PRACTISING CATHOLIC – Page 16

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One Minute Reflection – 18 April -He loved them to the end…”

Posted on April 18, 2019April 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 18 April – Holy Thursday, Gospel: John 13:1–15

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end...John 13:1 john 13 1 -now before the feast of the passover - 18 april 2019 holy thursday.jpg

REFLECTION – “The footwashing” – This shows “His love for them to the end” – this is an act of love that Peter, understandably, perceives as completely unacceptable, as turning the world upside-down. Yet, precisely this inversion, is the most upright thing possible. One must first let it happen to himself, precisely as the Lord did it – in His incomparable love’s humbling – before he can take it as “an example” (13:14) for himself and practice this self-abasement with the brethren. This is the Gospel’s tangible demonstration of the subsequent passage’s description of the mystery of the Eucharist – Christians should, like Christ Himself, become edible food and potable drink, for each other.”…Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)

“Christianity is above all a gift: God gives himself to us – He does not give some thing but Himself. And this takes place not only at the beginning, at the moment of our conversion. He continually remains the One who gives. He always offers us His gifts anew. He always precedes us. For this reason, the central action of being Christians is the Eucharist: gratitude for having been gratified, the joy for the new life that He gives us.”...Pope Benedict XVI 20 March 2008 Holy Thursday – Mass of the Lord’s Supper

PRAYER – Love of You, with our whole heart, Lord God, is holiness. Increase then Your gifts of divine grace in us, so that, as in Your Son’s Death, You made us hope for what we believe, You may likewise, in His Resurrection, make us come to You, our final end. Listen we beg, to the prayers of Your holy ones and may the Blessed Mother walk along with us and keep our hand, ever in hers. Through Jesus Himself, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God with You, forever and ever, amen. our lady mother of sorrows pray for us 26 march 2019.jpg

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Quote of the Day – 17 April 2019 – The Passion

Posted on April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 17 April 2019 – Wednesday of Holy week

“In the passion of our blessed Saviour,
six things chiefly are to be meditated upon.

First, the bitterness of His sorrow,
that we may compassionate with Him.

Secondly, the greatness of our sins,
which were the cause of His torments,
that we may abhor them.

Thirdly, the greatness of the benefit,
that we may be grateful for it.

Fourthly, the excellency of the divine charity
and bounty therein manifested,
that we may love Him more fervently.

Fifthly, the convenience of the mystery,
that we may be drawn to admiration of it.

Lastly, the multiplicity of virtues
of our blessed Saviour which did shine
in this stupendous mystery, that we may
partly imitate and partly admire them.”

St Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562)

“Anyone who turns away from the Cross, turns away from the Resurrection.”

Pope Francis

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The Stations of the Cross – 16 April – The Sixth Station Jesus and Veronica

Posted on April 16, 2019April 16, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 16 April – Tuesday of Holy Week

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

Act of Contrition
By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church

O my God,
I am exceedingly grieved for having offended thee
and with my whole heart
I repent of the sins I have committed.
I hate and abhor them above every other evil,
not only because, by so sinning,
I have lost heaven and deserved hell
but still more, because I have offended thee,
O infinite Goodness,
who are worthy to be loved above all things.
I most firmly resolve,
by the assistance of thy grace,
never more to offend thee for the time to come
and to avoid those occasions
which might lead me into sin.
Amen

Note: It is little known that St Robert is the Author of this, one of our most widely used prayers

The Sixth Station
Jesus and Veronica

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

AS Jesus toils along up the hill, covered with the sweat of death, a woman makes her way through the crowd and wipes His face with a napkin. In reward of her piety, the cloth retains the impression of the Sacred Countenance upon it.

The relief which a Mother’s tenderness secured is not yet all she did. Her prayers sent Veronica as well as Simon—Simon to do a man’s work, Veronica to do the part of a woman. The devout servant of Jesus did what she could. As Magdalen had poured the ointment at the Feast, so Veronica now offered Him this napkin in His passion. “Ah,” she said, “would I could do more! Why have I not the strength of Simon, to take part in the burden of the Cross? But men only can serve the Great High Priest, now that He is celebrating the solemn act of sacrifice.”

O Jesus! let us one and all minister to You according to our places and powers. And as You did accept from Your followers refreshment in Your hour of trial, so give to us the support of Your grace when we are hard pressed by our Foe. I feel I cannot bear up against temptations, weariness, despondency and sin. I say to myself, what is the good of being religious? {138} I shall fall, O my dear Saviour, I shall certainly fall, unless You renew for me my vigour like the eagle’s and breathe life into me by the soothing application and the touch of the Holy Sacraments which You have appointed. the sixth station - jesus and veronica - 16 april - bl john henry newman - o jesus i shall certainly fall - 16 april 2019.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again grant that I
may love always
and then do with me what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

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The Stations of the Cross – 14 April – The Fourth Station – Jesus meets His Mother

Posted on April 14, 2019September 27, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 14 April – Palm Sunday, Year C

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

The Fourth Station
Jesus meets His Mother

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

JESUS rises, though wounded by His fall, journeys on, with His Cross still on His shoulders. He is bent down but at one place, looking up, He sees His Mother. For an instant they just see each other and He goes forward.

Mary would rather have had all His sufferings herself, could that have been, than not have known what they were by ceasing to be near Him. He, too, gained a refreshment, as from some soothing and grateful breath of air, to see her sad smile amid the sights and the noises which were about Him. She had known Him beautiful and glorious, with the freshness of Divine Innocence and peace upon His countenance; now she saw Him so changed and deformed that she could scarce have recognised Him, save for the piercing, thrilling, peace-inspiring look He gave her. Still, He was now carrying the load of the world’s sins and, all-holy though He was, He carried the image of them on His very face. He looked like some outcast or outlaw who had frightful guilt upon Him. He had been made sin for us, who knew no sin, not a feature, not a limb but spoke of guilt, of a curse, of punishment, of agony.

