Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL SERMONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY ROSARY/ROSARY CRUSADE, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 7 October – Our Lady of the Rosary

Quote/s of the Day – 7 October – Our Lady of the Rosary

Open your petals, like roses planted near running waters…Sirach 39:13
“To discover whether people are of God,
I have found no better way than the following.
Observe whether they say the Hail Mary and the Rosary.”to-discover-whether-people-st-louis-de-montfort-7 oct 2017

“The Rosary is the most powerful weapon
to touch the Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer,
who loves His Mother.”the rosary is the most powerful - st louis de montfort 7 oct 2018

THE SEVEN BLESSINGS OF THE ROSARY

“The Rosary, recited with meditation on the mysteries, brings about the following marvellous results:

1. It gradually gives us a perfect knowledge of Jesus Christ;
2. It purifies our souls, washing away sin;
3. It gives us victory over all our enemies;
4. It makes it easy for us to practice virtue;
5. It sets us on fire with love of Our Blessed Lord;
6. It enriches us with graces and merits;
7. It supplies us with what is needed to pay,
all our debts to God and to our fellow men
and finally, it obtains all kinds of graces for us from Almighty God.”

St Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort (1673-1716)the-seven-blessings-of-the-rosary-st-louis-de-montfort-7 oct 2017

“When reciting the Rosary,
the important and meaningful moments
of salvation history are relived.
The various steps of Christ’s mission are traced.
With Mary the heart is oriented
toward the mystery of Jesus.
Christ is put at the centre of our life,
of our time, of our city,
through the contemplation and meditation
of His holy mysteries
of joy, light, sorrow and glory.”

Pope Benedict XVIwhen reciting the rosary - pope benedict - 7 oct 2018

Basilica of Saint Mary Major – Saturday, 3 May 2008

“Mary joins us, she fights at our side.
She supports Christians in the fight
against the forces of evil… through the Rosary.”mary joins us in the fights against evil - opope francis - 7 oct 2018

“Do you pray the Rosary each day?”

Pope Francisdo you pray the rosary each day - pope francis 7 oct 2018

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SANCTITY, SAINT of the DAY

Celebrating and Learning from Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos C.Ss.R. (1819-1867) on his Memorial today, 5 October

Celebrating and Learning from Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos C.Ss.R. (1819-1867) on his Memorial today, 5 October

TOP 10 Practical Guide to Holiness

1. Go to Mass with deepest devotion.
2. Spend a half hour to reflect upon your main failing
and make resolutions to avoid it.
3. Do daily spiritual reading for at least 15 minutes, 
if a half hour is not possible.
4. Say the rosary every day.
5. Also daily, if at all possible, visit the Blessed Sacrament
and toward evening, meditate on the Passion of Christ for a half hour.
6. Conclude the day with evening prayer
and an examination of conscience over all the faults & sins of the day.
7. Every month make a review of the month in confession.
8. Choose a special patron every month
and imitate that patron in some special virtue.
9. Precede every great feast with a novena, that is, nine days of devotion.
10. Try to begin and end every activity with a “Hail Mary.”

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Pray for Us!bl francis xavier seelos - top ten tips a pactical guide to holiness - 5 oct 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY ROSARY/ROSARY CRUSADE

Our Morning Offering – 5 October – The Memorial of Blessed Bartholomew Longo (1841-1926) – Apostle of the Holy Rosary

Our Morning Offering – 5 October – The Memorial of Blessed Bartholomew Longo (1841-1926) – Apostle of the Holy Rosary and the Month of the Holy Rosary

In this prayer to Our Lady of the Rosary, we ask the Virgin Mary to help us to cultivate a habit of interior prayer through the daily recitation of the rosary.   We pray this prayer, particularly during the month of October, as we daily cultivate the habit of praying the Holy Rosary.   This is the object of all of our prayers- to arrive at the point where we can “pray without ceasing,” as Saint Paul tells us to do.

To Our Lady of the Rosary

O Virgin Mary,
grant that the recitation of your Rosary
may be for me each day,
in the midst of my manifold duties,
a bond of unity in my actions,
a tribute of filial piety,
a sweet refreshment,
an encouragement to walk joyfully
along the path of duty.
Grant, above all, O Virgin Mary,
that the study of the mysteries may form in my soul,
little by little, a luminous atmosphere, pure, strengthening
and fragrant, which may penetrate my understanding,
my will, my heart, my memory, my imagination, my whole being.
So shall I acquire the habit of praying while I work,
by interior acts of admiration and of supplication,
or by aspirations of love.
I ask this of you, O Queen of the Holy Rosary,
through Saint Dominic and Blessed Bartholomew Longo,
your sons of predilection,
the renowned preachers of your mysteries
and the faithful imitators of your virtues.
Amento our lady of the rosary - 5 oct 2018 - memorial of bl bartholomew longo

Queen of the Holy Rosary, Pray for usqueen of the holy rosary pray for us - 5 oct 2018

