift at the altar, with a simple heart, a sense of justice, harmony and peace. By offering sacrifice to God with such dispositions as these he merited to become a precious offering himself and to be the first to offer the witness of martyrdom. By the glory of his blood he prefigured the Lord's Passion because he possessed the Lord's righteousness and peace. Men like these are they who are crowned by the Lord and who will obtain justice along with him on the day of judgement.
St Cyprian
PRAYER – Lord God, You fill us with Your grace and teach us true faith. Strengthen in our hearts that faith that no trials may quench the fire, that we may seek Your Face in every moment and accept and live all of Your will. Send us Your Spirit to keep the fire blazing. By the inspiration and prayers of the Blessed Virgin, may we grow in sanctity and may the humble love and intercession of Mary Mother of our faith, be our succour. Through Jesus Your Son our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
O Holy Spirit of God
By Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466-1536)
(Fr Erasmus of Rotterdam)
O Holy Spirit of God
with Your holy breath,
You purify the hearts and minds of humankind,
comforting them,
when they are in sorrow,
leading them,
aright when they have gone astray,
kindling them,
when their hearts are cold,
reconciling them,
whem they are at variance
and enriching them,
with Your many gifts.
By Your working,
all things live.
We make our prayer to You,
maintain and day by day,
increase the gifts which You
have granted us,
so that with Your Light
before us and within us,
we may pass through this world,
without stumbling
and without straying.
Who with the Father and the Son,
are One God,
now and forever.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 21 October – – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Esth 13:9-11, Ps 118:1, Eph 6:10-17, Matt 18:23-35
And his master, being angry, handed him over to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So also My heavenly Father will do to you, if you do not each forgive your brothers from your hearts.
Matt 18:23-35
REFLECTION – On the one hand, compassion, and on the other the judgment of simple equity; if they dwell in one and the same soul, they are like a person who adores God and idols in one and the same house. Compassion is the contrary to the judgment of simple justice. Judgment that is simply equitable implies the equal sharing out of a similar measure for everyone. It gives to each what he deserves, no more; it does not lean towards one side or the other, exercises no discernment in its distribution. But compassion arises because of grace: it leans towards all beings with the same affection – not accepting to give simple retribution to those who are worthy of punishment – and it fills beyond all measure those who are worthy of good.
Thus compassion is on the side of justice; judgment that is simply equitable is on the side of evil. Just as a grain of sand does not weigh so much as a heap of gold does, God’s equitable justice does not weigh as much as his compassion. The sins of all flesh are like a handful of sand falling into the great ocean compared to God’s providence and mercy. Just as an abundantly flowing spring cannot be stopped up by a handful of dust, so the Creator’s compassion cannot be overcome by the malice of creatures. The person who remains resentful while praying is like a person who sows in the sea and hopes to gather in a harvest!
Isaac the Syrian
PRAYER – Father, grant that we may be,
bearers of Christ Jesus, Your Son.
Allow us to fill with Your light
the world around us.
Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit
to carry out our mission
of living and following
the path of Jesus, our Lord.
Help us to understand,
that by Your grace
Your gifts are Your blessings,
to be shared with others.
Fill us with Your Spirit of love
to give glory to You
in loving all
and preaching by our love.
Nourish in us the desire
to go forth
as the bearers of Your Son
fearless and gentle,
loving and merciful.
Make us true Christ-bearers,
that in seeing us
only He is visible.
Amen (The Christopher Prayer – Unknown)
The Hymn of the Church, in Meditation of the Day of Judgment (An indulgence of three years for each recitation and a plenary indulgence for reciting the prayer daily for a month.)
That day of wrath,
that dreadful day,
shall heaven and earth in ashes lay,
as David and the Sybil say.
What horror must invade the mind
when the approaching Judge shall find
and sift the deeds of all mankind!
The mighty trumpet’s wondrous tone
shall rend each tomb’s sepulchral stone
and summon all before the Throne.
Now death and nature with surprise
behold the trembling sinners rise
to meet the Judge’s searching eyes.
Then shall with universal dread
the Book of Consciences be read
to judge the lives of all the dead.
