Category: PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY

Thought for the Day – 28 February – The Examination of Conscience

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Thought for the Day – 28 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Examination of Conscience

“Pope St Pius X holds great authority for a Christian.
In his Exhortatio ad Clerum, he strongly recommends the Examination of Conscience, especially at the close of the day.
This Examination, he says, is necessary for Priests but it is no less necessary for the laity.
He recalls the apt words of St Augustine:
“Judge your own conscience.
Demand an account from it.
Dig deep and rend it apart.
Discover all the evil thoughts and intentions of the day … and punish yourself for them!” (Expos in Ps 4 n 8).
He also quotes the equally relevant works of St Bermard:
“Be a searching inquirer into your own integrity of life; examine your conduct everyday.
See how much you have advanced, or, how much you have fallen back …
Learn to know yourself. …
Place all your faults before your eyes.
Stand before yourself, as if it were before someone else and you will find reason to weep over yourself!” (Meditat Cap 5 de quotidiano sui ipsius examine).

The Saintly Pontiff concludes his inspiring address as follows: “Experience has proven that anyone who makes a strict examination of his thoughts, words and actions, is more firmly resolved to hate and avoid what is evil and wholeheartedly to love what is good” (Acta Pii X, IV p257).”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/28/thought-for-the-day-28-february-the-examination-of-conscience/

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on WORRY/ANXIETY, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SPEAKING of ....., The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 22 May – Speaking of Joy

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Quote/s of the Day – 22 May – “Mary’s Month” – Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 18: 9-18, Psalms 47: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, John 16: 20-23

Speaking of Joy

“You will be sorrowful
but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

John 16:20

john 16 20 you will be sorrowful but your sorrow will turn into joy 22 may 2020

“Let us remain unafraid in all dangers,
trusting calmly, in the Divine
Providence, that watches over us day and night.”

St Joseph Freinademetz (1852-1908)
“Fu Shenfu” – Lucky Priest

let-us-remain-unafraid-st-joseph-freinademetz-28-jan-2020 and 6 feb 2020

“The well-being of souls is only in Christ.
Therefore, let the love of Jesus
be our perfection and our profession,
let us light our hearts
from the eternal flames of love
that radiate from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

Blessed Paolo Manna PIME (1872-1952)
“A Burning Soul”

Priest, Missionary in Burma (Myanmar),
Superior General of PIME,
Founder of the Pontifical Missionary Union

the well-being of souls is only in christ bl paolo manna 7 feb 2020

“Jesus is with me.
I have nothing to fear.”

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925)

jesus is with me i have nothing to fear bl pier giorgio frassati 4 july 2019

“Christian joy is, essentially,
a spiritual participation in the boundless joy,
at the same time both divine and human,
in the heart of Jesus Christ glorified…”

St Paul VI (1897-1978)

– Apostolic exhortation on Christian joy
‘Gaudete in Domino’ (PE 4; cf Lk 4:10)

christian joy is - st paul vi - gaudete in domino 5 oct 2019

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on JOY, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 October – Christian joy

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One Minute Reflection – 5 October – Saturday of the Twenty Sixth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 10:17–24 and the Memorial of St Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” … Luke 10:17in that same hour he rejoiced luke 10 17 5 oct 2019

REFLECTION – “Christian joy is, essentially, a spiritual participation in the boundless joy, at the same time both divine and human, in the heart of Jesus Christ glorified… Let us now pause to contemplate the person of Jesus during His earthly life.   In His humanity, He had experienced our joys.   He has manifestly known, appreciated and celebrated a whole range of human joys, those simple daily joys within the reach of everyone.   The depth of His interior life did not blunt His concrete attitude or His sensitivity.   He admires the birds of heaven, the lilies of   the field. He immediately grasps God’s attitude towards creation at the dawn of history.   He willingly extols the joy of the sower and the harvester, the joy of the man who finds a hidden treasure, the joy of the shepherd who recovers his sheep or of the woman who finds her lost coin, the joy of those invited to the feast, the joy of a marriage celebration, the joy of the father who embraces his son returning from a prodigal life and the joy of the woman who has just brought her child into the world.