Bl Bartholomew Longo, Pray for us.bl bartholomew longo - pray for us - 5 oct 2018

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, franciscan OFM, MORNING Prayers, MYSTICS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SANCTITY, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 4 October – The Memorial of St Francis of Assisi (1181/2–1226)

Quote/s of the Day – 4 October – The Memorial of St Francis of Assisi (1181/2–1226)

“The one you are looking for,
is the One who is looking.”the one you are looking for - st francis of assisi - 4 oct 2018

“Let the whole world of mankind tremble,
the whole world shake
and the heavens exult when Christ,
the Son of the living God,
is on the altar in the hands of a priest.
O admirable heights and sublime lowliness!
O sublime humility! O humble sublimity!
That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God,
so humbles Himself that for our salvation,
He hides Himself under the little form of bread!
Look, brothers, at the humility of God
and pour out your hearts before Him!
Humble yourselves, as well,
that you may be exalted by Him.
Therefore, hold back nothing
of yourselves, for yourselves,
so that He,
Who gives Himself totally to you,
may receive you totally.”let the whole world of mankind tremble - st francis - 4 oct 2018

“Jesus is happy to come with us,
as Truth is happy to be spoken,
as Life to be lived,
as Light to be lit,
as Love is to be loved,
as Joy to be given,
as Peace to be spread.”jesus is happy to come with us - st francis of assisi - 4 oct 2018

“The deeds you do may be the only sermon
some persons will hear today.”

St Francis of Assisi (1181/2–1226)the-deeds-you-do-4-oct-2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL MESSAGES, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The HOLY ROSARY/ROSARY CRUSADE

October – The Month of the Holy Rosary Message from Pope Francis

October – The Month of the Holy Rosary
Message from Pope Francis

Below is the complete and entire Message issued by the Holy See Press Office on 29 September 2018.

Holy See Press Office Communiqué, 29.09.2018

The Holy Father has decided to invite all the faithful, of all the world, to pray the Holy Rosary every day, during the entire Marian month of October and thus to join in communion and in penitence, as the people of God, in asking the Holy Mother of God and Saint Michael Archangel to protect the Church from the devil, who always seeks to separate us from God and from each other.

In recent days, before his departure for the Baltic States, the Holy Father met with Fr Fréderic Fornos, S.J., international director of Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network and asked him to spread this appeal to all the faithful throughout the world, inviting them to conclude the recitation of the Rosary with the ancient invocation “Sub tuum praesídium” and with the prayer to Saint Michael Archangel that he protect us and help us in the struggle against evil (cf. Revelation 12, 7-12).

The prayer – the Pontiff affirmed a few days ago, on 11 September, in a homily at Santa Marta, citing the first chapter of the Book of Job – is the weapon against the Great Accuser who “goes around the world seeking to accuse”.   Only prayer can defeat him  . The Russian mystics and the great saints of all the traditions advised, in moments of spiritual turbulence, to shelter beneath the mantle of the Holy Mother of God pronouncing the invocation “Sub tuum praesídium”.

The invocation “Sub tuum praesídium” is recited as follows:

“Sub tuum praesídium confúgimus,
sancta Dei Génetrix;
nostras deprecatiónes ne despícias in necessitátibus,
sed a perículis cunctis líbera nos semper,
Virgo gloriósa et benedícta”.

We fly to Thy protection,
O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our petitions in our necessities
but deliver us always from all dangers,
O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.we fly to they protection - pope francis communique - oct rosary - no 2 - 1 october 2018

With this request for intercession the Holy Father asks the faithful of all the world to pray that the Holy Mother of God place the Church beneath her protective mantle – to preserve her from the attacks by the devil, the great accuser and at the same time to make her more aware of the faults, the errors and the abuses committed in the present and in the past and committed to combating without any hesitation, so that evil may not prevail.

The Holy Father has also asked that the recitation of the Holy Rosary during the month of October conclude with the prayer written by Pope Leo XIII:

“Sancte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in próelio;
contra nequítiam et insídias diáboli esto praesídium.
Imperet illi Deus, súpplices deprecámur,
tuque, Prínceps milítiae caeléstis,
Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos,
qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in mundo,
divína virtúte, in inférnum detrúde. Amen”.

Saint Michael Archangel,
defend us in battle,
be our protection
against the wickedness
and snares of the devil,
may God rebuke him,
we humbly pray
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl throughout the world
seeking the ruin of souls.
Amenoctober - pray the st michael prayer - the holy father 29 sept 2018 - made on 1 oct 2018

Note:   In recent weeks the bishops of several dioceses, across the world, have encouraged the praying of the Saint Michael Prayer after Mass – as we used to do. And I would add, Alleluia!

