Category: MORNING Prayers

Posted in MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS

Novena to St Joseph the Worker- Day Three – 24 April

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Novena to St Joseph the Worker- Day Three – 24 April

“It is only by confronting the daily demans of work that we deepen our interior dynamism….Work itself is meant to become a spiritual act and this happens when it is experienced as being at the service of the quest for the Infinite.”

Msgr Lorenzo Albacete

Let us Pray: DAY THREE

day three novena st josephtheworker

Glorious St. Joseph,
model of all those who are devoted to labour,
obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously,
putting the call of duty above my many sins;
to work with thankfulness and joy,
considering it an honour to employ and develop,
by means of labour,
the gifts received from God;
to work with order,
peace, prudence and patience,
never surrendering to weariness or difficulties;
to work, above all,
with purity of intention,
and with detachment from self,
having always death before my eyes
and the account which I must render of time lost,
of talents wasted,
of good omitted,
of vain complacency in success
so fatal to the work of God.
I offer to you today my special intention for this novena
(mention your intention)
knowing that by your powerful intercession
you will assist me and all workers,
especially those seeking employment.
All for Jesus,
all for Mary,
all after thy example,
O Patriarch Joseph.
Such shall be my motto in life and death.

Amen

 

Posted in franciscan OFM, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 24 April

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Thought for the Day – 24 April

Many saints, like St Fidelis of Sigmaringen, realise that they are wasting their time in the midst of greed and foolish ambition and decide on another course.   Their gifts were turned to doing good and to this they devote the whole of their lives.   Sometimes, it is often easily apparent, that a change is demanded in our lives – feeling miserable, unsatisfied, uneasy, worried by the greed of the world, it’s lukewarmness or apathy and more!   Courage now is needed and that courage comes from he grace of God in prayer.   ‘You become what you love’ – what is it that you love?

St Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Pray for us!

ST FIDELIS PRAY FOR US 2ST FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN - APRIL 24

Posted in franciscan OFM, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 24 April

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Quote of the Day – 24 April

“Woe to me if I should prove myself
but a half-hearted soldier in the service
of my thorn-crowned Captain.”

St Fidelis of Sigmaringen

WOE TO ME-ST FIDELIS

Posted in franciscan OFM, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 April

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One Minute Reflection – 24 April

And so I say to you, you are Peter
and upon this rock I will build my church
and the gates of the netherworld
shall not prevail against it……….Matthew 16:18

REFLECTION – “O Catholic faith, how solid, how strong you are!   How deeply rooted, how firmly founded on a solid rock!   Heaven and earth will pass away but you can never pass away.    From the beginning the world opposed you but you mightily triumphed over everything.   This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.    It has subjected powerful kings to the rule of Christ;  it has bound nations to His service. What made the holy apostles and martyrs endure fierce agony and bitter torments, except faith and especially faith in the resurrection?   What is it that today makes true followers of Christ cast luxuries aside, leave pleasures behind and endure difficulties and pain?    It is living faith that expresses itself through love.   It is this that makes us put aside the goods of the present in the hope of future goods.   It is because of faith that we exchange the present for the future.”…………………St Fidelis of Sigmaringen

PRAYER – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we praise You and give You glory:  we bless You for calling us to be Your holy people.    Remain in our hearts and guide us in our love and service.    Help us to let our light shine before others and lead them to the way of faith.
Holy Trinity of love, we praise You now and for ever.   St Fidelis man of courage and true faith, pray for us, amen!

MATTHEW 16-18O CATHOLIC FAITH-ST FIDELISST FIDELIS PRAY FOR US

Posted in franciscan OFM, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 24 April

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Our Morning Offering – 24 April

Prayer in front of the Crucifix of San Damiano
Francis used to recite this prayer already in 1205-1206, during the period of his vocational discernment, when he would visit the small abandoned church of San Damiano, where there was a Byzantine Crucifix which is nowadays venerated in the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Assisi.

Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me true faith,
certain hope
and perfect charity,
sense and knowledge, Lord,
that I may carry out
Your holy and true command. Amen

SAN DAMIANO PRAYER - ST FRANCIS

Posted in ART DEI, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 23 April

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Thought for the Day – 23 April

The Christian hero is not the slayer of dragons or the knight who wields the sword.
The Christian hero is the saint, although saints like St Joan of Arc, could and did wield the sword too.
St George, whose Memorial it is today, got lost in legends and folklore but he was a real soldier who gave his life in witness to Christ.   He was a Martyr for Christ – the ultimate act of heroism.   If only we remembered him correctly and with honour, for this martyrdom for the One who saved us!

martyrdom-of-saint-george

Martyrdom of Saint George, c.1564 – Paolo Veronese

St George pray for us and we pray that your memory may be restored!

ST GEORGE - APRIL 23

Posted in EASTER, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Quote/s of the Day – 23 April – Divine Mercy Sunday

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Quote/s of the Dat – 23 April – Divine Mercy Sunday

“There is nothing more man needs than Divine Mercy – that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights to the holiness of God.”

THERE IS NOTHING MORE MAN NEEDS-STJP

 

“When we go before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament we represent the one in the world who is in most need of God’s Mercy.”   We “Stand in behalf of the one in the world who does not know Christ and who is farthest away from God and we bring down upon their soul the Precious Blood of The Lamb.”

WHEN WE GO BEFORE THE LORD

St Pope John Paul II

Posted in EASTER, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 23 April Octave and Divine Mercy Sunday

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One Minute Reflection – 23 April
Octave and Divine Mercy Sunday

DAILY MEDITATION: Kindle the faith of your people and show us Your Mercy!

But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.    Once you were “no people” but now you are God’s people; you “had not received mercy” but now you have received mercy………………..1 Peter 2:9-10

REFLECTION – “How much the world is in need of the mercy of God today!   In every continent, from the depths of human suffering, a cry for mercy seems to rise.   In those places where hatred and the thirst for revenge are overwhelming, where war brings suffering and the death of innocents, one needs the grace of mercy to pacify the minds and the hearts and make peace spring forth.   In those places where there is less respect for life and human dignity, one needs the merciful love of God, in whose light we see the ineffable value of every single human being.   Mercy is needed to ensure that every injustice may find its solution in the splendour of truth. …..As a gift to humanity, which sometimes seems bewildered and overwhelmed by the power of evil, selfishness, and fear, the Risen Lord offers His love that pardons, reconciles, and reopens hearts to love. It is a love that converts hearts and gives peace.   How much the world needs to understand and accept Divine Mercy!”…………St John Paul

PRAYER – “Lord, who reveal the Father’s love by Your death and Resurrection, we believe in You and confidently repeat to You today: Jesus, I trust in You, have mercy upon us and upon the whole world. Amen.” – St John Paul (During his last journey to Poland in August of 2002) St Adalbert of Prague pray for us!

1 PETER 2-10AS A GIFT TO HUMANITY-ST JOHN PAULst adalbert of prague pray for us

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 23 April

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Our Morning Offering – 23 April

YOU, WHO ARE RICH IN MERCY
By St Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)
Doctor magnificus (Magnificent Doctor);
Doctor Marianus (Marian Doctor)

My prayer is but a cold affair, Lord,
because my love burns with so small a flame
but You, Who are rich in mercy
will not mete out to them Your gifts
according to the dullness of my zeal
but as Your kindness is above all human love
so let your eagerness to hear me
be greater than the feeling in my prayers.
Do this for them and with them, Lord,
so that they may speed according to Your will
and thus ruled and protected by You,
always and everywhere,
may they come at last to glory and eternal rest,
through You who are the living and reigning God,
through all ages. Amen

YOU, WHO ARE RICH IN MERCY - ST ANSELM

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Quote of the Day – Easter Saturday – 22 April

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Quote of the Day – Easter Saturday – 22 April

“Now all things have been filled with light,
both heaven and earth and those beneath the earth;
so let all creation sing Christ’s rising,
by which it is established.”