For Jesus, these joys are real because for Him they are the signs of the spiritual joys of the kingdom of God, the joy of people who enter this kingdom return there or work there, the joy of the Father who welcomes them.   And for His part Jesus Himself manifests His satisfaction and His tenderness when He meets children wishing to approach Him, a rich young man who is faithful and wants to do more, friends who open their home to Him, like Martha, Mary and Lazarus.   His happiness is, above all, to see the Word accepted, the possessed delivered, a sinful woman or a publican like Zacchaeus converted, a widow taking from her poverty and giving.   He even exults with joy when He states that the little ones have the revelation of the kingdom which remains hidden from the wise and able.   Yes, because Christ was “a man like us in all things but sin,” (PE 4) He accepted and experienced affective and spiritual joys, as a gift of God.   And He did not rest until “to the poor he proclaimed the good news of salvation…and to those in sorrow, joy.” … St Paul VI (1897-1978) Pope from 1963-1978 – Apostolic exhortation on Christian joy ‘Gaudete in Domino’ (PE 4; cf Lk 4:10).christian joy is - st paul vi - gaudete in domino 5 oct 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Lord God, You called St Faustina to serve You in a life of complete communion with Your Son and your people.   Amidst this world’s changes, help us, by her prayers, to set out hearts always on You. Heavenly Father, let me realise that You guide our lives through Your Providence, Your Word, Your Mercy and Sacraments.   Help me to be obedient to the rules for my state in life and so be obedient to Your will for me.   Grant that the prayers of St Faustina may assist us as we strive to grow in humility and in joy! Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Your Son in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.st faustina pray for us 5 oct 2019

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, The WORD

“Sunday of the Word of God” – Apostolic Letter Aperuit Illis

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Today, 30 September 2019, the 1600th Anniversary of the death of St Jerome, Pope Francis announced and instated via his Apostolic Letter Aperuit Illis, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time to be the “Sunday of the Word of God” in order to promote a closer relationship with holy Scripture and its dissemination in the world.

“A day devoted to the Bible should not be seen as a yearly event but, rather, a yearlong event, for we urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the Risen Lord,”

May the Sunday of the Word of God help his people to grow in religious and intimate familiarity with the sacred Scriptures.   For as the sacred author taught of old:  “This word is very near to you ,it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance” (Dt 30:14).

Given in Rome, at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, on 30 September 2019, the liturgical Memorial of Saint Jerome, on the inauguration of the 1600th anniversary of his death.

Apostolic Letter in the form of a Motu Proprio of the Holy Father Francis, “Aperuit illis”, instituting the Sunday of the Word of God, 30.09.2019

http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2019/09/30/190930c.html

sunday of the word of god - 30 sept 2019 1600th ann of the death of st jerome

Posted in PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 26 June – Are we bearing good fruit?

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One Minute Reflection – 26 June – Wednesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Gospel: Matthew 7:15–20

“Every good tree bears good fruit”...Matthew 7:17

REFLECTION – “In a culture paradoxically suffering from anonymity and at the same time obsessed with the details of other people’s lives, shamelessly given over to morbid curiosity, the Church must look more closely and sympathetically at others whenever necessary.   In our world, ordained ministers and other pastoral workers can make present the fragrance of Christ’s closeness and His personal gaze.   The Church will have to initiate everyone – priests, religious and laity – into this “art of accompaniment” which teaches us to remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (cf. Ex 3:5).   The pace of this accompaniment must be steady and reassuring, reflecting our closeness and our compassionate gaze which also heals, liberates and encourages growth in the Christian life…

Today more than ever we need men and women who, on the basis of their experieevangeliigaudium169-171,nce of accompanying others, are familiar with processes which call for prudence, understanding, patience and docility to the Spirit, so that they can protect the sheep from wolves who would scatter the flock.   We need to practice the art of listening, which is more than simply hearing.   Listening, in communication, is an openness of heart which makes possible that closeness without which genuine spiritual encounter cannot occur. Listening helps us to find the right gesture and word which shows that we are more than simply bystanders.   Only through such respectful and compassionate listening, can we enter on the paths of true growth and awaken a yearning for the Christian ideal – the desire to respond fully to God’s love and to bring to fruition what He has sown in our lives.”…Pope Francis – Apostolic Exhortation « Evangelii Gaudium / The Joy of the gospel #169-171matthew 7 17 every good tree - only through listening - pope francis evanglii gaudium 69-71.jpg

