Category: MORNING Prayers

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Lenten Preparation Novena

Posted on by AnaStpaul

A Meditation for this ‘Prelude to Lent’

“Each of us must come to the evening of life.   Each of us must enter on eternity.   Each of us must come to that quiet, awful time, when we will appear before the Lord of the vineyard and answer for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad.   That, my dear brethren, you will have to undergo. … It will be the dread moment of expectation when your fate for eternity is in the balance and when you are about to be sent forth as the companion of either saints or devils, without possibility of change.   There can be no change; there can be no reversal.   As that judgment decides it, so it will be for ever and ever.   Such is the particular judgment. … when we find ourselves by ourselves, one by one, in His presence and have brought before us most vividly all the thoughts, words and deeds of this past life.   Who will be able to bear the sight of himself?   And yet we shall be obliged steadily to confront ourselves and to see ourselves.   In this life we shrink from knowing our real selves.   We do not like to know how sinful we are.   We love those who prophecy smooth things to us and we are angry with those who tell us of our faults.   But on that day, not one fault only but all the secret, as well as evident, defects of our character will be clearly brought out.   We shall see what we feared to see here and much more.   And then, when the full sight of ourselves comes to us, who will not wish that he had known more of himself here, rather than leaving it for the inevitable day to reveal it all to him! …………………….We can believe what we choose.   We are answerable for what we choose to believe.”– (Blessed Card. John Henry Newman)

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Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY ONE

Lord, during this Lenten Season,
nourish me with Your Word of life
and make me one
with You in love and prayer.

Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.

Father, our source of life,
I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;
let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy,
for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.

Father of love, source of all blessings,
help me to pass from my old life of sin
to the new life of grace.

Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
(Mention your special intention)

Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.
I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.

Amen.

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Thought for the Day – 20 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

You might think that if the Blessed Mother of God appears to you and speaks to you, you are a saint.    But that is not necessarily true.    What is true is that Mary chose to come to children who the year before had been visited by the Angel of Peace, children who had listened to the angel’s message and prayed the prayer the angel taught them.    They responded to Mary in the same way and prayed the Rosary and offered sacrifices for sinners and for the conversion of the world.    They were children who wanted to please God and that is why the Church has declared them Blessed.

Francisco and Jacinta died within a short time, as the Lady had said they would. They were beatified on May 13, 2000.    At that time Lucia los Santos was a Carmelite nun in Portugal. Sister Lucia died February 13, 2005 at age 97.   The shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is visited by up to 20 million people a year and is the source of many conversions and miracles.

Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta Pray for us!

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 20 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 20 February

“We were burning in that light
which is God and we were not consumed.
What is God like?
It is impossible to say.
In fact we will never be able to tell people”

~~~~~ Blessed Francisco Marto of Fatima

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“Speak ill of no one and avoid the company
of those who talk (bad) about their neighbours.”
~~~~~ Blessed Jacinta Marto of Fatima

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 20 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 20 February

The Angel of Fatima’s Prayer

O Most Holy Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
I adore Thee profoundly.
I offer Thee
the most precious Body, Blood, Soul
and Divinity of Jesus Christ
present in all the tabernacles of the world,
in reparation for the outrages,
sacrileges and indifferences
by which He is offended.
By the infinite merits of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
Amen

the-angel-of-fatimas-prayer

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 19 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 19 February

Disaster does not always have to be the ruin of everything and very terrible blows of bad fortune can lead to great blessings.   St Conrad of Piacenza’s bad fortune made him reflect on his own way of life.   A man was almost executed through his neglect and he realised that God deserved better, in fact God deserved the very best of him.   The rest is the story of a man who made way for the Holy Spirit, who cleared the path for His entry and thus found his joy in God and became a delightful friend to all, a conduit of love and miracles.   It is a lesson to be pondered.

St Conrad of Piacenza, Pray for us!