St John Damascene – Paschal Canon

NOW ALL THINGS HAVE EEN FILLED WITH LIGHT - ST JOHN DAMASCENE

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

One Minute Reflection – 22 April – Seventh Day in the Easter Octave

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One Minute Reflection – 22 April – Seventh Day in the Easter Octave

DAILY MEDITATION:  “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!”

“He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy becasue they had refusd to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.   And he said to the, ‘Go out to the whole world;  proclaim the gospel to all creation.’………….Mark 16:14-15

REFLECTION – “The power of faith is enormous.   It is so great that it not only saves the believer:  thanks to one person’s faith others are saved also.    The paralytic at Capernaum did not have faith.    But the men who brought him to Jesus and let him down through the roof had it.   The soul of the sick man was ill as well as his body.   That is made clear in the Gospel:  “And when Jesus saw their faith he said…, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and go home'”.   The Gospel does not speak of “his” faith but of “their” faith. The stretcher-bearers believed and the paralytic had the benefit of being healed because of it. (Mark 2:1-11)    Then there is the death of Lazarus.   Four days had passed.   His dead body was already decomposing.   How could one who had been dead for so many days believe and himself ask for the Deliverer?   He could not possibly do so but his sisters provided the faith for him.   When they met the Lord, one sister fell down at his feet.    He asked, “Where have you laid him?”   The other sister said: “Lord, by this time there will be a bad smell”.    Then the Lord said, “If you believe you will see the glory of God”.  As if to say, “As regards faith, you must take the place of the dead man”.   And the faith of the sisters succeeded in calling Lazarus back from the hereafter. (John 11:1-44).    So if these two women by believing in place of the other were able to secure his resurrection, how much more certainly will you be able to secure it for yourself by your own faith in Jesus?

Perhaps your own faith is feeble.   Nevertheless, the Lord who is love will stoop down to you, provided only you are penitent and can say sincerely from the depths of your soul: “Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief”. (Mark 9:23)……………………..The Power of Faith:  St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 315-386) Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – Loving Father, I believe that You love me. I ask you to watch over me and let me feel the love You shower on me.
I have been born again in baptism and long for the undying life You offer me. Strengthen my faith and help me to share this gift of faith
You have bestowed on me. Amen

MARK 16-14Perhaps your own faith is feeble-st cyril of jerusalem

Posted in MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, Uncategorized

NOVENA to ST JOSEPH, THE WORKER – DAY ONE – 22 APRIL

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NOVENA to ST JOSEPH, THE WORKER

The Liturgical Memorial of St Joseph, the Worker (1 May) was established by Venerable Pope Pius XII (d.1958), to highlight the importance of work and of the presence of Christ and the Church in the working world.   It provides an occasion to reflect on – and witness to – the “Gospel of Work.”   In a particular way St Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, stands as Patron of all workers and craftsmen, revered as a singular model.   St John Paul, in his encyclical on human work, encourages us to live with the awareness that “work is a participation in God’s activity” – an awareness that “ought to permeate….even the most ordinary everyday activities.”   By our labour and personal industry, we “are unfolding he Creator’s work…..and contributing to the realisation in history of the Divine plan.”

Let us pray:

day one novena st joseph the worker

~~This image is by Pietro Annigoni (1910-1988)~~

DAY ONE

Glorious St Joseph,
in your diligent daily labour,
you provided for the household
of the Holy Family.
Patron of all workers,
you model how work is a
participation in God’s own activity.
Our Lord Jesus Christ declared:
“My food is to do the will of him
who sent me and to accomplish his work.”
I pray for the sanctification of all human labour.
Through it, God never ceases to perfect
and govern the immense work of creation.
St Joseph, by your intercession,
protect the rights of all workers.
Enable all to find work that befits their dignity.
Do not let those who are unemployed become
discourage but aid them in obtainng fitting work.
United in your powerful help and intercession,
I offer you my own intentions……
(make your intention)
I pray you, dear St Joseph, through our Lord,
Jesus Christ, your dearly beloved foster Son,
in union with the Holy Spirit.
Amen

 

Posted in EASTER, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, Uncategorized

DIVINE MERCY NOVENA – DAY NINE – Easter Saturday – Seventh Day of the Octave

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DIVINE MERCY NOVENA – DAY NINE – Easter Saturday – Seventh Day of the Octave

VILNIUS IMAGE - DAY NINE DM NOVENA

“Today bring to Me the Souls who have become Lukewarm,

and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully.   My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls.   They were the reason I cried out: ‘Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.’   For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy.” 

Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself.   I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart.   In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame.   O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross:  let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen. 

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 22 April

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Our Morning Offering – 22 April

Lord, Grant us Your Grace
St Anselm of Canterbury

O Father, most merciful, Who,
in the beginning, created us;
Who, by the Passion of Your only begotten Son,
created us anew.
Work in us now, we beseech You, both to will
and to do your good pleasure!
And because we are weak
and can do no good thing on our own,
grant us Your grace.
Grant us your heavenly benediction,
that in whatever work we undertake
we may do all to Your honour and Your glory;
that being kept from sin,
daily increasing in good works,
so long as we live in the body,
we may always give service to You –
and after our departure,
we may receive pardon for all our sins,
attaining life eternal: through Him who,
with You and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns,
God, forevermore. Amen.

LORD GRANT US YOUR GRACE - S ANSELM

Posted in MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS

DIVINE MERCY NOVENA – Day Eight – Sixth Day of the Octave

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DIVINE MERCY NOVENA – Day Eight – Sixth Day of the Octave

day 8 dm novena

“Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory,

and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy.   Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me.   They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief.   Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf.   Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice.”

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice.   May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded, manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny.    Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son;  for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 21 April – St Anselm of Canterbury – “Magnificent Doctor” / “Father of Scholasticism”

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Thought for the Day – 21 April – St Anselm of Canterbury – “Magnificent Doctor” / “Father of Scholasticism”

As a young boy in Aosta, Italy, Anselm thought of being a priest.    His father, angered by this desire, introduced his son to court life. Anselm forgot about his vocation.    But in 1060, Anselm learned of Lanfranc, the leader of monasticism in Normandy, France. Anselm entered Lanfranc’s monastery at Bec.    Three years later, Anselm became a prior, or head and began to publish his writings on the existence of God.

LanfrancLanfranc at St Dunstan's, Canterbury

What is it about these great Saints! The perseverance, the zeal and the prolific and endless gifts for all of us. So many lessons to be learnt, so many prayers to be said to them appealing for their intercession! The greatest lesson perhaps is their uncompromising gift of self to God, through thick and thin, in health and in suffering, in the good and the bad times, it is only God who counts and the glory of the Kingdom.

St Anselm, please pray for us all!

 

 

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 21 April

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Quote/s of the Day – 21 April

“God has promised pardon to him that repents
but he has not promised repentance to him that sins.”

ST ANSLEM - GOD HAS PROMISED PARDON

“O supreme and unapproachable light!
O whole and blessed truth, how far You are from me,
who am so near to You!
How far removed You are from my vision,
though I am so near to Yours!
Everywhere You are wholly present
and I see You not.
In You I move and in You I have my being
and I cannot come to You.
You are within me
and about me
and I feel You not.”

O supreme and unaproachable light! - St Anselm

“God often works more by the life of the illiterate
seeking the things that are God’s,
than by the ability of the learned
seeking the things that are their own.”

GOD OFTEN WORKS MORE - ST ANSELM

“For I do not seek to understand in order to believe
but I believe in order to understand.
For I believe this: unless I believe, I will not understand.”

FOR I DO NO SEEK TO UNDERSTAND-ST ANSELM

“Remove grace, and you have nothing whereby to be saved.
Remove free will and you have nothing that could be saved.”

remoe grace - st anselm

“A single Mass offered for oneself during life
may be worth more than a thousand celebrated
for the same intention after death.”