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for October 2018

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for October 2018

Evangelisation:
The Mission of Religious

That consecrated religious men
and women may bestir themselves
and be present among the
poor, the marginalised
and those who have no voice.the holy father's prayer intention for oct 2018 - 1 oct 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY ROSARY/ROSARY CRUSADE

October: Month of the Holy Rosary

October:  Month of the Holy Rosary

october - month of the holy rosary - 1 oct 2018

There are 5 Marian Months, which Holy Mother Church, has given the faithful. They are: May – the Month of Mary, August – the Month of the Immaculate Heart, September – the Month of the Sorrowful Mother, October – the Month of the Holy Rosary and December – the Month of the Immaculate Conception.   For devotion to Mary leads us to her Son, in our Mother Mary we find the image of the Church, the mercy of motherhood.

On 7 October the Church celebrates the feast day of Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary.   This feast was established by Pope Saint Pius V on the anniversary of the victory at Lepanto on 7 October 1571. The naval victory was attributed to the Virgin Mary whose intercession was entreated through the recitation of the Holy Rosary.
The Church then proceeded to dedicate the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary so that individuals, families and communities would pray the Holy Rosary, on a daily basis for peace in the world.
“Not only do we earnestly exhort all Christians to give themselves to the recital of the pious devotion of the Rosary publicly, or privately in their own house and family and that unceasingly but we also desire that the whole of the month of October … should be consecrated to the Holy Queen of the Rosary” (Excerpt from the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, On Devotion of the Rosary, 1 September 1883).the rosary infothe rosary guide

The Holy Rosary and the Saints:

“The experience of the Saints bears witness to it – this popular Marian prayer, the Holy Rosary, is a precious spiritual means to grow in intimacy with Jesus and to learn at the school of the Blessed Virgin always to fulfil the divine will.   To be apostles of the Rosary… it is necessary to experience personally the beauty and depth of this prayer which is simple and accessible to everyone.   It is first of all necessary to let the Blessed Virgin take one by the hand to contemplate the Face of Christ, a joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious Face.   Those who, like Mary and with her, cherish and ponder the mysteries of Jesus assiduously, increasingly assimilate His sentiments and are conformed to Him.” Excerpt from the Meditation of Pope Benedict XVI, On the Recitation of the Holy Rosary,19 October 2008.october-the-month-of-the-holy-rosary-1 oct 2017

Posted in CARMELITES, CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, ON the SAINTS, PAPAL SERMONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 1 October – The Memorial of St Thérèse of Lisieux O.C.D. (1873 – 1897) Doctor of the Church

Thought for the Day – 1 October – The Memorial of St Thérèse of Lisieux O.C.D. (1873 – 1897) Doctor of the Church

Excerpt from Pope Benedict’s Catechesis on St Thérèse – 6 April 2011

“Today I would like to talk to you about St Thérèse of Lisieux, Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, who lived in this world for only 24 years, at the end of the 19th century, leading a very simple and hidden life but who, after her death and the publication of her writings, became one of the best-known and best-loved saints. “Little Thérèse” has never stopped helping the simplest souls, the little, the poor and the suffering who pray to her.

I would like to invite you to rediscover this small-great treasure, this luminous comment on the Gospel lived to the full!   The Story of a Soul, in fact, is a marvellous story of Love, told with such authenticity, simplicity and freshness that the reader cannot but be fascinated by it!   But what was this Love that filled Thérèse’s whole life, from childhood to death?   Dear friends, this Love has a Face, it has a Name, it is Jesus!   The Saint speaks continuously of Jesus.

Dear friends, we too, with St Thérèse of the Child Jesus must be able to repeat to the Lord every day that we want to live of love for Him and for others, to learn at the school of the saints to love authentically and totally.  Thérèse is one of the “little” ones of the Gospel who let themselves be led by God to the depths of his Mystery.   A guide for all, especially those who, in the People of God, carry out their ministry as theologians.   With humility and charity, faith and hope, Thérèse continually entered the heart of Sacred Scripture which contains the Mystery of Christ.   And this interpretation of the Bible, nourished by the science of love, is not in opposition to academic knowledge.   The science of the saints, in fact, of which she herself speaks on the last page of her The Story of a Soul, is the loftiest science.

In the Gospel Thérèse discovered above all the Mercy of Jesus, to the point that she said: “To me, He has given His Infinite Mercy and it is in this ineffable mirror, that I contemplate His other divine attributes.   Therein all appear to me radiant with Love.   His Justice, even more perhaps than the rest, seems to me to be clothed with Love” (Ms A, 84r).

In these words she expresses herself in the last lines of The Story of a Soul:   “I have only to open the Holy Gospels and at once I breathe the perfume of Jesus’ life and then I know which way to run;  and it is not to the first place but to the last, that I hasten…. I feel that even had I on my conscience every crime one could commit… my heart broken with sorrow, I would throw myself into the arms of my Saviour Jesus, because I know that He loves the Prodigal Son” who returns to Him. (Ms C, 36v-37r).