Oh, what a meeting of Son and Mother! Yet there was a mutual comfort, for there was a mutual sympathy. Jesus and Mary—do they forget that Passion-tide through all eternity? the fourth station - jesus meets his mother - 14 april 2019 palm sunday.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again
grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be i love you lord jesus act of contrition by st alphonsus liguori 14 april 2019.jpg

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Quote of the Day – 14 April – “…You yourselves will be His praise.”

Posted on April 14, 2019April 14, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 14 April – Palm Sunday, Year C

“It is there, on Calvary, that Jesus has His final appointment with a sinner,
to throw open the gates of His Kingdom for him too.
This is interesting, it is the only time that the word “Paradise”
appears in the Gospels.
Jesus promises it to a “poor devil” who, on the wood of the cross,
had the courage to proffer Him the most humble of requests:
“Remember me when you have entered your kingdom” (cf. Lk 23:42).
He had no good works to assert,
he had nothing but he entrusted himself to Jesus,
whom he recognised as innocent, good, so different from himself.
Those words of humble remorse were enough to touch Jesus’ heart.
The good thief reminds us of our true condition before God-
that we are His children, that He feels compassion for us,
that He is defenceless each time
we show our nostalgia for His love.”

Pope Francis

General Audience, 25 October 2017

My dear brothers and sons, fruit of the true faith and holy seed of heaven, all you who have been born again in Christ and whose life is from above, listen to me, or rather, listen to the Holy Spirit saying through me: Sing to the Lord a new song. Look, you tell me, I am singing. Yes indeed, you are singing, you are singing clearly, I can hear you. But make sure that your life does not contradict your words. Sing with your voices, your hearts, your lips and your lives – Sing to the Lord a new song’.

Now it is your unquestioned desire to sing of Him whom you love but you ask me how to sing His praises. You have heard the words – Sing to the Lord a new song and you wish to know what praises to sing. The answer is – His praise is in the assembly of the saints – it is in the singers themselves. If you desire to praise Him, then live what you express. Live good lives and you yourselves will be His praise.

St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church

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Sunday Reflection – 14 April – God with Us! St John XXIII

Posted on April 14, 2019November 10, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Sunday Reflection – 14 April – Palm Sunday, Year C

God with Us!
St John XXIII (1881-1963)

This is the great reality of Christian history – Jesus, the Sacred Host, the Bread of Life, in the midst of His Church.
This is that brightest Star which enables us to look forward with great confidence to the future Kingdom of Christ. And, as we bless and adore Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist, we wish to raise our hearts in trustful prayer to Mary, His sweet Mother and our Mother too.

So let us turn to her, as our own dear Mother. It is she, who bore and presented to the world, Jesus, our Redeemer and Saviour. It is she, who leads innocent souls and penitent souls, to Jesus. It was at her request at the wedding at Cana that our Saviour worked His first great miracle, to the joy and delight of all believers.

In her sanctuary of Lourdes and in so many other sanctuaries all over the world, she continues her motherly and pious task of leading to her Divine Son’s arms, all who pray to her, for the safety, peace and joy of the Holy Universal Church. Is this not the literal accomplishment of our fervent resole – “to Jesus through Mary?”

Let us then understand one another, beloved children, as we worship Jesus in the Holy Eucharist – God with us! God with us!

The Sacrament of Jesus, remains with us as our divine inheritance, for our salvation and for the joy of the Catholic and Apostolic Church.

When we pray before the Blessed Sacrament, may the Mother of Jesus, who is our Mother, continually be remembered, as our intercessor and protectress, the joy and gladness of our hearts. Amen. god with us - this is the great reality - st john XXIII 14 april 2019.jpg

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The Stations of the Cross – 13 April – The Third Station

Posted on April 13, 2019April 13, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 13 April – Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787).

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.
Amen act of contrition - st alphonsus 13 april 2019.jpg

The Third Station
Jesus falls the first time beneath the Cross

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

JESUS, bowed down under the weight and the length of the unwieldy Cross, which trailed after Him, slowly sets forth on His way, amid the mockeries and insults of the crowd. His agony in the Garden itself was sufficient to exhaust Him but it was only the first of a multitude of sufferings. He sets off with His whole heart but His limbs fail Him and He falls.

Yes, it is as I feared. Jesus, the strong and mighty Lord, has found for the moment our sins stronger than Himself. He falls—yet He bore the load for a while, He tottered but He bore up and walked onwards. What, then, made Him give way? I say, I repeat, it is an intimation and a memory to thee, O my soul, of thy falling back into mortal sin. I repented of the sins of my youth and went on well for a time but at length, a new temptation came, when I was off my guard and I suddenly fell away. Then all my good habits seemed to go at once, they were like a garment which is stripped off, so quickly and utterly did grace depart from me. And at that moment I looked at my Lord and lo! He had fallen down and I covered my face with my hands and remained in a state of great confusion. the third station jesus falls the first time - bl john henry newman 13 april 20195.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love
above all things,
I repent
with my
whole heart
for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I
may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

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Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – Thy Book

Posted on April 13, 2019April 13, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – Saturday of the Fifth week of Lent, Year C

“Study then, mortal, to know Christ, to learn your Saviour.
His body hanging on the cross, is a book, opened before your eyes.
The words of this book are Christ’s actions.
as well as His suffering and passion,
for everything that He did serves for our instruction.
His wounds are the letters or characters,
the five chief wounds being the five vowels
and the others the consonants of your book . . .
However much else you may know,
if you do not know this, I count all your learning for naught,
because without knowledge of this book,
both general and particular, it is impossible for you to be saved.

So eat this book which in your mouth and understanding
shall be sweet but which will make your belly bitter,
that is to say your memory,
because He that increases knowledge increases sorrow too.

May this book never depart from my hands, O Lord
but let the law of the Lord be ever in my mouth,
that I may know what is acceptable in Your sight.”