“No one will have any other desire in heaven
than what God wills;
and the desire of one will be the desire of all;
and the desire of all and of each one
will also be the desire of God.”

no one will have-st anselm

ST ANSELM OF CANTERBURY (1033-1109)
Archbishop of Canterbury, O.S.B.
Doctor magnificus (Magnificent Doctor);
Doctor Marianus (Marian Doctor)

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 21 April Easter Friday Seventh Day of the Octave

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One Minute Reflection – 21 April Easter Friday Seventh Day of the Octave  and the Memorial of St Anselm ‬OSB (1033-1109) Doctor of the Church

DAILY MEDITATION: Lord, let me love You and feed Your sheep.

Jesus asked a third time,
“Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus
had asked him three times if he loved him.
So he told Jesus,
“Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.”
Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.”
— John 21:17john-21-17.21 april 2018

REFLECTION – “Those who destroy truth with their lies or detractions deny Christ with their mouths.   In the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, Peter says: “You denied the Holy and the Just One before Pilate and desired a murderer to be given to you” (3:14). Pilate, whose name means a “hammermouth,” symbolises a person who lies and detracts others.    Those who tell lies destroy truth as if they had pounded it with a hammer; those who detract others destroy the love of neighbour.    In both cases they deny Christ with their mouths.   Detraction seeks to transform good into evil and to minimise its worth.”
…..St Anthony of Padua [1195-1231] on John 21.17those-who-tell-lies-st-anthony-of-padua-21 apirl 2017

PRAYER – Our God and Holy Father, purify our hearts with Your truth and guide them in the way of holiness, so that we may do what is pleasing in your sight.   Let your face shine upon us, that we may be freed from sin and filled with Your plenty.   That we may radiate the light of Christ Your Son to all we meet and never allow us to sin against any of Your children by lies or detraction.   Teach me to feed Your lambs and Your sheep.  May the Prayers of St Anselm be to our gain.   Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.t anselm father of scholasticism pray for us 21 april 2020

 

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 20 April

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Although St. Agnes of Montepulciano was not in any way a “child saint,” like her little Roman patroness, there is about her something of the same simplicity, which makes her name appropriate.    Some of the best known legends about her concern her childhood (see the Saint of the Day here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/saint-of-the-day-20-april-st-agnes-of-montepulciano/)

At the age of forty nine, Agnes’ health began to fail rapidly.   She was taken for treatment to the baths at Chianciano – accompanied, as it says in the rule, by “two or three sisters” but the baths did her no good.    She did perform a miracle while there, restoring to life a child who had fallen into the baths and drowned.   But she returned to Montepulciano to die on the twentieth of April, 1317.   She died in the night, and the children of the city wakened and cried out, “Holy Sister Agnes is dead!”    She was buried in Montepulciano, and her tomb soon became a place of pilgrimage.

One of the most famous pilgrims to visit her tomb was St. Catherine of Siena, who went to venerate the saint and also, probably, to visit her niece, Eugenia, who was a nun in the convent there.    As she bent over the body of St. Agnes to kiss the foot, she was amazed to see Agnes raise her foot so that she did not have to stoop so far.   Agnes of Montepulciano was canonised in 1796.

Simplicity and humility – help us Lord to attain these great virtues – St Agnes of Montepulciano pray for us!

ST AGNES OF MONTE PRAY FOR US

Posted in EASTER, MORNING Prayers

Quote of the Day – 20 April – Easter Thursday – Fifth Day in the Octave

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Quote of the Day – 20 April – Easter Thursday – Fifth Day in the Octave

“The Gospel of Easter is very clear:
we need to go back there, to see Jesus risen
and to become witnesses of his Resurrection.
This is not to go back in time;
it is not a kind of nostalgia.
It is returning to our first love,
in order to receive the fire which Jesus
has kindled in the world
and to bring that fire to all people,
to the very ends of the earth.”