For now before the Judge severe
all hidden things must plain appear;
no crime can pass unpunished here.
O what shall I, so guilty plead?
and who for me will intercede?
when even Saints shall comfort need?
O King of dreadful majesty!
grace and mercy You grant free;
as Fount of Kindness, save me!
Recall, dear Jesus, for my sake
you did our suffering nature take
then do not now my soul forsake!
In weariness You sought for me,
and suffering upon the tree!
let not in vain such labor be.
O Judge of justice, hear, I pray,
for pity take my sins away
before the dreadful reckoning day.
You gracious face, O Lord, I seek;
deep shame and grief are on my cheek;
in sighs and tears my sorrows speak.
You Who did Mary’s guilt unbind,
and mercy for the robber find,
have filled with hope my anxious mind.
How worthless are my prayers I know,
yet, Lord forbid that I should go
into the fires of endless woe.
Divorced from the accursed band,
o make me with Your sheep to stand,
as child of grace, at Your right Hand.
When the doomed can no more flee
from the fires of misery
with the chosen call me.
Before You, humbled, Lord, I lie,
my heart like ashes, crushed and dry,
assist me when I die.
Full of tears and full of dread
is that day that wakes the dead,
calling all, with solemn blast
to be judged for all their past. Amen.
Lord, have mercy, Jesus blest,
grant them all Your Light and Rest. Amen.
One Minute Reflection – 20 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Sir 18:12-13, Ps 1:1, James 2:12-17, Luke 12:35-40
So speak and so act as men about to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to him who has not shown mercy; but mercy triumphs over judgment. What will it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but does not have works? Can the faith save him?
James 2:12-17
REFLECTION – Mark the agreement of prophet with prophet. Acquaint yourself also with another prophet who expresses himself in like manner. For Amos prophesied of the same things in a manner quite in accordance: Thus says the Lord, forasmuch therefore as you have beaten the poor with the fist, and taken choice gifts from him: you have built houses, but you shall not dwell in them: you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions, in trampling justice beneath your foot, and taking a bribe, and turning aside the poor in the gate from their right.
Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time, for it is an evil time.
Learn, beloved, the wickedness of the men of that time, how they spoil houses and fields, and take even justice from the just; for when these things come to pass, you may know that it is the end. For this reason are you instructed in the wisdom of the prophet, and the revelation that is to be in those days. And all the prophets, as we bare already said, have clearly signified the things that are to come to pass in the last times, just as they also have declared things of old.
Pseudo-Hippolytus
PRAYER – Holy Father, grant me an operative faith, a faith that will move mountains. Enlighten my soul with Your Light, Goodness, Power and Wisdom. Let my faith be an image of You by lively deeds and love and by conforming myself to Your Will in all things. Blessed Mother, you longed only to serve the God of all, teach us by your prayer, to serve God alone with upright hearts and fight by the Truth against all tyranny and evilh, through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Prayer for the Gift of Prayer
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church
O Incarnate Word,
You have given Your Blood and Your Life
to confer on our prayers that power by which,
according to Your promise,
they obtain for us all that we ask.
And we, O God,
are so careless of our salvation,
that we will not even ask You for the graces
that we must have, if we should be saved!
In prayer You have given us the key
of all Your Divine treasures
and we, rather than pray,
choose to remain in our misery.
Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers,
offered in Your name and by Your merits,
in the eyes of Your Eternal Father.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 19 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ps 91:13-14, Ps 91:2, Phil 3:7-12, Ps 36:30-31, Luke 12:32-34
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, Do not be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that do not grow old, a treasure unfailing in heaven, where neither thief draws near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
Luke 12:32-34
REFLECTION – Why distress yourself and go to such effort to conceal your wealth behind bricks and mortar? “A good name is more desirable than great riches”. The reason you love money is because of the attention it wins you. But think how much greater your renown will be if you can be called the father and protector of thousands of children rather than by keeping thousands of gold pieces in your money-bags. Whether you like it or not, one of these days you will have to leave your money there; whereas you will take with you the glory for all the good things you have done before our sovereign Lord, while a whole lot of people, rushing to your defence before the judge of us all, will call out the names that declare you have fed them, helped them, and shown them kindness.