Dom John Whiterig OSB (c 1320–1371)
Hermit of Farne

Meditacio ad Crucifixum, Chapter 53, fols. 29v-30

“Thy body, sweet Jesus,
is like a book all written with red ink,
so is Thy body all written with red wounds . . .
grant me to read upon Thy book
and somewhat to understand,
the sweetness of that writing
and to have liking
in studious abiding of that reading.”

Richard Rolle (1290-1349)

Hermit, Mystic, Writer
Meditations on the Passion

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The Stations of the Cross – 12 April – The Second Station

Posted on April 12, 2019April 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 12 April – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787).

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

The Second Station
Jesus receives His Cross

A STRONG, and therefore heavy Cross, for it is strong enough to bear Him on it, when He arrives at Calvary, is placed upon His torn shoulders. He receives it gently and meekly, nay, with gladness of heart, for it is to be the salvation of mankind.

True – but recollect, that heavy Cross is the weight of our sins. As it fell upon His neck and shoulders, it came down with a shock. Alas! what a sudden, heavy weight have I laid upon Thee, O Jesus. And, though in the calm and clear foresight of Your mind—for You see all things—You were fully prepared for it, yet Your feeble frame tottered under it when it dropped down upon You. Ah! how great a misery is it that I have lifted up my hand against my God. How could I ever fancy He would forgive me! unless He had Himself told us, that He underwent His bitter passion, in order that He might forgive us. I acknowledge, O Jesus, in the anguish and agony of my heart, that my sins it was that struck You on the face, that bruised Your sacred arms, that tore Your flesh with iron rods, that nailed You to the Cross and let You slowly die upon it. the second station jesus receives his cros - 12 april 2019 bl john henry newman.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love
above all things,
I repent
with my
whole heart
for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I
may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be i love you lod jesus - st alphonsus 11 april 2019

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One Minute Reflection – 12 April – Kill the messenger

Posted on April 12, 2019April 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 12 April – Friday of the Fifth Week, Year C, Gospel: John 10:31–42

Again they tried to arrest him but he escaped from their hands…John 10:39

REFLECTION – “As we approach Holy Week, we are confronted with one of the most paradoxical mysteries of our faith – Why do we reject the love of Jesus Christ in our lives? The daily Gospels have been slowly building to a crescendo through growing hatred of Jesus. In the face of that hatred, Jesus continues to present them with the truth that He is the Son of God. As He asks people to look to His teachings and works as proof that He is God’s Son, the teachings and works are completely overlooked and one message is clearly emerging – Kill the messenger. Jesus’s offer of recognising Him in the world, is an offer, that is relevant and available today. The “good works” He inaugurated are on view, whenever one goes beyond oneself and reaches out in love and compassion. They are continued, when one speaks an enhancing word or performs a loving action. These are visible in selfless service and forgiveness,. They are visible when love is made real.”…Fr Errol Fernandes SJ

PRAYER – Holy Father, our Father, help us to lay down the stones of hate and embrace Your Son who stands before us in need. Teach us to see His Face in those who cry out to us. Teach us compassion and love. Listen to the prayers of St Teresa de los Andes, she who in her short life proved the immense power of divine love extended to all. Mary, your Immaculate Heart is our school. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.

immaculate heart of mary - pray for us st teresa de jesus de los andes 12 april 2019 pray for us

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The Stations of the Cross – 11 April – The First Station – By Blessed John Henry Newman

Posted on April 11, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 11 April – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

Each year I post the Stations from a different source, today we begin one of two Station Meditations, composed by Blessed John Henry.

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

The First Station
Jesus Is Condemned to Death

LEAVING the House of Caiphas and dragged before Pilate and Herod, mocked, beaten, and spit upon, His back torn with scourges, His head crowned with thorns, Jesus, who on the last day will judge the world, is Himself condemned by unjust judges to a death of ignominy and torture.

Jesus is condemned to death. His death-warrant is signed and who signed it but I, when I committed my first mortal sins? My first mortal sins, when I fell away from the state of grace into which You did place me by baptism; these it was that were Your death-warrant, O Lord. The Innocent suffered for the guilty. Those sins of mine were the voices which cried out, “Let Him be crucified.” That willingness and delight of heart with which I committed them was the consent which Pilate gave to this clamorous multitude. And the hardness of heart which followed upon them, my disgust, my despair, my proud impatience, my obstinate resolve to sin on, the love of sin which took possession of me—what were these contrary and impetuous feelings but the blows and the blasphemies with which the fierce soldiers and the populace received You, thus carrying out the sentence which Pilate had pronounced?

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us. the first station - jesus is condemned to death - bl john henry newman - the death warrant is signed 11 april 2019

I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again.
Grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be i love you lod jesus - st alphonsus 11 april 2019.jpg

LENT 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 8 April – “The eyes of those who believe in Christ see light even amid the darkest night…” Pope Benedict

Posted on April 8, 2019April 8, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 8 April – Monday of the Fifth week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or 13:41C-62;; Psalms 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6; John 8:12-20

“I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”…John 8:12

Pope Benedict XVI

“The eyes of those who believe in Christ see light

even amid the darkest night…”

24 September 2011

“While all around us there may be darkness and gloom, yet we see a light. a small, tiny flame that is stronger than the seemingly powerful and invincible darkness. Christ, risen from the dead, shines in this world and He does so most brightly in those places where, in human terms, everything is sombre and hopeless. He has conquered death – He is alive – and faith in Him, like a small light, cuts through all that is dark and threatening. To be sure, those who believe in Jesus do not lead lives of perpetual sunshine, as though they could be spared suffering and hardship but there is always a bright glimmer there, lighting up the path that leads to fullness of life (cf. Jn 10:10). The eyes of those who believe in Christ see light even amid the darkest night and they already see the dawning of a new day.”

Daily Meditation:

Help us to pass from our old life of sin
to our new life of grace.
This week we let the powerful Light of God’s love
shine into the deepest, darkest corners of our soul,
revealing the most unloving parts of our hearts,
and we ask forgiveness and holiness.

Perhaps we might make the Stations of the Cross
to stir our hearts more deeply with the sense of His love for us.

Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil,
for thou art with me
Psalm 23:4 monday of the fifth week of lent john 812 8 april 2019.jpg

Closing Prayer:
Father of love,
I know that You are the source of all
that it good and graced in my life.
Help me to move from the life of sin
to which I so often cling,
into the new life of grace You offer me.
You know what I need to prepare for Your kingdom.
Bless me with those gifts.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

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Thought for the Day – 5 April – “A saint of the ordinary?”

Posted on April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio OSA (1905-1983)

Blessed Mariano has been called “a saint of the ordinary”, this giving, loving and holy man who spent all he had for his people. Is this ‘ordinary’, is this how ‘ordinary’ folk live, though we should be living thus. Is St Mother Teresa, who likewise, gave all, what we would call an ordinary saint . For the suffering sheep are the beloved of God, they are not ordinary, they are His most in need of the extraordinary love and charity of us, ‘the ordinary.’

I am reminded of the words of Fr Henri Nouwen (1932-1996):

“Visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, consoling the dying or sheltering the homeless, may not catch the public eye and are often perceived as irrelevant when put in the perspective of a possible nuclear holocaust. There are many voices that say: ‘These little acts of mercy are a waste of time when we consider the urgency of stopping the arms race, etc etc.” But the peacemaker knows that true peace is a divine gift that has nothing to do with statistics or measures of success and popularity. Peace is like life itself. It manifests itslef quietly and gently.
Who can say that a lost afternoon with a sick friend is in truth not much more than an interruption of ‘true’ peace work?
Who knows?
Jesus’ way is the humble way. He calls out to use – “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.'”

Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio , Pray for Us!

DOMINICAN OP, LENT 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 5 April – “Humility”

Posted on April 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)

“Once humility is acquired,
charity will come to life,
like a burning flame,
devouring the corruption of vice
and filling the heart so full,
that there is no place for vanity.”…

St Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419)

JESUIT SJ, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 April – “You know me?”

Posted on April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 and celebrating St Vincent Ferrer and Blessed Mariano de la Mata

“You know me and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord; he who sent me is true and him you do not know.”…John 7:28

REFLECTION – “The crowds are surprised to see Jesus teaching in public, despite the death threats and so wonder if He could indeed be the Messiah. The crucial question here is, whether or not one perceives Jesus as having been sent by God. The answer to this question determines whether one is on the right track or engaged in only superficial reflection. God, in Jesus, continues to come to us in various disguises and forms. If we decide in advance how He must come, then there is the danger that we too might continue to miss Him. The way to be able to find Him in all things and all things in Him, is to be open and receptive and let God be God. It is to open our eyes, ear and every fibre of our being to the revelation that He will make and to be prepared for that revelation, in the most unexpected persons, places and events!”…Fr Errol Fernandes SJ

PRAYER – Loving God and Father, open our eyes and ears and our hearts. Help us to recognise the Light of Christ in the world around us. Too often we are hard of heart and closed up in our ‘rites’ – He is there but He is not only there and we are blind. May the prayers of the saints and angels help us to be open to Him. Mary, the Mother He gave us, pray for us. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen. mother mary pray for us - 5 oct 2018.jpg

PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for April 2019

Posted on April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for April 2019

Universal

Doctors and their Collaborators in War-Torn Areas.

For doctors and their humanitarian collaborators

in war-torn areas,

who risk their lives to save the lives of others.

the holy father's prayer intention april 2019 .jpg

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

April Devotion – The Blessed Sacrament

Posted on April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

April Devotion – The Blessed Sacrament

Other Christians, most notably the Eastern Orthodox, some Anglicans and some Lutherans, believe in the Real Presence, that is, they believe, as we Catholics do, that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament of the altar (though only Catholics define this change as transubstantiation).

However, only the Catholic Church has developed the practice of Eucharistic adoration. Every Catholic Church contains a Tabernacle in which the Body of Christ is reserved between Masses and the faithful are encouraged to come and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Frequent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is a path to spiritual growth. april-devotion

Eucharistic Adoration
The practice of Eucharistic adoration on earth not only brings us grace but prepares us for our life in Heaven. As Ven Pope Pius XII wrote in Mediator Dei (1947):

“These exercises of piety have brought a wonderful increase in faith and supernatural life to the Church militant upon earth and they are reechoed to a certain extent by the Church triumphant in heaven which sings continually a hymn of praise to God and to the Lamb “who was slain.”

This month, why not make a special effort to spend some time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament? It doesn’t need to be long or elaborate – You can start simply by making the Sign of the Cross and uttering a short profession of faith, such as “My Lord and my God!” as you pass a Catholic church. If you have the time to stop for five minutes, all the better.

“A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent
in sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

“When you want to find me, come near the tabernacle.”

St Pio of Pietrelcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)

ABOUT Me - Anastpaul, NOTES to Followers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC

About Me – Anastpaul

Posted on April 1, 2019July 31, 2021 by AnaStpaul

About, Yes, about – 10 years ago a new Catholic Social Media website was launched in South Africa. The creators and dreamers were in my Parish and I got involved – before long I was part of the leading Team and thus began this little project of mine. Anastpaul_1436004826_280

When, after a long slog of around 8 years and many curved balls – mostly financial ones (being in South Africa makes the financial aspects very difficult) – I left and began my own little project here.

I have been known as Anastpaul online, for much longer than the 10 years though – my name is Ana, St Paul is one of my two Confirmation Saints and I have always been very involved with catechesis and evangelisation in some form or another, trusting always in the passion and zeal of St Paul.

I am a ‘cradle’ Catholic, a Dominican Tertiary, brought up in a wholly Catholic home by Spanish and Italian parents (with a bit of Lithuanian Jewish blood too). Rosary daily as a family, daily prayer, weekly Confession, Mass every day during Lent, etc etc. We went to a Dominican Convent Private School and Christian Brothers schools, belonged to all available Catholic apostolates and just “Breathed Catholic.” And so it has been – married a Catholic and our children too “Breathe Catholic”, for our blood is Catholic and is graced by the Holy Trinity and our forefathers are the Apostles. Mary is our Holy Mother and our friends are the Saints and Angels.