“Trust and Love” are therefore the final point of the account of her life, two words, like beacons, that illumined the whole of her journey to holiness, to be able to guide others on the same “little way of trust and love”, of spiritual childhood (cf. Ms C, 2v-3r; LT 226).

Trust, like that of the child who abandons himself in God’s hands, inseparable from the strong, radical commitment of true love, which is the total gift of self for ever, as the Saint says, contemplating Mary:   “Loving is giving all, and giving oneself” (Why I love thee, Mary, P 54/22).

Thus Thérèse points out to us all that Christian life consists in living to the full the grace of Baptism in the total gift of self to the Love of the Father, in order to live like Christ, in the fire of the Holy Spirit, His same love for all the others.”…Pope Benedict XVI

“Trust and trust alone,
should lead us to love”trust and trust alone - st t of l - 1 oct 2018

St Thérèse of Lisieux, Pray for Us!st t of l pray for us - 1 oct 2018

Posted in CONSECRATION Prayers, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MORNING Prayers, OPEN HOUSE...Conversations with..., PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Open House… Conversations with … St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)

Open House… Conversations with …
St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)

On The Memorial of St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) known as “Father Ave Maria” and the “Apostle of the Ave Maria”, we learn a little from St Louis.

How do I find the Grace of God?

TO FIND THE GRACE OF GOD, WE MUST DISCOVER MARY
(Excerpt from The Secret of Mary by St Louis Marie de Montfort)

The difficulty, then, is how to arrive at the true knowledge of the most holy Virgin and so find grace in abundance through her.   God, as the absolute Master, can give directly Hhat he ordinarily dispenses only through Mary and it would be rash to deny that He sometimes does so.   However, St Thomas assures us that, following the order established by His divine Wisdom, God ordinarily imparts His graces to men through Mary  . Therefore, if we wish to go to Him, seeking union with Him, we must use the same means which He used in coming down from heaven to assume our human nature and to impart His graces to us.   That means was a complete dependence on Mary His Mother, which is true devotion to her.

28. Chosen soul, this devotion consists in surrendering oneself in the manner of a slave to Mary and to Jesus through her and then performing all our actions with Mary, in Mary, through Mary and for Mary.   Let me explain this statement further.

29. We should choose a special feast day on which to give ourselves.   Then, willingly and lovingly and under no constraint, we consecrate and sacrifice to her unreservedly our body and soul.   We give to her our material possessions, such as house, family, income, and even the inner possessions of our soul, namely, our merits, graces, virtues and atonements.   Notice that in this devotion we sacrifice to Jesus through Mary all that is most dear to us, that is, the right to dispose of ourselves, of the value of our prayers and alms, of our acts of self- denial and atonements.   This is a sacrifice which no religious order would require of its members.   We leave everything to the free disposal of our Lady, for her to use as she wills for the greater glory of God, of which she alone is perfectly aware.

30. We leave to her the right to dispose of all the satisfactory and prayer value of our good deeds, so that, after having done so and without going so far as making a vow, we cease to be master over any good we do.   Our Lady may use our good deeds either to bring relief or deliverance to a soul in purgatory, or perhaps to bring a change of heart to a poor sinner.

31. By this devotion we place our merits in the hands of our Lady but only that she may preserve, increase and embellish them, since merit for increase of grace and glory cannot be handed over to any other person.   But we give to her all our prayers and good works, inasmuch as they have intercessory and atonement value, for her to distribute and apply to whom she pleases.   If, after having thus consecrated ourselves to our Lady, we wish to help a soul in purgatory, rescue a sinner, or assist a friend by a prayer, an alms, an act of self-denial or an act of self-sacrifice, we must humbly request it of our Lady, abiding always by her decision, which of course remains unknown to us.   We can be fully convinced that the value of our actions, being dispensed by that same hand which God himself uses to distribute His gifts and graces to us, cannot fail to be applied for His greatest glory.

Act of Consecration to Mary
By St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)

I, N…., a faithless sinner-
renew and ratify today in thy hands,
Immaculate Mother, the vows of my Baptism;
I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works,
and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom,
to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life
and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.
In the presence of all the heavenly court,
I choose thee this day, for my Mother and Mistress.
I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave,
my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior
and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future,
leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me
and all that belongs to me, without exception,
according to thy good pleasure,
for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity.
Amenact of consecration to mary by st louis de montfort - open house conversations with - how to become a slave of mary - 28 sept 2018

“One cannot contemplate Mary
without being attracted by Christ
and one cannot look at Christ
without immediately perceiving
the presence of Mary.”

Pope Benedict XVIone cannot contemplate mary - pope benedict - open house conversations with st louis de montfort - the secret of mary - 28 sept 2018

“Those who would receive Christ and bring Him forth must become like her . . .
her soul was virginal, so well cut loose from everything of earth,
so humble before God, that He could wholly fill her.”