How thankful, happy and proud must you be for the honor shown you: it isn't you who must go to pester others at their door, others will come flocking to your own. Yet right now you are grumpy, you make yourself inaccessible, you run away from encounters for fear of having to let go of a little of what you are so jealously guarding. And you only have one thing to say: “I haven't anything, I won't give you anything, because I am poor.” You are poor indeed, poor of everything good: poor in love, poor in goodness, poor in trust in God, poor in your everlasting expectations.
St Basil
PRAYER – All-powerful, eternal God and Father, grant us the grace of Your Spirit and fill us with the light of understanding and love. May we learn to truly pray and by our prayers to entreat You to bless us in Your goodness and lead us to true faith in Your eternal light and Word sent to redeem us. May we always be waiting and prepared to open the door of our hearts to Jesus Christ our Lord, who comes in light, love and peace. Grant that by the prayers of all Your Angels and Saints, we may be strengthened. Holy Mother, be our protection and our guide. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 18 October – The Feast of St Luke, the Evangelist
Holy and Learned, Great Saint Luke
Prayer/Hymn in Honour of St Luke
“Plausibus Luca canimus”
Trans the Benedictines of
Saint Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK
Holy and learned, great Saint Luke,
we praise you,
Closely you followed in the steps of Jesus,
As supreme witness to His life and teaching
Shedding your life-blood.
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
You left in writing, for all time to study
Stories unrivalled for their depth and beauty,
Christ’s love revealing.
Yours are the records
which we read with pleasure
Of the beginning of the Church so fervent,
Under the impulse of the true and living
Spirit of Jesus.
Paul’s earnest helper, sharer in his travels,
Zealous as he was, with a heart as loving,
Make our souls also steadfast and devoted
To the Lord Jesus.
Tender physician, use your gift of healing,
Comfort our weakness with a faith unswerving,
So that rejoicing, we may praise forever
God the Almighty.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 18 October – The Feast of St Luke the Evangelist – Readings: Esth 13:9-11, Ps 118:1, Eph 6:10-17, Matt 18:23-35
At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples this parable: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who desired to settle accounts with his servants.
Matt 18:23-35
REFLECTION – What is human mercy like? It makes you concerned for the hardship of the poor. What is divine mercy like? It forgives sinners.
In this world God is cold and hungry in all the poor, as he himself said. What sort of people are we? When God gives, we want to receive, when he asks, we refuse to give? When a poor man is hungry, Christ is in need, as he said himself: “I was hungry and you gave me no food”. Take care not to despise the hardship of the poor, if you would hope, without fear, to have your sins forgiven… What he receives on earth he returns in heaven.
I put you this question, dearly beloved: what is it you want, what is it you are looking for, when you come to church? What indeed if not mercy? Show mercy on earth, and you will receive mercy in heaven. A poor man is begging from you, and you are begging from God: he asks for a scrap, you ask for eternal life. And so when you come to church give whatever alms you can to the poor in accordance with your means.
St Caesarius of Arles
PRAYER – O Lord, we beseech Thee, that Luke, Thy holy Evangelist, who for the honour of Thy Name bore continuously in his body the suffering of the Cross, may intercede on our behalf. 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
Short Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ
By St Margaret Mary Alacoque
I give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ
my person and my life, my actions, trials and sufferings,
so that I may no longer wish to make use of any part of my being
except to honor, love, and glorify Him.
This is my irrevocable will,
to belong entirely to Him and to do everything for His love,
and I renounce with all my heart anything that can be displeasing to Him.
I take Thee, then,
O sacred Heart,
as the sole object of my love,
the protector of my life,
the pledge of my salvation,
the remedy of my infirmities,
the reparation for all the sins of my life
and my sure refuge at the hour of my death.
Be, then,
O Heart of Goodness,
my justification with God the Father,
and turn aside the blows of His just wrath.
O Heart of Love,
I place all my confidence in Thee.
I fear everything from my malice
but placing my entire confidence in Thee,
O Heart of Love,
I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness.