I live a totally Catholic life, involved in our Parish, running various apostolates there, am an ‘old-fashioned Catholic’ of the Spanish school and am 100% true to One Holy Catholic Faith. I do not like “labels” but if one should be applied I would be regarded as a “Traditional” Catholic. No “Liberalism” and “Modernism.”

I know this much is true – if you ‘Breathe Catholic” so too will your children grow up truly Catholic! Amen.

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD the FATHER, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 31 March – The Best of Fathers!

Posted on March 31, 2019March 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Joshua 5:9A, 10-12; Psalms 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 lent - laetare sunday 4th sun of lent 31 march 2019.jpg

But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him...Luke 15:20

“I shall get up and go to my father”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
Father & Doctor of the Church

If we do not care for this young man’s conduct, his departure horrifies us. Don’t let us ever abandon such a father! Simply the sight of the father causes sin to flee, banishes our faults, does away with all bad behaviour and temptation. Yet, if we have gone away, if we have wasted all our father’s inheritance in a life of debauchery, if we should happen to have committed some fault or misdeed or fallen into the mire of irreligiousness and complete dissipation, let us rise up for good and all and return to this best of Fathers, summoned by such a beautiful example.

“When the father saw him he ran to embrace him and covered him with kisses.” I ask you, where is there room for despair here? What pretext for excuse? What false reason for fear? Only, perhaps, if we dread meeting the father, if we are afraid of his kisses and embrace, only if we think that the father, when he takes his child by the hand, draws him to his breast and folds his arms around him, wants to seize the opportunity to make good his loss instead of welcoming in order to forgive. Such a thought, however, that destroys life and is contrary to our salvation, is fully overcome, wholly destroyed by what follows: “The father said to his servants: ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and has been found.’”

When we have heard that, can we delay any longer? What more could we ask for to return to the Father?

Daily Meditation:
Laetare Sunday: Be joyful!
This Sunday has a joy-filled tone.
We enter into the second part of Lent with a spirit of eagerness.
Our celebration of the mercy and life given to us in Jesus is near.

All the readings are profound.
The letter to the Ephesians can be a meditation for the week.
We have been saved by our Lord, Jesus, the Christ.
That is consoling at this part of Lent. It is not the work we do that saves us.
It is God’s love – in the midst of our darkness.

We can ask to be “lifted up” with Jesus in His surrender with the Father,
lifted up on the cross and therefore, lifted up in Glory.
And, we can express our desire to be an instrument of His consoling love,
in the hearts of those to whom He sends us.

Look to him and be radiant,
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
Psalm 34:5

Closing Prayer:
Loving Father of mine,
I feel the pace quicken, the time draw near.
I am filled with joy as I move toward Easter
and the promised reconciliation with You.
Teach me to follow the example of Your Son,
to be worthy of being called one His people – a Christ-ian.
Help me to live each day as He did
turning hatred to love and conflict to peace.
I await the new life with eagerness, faith
and a deep gratitude.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

CATECHESIS, CONFESSION/PENANCE, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on GOSSIP, QUOTES on HYPOCRISY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on REPARATION/EXPIATION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on TRUTH

Lenten Reflection – 29 March – Repairing the Wrong Done by St John Vianney

Posted on March 29, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 29 March – Friday of the Third week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: Mark 12:28–34

“…You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
The second is this,
‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
There is no other commandment
greater than these.”

Mark 12:30-32

St John Vianney (1786-1859)

REPAIRING THE WRONG DONE

Having made satisfaction to God, we must then make satisfaction to our neighbour for the wrong which-either in his body or in his soul — we have done him. I say that it is possible to wrong him in his body, that is to say, in his person, by attacking him either by injurious or insulting words or by bad treatment. If we have sinned against him by injurious words, then we must apologise to him and make our reconciliation with him. If we have done him some wrong by belabouring his animals, as sometimes happens when we find that they have been doing damage among our crops, we are obliged to give him all that we have been the cause of his losing: -we could have got compensation without maltreating these animals. If we have done any harm, we are obliged to repay as soon as we can, otherwise we will be gravely at fault. If we have neglected to do that, we have sinned and we must confess it.

If you have done wrong to your neighbour in his honour, as, for instance, by scandalous talk, you are obliged to make up by favourable and beneficent talk for all the harm you have done to his reputation, saying all the good of him which you know to be true and concealing any faults which he may have and which you are not obliged to reveal. If you have calumniated your neighbour, you must go and find the people to whom you have said false things about him and tell them that what you have been saying is not true, that you are very grieved about it and that you beg them not to believe it.

But if you have done him harm in his soul, it is a still more difficult thing to repair and yet it must be done as far as possible, otherwise God will not pardon you.

You must also examine your conscience as to whether you have given scandal to your children or to your next-door neighbours. How many fathers, mothers, masters and mistresses are there who scandalise their children and their servants, by not saying their prayers morning or evening or by saying them when they are dressing or sitting back in a chair, who do not even make the Sign of the Cross before and after a meal? How many times are they heard swearing, or perhaps even blaspheming?

How many times have they been seen working on Sunday morning, even before Holy Mass?

You must consider, too, whether you have sung bad songs, or brought in bad books, or whether you have given bad counsel, as, for instance, advising someone that he should take his revenge on someone else, should exact satisfaction by force.

