Quote of the Day – 24 August – The Feast of St Bartholomew, Apostle
“Here is a true child of Israel. There is no guile in him.”
Bartholomew/Nathanael answered him :
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
John 1:47-48
Category: MORNING Prayers
One Minute Reflection – August 24 – The Feast of St Bartholomew
One Minute Reflection – August 24 – The Feast of St Bartholomew
(God) chose to reveal His Son to me
that I might spread among the Gentiles
the good tidings concerning Him…………Galatians 1:16
REFLECTION – “No matter where you may be or where you may be working, make sure the world will be renewed upon contact with you.
Make the Lord more present to human beings and the Gospel more known and loved by them.”… Bl Pope Paul VI
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, teach me to imitate Your divine Son in my life. Grant that by my presence as well as by my deeds, I may bring Christ and His message to everyone I meet. Let me follow Your Apostles and manifest the love and zeal of St Bartholomew. May all the Apostles Pray for us. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 24 August
Our Morning Offering – 24 August
A Prayer of Self-Dedication
Abbot Louis de Blois O.S.B. (1506-1566)
Lord my God,
rescue me from myself
and give me to You.
Take away everything
that draws me from You
and give me all those things
that lead me to You,
for the sake of Christ, our Lord. Amen
Thought for the Day – St Rose of Lima
Thought for the Day – St Rose of Lima
It is easy to dismiss excessive penances of the saints as the expression of a certain culture or temperament. But a woman wearing a crown of thorns may at least prod our consciences. We enjoy the most comfort-oriented life in human history. We eat too much, drink too much, use a million gadgets, fill our eyes and ears with everything imaginable. Commerce thrives on creating useless needs on which to spend our money. It seems that when we have become most like slaves, there is the greatest talk of “freedom.” Are we willing to discipline ourselves in such an atmosphere? “Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.” (St Rose of Lima)
“If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into fiery Gehenna” (Matthew 18:8–9)
St Rose of Lima Pray for us!
Quote of the Day – August 23 – St Rose of Lima
Quote of the Day – August 23 – St Rose of Lima
“Apart from the Cross
there is no other ‘ladder’
by which we might get to heaven.”
St Rose of Lima
One Minute Reflection – 23 August – St Rose of Lima
One Minute Reflection – 23 August – St Rose of Lima
It is in Christ….that we have been redeemed and our sins forgiven, so immeasurably generous is God’s favour (grace) to us……..Ephesians 1:7
REFLECTION – “If only we would learn how great it is to possess divine grace and how many riches it has within itself, how many joys and delights. We would devote all our concern to winning for ourselves pains and afflictions in order to attain the unfathomable treasure of grace.”…St Rose of Lima
PRAYER – God is all goodness, keep ever in my mind the surpassing riches of Your grace. Grant that I may devote all my efforts to co-operating with that grace and growing in it day by day. St Rose of Lima Pray for us! Amen
Our Morning Offering – 23 August
Our Morning Offering – 23 August
To You we Cry, O Queen of Mercy!
By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Doctor mellifluus (Mellifluous Doctor)
To you we cry,
O Queen of Mercy!
Return, that we may
behold you dispensing favours,
bestowing remedies,
giving strength.
Ah, tender Mother!
Tell your all-powerful Son
that we have no more wine.
We are thirsty after the wine of His love,
of that marvelous wine
that fills souls with a holy inebriation,
inflames them,
and gives them the strength to despise
the things of this world
and to seek with ardour heavenly goods.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary
Thought for the Day – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary
As St. Paul suggests in Romans 8:28–30, God has predestined human beings from all eternity to share the image of his Son. All the more was Mary predestined to be the mother of Jesus. As Jesus was to be king of all creation, Mary, in dependence on Jesus, was to be queen. All other titles to queenship derive from this eternal intention of God. As Jesus exercised his kingship on earth by serving his Father and his fellow human beings, so did Mary exercise her queenship. As the glorified Jesus remains with us as our king till the end of time (Matthew 28:20), so does Mary, who was assumed into heaven and crowned queen of heaven and earth.