PRAYER – Enable me loving Father, to live a life of purity that will make me live in You. Let me be so united with You that whatever I might ask will be in total accord with Your will for me.   Bl Jacques Ghazir Haddad, your tireless work and preaching for the glory of the Kingdom show us the way to sanctification, please intercede for us all.   May Mary our Mother of Compassion, be our constant companion.   We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.mater misericordiae mother of merct pray for us 8 april 2019

bl jacques ghazir haddad pray for us 26 june 2919

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Marian Thoughts – 5 May – “A Calm Vision”

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Marian Thoughts – 5 May – the Month of Mary

Apostolic Exhortation of St Pope Paul VI
Marialis Cultus – 2 February 1974

To Honour Mary

Devotion to the Mother of the Lord becomes for the faithful an opportunity for growing in divine grace and this is the ultimate aim of all pastoral activity.   For it is impossible to honour her who is “full of grace” (Lk. 1:28) without thereby honouring, in oneself, the state of grace, which is friendship with God, communion with Him and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.   It is this divine grace which takes possession of the whole man and conforms him to the image of the Son of God (cf. Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:18).

The Catholic Church, endowed with centuries of experience, recognises in devotion to the Blessed Virgin a powerful aid for man as he strives for fulfilment.   Mary, the New Woman, stands at the side of Christ, the New Man, within whose mystery the mystery of man(124) alone finds true ligh,; she is given to it as a pledge and guarantee that God’s plan in Christ for the salvation of the whole man has already achieved realisation in a creature – in her.   Contemplated in the episodes of the Gospels and in the reality which she already possesses in the City of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary offers a calm vision and a reassuring word to modern man, torn as he often is between anguish and hope, defeated by the sense of his own limitations and assailed by limitless aspirations, troubled in his mind and divided in his heart, uncertain before the riddle of death, oppressed by loneliness while yearning for fellowship, a prey to boredom and disgust. She shows forth the victory of hope over anguish, of fellowship over solitude, of peace over anxiety, of joy and beauty over boredom and disgust, of eternal visions over earthly ones, of life over death.contemplated in the episodes - st paul VI- marilis cultus 5 may 2019.jpg

Let the very words that she spoke to the servants at the marriage feast of Cana, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn. 2:5), be a seal on our Exhortation and a further reason in favour of the pastoral value of devotion to the Blessed Virgin as a means of leading men to Christ.   Those words, which at first sight were limited to the desire to remedy an embarrassment at the feast, are seen in the context of Saint John’s Gospel to re-echo the words used by the people of Israel to give approval to the Covenant at Sinai (cf. Ex. 19:8, 24:3, 7; Dt. 5:27) and to renew their commitments (cf. Jos. 24:24; Ezr. 10:12; Neh. 5:12). And they are words which harmonise wonderfully with those spoken by the Father at the theophany on Mount Tabor – “Listen to him” (Mt. 17:5

Second Reading
The Little Office of Mary
Saturdays
===============

Mater Admirabilis, Pray for us!mater-admirabilis-pray-for-us-5-may-2019.jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The LITTLE OFFICE of MARY

Marian Thought – 3 May – “These virtues of the Mother will also adorn her children…”

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Marian Thoughts – May, the Month of Mary – 3 May 2019

Apostolic Exhortation of St Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)
Marialis Cultus – 2 February 1974
To Honour Mary

The Blessed Virgin’s role as Mother leads the People of God to turn with filial confidence to her who is ever ready to listen with a mother’s affection and efficacious assistance. Thus the People of God have learned to call on her as the Consoler of the afflicted, the Health of the sick and the Refuge of sinners, that they may find comfort in tribulation, relief in sickness and liberating strength in guilt.

For she, who is free from sin, leads her children to combat sin with energy and resoluteness.   This liberation from sin and evil (cf. Mt. 6:13)-it must be repeated-is the necessary premise for any renewal of Christian living.