(D Aemiliana Löhr, The Mass Through the Year)

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 28 September – The Memorial of St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) known as “Father Ave Maria” and the “Apostle of the Ave Maria”

Our Morning Offering – 28 September – The Memorial of St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) known as “Father Ave Maria” and the “Apostle of the Ave Maria”

The Hail Mary/Ave Maria

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Áve María, grátia pléna,
Dóminus técum.
Benedícta tū in muliéribus,
et benedíctus frúctus véntris túi, Iésus.
Sáncta María, Máter Déi,
óra pro nóbis peccatóribus,
nunc et in hóra mórtis nóstrae. Ámen.hail mary and ave maria -28 september 2018 st simon de rojas Fr ave Maria - no 2

Our petitionary payer to the Holy Mother of God, was commonly added to the prayers of the Church, around the time of the Council of Trent.   The Dutch Jesuit, St Petrus Canisius (1521-1597) Doctor of the Church, is credited with adding in 1555 in his Catechism the sentence:

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death,
amen.

Eleven years later, the sentence was included in the Catechism of the Council of Trent of 1566. The “Catechism of the Council of Trent” says that to the first part of the Hail Mary, by which “we render to God the highest praise and return Him most gracious thanks, because He has bestowed all His heavenly gifts on the most holy Virgin … the Church of God has wisely added prayers and an invocation addressed to the most holy Mother of God … we should earnestly implore her help and assistance, for that she possesses exalted merits with God and that she is most desirous to assist us by her prayers, no one can doubt without impiety and wickedness.”

The Hail Mary is the central part of the Angelus, a devotion generally recited thrice daily by Catholics, at 06.00, 12.00 and 18.00.
On account of its connection with the Angelus, the Ave Maria was often inscribed on bells.

The Hail Mary is the essential element of the Rosary, of course, for those followers who are not yet Catholics:

The Rosary consists traditionally of three sets of five Mysteries, each mystery consisting of one “decade” or ten Ave Marias.   The 150 Ave Marias of the Rosary thus echo the 150 psalms.   These meditate upon events of Jesus’ life during his childhood (Joyful Mysteries), Passion (Sorrowful Mysteries), and from his Resurrection onwards (Glorious Mysteries).   Another set, the Luminous Mysteries, is of comparatively recent origin, having been proposed by St Pope John Paul II in 2002.

Each of these Mysteries is prayed as a decade (a unit of ten), consisting of one Our Father (Pater Noster or The Lord’s Prayer), ten Hail Marys, and one ‘Glory Be’ (Gloria Patri) (Doxology) and the Fatima Prayer “O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.”
The restatement of the prayers locks one into fixed language, having the effect of freeing the conscious mind so that the recitation may come more from the heart and not the head.
Pope Paul V (1550-1621) said that “the Rosary is a treasure of graces … Even for those souls who pray without meditating, the simple act of taking the beads in hand to pray is already a remembrance of God – of the supernatural”.

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MARIAN QUOTES, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HUMAN DIGNITY, QUOTES on JUSTICE, QUOTES on MOTHERHOOD, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the FAMILY, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 26 September – The Memorial of Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (1841-1923) and Blessed Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)

Quote/s of the Day – 26 September – The Memorial of Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (1841-1923) and Blessed Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)

“God’s invitation to become saints
is for all, not just a few.
Sanctity, therefore, must be accessible to all.
In what does it consist?
In a lot of activity?   No.
In doing extraordinary things?
No, this could not be for everybody and at all times.
Therefore, sanctity consists in doing good
and in doing this “good” in whatever condition
and place God has placed us.
Nothing more, nothing outside of this”

Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (1841-1923)god's invitation to become saints - bl louis tezza 25 sept 2018

“No matter where you are
or where you may be working,
make sure the world,
will be renewed, upon contact with you.”no matter where you are - bl pope paul VI - 26 sept 2018

“Somebody should tell us,
right at the start of our lives, that we are dying.
Then we might live life to the limit,
every minute of every day.
Do it!   I say.
Whatever you want to do, do it now!
There are only so many tomorrows.”somebody should tell us - bl pope paul vi - 26 sept 2018

“Every mother is like Moses.
She does not enter the promised land.
She prepares a world she will not see.”every mother - paul VI - 26 sept 2018

“If you want peace, work for justice.”if you want peace work for justice - paul VI - 26 sept 2018

“… The Blessed Sacrament,
which is in the tabernacle,
is the living heart
of each of our churches.”the blessed sacrament - bl pope paul VI - no 2 - 26 sept 2018

“Christ is truly the Emmanuel,
that is, God with us, day and night,
He is in our midst.
He dwells with us full of grace and truth.
He restores morality, nourishes virtue,
consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak.”christ-is-truly-emmanuel-bl-pope-paul-vi-14-nov-2017-reasons-to-come-to-adoration

“Every theological explanation…
must firmly maintain that in objective reality,
independently of our mind,
the bread and wine have ceased to exist after the consecration,
so that the adorable body and blood of the Lord Jesus
from that moment on,
are really before us.
under the sacramental species of bread and wine”.

every-theological-explanation-must-firmly-maintain-bl-pope-paul-vi-19-aug-20181

“This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace,
continues uninterruptedly, from the consent,
which she loyally gave, at the Annunciation
and which she sustained, without wavering beneath the Cross,
until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect.