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Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 19 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 19 February

Making a path for the Holy Spirit

Conversion has two elements for its completion.
First, we need to rid ourselves of the things that hinder gospel living. That includes not only “stuff” but also habits, attitudes, mindsets, lifestyles etc. that hinder hearing and living the Gospel.
Secondly, conversion calls us to commit our lives to Jesus and His gospel call.
It calls for practising charity, having hope, learning how to love all people.
If we only clean out our lives, we create a vacuum into which all sorts of things can enter (cf. Luke 11:24-26).
Our inner housecleaning ordinarily should open a path for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

~ Lester Bach OFM Cap, Seeking a Gospel Life

Today’s Saint of the Day, St Conrad of Piacenza is a perfect example of making the path!   St Conrad Pray for us!

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

One Minute Reflection – 19 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 19 February

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain…….1 Cor 15:58

REFLECTION – “Keep a clear eye toward life’s end. Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God’s creature. What you are in His sight is what you are
and nothing more. Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing that you have received…but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”…………St Francis of Assisi

PRAYER – God of mercy, teach me to live as You have ordained. Help me to follow Your commandments with courage and steadfast devotion. As St Conrad learnt courage through adversity, help me too to use the events of my life, both good and bad, to give only my best to all I meet. St Conrad of Piacenza, pray for us, amen.

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 19 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 19 February

Prayer for Enlightenment

Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God,
grant us in our misery the grace to do for You alone
what we know You want us to do
and always to desire what pleases You.
Thus, inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened
and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit,
may we be able to follow in the footprints of
Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And, by Your grace alone, may we make our way to You,
Most High, Who live and rule in perfect Trinity and simple Unity
and are glorified God all-powerful forever and ever.
Amen.

(From “A Letter to the Entire Order”)

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 18 February

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Thought for the Day – 18 February

Faithful to the promises he made as a Dominican, to preach the Gospel after having contemplated it in prayer, Fra Angelico put his creativity at the disposal of the Lord.   With brush and paint in hand, he used his talents to transmit to all people the sublimity and the redemptive strength of the divine mysteries.

Between 1425 and 1447, Fra Angelico carried out his activity for the Dominican convents and other ecclesiastical institutes at Fiesole, Florence (most especially at the convent of San Marco), Cortona and Orvieto.   The fame of his genius merited him the esteem of the Sovereign Pontiffs Eugenio IV and Nicolas V, who contracted him for the task of frescoing several rooms in the Vatican Palace (1445-49).

Fra Angelico died on February 18, 1455, in the convent of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome and was buried in the adjoining Basilica, where his body was covered by a simple slab on which was carved his portrait.   With a personality that was uncomplicated and clear, Brother Giovanni had lived a poor and humble life, refusing honours and positions.

The virtue and the profound religious spirit which characterized the life of this artist and Dominican is reflected in his spirituality, his purity and the luminosity of his art.   Even before his official recognition as a blessed of the Church, he had been given by the faithful the title “Beato Angelico.”   In a moving ceremony on October 18, 1984, Pope John Paul II, on his knees in front of Fra Angelico’s tomb, proclaimed him solemnly to be the universal patron of all artists.

The Incarnation was one of Fra Angelico’s favourite themes and he painted over 25 variations of it.   His painted meditations, so needed at the time of the early Renaissance, are still necessary today.   God became man to bring us closer to Himself by way of all things human.   He makes all things new by fashioning them into possible vehicles of grace for us, so that by visible realities and concrete concepts, we can arrive at an understanding and a love of higher, invisible realities, all leading to God Himself.  Without art our lives would be much depleted. L   et us pray for artists today, especially those who can lift our hearts and minds to God that the Lord may come to them and guide their hands.

Blessed Fra Angelico, Pray for us!

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

Quote of the Day – 18 February

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 February

Theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar said Angelico’s art embodies the motto of the Dominican Order contemplata aliis tradere, that is,
“communicating to others the contemplated mysteries”.
Another writer expressed a similar judgment: fece teologia dipingendo la bellezza, che mostrò la luce del Risorto nelle creature da lui redente: “he did theology by painting the beauty that shows the light of the Risen Christ in creatures”.

Author of the Lives of the Artists – Vasari – wrote of Fra Angelico that “it is impossible to bestow too much praise on this holy father, who was so humble and modest in all that he did and said and whose pictures were painted with such facility and piety.”