May Thy pure love impress Thee so deeply in my heart that I can never forget Thee,
nor never be separated from Thee.
I beseech Thee by Thy boundless goodness to write my name in Thy Sacred Heart,
for I wish to live and die as Thy slave.
Amen.
One Minute Reflection – 17 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Cant 2:3, Ps 83:2-3, Eph 3:8-9, 14-19, Matt 11:25-30
At that time, Jesus spoke and said, I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to little ones.
Matt 11:25-30
REFLECTION – Thanks, thanks be to you, eternal Father, that you have not despised me, your handiwork, nor turned your face from me, nor made light of these desires of mine. You, Light, have disregarded my darksomeness; you, Life, have not considered that I am death; nor you, Doctor, considered these grave weaknesses of mine. You, eternal Purity, have disregarded my wretched filthiness; you who are infinite have overlooked the fact that I am finite, and you, Wisdom, the fact that I am foolishness. For all these and so many other endless evils and sins of mine, your wisdom, your kindness, your mercy, your infinite goodness have not despised me. No, in your light you have given me light. In your wisdom I have come to know the truth; in your mercy I have found your charity and affection for my neighbors. What has compelled you? Not my virtues but only your charity. Let this same love compel you to enlighten the eye of my understanding with the light of faith, so that I may know your truth, which you have revealed to me.
Let my memory be great enough to hold your favors, and set my will ablaze in your charity’s fire. Let that fire burst the seed of my body and bring forth blood; then with that blood, given for love of your blood, and with the key of obedience, let me unlock heaven’s gate. I heartily ask the same of you for every reasoning creature, all and each of them, and for the mystic body of holy Church. I acknowledge, and do not deny, that you loved me before I existed, and that you love me unspeakably much, as one gone mad over your creature.
St Catherine of Siena
PRAYER – Holy Father, grant me an operative faith, a faith that will move mountains. Enlighten my soul with Your Light, Goodness, Power and Wisdom. Let my faith be an image of You by lively deeds and love and by conforming myself to Your Will in all things. As the Blessed Virgin, Mother of Your only-begotten Son, longed only to serve the God of all in complete self-denial and humility, may we always strive to imitate her Fiat in serving You, with upright hearts and thus manifest a true faith, through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Queen of the Holy Rosary
Queen of the Holy Rosary!
Thee as our Queen we greet,
And lay our lowly, loving prayers
Like roses at thy feet.
Would that these blossoms of our souls
Were far more fair and sweet.
Queen of the Joyful Mysteries!
Glad news God’s envoy bore.
The Baptist’s mother thou didst tend;
Angels thy Babe adore,
Whom with two doves thou ransomest;
Lost, He is found once more.
Queen of the Dolorous Mysteries!
Christ ‘mid the olives bled,
Scourged at the pillar, crowned with thorns,
Beneath His Cross He sped
Up the steep hill and there once more
Thine arms embraced Him–dead!
Queen of the Glorious Mysteries!
Christ from the tomb has flown,
Has mounted to the highest heaven
And sent His Spirit down
And soon He raises thee on high
To wear thy heavenly crown.
Queen of the Holy Rosary!
We, too, have joys and woes.
May they, like thine, to triumph lead!
May labour earn repose,
And may life’s sorrows and life’s joys
In heavenly glory close.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he finds a single pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. So will it be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the just, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth.
Matt 13:44-52
REFLECTION – And if you be willing to produce in the midst a miser’s soul; like a garment eaten by innumerable worms, and not having any sound part, even so will you find it, perforated on all sides by cares; rotted, cankered by sins.
But not such the poor man’s soul, the soul of him, I mean, that is voluntarily poor; but it is resplendent as gold, it shines like a pearl, and it blooms like a rose. For no moth is there, no thief is there, no worldly care, but as angels converse, so do they.