Pope Francis (Easter Vigil Homily, 2014)

POPE FRANCIS EASTER VIGIL

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, MORNING Prayers

One Minute Reflection – 20 April – Easter Thursday – Fifth Day of the Octave

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One Minute Reflection – 20 April – Easter Thursday – Fifth Day of the Octave

Daily Meditation: May we be one in faith. love and peace through the Eucharist.

While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”
…..Luke 24:36

REFLECTION – “Let us gather round Him to cherish the memory of His words and of the events contained in Scripture; let us relive His Passion, death and Resurrection. In celebrating the Eucharist we communicate with Christ, the victim of expiation and from Him we draw forgiveness and life. What would our lives as Christians be without the Eucharist? The Eucharist is the perpetual, living inheritance which the Lord has bequeathed to us in the Sacrament of His Body and His Blood and which we must constantly rethink and deepen so that, as venerable Pope Paul VI said, it may “impress its inexhaustible effectiveness on all the days of our earthly life” (Insegnamenti, V [1967], p. 779).”……..Pope Benedict XVI 2009

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, we are scattered in this world and so easily distracted from seeing You. Help me to communicate in love to those around me
who gather in Your love. Let me praise Your name from my heart and rejoice that I have been given the grace of faith through Your love for me. Lord Jesus, remember Your holy Church, built on the apostles and reaching to the ends of the earth and let Your blessing and peace rest on all who gather to celebrate at Your feast in the most holy Eucharist. Amen

luke 24 -36LET US GATHER ROUND HIM - POPE BENEDICT

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 20 April

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Our Morning Offering – 20 April

Prayer of St Ambrose

I beg of you, O Lord,
by this most holy mystery of Your Body and Blood,
with which You daily nourish us in Your Church,
that we may be cleansed and sanctified
and made sharers in Your divinity.
Grant to me Your holy virtues, which will enable
me to approach Your altar with a clean conscience,
so that this heavenly Sacrament may be a means
of salvation and life to me, for You Yourself have said:
“I am the living bread that has come down from heaven.
If anyone eat of this bread, he shall live forever
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
Most Sweet Bread, heal my heart, that I may taste the sweetness
of Your love. Heal it from all weakness, that I may enjoy
no sweetness but You. Most pure Bread, containing
every delight which ever refreshes us, may my heart
consume You and may my soul be filled with Your sweetness.
Holy Bread, living Bread, perfect Bread, that has come down
from heaven to give life to the world,
come into my heart and cleanse me from every stain of body
and soul. Enter into my soul; heal and cleanse me completely.
Be the constant safeguard and salvation of my soul and body.
Guard me from the enemies who lie in wait.
May they flee from the protecting presence
of Your power, so that, armed in soul
and body by You, I may safely reach
Your Kingdom.
There we shall see You, not as now
as in mysteries, but face to face,
when You will deliver the Kingdom to God
the Father and will reign as God over all.
Then You, who with the same God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, live and reign forever,
will satisfy the hunger of my soul perfectly
with Yourself, so that I shall neither hunger
nor thirst again. Amen

PRAYER BEFORE MASS - ST AMBROSE

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 19 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 19 April

In the middle years of the eleventh century, some prayers for a variety of purposes were added to a splendid Psalter which had been made at Canterbury c.1012-23, which is now British Library, Arundel 155.    These prayers, some 44 of them, are in Latin with an interlinear Old English gloss.   They’ve been published in two batches, the first group by Ferdinand Holthausen in ‘Altenglische Interlinearversionen lateinischer Gebete und Beichten’, Anglia 65 (1941), 230-54, and the rest by Jackson J. Campbell in ‘Prayers from Ms. Arundel 155’ Anglia 81 (1963), 82-177.   Among these prayers are two addressed to Canterbury’s chief saints, Dunstan and Alphege.