The Blessed Virgin’s exemplary holiness encourages the faithful to “raise their eyes to Mary who shines forth before the whole community of the elect as a model of the virtues.”   It is a question of solid, evangelical virtues – faith and the docile acceptance of the Word of God, generous obedience (cf Lk. 1:38), genuine humility (cf. Lk. 1:48), solicitous charity (cf. Lk. 1:39-56), profound wisdom (cf. Lk. 1:29, 34; 2:19, 33:51), worship of God manifested in alacrity in the fulfillment of religious duties (cf. Lk. 2:21-41), in gratitude for gifts received (cf Lk. 1:46-49), in her offering in the Temple (cf. Lk. 2:22-24) and in her prayer in the midst of the apostolic community (cf. Acts 1:12-14), her fortitude in exile (cf. Mt. 2:13-23) and in suffering (cf. Lk. 2:34-35, 49; Jn. 19 25), her poverty reflecting dignity and trust in God (cf. Lk. 1:48, 2:24) her attentive care for her Son, from His humble birth to the ignominy of the cross (cf. Lk. 2:1-7; Jn. 19:25-27), her delicate forethought (cf. Jn. 2:1-11), her virginal purity (cf. Mt. 1:18-25; Lk. 1:26-38), her strong and chaste married love.

These virtues of the Mother will also adorn her children who steadfastly study her example in order to reflect it in their own lives.   And this progress in virtue, will appear as the consequence and the already mature fruit, of that pastoral zeal which springs from devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

Second Reading
The Little Office of Mary
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
=================the blessed virgin's exemplary holiness - marialis cultus stpope paul VI 3 may 2019.jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The LITTLE OFFICE of MARY

Marian Thoughts – “To Honour Mary” St Paul VI – 2 May 2019

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Marian Thoughts – May, the Month of Mary – 2 May 2019

Apostolic Exhortation of St Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) 
Marialis Cultus – 2 February 1974

To Honour Mary

Finally, insofar as it may be necessary, we would like to repeat that the ultimate purpose of devotion to the Blessed Virgin is to glorify God and to lead Christians, to commit themselves, to a life which is in absolute conformity with His will.   When the children of the Church unite their voices, with the voice of the unknown woman, in the Gospel and glorify the Mother of Jesus, by saying to Him:  “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that you sucked” (Lk. 11:27), they will be led to ponder the Divine Master’s serious reply:  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Lk. 11:28)   While it is true, that this reply is, in itself, lively praise of Mary, as various Fathers of the Church interpreted it and the Second Vatican Council has confirmed, it is also an admonition to us, to live our lives in accordance with God’s commandments.   It is also an echo of other words of the Saviour:   “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 7:21); and again: “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (Jn. 15:14).

Christ is the only way to the Father (cf. Jn. 14:4-11) and the ultimate example to whom the disciple must conform his own conduct (cf. Jn. 13:15), to the extent of sharing Christ’s sentiments (cf. Phil. 2:5), living His life and possessing His Spirit (cf. Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:10-11).   The Church has always taught this and nothing in pastoral activity should obscure this doctrine.    But the Church, taught by the Holy Spirit and benefiting from centuries of experience, recognises, that devotion to the Blessed Virgin, subordinated to worship of the divine Saviour and in connection with it, also has a great pastoral effectiveness and constitutes, a force, for renewing Christian living.

It is easy to see the reason for this effectiveness.   Mary’s many-sided mission to the People of God is a supernatural reality which operates and bears fruit within the body of the Church.   One finds cause for joy, in considering, the different aspects of this mission and seeing how each of these aspects, with its individual effectiveness, is directed towards the same end, namely, producing in the children the spiritual characteristics of the first-born Son.   The Virgin’s maternal intercession, her exemplary holiness and the divine grace which is in her, become, for the human race, a reason for divine hope.

Second Reading
The Little Office of Mary
Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday
=================the virgin's maternal intercession - st paul VI - marialis cultus 1974-2 may 2019.jpg

Posted in EASTER, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 27 April – Go Forth

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One Minute Reflection – 27 April – Saturday of Easter week, Gospel: Mark 16:9–15

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation...Mark 16:15

REFLECTION – “Evangelisation takes place in obedience to the missionary mandate of Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20)…  The risen Christ sent His followers to preach the Gospel in every time and place, so that faith in Him might spread to every corner of the earth.