Would you see the beauty of this soul? Would you acquaint yourself with the riches of poverty? He commands not men, but he commands evil spirits. He stands not at a king’s side, but he has taken his stand near to God. He is the comrade, not of men, but of angels. He has not chests, two, or three, or twenty, but such an abundance as to account the whole world as nothing. He has not a treasure, but heaven. He needs not slaves, or rather has his passions for slaves, has for slaves the motives that rule over kings. For that which commands him who wears the purple, that motive shrinks before him. And royalty, and gold, and all such things, he laughs at, as at children’s toys; and like hoops, and dice, and heads, and balls, so does he count all these to be contemptible. For he has an adorning, which they who play with these things cannot even see.
What then can be superior to this poor man? He has at least heaven for his pavement; but if the pavement be like this, imagine the roof!
St John Chrysostom
PRAYER – All-powerful, eternal God, grant us the grace of Your Spirit and fill us with the light of understanding and love. Grant that by the prayers of your Saints we may be strengthened and depend only on You. Holy Queen of the Holy Rosary, our Mother Mary and St Hedwig, pray for us. We make our prayer through Jesus, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Alas, Lord
By St Teresa of Jesus of Avila
Alas, Lord,
who is it that has dared to make this petition in the name of all?
But behold, Lord,
Thou art a God of mercy,
have mercy upon this poor sinner, this miserable worm who is so bold with Thee.
Behold my desires, my God,
and the tears with which I beg this of Thee,
forget my deeds, for Thy name’s sake,
and have pity upon all these souls who are being lost, and help Thy Church.
Do not permit more harm to be wrought to Christendom,
Lord, give light to this darkness.
One Minute Reflection – 15 October – Readings: Ps 44:8, Ps 44:2, 2 Cor 10:17-18; 11:1-2, Matt 25:1-13
At that time Jesus spoke this parable to His disciples: “Then will the kingdom of heaven be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bride. Five of them were foolish and five wise.
Matt 25:1-13
REFLECTION – In this world, which is to say in the Church wholly following Christ, he says to all of us: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself”. This command is not being directed to virgins but not married women, to widows but not wives, to monks but not husbands, to priests but not laity. It is the whole Church, the whole Body of Christ with all its members, differentiated and divided according to their proper functions, that is to follow Christ. May she wholly follow him, she who is one alone, the dove, the bride; may she follow him, she who has been redeemed and endowed with the blood of her Bridegroom. Virginal purity has its place here; the continence of widows has its place here; wedded chastity has its place here.
These members who have their place here should follow Christ, each according to their category, each according to their status, each after its fashion. Let them deny themselves, that is to say let them not rely on themselves. Let them carry their cross, that is to say bear for Christ's sake in the world all that the world inflicts on them. May they love him, he the only one who never deceives or is deceived, the only one who is not mistaken. May they love him because what he promises is true. Yet because he does not give it to us now our faith falters. Keep going, persevere, bear and accept this delay, and you have carried his cross.
St Augustine
PRAYER – Lord Jesus Christ, You wondrously revealed all of the deep treasures of Your Heart to St Teresa. May her merits and example win us the grace to love You above all things and in all things so that we may make our abode in Your own Sacred Heart. Through You, Lord Jesus, who live and reign forever, in union with God our Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 14 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: John 21:15-17, Ps 29:2, 1 Pet 5:1-4; 5:10-11, Matt 16:13-19
And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.
Matt 16:13-19
REFLECTION – The Lord recognised in Peter a faithful steward to whom he entrusted the key of the Kingdom and, in Paul, a skilled master to whom he gave responsibility for teaching in the Church. So that those whom Paul has formed might find salvation, Peter must receive them into their rest. When Paul has opened hearts by his preaching, Peter will open the Kingdom of heaven to souls. So it is a kind of key that Paul, too, has received from Christ: the key of knowledge, enabling him to open up to their very depths hearts hardened towards the faith. Then, in spiritual unveiling, it causes what was hidden within to appear in the light of day. This is a key that allows the confession of sin to escape from consciences and locks within them for ever the grace of the Savior’s mystery.
So both have received keys from the Lord's hands: the key of knowledge for the one and the key of authority for the other; the former metes out the riches of immortality, the latter dispenses treasures of wisdom. For there are treasures of knowledge, as it is written: this mystery is Christ “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,”
St Maximus of Turin
PRAYER – I Love You, O My God – By St Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859)
I love You,
O my God
and my only desire is to love You
until the last breath of my life.