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

One Minute Reflection – 18 February

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One Minute Reflection – 18 February

Well done you are an industrious
and reliable servant…… Come share
your master’s joy…………Matthew 25:21

REFLECTION – “In God’s house we must try to
accept whatever job he gives us:
cook, kitchen boy, waiter, stable boy or baker.
For we know that our reward depends not
on the job itself but on the faithfulness
with which we serve God.”……..Pope John Paul I
Fra Angelico’s painting was the fruit of the great harmony between a holy life and the creative power with which he had been endowed………St John Paul

PRAYER – O God, in Your providence You inspired blessed Fra Angelico to portray the beauty and sweetness of heaven. By his prayers and the example of his virtues, grant that we may manifest this splendour to our brothers and sisters. Blessed Angelico, pray for us! Through Christ our Lord, amen.

matthew-25-21in-gods-house-we-must-try-pope-john-paul-ibl-fra-angelco-pray-for-us

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 18 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 18 February

Excerpt from the ‘Universal Prayer’ – attributed to Pope Clement XI

Lord, I believe in You: increase my faith.
I trust in You: strengthen my trust.
I love You: let me love You more and more.
I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.

I worship You as my first beginning,
I long for You as my last end,
I praise You as my constant helper,
And call on You as my loving protector.

Guide me by Your wisdom,
Correct me with Your justice,
Comfort me with Your mercy,
Protect me with Your power.

I offer You, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on You;
My words: to have You for their theme;
My actions: to reflect my love for You;
My sufferings: to be endured for Your greater glory.

Grant this through Christ our Lord, amen.

the-universal-prayerexcerpt-pope-clement-xi

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 17 February

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Thought for the Day – 17 February

Since criminals and people with evil purposes often band together for their common interests, good people often have to do the same.   Faced with the immorality and blood feuds of thirteenth century Florence, the Seven Holy Founders banded together for their own spiritual good and succeeded in founding a whole new religious order.   Good companions are on of the most powerful helps toward a holy life,  for all of us are faced in a new and urgent way with the challenge to make our lives decisively centred in Christ.   In this new day, we often find those ‘good companions’ online, let us too band together and live a holy life amidst the dangers around us!

Seven Holy Founders, Pray for us!

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 17 February

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Quote/s of the Day – 17 February

“Mary means enlightener, because She brought forth the Light of the world. In the Syriac tongue, Mary signifies Lady.”
~~~~~ St Isidore of Seville

“Let me say something concerning this name also, which is interpreted to mean Star of the sea, and admirably suits the Virgin Mother.”
~~~~~ St Bernard

“Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary’s maternal intercession.”
~~~~~St Thomas Aquinas

“God the Father gathered all the waters together
and called them the seas or maria [Latin, seas].
He gathered all His grace together
and called it Mary or Maria . . .
This immense treasury is none other than Mary
whom the Saints call the ‘treasury of the Lord.’
From Her fullness all men are made rich.”
~~~~~ St Louis de Montfort

“This most holy, sweet and worthy name was ’eminently fitted to so holy, sweet and worthy a virgin. For Mary means a bitter sea, star of the sea, the illuminated or illuminatrix. Mary is interpreted Lady. Mary is a bitter sea to the demons; to men She is the Star of the sea; to the Angels She is illuminatrix, and to all creatures She is Lady .”
~~~~~St Bonaventure

“When you find yourself tossed by the raging storms on this great sea of life, far from land, keep your eyes fixed on this Star to avoid disaster. When the winds of temptation or the rocks of tribulation threaten, look up to the Star, call upon Mary!”
~~~~~ St Bernard

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 17 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 17 February

O children, listen to me; instruction and wisdom do not reject!…………Proverbs 8:32-33

REFLECTION – “Let Mary never be far from your lips
and from your heart.
Following her, you will never lose your way.
Praying to her, you will never sink into despair.
Contemplating her, you will never go wrong.”
……St Bernardine of Siena

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, grant me the grace to have Mary as my constant intercessor. Allow me to reach out to her as my mother, to lead me to her Son, for she is Your beloved Daughter, who carried Your Son to us in order that we might see our way and be able to reach our home in heaven. Holy Founders of the Servites, pray for us all that we may be blessed by the intercession and protection of Mary our Mother and please pray for us all, amen.