I pray also through you, holy father Alphege,
to all the blessed host of saintly martyrs,
who by their steadfast faith and shedding of their blood
have achieved heavenly rewards,
that supported by the protection of so many saints
in this present life. I may leave and shun all things
which are harmful to the body and the soul
and love Christ entirely with a pure mind
and steadfastly endure in the Lord’s commands.
And, thus enduring, intercede for me, holy father Alphege,
that Christ the Lord may grant that I may deserve
to come to eternal bliss, where health, life and joy endure
for all those beloved of God, through all ages of ages. Amen (Excerpt)

By way of comparison, this is the prayer to St Alphege with which the biographer, Osbern concludes his Life of the saint.

Alphege, great soldier of a great King,
who washed your robe in the blood of Almighty God,
accept the prayers of the sons who cry to you
and by your gracious intercession raise up those
whom you have honoured by your holy Passion.
Made strong by divine assistance,
you overcame the prince of death;
father, strengthen us against him
and help us to vanquish him.
You had mercy on those who stoned you;
have mercy on those who pray to you,
that the fury of those who rave.
may not gain more than the devotion of those who love.
Do not let your servants know the gates of death and hell
but bring them to the gates of Paradise
through the power given to you by the Saviour,
who lives and reigns together with the eternal Father
and co-eternal Spirit, the one, only, true God,
through endless ages of ages. Amen.

And the Thought is – let us run to the Saints who are waiting to intercede for us all.

St Alphege, pray for us!

ST ALPHEGE PRAY FOR US

Posted in EASTER, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Quote of the Day – 19 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 19 April

“The Lord’s triumph, on the day of the Resurrection, is final.
Where are the soldiers the rulers posted there?
Where are the seals that were fixed to the stone of the tomb?
Where are those who condemned the Master?
Where are those who crucified Jesus?
He is victorious and faced with His victory those
poor wretches have all taken flight.
Be filled with hope –
Jesus Christ is always victorious!”.

St. Josemarie Escriva, The Forge, 660

JESUS CHRIST IS ALWAYS VICTORIOUS-STJOSEMARIA

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MORNING Prayers

One Minute Reflection – 19 April – Wednesday of Easter Octave

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 19 April – Wednesday of Easter Octave

Daily Meditation: Give us the joy of this feast.

Then the disciples from Emmaus
told what happened on the road
and how they knew he was the Lord
when he broke the bread.
— Luke 24:35

REFLECTION – “The fact that archaeologists have not identified the location of Emmaus with any certainty, holds for me a certain value :  it suggests that Emmaus is really everywhere, the road that leads there is the path of every Christian, indeed, every human being.    On our own journeys, the risen Jesus is a traveling companion who rekindles in our hearts the warmth of faith and hope and the breaking of the bread of eternal life.    This beautiful evangelical text already contains the structure of the Mass: in the first part listening to the Word through the Scriptures;  second in the Eucharistic liturgy and communion with Christ present in the sacrament of his Body and his Blood. Nourishing ourselves in this twofold meal, the Church builds itself up and is renewed every day in faith, hope and charity.”……………..Pope Benedict XVI 2008

PRAYER – Loving Father, do I feel this joy so deeply each year?   I know how solemn this season is and yet I am overcome by sheer delight.  I celebrate this joyful time of remembering how I am brought to new life by the sacrifice Your Son made for me.   Help me to delight in the gift He left us, help me to experience the great joy of the feast of the Holy Mass and the Holy Eucharist the food to nourish me on my own road to Emmaus. Amen

luke 24-35EMMAUS-BENDICT XVI

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 19 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 19 April

The Anima Christi
By St Thomas Aquinas

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ’s side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amenthe-anima-christi-st-thomas-aquinas.19 APRIL 2017

 

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 18 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 18 April