In the fourth century St Ephrem called Mary “Lady” and “Queen.” Later Church fathers and doctors continued to use the title. Hymns of the 11th to 13th centuries address Mary as queen: “Hail, Holy Queen,” “Hail, Queen of Heaven,” “Queen of Heaven.” The Dominican rosary and the Franciscan crown as well as numerous invocations in Mary’s litany celebrate her queenship.
The feast is a logical follow-up to the Assumption and is now celebrated on the octave day of that feast. In his 1954 encyclical To the Queen of Heaven, Pius XII points out that Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus’ redemptive work because of her preeminent perfection and because of her intercessory power. (Fr Don Miller OFM)
“Just as Mary surpassed in grace all others on earth, so also in heaven is her glory unique. If eye has not seen or ear heard or the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9), who can express what He has prepared for the woman who gave Him birth and who loved Him, as everyone knows, more than anyone else?” (St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) – Doctor of Light – Mellifluous Doctor)
Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth Pray for your children!
Your eyes opened to a new kind of light
Wide pools that gaze with merciful love upon the world
Your sword-pierced heart, immaculate,
Strong-walled as a cathedral
In the holy city of God.
Angels surround your throne
Holy Blessed Virgin,
Mother of God
Star-crowned Queen of heaven and
Queen of angels
We, though sinners, are yours,
Every tribe on earth, every race
Beckoned to enclosure
In deep mantle-folds of grace.
Quote/s of the Day – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary
Quote/s of the Day – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary
“She has surpassed the riches of the virgins,
the confessors, the martyrs, the apostles,
the prophets, the patriarchs and the angels,
for she herself is the first-fruit of the virgins,
the mirror of confessors, the rose of martyrs,
the ruler of apostles, the oracle of prophets,
the daughter of patriarchs, the queen of angels.”
…St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor
“Mary has the authority over the angels
and the blessed in heaven.
As a reward for her great humility,
God gave her the power and mission of assigning to saints
the thrones made vacant by the apostate angels
who fell away through pride.
Such is the will of the almighty God who exalts the humble,
that the powers of heaven, earth and hell,
willingly or unwillingly, must obey the commands
of the humble Virgin Mary.
For God has made her queen of heaven and earth,
leader of his armies, keeper of his treasure,
dispenser of his graces, mediatrix on behalf of men,
destroyer of his enemies and faithful associate
in his great works and triumphs.”
…St Louis Marie de Montfort
“To serve the Queen of Heaven is already to reign there
and to live under her commands, is more than to govern.”
…St John Marie Vianney
“Prayer is powerful beyond limits
when we turn to the Immaculata
who is queen even of God’s heart.”
…St Maximilian Kolbe
“No one has access to the Almighty
as His mother has – none has merit such as hers.
Her Son will deny her nothing that she asks
and herein lies her power.
While she defends the Church,
neither height nor depth,
neither men nor evil spirits,
neither great monarchs,
nor craft of man, nor popular violence,
can avail to harm us – for human life is short
but Mary reigns above, a Queen forever.”
Bl Cardinal John Henry Newman
One Minute Reflection – August 22 – The Memorial of the Queenship of Mary
One Minute Reflection – August 22 – The Memorial of the Queenship of Mary
My fruit is better than gold, yes than pure gold and my revenue than choice silver………….Prv 8:19
REFLECTION – “Mary is the stem of the beautiful flower on which the Holy Spirit rests with the fullness of His gifts. Hence, those who want to obtain the seven gifts of the Spirit must seek the flower of the Holy Spirit on the stem (Mary).
We go to Jesus through Mary and through Jesus we find the grace of the Holy Spirit.”…St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, You made Mary the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Help me through Mary and Jesus to reach the Spirit and obtain His surpassing gifts. Holy Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, be my companion and my guide. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary
Our Morning Offering – 22 August – The Queenship of Mary
Mary our Queen, Holy Mother of God
By St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor
Mary, our Queen,
Holy Mother of God,
we beg you to hear our prayer.