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 17 February

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Our Morning Offering – 17 February

From the Servite Vigil of our Lady I

Loving Mother,
woman of prayer,
we turn to you and pray:
support our prayers
for ourselves,
for all your Servants,
for our friends and families,
for those who share the Christian faith
and for every person on earth
that all may know peace and salvation.

Ask the Father that we may truly know Christ,
be filled with the gifts of the Spirit,
protected in all adversity
and freed from every evil.
Help us to build God’s kingdom:
a kingdom of everlasting praise,
a kingdom of justice and peace
that will endure forever and ever.
R. Amen.

servite-prayer-to-mary

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 16 February

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Thought for the Day – 16 February

St Gilbert of Sempringham could have lived a life of ease from the income of his benefices but he chose to give all to the poor and to dedicate his life to teaching.  Accidentally (though of course, it was God’s plan all along), he stumbled upon his life’s work and brought many to God.   We never know how God is going to use us and by our devotion and fidelity, we have to remain open to whatever task He sets before us.   “I come Lord, to do Your Will.” 

St Gilbert Pray for us!

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Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Quote of the Day – 16 February

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Quote of the Day – 16 February

“We show our adoration by going to visit Christ
in the tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance.
Would it not indeed be a failing in respect
to neglect the divine Guest who awaits us?
He dwells there, really present,
He who was present in the crib,
at Nazareth,
upon the mountains of Judea,
in the supper-room,
upon the Cross.
It is the same Jesus who said to the Samaritan woman,
‘If thou didst know the gift of God!’

~~~~~ Blessed Columba Marmion

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

One Minute Reflection – 16 February

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One Minute Reflection – 16 February

(Jesus) said to Peter,
“Put out into deep waters
and lower your nets for a catch.”……………….Luke 5:4

REFLECTION – “The bark of Peter laughs at the winds and the waves.
She has the Saints as her passengers, the Cross as her mast, the Gospel teachings as her sails, the Angels as her rowers and God as her pilot.”  ……………..St John Chrysostom

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, teach me to trust Your Church as the Bark of Salvation in this world. Grant that I may work and pry to remain afloat with her amid the storms of Life. St Gilbert, you experienced great storms and upheavals in every facit of your life but your eyes remained fixed on the pilot, you embraced the Cross and persevered with the saints until you too became one. St Gilbert of Sempringham, please pray for us, that will follow our friends in heaven too, amen!

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Posted in JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 16 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 16 February

A Prayer to Seek the Consolation of the Cross
by Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez S.J.

Jesus, love of my soul, centre of my heart!
Why am I not more eager to endure pains
and tribulations for love of You,
when You, my God, have suffered so many for me?
Come, then, every sort of trial in the world,
for this is my delight, to suffer for Jesus.
This is my joy, to follow my Saviour
and to find my consolation
with my Consoler on the Cross.
This is my happiness,
this my pleasure:
to live with Jesus,
to walk with Jesus,
to converse with Jesus,
to suffer with and for Him,
this is my treasure, amen.

prayer-st-alphonsus-rodriguez-sj-jesuslofeofmysoulcentreofmyheart

Posted in JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 15 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 15 February

St Claude was an amazingly gifted man and he recognised that his gifts should be put at the service of others.   He spent himself in the service of Christ and was chosen to direct someone with an important mission to the whole Church of Christ.   He is recognised for his important decisions, decisions that may be helpful to contemplate as we enter the Lenten season:  1) to sacrifice his earthly desires to serve the Lord;   2) to honour his call to the vows of the Jesuits;   3) to recognise the truth in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and propagate the devotion;   4) to go where the Lord would have him, suffering without complaint;   and 5) to continue unafraid and undeterred in preaching the Good News.   Saint Claude la Colombière never lost sight of the Lord, never gave up hope, never let his confidence be shaken in the total love and mercy of God.   How often can we say the same of ourselves?

At his Canonisation, St John Paul said “A true companion of Saint Ignatius, Claude learned to master his strong sensitivity.   He humbly maintained a sense of “his wretchedness” so as to rely only on his hope in God and his trust in grace.   He resolutely took the way of holiness.   He adhered with all his being to the Constitutions and Rules of the Society, rejecting all tepidness. Fidelity and obedience were expressed, before God, by the “desire … for trust, love, resignation and perfect sacrifice”

Aspiration to Jesus, my Friend by St Claude 

Jesus! You are my true Friend, my only Friend. You take a part in all my misfortunes, You take them on Yourself; You know how to change them into blessings.

You listen to me with the greatest kindness when I relate my troubles to You, and You have always balm to pour on my wounds. I find You everywhere. You never go away! If I have to change my dwelling, I find You there wherever I go. You are never weary of listening to me. You are never tired of doing me good. I am certain of being beloved by You if I love You; my goods are nothing to You, and by bestowing Yours on me You never grow poor; however miserable I may be, no one more noble or holier can come between You and me and deprive me of Your friendship; and Death, which tears us away from all other friends, will unite me forever to You. All the humiliations attached to old age, or to the loss of honor, will never detach You from me; on the contrary, I shall never enjoy You more fully, and You will never be closer to me than when everything seems to conspire against me, to overwhelm me, and to cast me down.

You bear with all my faults with extreme patience, and even my want of fidelity and my ingratitude do not wound You to such a degree as to make You unwilling to receive me back when I return to You, or to come to me when I call on You. O Jesus! grant that I may die praising You, that I may die for the love of You.  
Amen.

St Claude Pray for us!

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Posted in JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 15 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 15 February

“God is in the midst of us, or rather, we are in the midst of Him; wherever we are, He sees us and touches us: at prayer, at work, at table, at recreation.”

“God is more honoured by a single Mass
than He could be by all the actions of angels
and men together, however fervent and heroic they might be.
Yet, how FEW hear Mass with the intention of giving God
this sublime honour!
How FEW think with joy on the glory a Mass gives to God.
How FEW rejoice to possess the means of honouring Him
as He deserves! . . .
If we only knew the treasure we hold in our hands!”