When we read biographies of the great saints and heroes who sacrificed their lives to build and cultivate Christianity in the far corners of the globe, we might wonder how they ever did it.   How could they give up their comfortable place in civilised countries to come to this mostly uncivilized lands?    Undoubtedly it was love… love of God, love of man and love for souls.    St Marie of the Incarnation well knew her responsibility before God for the souls of others.    She was a woman who loved immensely, first God and then her fellow man.    She was a wife and mother, a religious and mystic, a teacher and a missionary.   But perhaps Bishop Laval (St Marie’s Bishop and Spiritual guide) sums up best, the holy life of Marie of the Incarnation.   He wrote: “Having chosen her to establish the Ursulines in New France, God gave her the full spirit of her Institute.   She was a perfect Superior, an excellent Mistress of Novices, capable of undertaking any religious enterprise. Her exterior life, simple and well disciplined, was animated by an intense interior life, so that she was a living Rule for all her Community.   Her zeal for the salvation of souls, especially for the conversion of the Indians, was great and so universal that she seemed to carry them all in her heart.   We cannot doubt that, by her prayers, she greatly called down God’s many blessings upon the newborn Church.”

St Marie lived for God – she put Him first and everything else fell into place – THIS is the way – and we know it!

St Marie of the Incarnation, pray for us.

ST MARIE OF THE INCARNATION PRAY FOR US

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 18 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 18 April

“The saints, are not supermen, nor were they born perfect.
They are like us, like each one of us. They are people who,
before reaching the glory of heaven, lived normal lives
with joys and sorrows, struggles and hopes.
What changed their lives?
When they recognised God’s love, they followed it with all
their heart without reserve or hypocrisy. They spent
their lives serving others, they endured suffering and adversity
without hatred and responded to evil with good,
spreading joy and peace. This is the life of a saint.”

Pope Francis

the-saints-pope-francis.18 april 2017

Posted in ART DEI, EASTER, MORNING Prayers, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 April – Easter Tuesday 3rd Day of the Octave

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 18 April – Easter Tuesday 3rd Day of the Octave

Daily Meditation: You give us the freedom of the children of God.

Mary turned around and saw Jesus standing there.
But she did not know who he was.
Jesus asked her, “Why are you crying?
Who are you looking for?” ……………….. John 20:14-15

REFLECTION – “Throughout the history of the living, the origins of anything new have always been small, practically invisible and easily overlooked.   The Lord Himself has told us that “heaven” in this world is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds (Matthew 13:31-32), yet contained within it are the infinite potentialities of God.   In terms of world history, Jesus’ Resurrection is improbable; it is the smallest mustard seed of history.

This reversal of proportions is one of God’s mysteries. The great – the mighty – is ultimately the small.   And the tiny mustard seed is something truly great.    So it is that the Resurrection has entered the world only through certain mysterious appearances to the chosen few.   And yet it was truly the new beginning for which the world was silently waiting.   And for the few witnesses – precisely because they themselves could not fathom it – it was such an overwhelmingly real happening, confronting them so powerfully, that every doubt was dispelled and they stepped forth before the world with an utterly new fearlessness in order to bear witness:  Christ is truly risen.“……………Excerpt from Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, Chapter 9,

PRAYER – Lord God, give me the opportunity to recognise the healing power of love that has been offered me and that it really does fill these days with power.   Teach me to recognise Jesus alive and Jesus with me now.. Grant me freedom from fear, freedom for courageous love and service. Help me to understand the freedom You give us all as Your children. Amen

JOHN 20-14 & 15CHRIST IS TRULY RISEN-PAPA B

Apostles-at-a-Christ-s-Tomb
Francisco Ribalta (Spain 1590s) Apostles Peter and John at Christ’s Tomb
Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 18 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 18 April

Wash Me With Your Precious Blood
By St. Peter Canisius S.J. (1521-1597)

WASH ME WITH YOUR PRECIOUS BLOOD-ST PETER CANISIUS

See, O merciful God, what return
I, Your thankless servant, have made
for the innumerable favours
and the wonderful love You have shown me!
What wrongs I have done, what good left undone!
Wash away, I beg You, these faults and stains
with Your precious blood, most kind Redeemer,
and make up for my poverty by applying Your merits.
Give me the protection I need to amend my life.
I give and surrender myself wholly to You,
and offer You all I possess,
with the prayer that You bestow Your grace on me,
so that I may be able to devote and employ
all the thinking power of my mind
and the strength of my body in Your holy service,
who are God blessed for ever and ever. Amen