The word of God constantly shows us how God challenges those who believe in Him “to go forth”.   Abraham received the call to set out for a new land (Gen 12:1-3).   Moses heard God’s call:  “Go, I send you” (Ex 3:10) and led the people towards the promised land.   To Jeremiah God says:  “To all whom I send you, you shall go” (Jer 1:7)…   All of us are called to take part in this new missionary “going forth”.   Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out but all of us are asked to obey His call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the “peripheries” in need of the light of the Gospel.

The Gospel joy which enlivens the community of disciples is a missionary joy.   The seventy-two disciples felt it as they returned from their mission (Lk 10:17).   Jesus felt it when He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit…   This joy is a sign that the Gospel has been proclaimed and is bearing fruit.   Yet the drive to go forth and give, to go out from ourselves, to keep pressing forward in our sowing of the good seed, remains ever present.   The Lord says:  “Let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out” (Mk 1:38)…   In fidelity to the example of the Master, it is vitally important, for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all – to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear.”…Pope Francis – Apostolic Exhortation « The Joy of the Gospel / Evangelii Gaudium » §19-23mark 16 15 go into all the world - in fidelity to the master - pope francis evangeli gaudium 27 april 2019 ester sat.jpg

PRAYER – Lord our God, You increase and multiply Your faithful by Your abundant gift of grace.   Look now on Your chosen people and clothe forever in the garment of eternal life, all those who have been reborn in baptism.   Grant that the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the saints and angels, may accompany us on our journey.   Through our Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.BLESSED VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD PRAY FOR US.jpg

Posted in ADVENT, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori

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Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori

15 December – Saturday of the Second week of Advent

The greatest sorrow of Jesus

“Consider Jesus, who revealed to the Venerable Agatha of the Cross, that which afflicted Him more than any other sorrow was hardness of the hearts of humanity.   This sorrow, was the bitter chalice that Jesus begged the Father to remove from Him, saying, “Let this chalice pass from me.  ” What chalice?   The contempt with which His love was treated. Our Lord revealed to St Catherine of Siena that this was the reason that He exclaimed from the cross, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”

Knowing this sorrow, let us change our will, repent of our sins and resolve to love God. In this way, we shall then find peace, that is, the divine friendship that we seek.   We beg the Lord for the necessary grace to execute what we propose.   We call upon our Blessed Lady and ask that she not cease to pray until we are changed and made into what God wishes us to be.”

Scripture
“So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Matthew 17:12b

Prayer (St Alphonsus)

“O my most amiable Jesus,
how much have I caused You to suffer?
In the future,
I will love You above all things,
ready to give up my life a thousand times,
in order to accomplish Your will.
Mary Holy Mother,
I beg your prayer and loving care.
Please help us all.
Amen”

Advent Action
Today’s Scriptures encourage us to look for the signs of Jesus, who will restore life to us. “Lord, help me see the signs of Your coming.   Let me not be blinded by the glare of business or the millions of lights in malls and on trees.   Rather, let me look for You in the small things of the day, with my heart longing for You.    “Christ dwelt for nine months in the tabernacle of Mary’s womb.   He dwells until the end of the ages in the tabernacle of the Church’s faith.   He will dwell forever, in the knowledge and love of each faithful soul.” [Blessed Isaac of Stella (c 1100-1170) Cistercian Monk]   Amen!”advent with st alphonsus - so also will matthew 17 12 - o sovereign god 15dec2018

“Now is the time to say to Jesus: 
“Lord, I have let myself be deceived;
in a thousand ways I have shunned Your love, 
yet here I am once more, 
to renew my covenant with You. 
I need you. 
Save me once again, Lord,
take me once more into 
Your redeeming embrace”.

Pope Francis – The Joy of the Gospelnow-is-the-time-to-say-to-jesus-15-dec-2018-from-the-joy-of-the-gospel

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, The HOLY MASS, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 2 September – Today’s Gospel: Mark 7:1–23

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Thought for the Day – 2 September – Today’s Gospel: Mark 7:1–23 – Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

‘This people honours me with their lips but their heart is far from me…”…Mark 7:6

“The interior life is primordial… The active life is the consequence of the interior life and has no value unless it depends upon it.   We should like to do everything to the best of our ability, perfectly.   But if it isn’t linked to our interior life it is to no purpose.   All the value of our life and activity stems from our interior life, the life of love for God and the Virgin Mary, the Immaculata – not in theories or sweetness but in the practice of a love that consists in the union of our will with the will of the Immaculate Virgin.