~~~ St Claude de la Colombiere.

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St Claude has been a dear friend of mine since I discovered his writings quite some years ago. . I count on his intercession. I turn to him when I feel my heart is tired and a little cold and distressed.   This Saint of Hearts is a most willing guide leading us to the warmest Heart of Christ full of Mercy and Love.

The Franciscan Saint John Wall O.F.M. (Joachim of Saint Anne), who was martyred for the crime of being a Catholic priest near Redhill, Corcester, England on August 22nd, 1679, knew Saint Claude.   After having spent a night in spiritual conversation with him, the soon–to–be martyr said, “When I was in his presence I thought that I was dealing with Saint John returned to earth to rekindle that fire of love in the Heart of Christ.”

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Posted in JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 15 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 15 February

Cast me not out of your presence
and your Holy Spirit take not from me……….Psalm 51:13

REFLECTION – “When the Holy Spirit is in a soul, He communicates Himself in one way or another.    We can say that He makes virtue contagious and turns a simple faithful into an apostle.”………St Claude de la Colombiere

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, grant that Your Holy Spirit may inspire me to be a true follower of Your Son, Jesus the Christ. May He dwell in me always and keep me ever on the path of holiness. Holy God, may He turn me too into an apostle like St Claude! St Claude de la Colombiere, please pray for us all, amen!

when-the-holy-spirit-is-in-a-soul-st-claudest-claude-pray-for-us

Posted in JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 15 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 15 February

Lord, be the Centre of Our Hearts
by St Claude La Colombiere

O God, what will You do to conquer
the fearful hardness of our hearts?
Lord, You must give us new hearts,
tender hearts, sensitive hearts, to replace hearts
that are made of marble and of bronze.
You must give us Your own Heart, Jesus.
Come, lovable Heart of Jesus.
Place Your Heart deep in the centre of our hearts
and enkindle in each heart a flame of love
as strong, as great, as the sum of all the reasons
that I have for loving You, my God.
O holy Heart of Jesus, dwell hidden in my heart,
so that I may live only in You and only for You,
so that, in the end, I may live with You eternally in heaven, amen.