Make our hearts overflow with divine grace
and resplendent with heavenly wisdom.
Render them strong with your might
and rich in virtue.
Pour down upon us the gift of mercy
so that we may obtain the pardon of our sins.
Help us to live in such a way
as to merit the glory and bliss of heaven.
May this be granted us by your Son Jesus
who has exalted you above the angels,
has crowned you as Queen,
and has seated you with Him
forever on His refulgent throne.
Amen.
Thought for the Day – 21 August – The Memorial of St Pope Pius X
Thought for the Day – 21 August – The Memorial of St Pope Pius X
“I was born poor, I lived poor, I will die poor.” These words were part of the will that Pope Pius X left at his death on August 20, 1914.
He was born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, the second of 10 children. His father was a poor parish clerk in Riese, Italy, and his mother worked as a seamstress. At 11, Giuseppe was accepted as a student in high school. Every day, he walked five miles to school and back. At 15, he began attending the local seminary. When his father died, Giuseppe wanted to come home and help with the family. His mother, however, would not let him.
In 1858, he was ordained and then worked as a parish priest for 17 years. He believed his call was to encourage those who were poor to lead Christian lives and to help them overcome financial problems. He was, however, named spiritual director of the major seminary and chancellor of the diocese. Later, he became a bishop and then a cardinal.
In 1903, this little-known cardinal was elected to become Pope Pius X. He took as his motto “Restore all things in Christ.” He emphasised the importance of the Eucharist. He directed that children as young as seven should be allowed to receive the Eucharist. He initiated changes in Church music and worship. He began a biblical institute. He gave the first official impetus to the modern liturgical renewal.
Pope Pius X believed that real peace could be achieved only through social justice and charity. He sponsored and sheltered refugees with his own resources. He wrote an encyclical encouraging Latin American bishops to improve the treatment of native people working on plantations.
He worked to stop the world from going to war. When Europe entered World War I, on the 11th anniversary of his election as pope, Pius was heartbroken, it killed him. He said, “I would gladly give up my life to save my poor children from this ghastly scourge.” Just a few weeks after the war started, Pope Pius X died.
St Pius’ humble background was no obstacle in relating to a personal God and to people whom he loved genuinely. Pius X gained his strength, his gentleness and warmth for people from the source of all gifts, the Spirit of Jesus. In contrast, we often feel embarrassed by our backgrounds. Shame makes us prefer to remain aloof from people whom we perceive as superior. If we are in a superior position, on the other hand, we often ignore simpler people. Yet we, too, have to help “restore all things in Christ,” especially the wounded people of God.
St Pope Pius X, Pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 21 August – The Memorial of St Pope Pius X
Quote/s of the Day – 21 August – The Memorial of St Pope Pius X
“The daily adoration or visit to the Blessed Sacrament
is the practice which is the fountainhead
of all devotional works.”
“HOLY COMMUNION is the shortest
and the safest way to heaven.”
“The greatest obstacle in the apostolate of the Church
is the timidity or rather the cowardice of the faithful.”
“Let the storm rage and the sky darken —
not for that shall we be dismayed.
If we trust as we should in Mary,
we shall recognise in her, the Virgin Most Powerful,
who with virginal foot did crush the head of the serpent.”
St Pope Pius X
Our Morning Offering – 21 August – The Memorial of St Pope Pius X
Our Morning Offering – August 21 – The Memorial of St Pope Pius X
Prayer for Union with the Holy Spirit
By St Pope Pius X
O Holy Spirit of Light and Love,
to You I consecrate my heart,
mind and will
for time and eternity.
May I be ever docile
to Your Divine inspirations
and to the teachings
of the Holy Catholic Church
whose infallible guide You are.
May my heart be ever inflamed
with the love of God and love of neighbour.
May my will be ever in harmony with Your Divine Will.
May my life faithfully imitate the life and virtues
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
To Him,
with the Father,
and You, Divine Spirit,
be honour and glory forever.
Amen.