Consider, too, whether you have ever taken anything from a next-door neighbour and neglected to pay it back, whether you have neglected to give some alms which you had been told to give or make some restitution which your parents, who are dead, should have made. If you wish to have the happiness of having your sins forgiven, you must have nothing belonging to anyone else, which you should and could pay back. So if you have sullied your neighbour’s reputation, you must do all in your power to repair the damage. You must be reconciled with your enemies, speak to them as if they had never done you anything but good all your life, keeping nothing in your heart but the charity, which the good Christian should have for everyone, so that we can all appear with confidence before the tribunal of God. repairing the wronge done - you must be reconciled - st john vianney 29 march 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on PRAYER

Lenten Thoughts – 26 March – Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives – St Peter Chrysologus

Posted on March 26, 2019March 26, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 26 March – Tuesday of the Third week of Lent, Year C – Gospel: Matthew 18:21–35

St Peter Chrysologus (400-450)
Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Sermon 43

Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives

There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: – these three are one and they give life to each other.

Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them, they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself. fasting is the soul of prayer - st peter chryasologus 26 march 2019 tues3rdweeklent

When you fast, see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery. if you want to receive give - st peter chrysologus 26 march 2019 tues3rdweeklent.jpg

Let this be the pattern for all men when they practice mercy – show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to show mercy to you.

Therefore, let prayer, mercy and fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defence, a threefold united prayer in our favour.

Let us use fasting to make up for what we have lost by despising others. Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of fasting. There is nothing more pleasing that we can offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophecy – A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart.

Offer your soul to God, make Him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God. Whoever fails to give this to God will not be excused, for if you are to give Him yourself, you are never without the means of giving.

To make these acceptable, mercy must be added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to the earth. However much you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices, sow virtues, if you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit.

When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin, when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows into your barn. Therefore, do not lose by saving but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give to others.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever.
Amen

FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION

Thought for the Day – 25 March – God’s shout to us

Posted on March 25, 2019March 25, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 25 March – The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Together with Jesus, the privileged and graced Mary is the link between heaven and earth. She is the human being who best, after Jesus, exemplifies the possibilities of human existence. She received into her lowliness the infinite love of God. She shows how, an ordinary human being, can reflect God in the ordinary circumstances of life. She exemplifies what the Church and every member of the Church is meant to become. She is the ultimate product of the creative and redemptive power of God. She manifests what the Incarnation is meant to accomplish for all of us.

Sometimes spiritual writers are accused of putting Mary on a pedestal and thereby, discouraging ordinary humans from imitating her. Perhaps, such an observation is misguided. God did put Mary on a pedestal and has put all human beings on a pedestal. We have scarcely begun to realise the magnificence of divine grace, the wonder of God’s freely given love. The marvel of Mary—even in the midst of her very ordinary life—is God’s shout to us, to wake up, to the marvellous creatures that we all are by divine design.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for Us!

LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY

Lenten Thoughts – 24 March – Take a step back

Posted on March 24, 2019March 24, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 24 March – The Third Sunday of Lent, Year C, Gospel: Luke 13:1-9 (The fruitless vine) and The Memorial of Bl Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (1917–1980) Martyr

Every now and then it helps us to take a step back and to see things from a distance.

Every now and then it helps us to take a step back
and to see things from a distance.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is also beyond our visions.
In our lives, we manage to achieve only a small part
of the marvellous plan that is God’s work.
Nothing that we do is complete,
which is to say that the Kingdom is greater than ourselves.
No statement says everything that can be said.
No prayer completely expresses the faith.
No Creed brings perfection.
No pastoral visit solves every problem.
No programme fully accomplishes the mission of the Church.
No goal or purpose ever reaches completion.
This is what it is about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that others will watch over them.
We lay the foundations of something that will develop.
We add the yeast which will multiply our possibilities.
We cannot do everything,
yet it is liberating to begin.
This gives us the strength to do something and to do it well.
It may remain incomplete but it is a beginning, a step along the way.
It is an opportunity for the grace of God to enter and to do the rest.
It may be that we will never see its completion
but that is the difference between the master and the labourer.
We are labourers, not master builders,
servants, not the Messiah.
We are prophets of a future that does not belong to us.

Saint Óscar Romero (1917–1980) Martyr, Pray for us!

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD the FATHER, LENT 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 23 March – “Who is a God like you”

Posted on March 23, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 23 March – Saturday of the Second Week of Lent, Year C

The Readings
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12; Luke 15:1-3,11-32

“Who is a God like you, who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but instead delights in mercy …” …Micah 7:18

“For what was it Jesus’ detractors said? “No man can forgive sins but God alone.” Inasmuch then, as they themselves laid down this definition, they themselves introduced the rule, they themselves declared the law. He then proceeded to entangle them by means of their own words. “You have confessed,” he says in effect, “that forgiveness of sins is an attribute of God alone; my equality therefore is unquestionable.” And it is not these men only who declare this but also the prophet Micah, who said, “Who is a God like you?” and then indicating his special attribute he adds, “pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression.”

St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor

Daily Meditation:
We must celebrate and rejoice.

The Saturdays of Lent have a wonderful spirit.
Our lesson today takes us to the parable of the two sons:
– one who is ungrateful and leaves but returns, and
– one who will not accept the forgiveness
the father lavishes on the other.

Let us too think of this Father, Our God, who is so taken for granted by all of us! and let us say, Our Father, who art in Heaven…………

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons”...Luke 15:11

“In the parable there is another son, the older one, he too needs to discover the mercy of the father. The poor father! One son went away and the other was never close to him!”