lord-be-the-centre-of-our-hearts-by-st-claude-de-la-colombiere

The Mosaic in the Shrine Chapal of St Claude at Paray-de-Monial, France (detail) see full image on previous post

mosaic-st-claude-shrine-and-chapel-paray-le-monial

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day -14 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day -14 February

Sts Cyril and Methodius were thrust into a totally unexpected task, requiring astonishing energy, flexibility and presenting immense challenges.   They evangelised a whole people and brought them the treasures of the Christian faith.   Faith is prepared for the unexpected and adapts itself to new and changing circumstances.   Holiness means reacting to human life with God’s love:  human life as it is, crisscrossed with the political and the cultural, the beautiful and the ugly, the selfish and the saintly.    For Cyril and Methodius much of their daily cross had to do with the language of the liturgy.    They are not saints because they got the liturgy into Slavonic but because they did so with the courage and humility of Christ.

St Cyril and St Methodius, Pray for us!

 

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

Quote of the Day – 14 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 14 February

“From your Valentine.”

~~~ St Valentine

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

One Minute Reflection – 14 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 14 February

On that day you will know that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you……….John 14:20

REFLECTION – “Jesus Christ must live in us and we must live only in Him.
His life must be our life and our life must be a continuation and expression of His life.”………….St John Eudes

PRAYER – Lord Jesus, make me realise that You are living in me and I am in You.   Enable me to readiate You in my outward life by being consciously generous, loving, humble, kind.   By being consciously united to You in every thought, word and deed.   I pray that Your purpose may be mine too, do the Father’s Will.   That the Saints who walk before me, Sts Cyril and Methodius, St Valentine, may pray for us all, amen!

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Posted in MORNING Prayers

Our Morning Offering – 14 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 14 February

Keep me, O God, from pettiness;
let me be large in thought,
in word,
in deed.
Let me be done with fault-finding and self-seeking.
May I put away all pretense
and meet everyone face to face
without self-pity and without prejudice.
May I never be hasty in judgment and always generous.
Let me take time for all things.
Make me grow calm, serene and gentle.
Teach me to put into action my better impulses,
straightforward and unafraid.
Grant that I may realise it is the little things of life
that create differences
and that in the big things of life we are one.
And, O Lord God, let me not forget to be kind!
Through kindness itself, Your Son, Jesus Christ, amen.

 

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Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 13 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 13 February

The Dominican preacher Jordan of Saxony was a man to contend with in the Europe of the thirteenth century.   We are told (with some exaggeration perhaps) that mothers would hide their sons when they heard he was coming to town;  and (probably with genuine accuracy) that universities feared losing their best professors to the pull of his eloquence.

Jordan had personal gifts and an energy that shook those whose lives he touched, leaving those with whom he came into contact somehow different.   His words were a force that prompted men to think about the deeper things of their existence—and to desire what St. Paul called “the greater gifts” (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:31).

What could a man of the thirteenth century, even a very good man, have to offer us today? Ours is a fast-moving world, a far-advanced one in many ways.   Would this European whose worldview was so far removed from our questioning and our efforts, discern what God is saying in our day?

Jordan of Saxony met an untimely death at the age of 47, drowning in an accident which occurred on his return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1237.   In his vigorous life, Jordan extended what Father Dominic had begun so carefully and he opened avenues on which the Order would continue to struggle and to flourish.   The secret that makes his message so relevant today?   It is the secret of deep and personal friendship with Christ, a friendship which cannot be contained, but sets the world on fire!   (Nashville Domicans)

And THIS is as relevant today as it was in the thirteenth century – even more so perhaps!

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

Quote of the Day – 13 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 13 February

“There are two ways of keeping God’s word, namely, one whereby we store in our memory what we hear and the other whereby we put into practice what we have heard (and none will deny that the latter is more commendable, inasmuch as it is better to sow grain than to store it in the barn).”

~~~Blessed Jordan of Saxony

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