Above and over all we must deepen this interior life.   If it is truly a case of spiritual life then supernatural means are required.   Prayer, prayer and prayer alone is what is needed to undertake the interior life and its flowering. Interior recollection is necessary.

Let us not be anxious about unnecessary things but gently, peacefully, let us try to preserve recollection of spirit and be attentive to God’s grace.   That is why silence helps us.”…St Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) Martyrprayer prayer and prayer alone - st maximillian kolbe - 2 sept 2018

“You must, so to speak, tear off your own skin, which Saint Paul calls the old man, in order to be clothed with the Spirit of Jesus Christ, which is, according to the same Apostle, the new man.”

.St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Churchyou must so to speak tear off your own skin - st francis de sales - 2 sept 2018

“So let me ask you – are there moments when you place yourself quietly in the Lord’s presence, when you calmly spend time with Him, when you bask in His gaze?   Do you let His fire inflame your heart?   Unless you let Him warm you more and more with His love and tenderness, you will not catch fire.   How will you then be able to set the hearts of others on fire by your words and witness?

Pope Francis Gaudete et Exscultateso let me ask you - pope francis - gaudete et exscultate - 2 sept 2018

And you Immaculata, who are our example, who are our constant intercessor, pray for us!immaculate mary pray for us - 2 sept 2018

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, ON the SAINTS, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 29 June – The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

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One Minute Reflection – 29 June – The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 16:13–19

And I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.   I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” …Matthew 16:18-19ON THIS ROCK - MATTHEW 16 18

REFLECTION – “And so it is with Rome, where the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, gave with their blood their final witness.   The vocation of Rome is of apostolic origin and the ministry which it is our lot to exercise here, is a service for the benefit of the entire Church and of mankind.   But it is an irreplaceable service, because it has pleased the Wisdom of God to place the Rome of Peter and Paul, so to speak, on the road that leads to the eternal City, by the fact that Wisdom chose to confide to Peter—who unifies in himself the College of Bishops—the keys of the kingdom of heaven.   What remains here, not through the effect of man’s will but through the free and merciful benevolence of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit, is the soliditas Petri, such as our predecessor Saint Leo the Great extolled in unforgettable terms:   “Saint Peter does not cease to preside over his See and preserves an endless sharing, with the Sovereign Priest.   The firmness that he received from the Rock which is Christ, he himself, having become the Rock, transmits it equally to his successors.”…Blessed Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) – Exhortation on Christian Joy, 1975and so it is with rome - bl paul VI - 29 june 2018.jpg

PRAYER – Lord our God, You give us the great joy of devoting this day to the honour of the apostles Peter and Paul.   Provide us, by their intercession, with help for our eternal salvation.   Grant that Your Church may follow their teaching to the full, because these are the men who first taught us to worship You in Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.sts-peter-and-paul-pray-for-us-29 June 2017

Posted in CATECHESIS, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, PAPAL DECREE, PAPAL MESSAGES, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 14 June – The Memorial of St Methodius I of Constantinople (8th Cent – 847) “Defender of Icons”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 14 June – The Memorial of St Methodius I of Constantinople (8th Cent – 847) “Defender of Icons”

Iconoclasm is still with us today, within and without the Catholic Church. Let us consider this statement from the Second Council of Nicaea that St Methodius fought all his life to defend:

“Following the divinely inspired teaching our of holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in her), we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of our Lord and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets.”

And, from our present-day Catechism of the Catholic Church, we have these words:

“The contemplation of sacred icons, united with meditation on the Word of God and the singing of liturgical hymns, enters into the harmony of the signs of celebration, so that the mystery celebrated, is imprinted in the heart’s memory and is then expressed in the new life of the faithful”…CCC 1162.

St Methodius, “Defender of Icons”, Pray for usst methodius - pray for us - 14 june 2018