Taken up to heaven, she did not lay aside this saving office
but by her manifold intercession, continues to bring us
the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity,
she cares for the brethren of her Son,
who still journey on earth, surrounded by dangers and difficulties,
until they are led into their blessed home.

Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church
under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress and Mediatrix.
This, however, is so understood,
that it neither takes away anything from,
nor adds anything to,
the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator.”

Lumen Gentium, 62

Blessed Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)lumen gentium 62 - bl pope paul VI - 24 may 2018

Posted in Our MORNING Offering, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES/PRAYERS on THE FAMILY, SAINT of the DAY, THE HOLY FAMILY - FAMILIAE SANCTAE

Our Morning Offering – 5 September – The Memorial of St Mother Teresa of Calcutta M.C. (1910-1997)

Our Morning Offering – 5 September – The Memorial of St Mother Teresa of Calcutta M.C. (1910-1997)   This is a very appropriate prayer as the Church focuses on Family Life.

Nazareth Prayer for the Family
By St Mother Teresa(1910-1997)

Heavenly Father,
You have given us the model of life
in the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Help us, O Loving Father,
to make our family another Nazareth
where love, peace and joy reign.
May it be deeply contemplative,
intensely eucharistic, received with joy.
Help us to stay together in joy
and sorrow in family prayer.
Teach us to see Jesus
in the members of our families,
especially in their distressing disguise.
May the Eucharistic heart of Jesus
make our hearts humble like His
and help us to carry out our family duties
in a holy way.
May we love one another
as God loves each one of us,
more and more each day,
and forgive each others faults
as You forgive our sins.
Help us, O Loving Father,
to take whatever You give
and give whatever You take with a big smile.

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
cause of our joy, pray for us.
St Joseph, pray for us.
Holy Guardian Angels,
be always with us,
guide and protect us.
Amen.nazareth prayer for the family - st mother teresa - 5 sept 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL MESSAGES, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for September

The Holy Father’s
Prayer Intention for September

Universal:
Young People in Africa

That young people in Africa may have access
to education and work in their own countries.

the holy father's prayer intention sept 2018 = 1 sept 2018

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SANCTITY, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 4 August – The Memorial of St John Vianney (1786-1859)

Quote/s of the Day – 4 August – The Memorial of St John Vianney (1786-1859)

here is a rule for eveyday life - st john vianney

“Here is the rule
for everyday life.
Do not do anything,
which you cannot
offer to God.”man is a beggar who needs to ask god for everything- st john vianney- 4 aug 2018

“Man is a beggar
who needs to ask God
for everything.”if people would do for god - you either belong - st john vianney - 4 aug 2018

“If people would do for God
what they do for the world,
what a great number of Christians
would go to Heaven.”

“You either
belong wholly
to the world
or wholly to God.”you-must-accept-your-cross4 aug 2017.

“You must accept your cross.
If you bear it courageously,
it will carry you to heaven.”

we should consider those moments - st john vianney - 4 aug 2018

“We should consider
those moments spent before
the Blessed Sacrament
as the happiest of our lives.”his look rests on you alone - st john vianney - 4 aug 2018

“His look rests on you alone.”

St John Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859)

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The SIGN of the CROSS

Thought for the Day – 3 August – The Gift of Every Day

Thought for the Day – 3 August – The Gift of Every Day

THE GIFT OF EVERY DAY
by St John Vianney (1786-1859)

“Before beginning your work, my dear brethren, never fail to make the Sign of the Cross. Do not imitate those people without religion who dare not do this because they are in company.   Offer quite simply all your difficulties to God and renew from time to time this offering, for by that means you will have the happiness of drawing down the blessing of Heaven on yourself and on all you do.   Just think, my dear brethren, how many acts of virtue you can practice by behaving in this way, without making any change in what you are actually doing.

If you work with the object of pleasing God and obeying His Commandments, which order you to earn your bread by the sweat of your brow, that is an act of obedience.   If you want to expiate your sins, you are making an act of penance.   If you want to obtain some grace for yourself or for others, it is an act of hope and of charity.   Oh, how we could merit Heaven every day, my dear brethren, by doing just our ordinary duties but by doing them for God and the salvation of our souls!

Who stops you, when you hear the chimes striking, from thinking on the shortness of time and of saying in your minds: “Time passes and death comes closer.   I am hastening towards eternity.   Am I really ready to appear before the tribunal of God?   Am I not in a state of sin?”