Pope Francis – General Audience, 11 May 2016

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy…

Psalm 103:1–4

Closing Prayer:

God of infinite love,
You shower me with limitless gifts in my life.
In my every thought and action today
guide me to the bright and loving light of Your kingdom.
Help me to be aware of
the many ways You allow me
to share in Your life so intimately today.
Thank You for the gifts You have placed in my life.
Let me be grateful every moment of this day.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen the lord's prayer - matthew 6 7-15 - lenten reflection 20 feb 2018 (1).jpg

CATECHESIS, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 21 March- The rich man and Lazarus

Posted on March 21, 2019March 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 21 March – Thursday of the Second week of Lent, Year C

“There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple
and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus…”
Luke 16:19–20 Luke 16 19–20 rich man and lazarus turs2ndweeklent-21march2019.jpg

St Peter Chrysologus (400-450)
Bishop of Ravenna, Doctor of the Church

Sermon 122, On the rich man and Lazarus

“Abraham was very rich,” Scripture tells us (Gn 13:2)… My brethren, Abraham wasn’t rich for himself but for the poor, rather than keeping hold of his fortune, he intended to share it…This man, who was himself a stranger, did not hesitate to do all he could so that the stranger might not feel himself to be a stranger. Living in a tent, he was unable to let a passer-by remain without shelter. Perpetual traveller, he unfailingly welcomed the travellers who came his way… Far from taking his ease in God’s bounty, he knew himself called to spread it abroad, he used it to protect the oppressed, set prisoners free, even to snatch those about to die from their fate (Gn 14:14)… Abraham did not sit but remained standing before the stranger he had received. He was not his guest’s host but made himself his servant. Forgetting that he was master in his own home, he himself brought the food and, concerned that it should be carefully prepared, called on his wife. Where he himself was concerned he relied entirely on his servants, but for the stranger he had received he thought it barely enough to entrust it to his wife’s skill.
What more could I say, my brothers? It was so perfect a consideration… that drew God himself to Abraham’s home and compelled him to become his guest. Thus the very one who would later claim to be welcomed in the person of the poor and the stranger, came to Abraham, rest for the poor, refuge of strangers. “I was hungry,” he said, “and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt 25:35).
And again, we read in the Gospel: “When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.” Isn’t it only right, brethren, that Abraham should welcome all the saints even into his own rest and should exercise, even in the blessedness of heaven, his service of hospitality?… Doubtless, he could not have considered himself wholly happy unless, even in glory, he was able to continue to practice his ministry of sharing.”

Daily Meditation:
Bring us back to you.

The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is our lesson today.
We beg to be open to the workings of the Spirit,
that we might not settle for the consolations of this life alone.

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers
but his delight is in the law of the Lord
and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2

LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR

St John Vianney (1786-1859)

“All of our religion is but a false religion and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone, for the good and for the bad, for the poor people as well as for the rich, for all those who do us harm as much as for those who do us good.
No, my dear brethren, there is no virtue which will let us know better whether we are the children or God than charity.
The obligation we have to love our neighbour is so important, that Jesus Christ put it into a Commandment, which He placed immediately after that by which He commands us to love Him with all our hearts. He tells us that all the law and the prophets are included in this commandment to love our neighbour. Yes, my dear brethren, we must regard this obligation as the most universal, the most necessary and the most essential to religion and to our salvation. In fulfilling this Commandment, we are fulfilling all others. St Paul tells us that the other Commandments forbid us to commit adultery, robbery, injuries, false testimonies. If we love our neighbour, we shall not do any of these things because the love we have for our neighbour would not allow us to do him any harm.”

all of our religion is but a false - st john vianney thurs2ndweeklent 21 march 2019.jpg

Closing Prayer:
Loving God,
I hear your invitation, “Come back to me”
and I am filled with such a longing to return to You.
Show me the way to return.
Lead me this day in good works I do in Your name
and send Your Spirit to guide me and strengthen my faith.
I ask only to feel Your love in my life today and if You are with me, how can I not love my neighbour?

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The TRANSFIGURATION, The WORD

Lenten Thoughts – 17 March – The law was given through Moses grace and truth came through Jesus Christ – St Leo the Great

Posted on March 17, 2019March 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 17 March – The Second Sunday of Lent, Year C, Gospel: Luke 9:28-36

The law was given through Moses grace

and truth came through Jesus Christ

St Pope Leo the Great (400-461)
Bishop of Rome and Great Latin Father and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from Sermo 51

The Lord reveals His glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. His body is like that of the rest of mankind but He makes it shine with such splendour that His Face becomes like the sun in glory and His garments as white as snow.

The great reason for this transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of His disciples and to prevent the humiliation of His voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed.

With no less forethought He was also providing a firm foundation for the hope of holy Church. The whole body of Christ was to understand the kind of transformation that it would receive as His gift. The members of that body were to look forward to a share in that glory which first blazed out in Christ their head.

The Lord had himself spoken of this when He foretold the splendour of His coming – Then the just will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Saint Paul the apostle bore witness to this same truth when He said – I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not to be compared with the future glory that is to be revealed in us. In another place He says: You are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

This marvel of the transfiguration contains another lesson for the apostles, to strengthen them and lead them into the fullness of knowledge. Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, appeared with the Lord in conversation with Him. This was in order to fulfil exactly, through the presence of these five men, the text which says – Before two or three witnesses every word is ratified. What word could be more firmly established, more securely based, than the word which is proclaimed by the trumpets of both old and new testaments, sounding in harmony and by the utterances of ancient prophecy and the teaching of the Gospel, in full agreement with each other?

The writings of the two testaments support each other. The radiance of the transfiguration reveals clearly and unmistakably the one who had been promised by signs foretelling Him under the veils of mystery. As Saint John says: The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. In Him the promise made through the shadows of prophecy stands revealed, along with the full meaning of the precepts of the law. He is the one who teaches the truth of prophecy through His presence and makes obedience to the commandments possible through grace.

In the preaching of the holy Gospel all should receive a strengthening of their faith. No one should be ashamed of the cross of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed.

No-one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice, no-one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised. The way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death. Christ has taken on Himself the whole weakness of our lowly human nature. If then we are steadfast in our faith in Him and in our love for Him, we win the victory that He has won, we receive what He has promised.

When it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears – This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him. transfiguration - listen to him 17 march 2019.jpg

LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY

Lenten Thoughts – 14 March – Christ Calls Us Deeper Still – Bl John Henry

Posted on March 14, 2019March 14, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 14 March – Thursday of the First week of Lent, Year C, Today’s

Christ Calls Us Deeper Still

Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Called on from grace to grace
All through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism but afterwards also, whether we obey His voice or not, He graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, He calls us to repen,; if we are striving to fulfil our calling, He calls us on from grace to grace and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us.
Abraham was called from his home, Peter from his nets, Matthew from his office, Elisha from his farm, Nathanael from his retreat – we are all in course of calling, on and on, from one thing to another, having no resting-place but mounting towards our eternal rest and obeying one command only, to have another put upon us. He calls us again and again, in order to justify us, again and again—and again and again and more and more, to sanctify and glorify us.