One Minute Reflection – August 21 – The Memorial of St Pope Pius X
One Minute Reflection – August 21 – The Memorial of St Pope Pius X
You are sad for a time but I shall see you again; then your hearts will rejoice with a joy no one can take from you…………John 16:22
REFLECTION – Catholics are part of the Church Militant. They struggle and they suffer for the triumph of Christ.
They must never lose sight of their Divine Model, so that their trials will be turned into joy……..St Pius X
PRAYER – Jesus Lord of Sorrows, enable me to struggle and suffer in union with You. Let me keep ever before me the joy that will follow upon these passing sufferings. St Pius X Pray for Us. Amen
The Memorare by St Bernard of Clairvaux “Doctor of Light”
On the Feast Day of St Bernard, August 20, can we do better than call on our Mother
The Memorare by St Bernard of Clairvaux
REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled
to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought
thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by
this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins,
my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand,
sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy
hear and answer me. Amen.
(The Express Novena you will recall, is 9 times the Memorare)
Thought for the Day – 20 August – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux
Thought for the Day – 20 August – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux
Man of the century! Woman of the century! You see such terms applied to so many today—“golfer of the century,” “composer of the century,” “right tackle of the century”—that the line no longer has any punch. But Western Europe’s “man of the twelfth century,” without doubt or controversy, had to be Bernard of Clairvaux. Adviser of popes, preacher of the Second Crusade, defender of the faith, healer of a schism, reformer of a monastic Order, Scripture scholar, theologian, and eloquent preacher: any one of these titles would distinguish an ordinary man. Yet Bernard was all of these—and he still retained a burning desire to return to the hidden monastic life of his younger days.
His ability as arbitrator and counsellor became widely known. More and more he was lured away from the monastery to settle long-standing disputes. On several of these occasions, he apparently stepped on some sensitive toes in Rome. Bernard was completely dedicated to the primacy of the Roman See. But to a letter of warning from Rome, he replied that the good fathers in Rome had enough to do to keep the Church in one piece. If any matters arose that warranted their interest, he would be the first to let them know.
Shortly thereafter it was Bernard who intervened in a full-blown schism and settled it in favour of the Roman pontiff against the antipope.
Bernard felt responsible in some way for the degenerative effects of the crusade. This heavy burden possibly hastened his death, which came August 20, 1153.
Death of St Bernard – 1545
Bernard’s life in the Church was more active than we can imagine possible today. His efforts produced far-reaching results. But he knew that they would have availed little without the many hours of prayer and contemplation that brought him strength and heavenly direction. His life was characterised by a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother. His sermons and books about Mary are still the standard of Marian theology….Fr Don Miller OFM
St Bernard Pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux
Quote/s of the Day – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux
“Are you troubled?
Think but of Jesus – speak but the name of Jesus,
the clouds disperse
and peace descends anew from heaven.
Have you fallen into sin? So that you fear death?
..invoke the name of Jesus
and you will soon feel life returning.
No obduracy of the soul, no weakness,
no coldness of heart can resist this holy name –
there is no heart which will not soften
and open in tears at this holy name.”
“The measure of love is love without measure.”
“Jesus, what made You so small?
LOVE!”
“There are those who seek knowledge
for the sake of knowledge – that is curiosity.
There are those who seek knowledge
to be known by others – that is vanity.
There are those who seek knowledge
in order to serve – that is Love.”
“The three most important virtues are:
humility,
humility
and humility.”
“Let us not imagine that we obscure
the glory of the Son by the great praise
we lavish on the Mother –
for the more she is honoured,
the greater is the glory of her Son.
There can be no doubt that whatever we say
in praise of the Mother gives equal praise to the Son.”
“Love for Christ pierced Mary’s heart
in such a way that no part of it
was left unkindled.
Mary thus fulfilled
the first commandment of love
in all its fulness
and without the slightest imperfection.”
“Action and contemplation are very close companions;
they live together in one house on equal terms.