“My God, I give you my heart and since You are so good as to give me another day, give me the grace that everything I do will be for Your honour and for the salvation of my soul.”my god i give you my heart - the gift of every day - st john vianney - 3 aug 2018

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST

Quote of the Day – 3 August – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:54–58

Quote of the Day – 3 August – Friday of the Seventeenth week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:54–58

“There is line from the illuminator of the St John’s Bible that states:
“We have to love our way out of this.”
There is nothing wimpy or namby-pamby
or blind about this conviction.
When we love extravagantly,
we are not purposely blinding ourselves to moral realities—
just the contrary.

Love is not a sentiment, but “a harsh and dreadful thing,”
as Dostoevsky said.

This is just what Jesus shows on His terrible cross.
And this is just what we, His followers, must imitate.
Taking up the cross means, not just being willing to suffer
but being willing to suffer as He did,
absorbing violence and hatred through our forgiveness and nonviolence.”

Bishop Robert Barronlove is not a sentiment -robert barron - 3 aug 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, STATIONS of the CROSS

Thought for the Day – 1 August – The Memorial of (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church ST ALPHONSUS DE LIGUORI – REACHING THE PEOPLE

Thought for the Day – 1 August – The Memorial of (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
ST ALPHONSUS DE LIGUORI – REACHING THE PEOPLE

With thanks to the C.Ss.R. Baltimore Province

St Alphonsus was a brilliant, articulate, pragmatic preacher.   He knew how to reach ordinary people who had limited education and very real needs.   They followed this gifted preacher from church to church and town to town to hear him preach the message of hope in Christ for all people.

Three great images, basic to the Christian faith, formed the heart of Alphonsus’ preaching and teaching — Jesus an infant in the crib, Jesus crucified on the Cross, and Jesus vibrantly alive and filled with love for all in the Eucharist.   To this he added the image of Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer.   When other theologians were opposed to devotion to Mary, Alphonsus invoked her:  “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.”

Alphonsus appreciated how the poor and working class people expressed their realities through song.   A gifted musician and composer, he wrote many popular hymns and taught them to the people in parish missions.   His compositions continue to be sung around the world and have never lost their charm and popularity.   Redemptorists today still follow the cue of their founder.   Their message, announcing the abundance of God’s love, is enriched by the spiritual songs they sing in their community and with the people of God.

Alphonsus wrote for the people.   Many turned to his spiritual writing, for he wrote in a way that was understandable to anyone with a basic education.   On winter evenings in his time, the people in the villages often gathered around a fire in someone’s home. Someone read stories about the Gospels or the lives of the saints, things that nourished their faith and helped them to pray.   Alphonsus’ works were frequent choices and they remain so still, his works are a fountain of holiness.  Which of us has not, in our home poarishes all over the world, prayed his Stations of the Cross?   They will always be one of the treasures of the Church.    http://immaculateheartbalornock.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Stations-of-the-Cross-Booklet.pdf

St Alphonsus, Pray for us!st alphonsus liguori pray for us 1 august 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL MESSAGES, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, THE HOLY FAMILY - FAMILIAE SANCTAE

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for AUGUST 2018

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention
for AUGUST 2018

Universal:  The Treasure of Families

That any far-reaching decisions

of economists and politicians

may protect the family as one

of the treasures of humanity.the holy father's prayer intention for august 2018 - the treasure of families - 1 aug 2018.jpg

“The family is the foundation of co-existence
and a remedy against social fragmentation.
Children have a right to grow up in a family,
with a father and a mother,
capable of creating a suitable environment,
for the child’s development and emotional maturity.”

Pope Francis, Humanum Conference, November 17, 2014

Pope Francis Prayer for the Family

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendour of true love,
to you we turn with trust.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic Churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again
experience violence, rejection and division.
May all who have been hurt or scandalised
find ready comfort and healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness
and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God’s plan.
Jesus, true God and true man,
graciously hear our prayer.
Mary and Joseph,
co-operators with God’s plan,
pray for us.
Amen!

(composed for the Synod on the Family and therefore, slightly adapted)prayer for the family by pope francis - 1 aug 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DEVOTIO, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Devotion for August – The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Devotion for August

The Immaculate Heart of Mary

The history of the devotion to the Heart of Mary is connected on many points with that to the Heart of Jesus;  nevertheless, it has its own history which, although very simple, is not devoid of interest.   The attention of Christians was early attracted by the love and virtues of the Heart of Mary.   The Gospel itself invited this attention with exquisite discretion and delicacy.   What was first excited was compassion for the Virgin Mother. It was, so to speak, at the foot of the Cross that the Christian heart first made the acquaintance of the Heart of Mary.   Simeon’s prophecy paved the way and furnished the devotion with one of its favourite formulae and most popular representations: the heart pierced with a sword.   But Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the Cross;  “she cooperated through charity”, as St Augustine says, “in the work of our redemption”.