Christ calls us right now!
It were well, if we understood this but we are slow to master the great truth, that Christ is, as it were, walking among us and by His hand, or eye, or voice, bidding us to follow Him.

We do not understand that His call is a thing which takes place now. We think it took place in the Apostles’ days but we do not believe in it, we do not look out for it in our own case. We have not eyes to see the Lord, far different from the beloved Apostle, who knew Christ even when the rest of the disciples knew Him not. When He stood on the shore after His resurrection and bade them cast the net into the sea, “that disciple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter, It is the Lord” (John 21:7).

Do you accept Christ’s’ call?
There is nothing miraculous or extraordinary in His dealings with us. He works through our natural faculties and circumstances of life. Still what happens to us in providence, is in all essential respects, what His voice was to those whom He addressed, when on earth – whether He commands by a visible presence, or by a voice, or by our consciences, it matters not, so that we feel it to be a command. If it is a command, it may be obeyed or disobeyed, it may be accepted as Samuel or St Paul accepted it, or put aside after the manner of the young man who had great possessions.

LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FASTING, The WORD

Friday after Ash Wednesday – 8 March “Then they will Fast”

Posted on March 8, 2019March 8, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Friday after Ash Wednesday – 8 March

“Come back to Me with all your Heart.”

Daily Meditation:
A Friday of Lent
and an introduction to “True Fasting.”
We are still in the first four days of Lent.
Today and tomorrow we read the 58th Chapter
of the book of the prophet Isaiah.
These powerful words have such a contemporary message.
True fasting will lead us to act justly and caring
for those who are most in need.

On every Friday of Lent we abstain from meat
as a sign of our common penance.
It represents our efforts to abstain from
– do without – so many other patterns
that get in the way of our happiness and wholeness.

“Then they will fast”

“Among the penitential practices that the Church suggests to us above all during this Lenten time is fasting. It consists in a special sobriety in the food we eat, while ensuring care for the needs of our body. This is a traditional form of penance, which has lost none of its significance and which we perhaps need to rediscover, above all in that part of the world and in the milieus where food not only abounds, but where we at times encounter illnesses due to overeating.

Obviously, penitential fasting is very different from therapeutic diets. But as it is, we can see in it a therapy for the soul. For when it is practised as a sign of conversion, it facilitates the interior effort to make oneself available to listening to God. To fast is to reaffirm for oneself what Jesus replied to Satan, when the latter tempted him at the end of forty days of fasting in the desert: “Not on bread alone is man to live but on every utterance that comes from the mouth of God.” (Mt 4:4) Today, especially in our well-to-do societies, it is difficult for us to understand the meaning of this word of the gospel. Instead of pacifying our needs, the consumer society creates ever new ones, even engendering disproportionate activism… Among other meanings, penitential fasting has precisely the aim of helping us to recover interiority.

The effort towards moderation in food also extends to other things that are not necessary and it greatly aids the life of the spirit. Sobriety, recollection and prayer go together. This principle can be appropriately applied to our use of the mass media. They are unquestionably useful but they must not become the “masters” over our life. In so many families, the television seems to replace rather than facilitate dialogue among the persons! A certain “fasting” in this area can be salutary, either so as to give more time to reflection and prayer or to cultivate human relations.”

St John Paul (1920-2005)

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
I know how much You love me.
It’s hard for me to feel it sometimes,
but I know Your love is always with me.

Help me to use Your love as a way
to persevere in my Lenten intentions.
I am weak but I know with Your help,
I can use these small sacrifices in my life to draw closer to You.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 8 March – St John of God

Posted on March 8, 2019March 8, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 8 March – The Memorial of St John of God (1495-1550)

“The first (virtue) is faith,
believing all that
holy mother church
believes and holds,
keeping and putting
into practice
what she commands”

“Labour without stopping,
do all the good works you can,
while you still have the time.”

“If we look forward to receiving God’s mercy,
we can never fail to do good,
so long as we have the strength.
For if we share with the poor,
out of love for God,
whatever He has given to us,
we shall receive according to His promise,
a hundredfold in eternal happiness.
What a fine profit, what a blessed reward!
With outstretched arms He begs us
to turn toward Him, to weep for our sins
and to become the servants of love,
first for ourselves, then for our neighbours.
Just as water extinguishes a fire,
so love wipes away sin.”

“Whether you like it or not,
you will grow apart from human beings.
However, Christ is faithful
and always with you.
Fot Christ provides all things.”

“The Heart Commands” – St John of God

CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, LENT 2019, Our MORNING Offering, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Our Morning Offering – 7 March – Forgive my sins, O my God

Posted on March 7, 2019March 6, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 7 March – Thursday after Ash Wednesday

ACT OF CONTRITION

Forgive my sins, O my God,
forgive my sins –
the sins of youth,
the sins of age,
the sins of my soul
and the sins of my body,
the sins which, through frailty,
I have committed,
my deliberate and grievous sins,
the sins I know
and the sins I do not know,
the sins I have laboured so long
to hide from others,
that now they are hidden
from my own memory;
let me be absolved
from all these iniquities
and delivered from
the bond of all these evils,
by the Life, Passion and Death
of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen act of contrition - 7 march - thurs after ash wed 2019.jpg

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and truth came through Jesus Christ

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Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Sixth Station
Jesus and Veronica

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Fourth Station
Jesus meets His Mother

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Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

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By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

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Each year I post the Stations from a different source, today we begin one of two Station Meditations, composed by Blessed John Henry.

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The First Station
Jesus Is Condemned to Death

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
Father & Doctor of the Church

St Peter Chrysologus (400-450)
Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church

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