Martha and Mary are sisters.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 20 August – – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux
One Minute Reflection – 20 August – – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux
Hold fast to …. a good conscience. Some men, by rejecting the guidance of conscience, have made shipwreck of their faith…1 Timothy 1:19
REFLECTION – “A good conscience is a treasury of riches.
Indeed, what greater riches can there be – or what can be sweeter – than a good conscience?….St Bernard
PRAYER – All-knowing God, let me be able to stand in Your presence with a good conscience.
Help me to avoid anything that would sully my conscience and do all I can to remain united with You.
St Bernard, pray for us, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 20 August – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux
Our Morning Offering – 20 August – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux
Morning Prayer of St Bernard
High and holy God
Give me this day
a word of truth
to silence the lies
that would devour my soul
and kind encouragements
to strengthen me when I fall.
Gracious One
I come quietly to Your door
needing to receive
from Your hands
the nourishment
that gives life.
Amen and Amen.
Our Morning Offering – August 19
Our Morning Offering – August 19
O Heart of my Saviour
By St John Eudes
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.
this day and always. Amen
Quotes of the Day – 19 August – The Memorial of St John Eudes “Apostle of Two Hearts”
Quotes of the Day – 19 August – The Memorial of St John Eudes “Apostle of Two Hearts”
“Faith is a beam, radiating from the face of God.”
“Our wish, our object, our chief preoccupation
must be to form Jesus in ourselves,
to make His spirit, His devotion, His affections,
His desires and His disposition live and reign there.
All our religious exercises should be directed to this end.
It is the work which God has given us to do unceasingly. “
“The Christian life is a continuation
and completion of the life of Christ in us.
We should be so many Christs here on earth,
continuing His life and His works,
labouring and suffering in a holy
and divine manner in the spirit of Jesus.”
“The air that we breathe,
the bread that we eat,
the heart which throbs in our bosoms,
are not more necessary for man
that he may live as a human being,
than is prayer for the Christian
that he may live as a Christian.”
““If the Church shows respect and veneration for everything
that came in contact with the Saviour’s Body: the Cross,
the Nails, the Thorns, the Winding Sheet of His Sepuchre,
the Swathing-bands of His infancy and similar things – what
honour must be due to this venerable body of the
Blessed Virgin from which the Body of the Redeemer was formed!”
St John Eudes
One Minute Reflection – 19 August – The Memorial of St John Eudes “Apostle of Two Hearts”
One Minute Reflection – 19 August – The Memorial of St John Eudes “Apostle of Two Hearts”
…yet I live, no longer I but Christ lives in me….Galatians 2:20
REFLECTION – “A Christian has a union with Jesus Christ:
more noble,
more intimate
and more perfect
than the members of a human body
have with their head!”
PRAYER – Father of mercies and God of all consolation, You gave us the loving Heart of Your own beloved Son, because of the boundless love by which You have loved us, which no tongue can describe. May we render You a love that is perfect with hearts made one with His. Grant, we pray, that our hearts may be brought to perfect unity: each heart with the other and all hearts with the Heart of Jesus….and may the rightful yearnings of our hearts find fulfillment through Him: Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. – Collect from Saint John Eudes’ Mass, Gaudeamus, 1668 St John Eudes, Pray for us! amen.
Thought for the Day – 18 August – The Memorial of St Alberto Hurtado
Thought for the Day – 18 August – The Memorial of St Alberto Hurtado
” Hogar de Christo”
Hogar means “hearth” or “home.” Hurtado wanted to welcome the poor into “Christ’s home.”
From all accounts Hurtado was an intensely busy man. In 1946, he bought a green pickup truck to better bring at-risk children living on the street back to the shelters. He called them his patroncitos, his “little bosses.” In addition to his work with Hogar, his retreats and outreach to youth, he wrote several books and found the journal Mensaje, a Catholic magazine designed to highlight the social teachings of the church and which is still proudly published by the Chilean Jesuits.