I love You,
O my infinitely lovable God
and I would rather die loving You,
than live without loving You.
I love You, Lord
and the only grace I ask,
is to love You eternally
My God,
if my tongue cannot say
in every moment that I love You,
I want my heart to repeat it to You
as often as I draw breath.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 14 October
I Beg of You, My Lord
By St Peter Faber (1506-1546)
I beg of You, my Lord,
to remove anything which separates
me from You
and You from me.
Remove anything that makes me unworthy
of Your sight,
Your control,
Your reprehension;
of Your speech and conversation,
of Your benevolence and love.
Cast from me every evil
that stands in the way of my seeing You,
hearing, tasting, savouring and touching You,
fearing and being mindful of You,
knowing, trusting, loving and possessing You;
being conscious of Your Presence
and, as far as may be, enjoying You.
This is what I ask for myself
and earnestly desire from You.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 13 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” and the 104th Anniversary of the Last Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun
Our Lady of Fatima.
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
O Most Holy Virgin Mary,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
you were pleased to appear
to the children of Fatima
and reveal a glorious message.
We implore you,
inspire in our hearts
a fervent love
for the recitation of the Rosary.
By meditating on the mysteries
of our redemption
that are recalled therein,
may we obtain the graces
and virtues that we seek,
through the merits of Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Redeemer.
Amen.
One Minute Reflection- 13 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” and the Anniversary of the Last Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun – Readings: Dan 3:31; 3:29; 3:35, Ps 118:1, Eph 5:15-21, John 4:46-53
When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and besought Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him, Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe.
John 4:46-53
REFLECTION – Yet the very coming and beseeching Him was a mark of faith. And besides, after this the Evangelist witnesses to him, declaring that when Jesus said, Go, your son lives,
he believed His word, and went. What then is that which He says here? Either He uses the words as approving of the Samaritans because they believed without signs; or, to touch Capernaum which was thought to be His own city, and of which this person was. Moreover, another man in Luke, who says, Lord, I believe,
said besides, help my unbelief.
And so if this ruler also believed, yet he believed not entirely or soundly, as is clear from his enquiring at what hour the fever left him,
since he desired to know whether it did so of its own accord, or at the bidding of Christ. When therefore he knew that it was yesterday at the seventh hour,
then himself believed and his whole house.
Do you see that he believed when his servants, not when Christ spoke? Therefore He rebukes the state of mind with which he had come to Him, and spoken as he did, (thus too He the more drew him on to belief,) because that before the miracle he had not believed strongly. That he came and entreated was nothing wonderful, for parents in their great affection are also wont to resort not only to physicians in whom they have confidence, but also to talk with those in whom they have no confidence, desiring to omit nothing whatever. Indeed, that he came without any strong purpose appears from this, that when Christ had come into Galilee, then he saw Him, whereas if he had firmly believed in Him, he would not, when his child was on the point of death, have hesitated to go into Judæa. Or if he was afraid, this is not to be endured either.
Observe how the very words show the weakness of the man; when he ought, after Christ had rebuked his state of mind, to have imagined something great concerning Him, even if he did not so before, listen how he drags along the ground.
St John Chrysostom
PRAYER – Lord God, open our hearts to Your Grace, that we may be filled with Your light and overflow with gratitude for Your merciful love. May we love and adore and worship You in return. Although we are sinners, our hearts long to thank You in total trust and humble thankfulness. Grant that by the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima, our Mother, we may grow in holiness. Through Your only Son, our Saviour and Redeemer, with the Holy Spirit, God, forever, amen.
May Your Heart Dwell
Always in our Hearts!
by Saint Francis De Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of Charity
May Your Heart
dwell always in our hearts!
May Your Blood
ever flow in the veins of our souls!
O Sun of our hearts,
You give life to all things
by the rays of Your goodness!
I will not go,
until Your Heart has strengthened me,
O Lord Jesus!
May the Heart of Jesus
be the King of my heart!
Blessed be God.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 12 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Dan 3:31; 3:29; 3:35, Ps 118:1, Eph 5:15-21, John 4:46-53
By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered you, O Sion.