Despite his hectic schedule, Alberto understood the need for the balance between prayer and work, striving to be a “contemplative in action.” On the one hand, the activist is the one who at every moment recognises “the divine impulse.” On the other, prayer should not encourage a “sleepy sort of laziness under the pretext of keeping ourselves united with God.” I like to think of him as the patron saint of multitaskers.
By the age of 50, though, Alberto seemed to his friends worn out. After a physician-ordered vacation, he returned to discover that he had pancreatic cancer. The end would come quickly and painfully. Yet during his suffering he was often heard to say, “I am content, O Lord, I am content.” He died at age 51.
His funeral, in the Church of St. Ignatius in Santiago, was filled with so many of the poor who venerated Padre Hurtado that many of his close friends had to remain outside. Alberto Hurtado was canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. All of Chile celebrated the man who the country’s president called one of Chile’s “founding fathers.”
In Santiago, near the original Hogar, is a shrine to Alberto, where many come to pray. Inside is his beat-up green pickup.
Let us too ‘build a home for Christ’!
St Alberto, Pray for us!
Quote of the Day – 18 August
Quote of the Day – 18 August
”To leave our prayer when we are called
to do some act of charity for our neighbour,
is not really a quitting of prayer
but leaving Christ for Christ.
Even in the midst of a crowd
we can be going on to perfection.”
St Philip Neri
One Minute Reflection – 18 August – The Memorial of St Alberto Hurtado
One Minute Reflection – 18 August – The Memorial of St Alberto Hurtado
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’...Matthew 25:40
REFLECTION – “Christ roams through our streets in the person of so many of the suffering poor, sick and dispossessed, and people thrown out of their miserable slums; Christ huddled under bridges, in the person of so many children who lack someone to call father, who have been deprived for many years without a mother’s kiss on their foreheads…Christ is without a home! Shouldn’t we want to give Him one, those of us who have the joy of a comfortable home, plenty of good food, the means to educate and assure the future of our children?”…St Alberto Hurtado S.J.
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, teach us to follow Your Son in all things, to give and not to count the cost. Open our eyes to the distress and sadness around us. What we have may we learn to share with others, so that we too may be called “good and faithful servant” which St Alberto lived to fulfil in each moment of his life. St Alberto Hurtado, pray for us, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 18 August
Our Morning Offering – 18 August
Prayer of St Alberto Hurtado
Lord, help me to speak the truth before the strong
and not lie to gain the applause of the weak.
If You give me fortune, don’t take happiness away from me.
If You give me strength, don’t take reason away from me.
If You give me success, don’t take humility away from me.
If You give me humility, don’t take dignity away from me.
Help we always see the other side of the coin.
Do not let me blame others of treason
for not thinking like me.
Teach me to love people as myself
and to judge myself as others do.
Do not let me fall into pride if I triumph
nor in despair if I fail.
Rather, remind me that failure
is the experience which precedes triumph.
Teach me that forgiving is the grandest for the strong
and that revenge is the primitive sign of the weak.
If You take away my fortune, leave me with hope.
If You take away success, leave me with the strength
to triumph from the defeat.
If I fail people, give me the courage to ask pardon.
If the people fail me, give me the courage to forgive.
Lord, if I forget You, don’t forget me.
Amen
Here’s the Spanish:
Señor, ayúdame a decir la verdad delante de los fuertes
Y a no decir mentiras para ganarme el aplauso de los débiles.
Si me das fortuna, no me quites la felicidad.
Si me das fuerza, no me quites la razón.
Si me das éxito, no me quites la humildad.
Si me das humildad, no me quites la dignidad.
Ayúdame siempre a ver el otro lado de la medalla.
No me dejes inculpar de traición a los demás
por no pensar como yo.
Enséñame a querer a la gente como a mí mismo
y a juzgarme como a los demás.
No me dejes caer en el orgullo si triunfo,
ni en la desesperación si fracaso.
Más bien recuérdame que el fracaso
es la experiencia que precede al triunfo.
Enséñame que perdonar es lo más grande del fuerte,
Y que la venganza es la señal primitiva del débil.