Ps 136:1
REFLECTION – “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”.
But I, I do not just call on him: above all else I believe in his greatness.
Not for his gifts do I persevere in my pleading, but because he is true Life and in him I breathe. Without him there is neither movement nor advance.
Not so much by the bonds of hope but by the bonds of love am I drawn. Not for the gifts but for the Giver do I long. It is not glory that I am reaching out for but the glorified Lord whom I desire to embrace. The thirst for life is not what is consuming me but the remembrance of him who gives life.
The desire for happiness is not why I am sighing, why I break into sobs from the depths of my heart, but from the desire for him who prepares it. It is not for rest I am seeking but for the face of him who will pacify my suppliant heart. I am pining, not for the wedding feast, but because of my desire for the Bridegroom.
In sure expectation of his power in spite of the burden of my sins, I believe with unquenchable hope, while entrusting myself into the hands of the Almighty, that I shall not simply gain forgiveness but will see him face to face thanks to his mercy and pity, and though I fully deserve to be banished, I shall come into possession of heaven.
St Gregory of Narek
PRAYER – Lord God, open our hearts to Your Grace, that we may be filled with Your light and overflow with gratitude for Your merciful love. May we love and adore and worship You in return. Although we are sinners, our hearts long to thank You in total trust and humble thankfulness. Grant that by the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of our Hearts and of the humble St Serafino, we may grow in holiness. Through Your only Son, our Saviour and Redeemer, with the Holy Spirit, God, forever, amen.
Mother of my God,
Lady Mary, Queen of Mercy
By St Alphonsus Ligouri (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Mother of my God and my Lady Mary,
as a beggar, all wounded and sore,
presents himself before a great Queen,
so do I present myself before you,
who are Queen of heaven and earth.
From the lofty throne on which you sit,
disdain not, I implore you,
to cast your eyes on me,
a poor sinner.
God has made you so rich
that you might assist the poor
and has made you Queen of Mercy,
that you might relieve the miserable.
Behold me then and pity me.
Behold me and abandon me not,
until you see me changed
from a sinner into a saint.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 11 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Feast of the Divine Maternity – Readings: Dan 3:31; 3:29; 3:35, Ps 118:1, Eph 5:15-21, John 4:46-53
And they told him, Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him. The father knew then that it was at that very hour in which Jesus had said to him, Your son lives. And he himself believed, and his whole household.
John 4:46-53
REFLECTION – “To this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living”. But “God is not God of the dead, but of the living”. Consequently, the dead over whom he who lives has power are no longer dead but alive. Life has power over them so that they may live without any further fear of death just as “Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again”. Raised up and freed from corruption they shall see death no more. They will share in the resurrection of Christ just as he shared in their death. For no other reason did he descend to earth, whose bars are barriers to eternity, except to “shatter the doors of bronze, and cut in two the bars of iron”. He came to lead our lives away from corruption to himself and gave us freedom in place of slavery.
If the work of this arrangement of providence does not seem to be finished yet, for men still die and their bodies rot in the grave, this should in no way undermine our faith. In advance of all the good things already mentioned we have even now received a pledge through Christ our firstfruits. Through him we attain the highest heaven and take our places with him who carried us up to the heights with himself. That is what Saint Paul says somewhere: “he raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
St Anastasius of Antioch
PRAYER – Lord open our hearts to Your grace. As You brought joy to the world through the incarnation of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, grant that through the prayer of His Immaculate Ever-Virgin Mother, our hearts too may grow in virtue and love by learning to reflect constantly on His commandments and counsels. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
By St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390)
Father and Doctor
O God,
You alone are unutterable,
from the time You created all things
that can be spoken of.
You alone are unknowable,
from the time You created all things
that can be known.
All things cry out about You,
those which speak
and those which cannot speak.
All things honour You,
those which think
and those which cannot think.
For there is one longing, one groaning,
that all things have for You.
All things pray to You
that perceive Your plan
and offer You a silent hymn.
In you, the One,
all things abide
and all things endlessly run to You
who are the end of all.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
You must be logged in to post a comment.