Si me quitas la fortuna, déjame la esperanza.
Si me quitas el éxito, déjame la fuerza para triunfar del fracaso.
Si yo fallara a la gente, dame valor para disculparme.
Si la gente fallara conmigo, dame valor para perdonar.
Señor, si yo me olvido de Ti, no te olvides de mí.
Thought for the Day – 17 August – The Memorial of St Hyacinth of Poland – “Apostle of Poland” “Apostle of the North”
Thought for the Day – 17 August – The Memorial of St Hyacinth of Poland – “Apostle of Poland” “Apostle of the North”
“Our readers, we can but fancy, have marvelled at the prodigious labours and travelling of Saint Hyacinth, although we have given only a meager account of them. They extended over a period of nearly forty years and carried him through a large part of Europe and Asia. Doubtless, if they were recorded in detail and in proper sequence, they would be found infinitely more stupendous than we have painted them. He alone could have told them as they should be recounted. Yet it possibly never entered his mind to leave posterity any information on his life. The one thing that engaged his thoughts was, after saving his own soul, to help those of others, to make God known and to extend the kingdom of Christ. The same idea filled the minds of the confrères who were often his companions in labour. In this way, it was only through the scanty records discovered in cities and the early convents that historians have been able to tell us the little we do know about him. Still perhaps never was there a life which should be more completely written than that of Saint Hyacinth Odrowaz.
One may consider the practical, lively faith of the Poles, whether in the home land or in others, as a perpetual miracle of Saint Hyacinth. In no small measure they owe it to him. To that keen faith we must attribute the magnificent institutions of learning, charity, benevolence and the like, as well as the churches, monasteries and similar edifices, in which Poland abounds and in which it has found expression. All these are filled with the spirit which the people largely derived from him. They simply thrill with love and gratitude for him. This true spirit of Catholicity, we must remember, has been preserved undiminished for centuries through wars of every kind, division, hardships, persecution and every sort of oppression-the like of which the world has seen few parallels. We have here, it would seem, the greatest miracle of the zealous apostle’s life. At least, it has contributed more to the glory of God, the good of the Church, and the salvation of souls than any miracle he performed.” (Acta; STANISLAUS, Father, O. P., of Cracow, manuscript Vita Sancti Hyacinthi.)
Saint Hyacinth teaches us to spare no effort in the service of God but to rely for success not on our industry but on the assistance of the Holy Eucharist and the prayer of the Immaculate Mother of God.
St Hyacinth of Poland pray for the Poland, the Church and for us all!
Quote/s of the Day – 17 August
Quote/s of the Day – 17 August
As it is the Memorial of St Hyacinth O.P. of the great Marian Miracle,
I am posting Quotations on Mary from some of our great Dominican Saints.
Enjoy!
“Mary is the Divine Page
on which the Father wrote
the Word of God, His Son.”
St Albert the Great O.P. (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church
“As mariners are guided into port
by the shining of a star,
so Christians are guided to heaven
by Mary.”
St Thomas Aquinas O.P. (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
“Mary is the most sweet bait,
chosen,
prepared
and ordained by God,
to catch the hearts of men.”
St Catherine of Siena T.O.S.D. (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
“To ask favours
without interposing Mary,
is to attempt to fly without wings.”
St Antoninus O.P. Bishop of Florence (1389-1459)
One Minute Reflection – 17 August – The Memorial of St Hyacinth of Poland
One Minute Reflection – 17 August – The Memorial of St Hyacinth of Poland
Come, blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…Matthew 25:34
REFLECTION – “Mary, the Mother of our Lord, accompanied by the choirs of Angels, will come to meet you. What a day of joy that will be for you!”….St Jerome (343-420) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – O Mary, Mother of God and my mother, watch over me at every moment and keep me free from sin. Then upon my death, come to meet me and lead me to my eternal home in heaven. As you, St Hyacinth, took Mary with you and she made smooth your path, pray that we too may always ‘take Mary with us’ to lead us safely home to her son, who is our Lord, amen.
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