Another Scriptural passage to help in bringing out the devotion was the twice-repeated saying of St Luke, that Mary kept all the sayings and doings of Jesus in her heart, that there she might ponder over them and live by them.   Some of the Fathers also throw light upon the psychology of the Virgin, for instance, S. Ambrose, when in his commentary on St Luke, he holds Mary up as the ideal of virginity and St Ephrem, when he so poetically sings of the coming of the Magi and the welcome accorded them by the humble Mother.

In the New Testament Elizabeth proclaims Mary blessed because she has believed the words of the angel ,the Magnificat is an expression of her humility and in answering the woman of the people, who in order to exalt the Son proclaimed the Mother blessed, did not Jesus himself say:  “Blessed rather are they that hear the word of God and keep it”, thus in a manner inviting us to seek in Mary that which had so endeared her to God and caused her to be selected as the Mother of Jesus?   The Fathers understood His meaning and found in these words a new reason for praising Mary.   St Leo says that through faith and love, she conceived her Son spiritually, even before receiving Him into her womb and St Augustine tells us, that she was more blessed in having borne Christ in her heart, than in having conceived Him in the flesh.

August has 2 Marian Feast Days, 15 August, The Assumption and 22 August, The Queenship of Mary.   The Feast of the Immaculate or Most Pure Heart of Mary is celebrated throughout the Church, in different countries and religious communities on different days. (http://www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com/2015/08/21/feast-of-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary-august-22nd/)devotion-for-august-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary-1 august 2017.jpg

Daily Prayer for August
for the Intercession of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary

O Most Blessed Mother,
heart of love, heart of mercy,
ever listening, caring, consoling, hear our prayer.
As your children, we implore your intercession,
with Jesus your Son.
Receive with understanding and compassion,
the petitions we place before you today,
especially those so deep in our heart.
We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open
to those who ask for your prayer.
We trust to your gentle care and intercession,
those whom we love
and who are sick or lonely or hurting.
Help all of us, Holy Mother,
to bear our burdens in this life,
until we may share eternal life and peace
with God, our Father forever.
Amendaily prayer for august for the intercession of the imm heart of mary - o most blessed mother, heart of love, heart of mercy - 1 august 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, Uncategorized

Thought for the Day – 25 July – The Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251) One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers

Thought for the Day – 25 July – The Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251) One of the Fourteen Holy Helpersfourteen-holy-helpers-94abfebd-a22d-4068-8082-f47cdecef31-resize-750fourteen-holy-helpers-8d56c60e-abf4-4a22-b615-9fee194d603-resize-750

The Fourteen “Auxiliary Saints” or “Holy Helpers” are a group of saints invoked because they have been efficacious in assisting in trials and sufferings.   Each saint has a separate feast or memorial day and the group was collectively venerated on 8 August until the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, when the feast was dropped.   These saints were often represented together.   Popular devotion to these saints often began in some monastery that held their relics.   All of the saints except Giles were martyrs.   Devotion to some of the saints, such as St George, St Margaret, St Christopher, St Barbara and St Catherine became so widespread that customs and festivals still are popular today.

The Fourteen Holy Helpers are invoked as a group mainly because of the Black Plague which devastated Europe from 1346 to 1349.   Among its symptoms were the black tongue, a parched throat, violent headache, fever and boils on the abdomen.   The victims were attacked without warning, robbing them of their reason and killed within a few hours;  many died without the last Sacraments.   No one was immune and the disease wreaked havoc in villages and family circles.   The epidemic appeared incurable. The pious turned to Heaven, begging the intervention of the saints, praying to be spared or cured.   Each of these fourteen saints had been efficacious in interceding in some aspect for the stricken during the Black Plague.   The dates are the traditional feast days; not all the saints are on the Universal Roman Calendar.the fourteen holy helpers - infographic - from wikepeida my image - 25 july 2018Fourteen Holy Helpers

14Nothelfer

The Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (also Basilika Vierzehnheiligen) is a church located near the town of Bad Staffelstein near Bamberg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The late Baroque-Rococo basilica, designed by Balthasar Neumann, was constructed between 1743 and 1772.

Vierzehnheiligen

800px-Vierzehnheiligen-Basilika3-Asio
The altar depicts statues of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

The Legend of Building the Basilica
On 24 September 1445, Hermann Leicht, the young shepherd of a nearby Franciscan monastery, saw a crying child in a field that belonged to the nearby Cistercian monastery of Langheim  . As he bent down to pick up the child, it abruptly disappeared.   A short time later, the child reappeared in the same spot.   This time, two candles were burning next to it.   In June 1446, the Leicht saw the child a third time.   This time, the child bore a red cross on its chest and was accompanied by thirteen other children.   The child said: “We are the fourteen helpers and wish to erect a chapel here, where we can rest.   If you will be our servant, we will be yours!”   Shortly after, Leicht saw two burning candles descending to this spot.   It is alleged that miraculous healings soon began, through the intervention of the fourteen saints.

The Cistercian brothers to whom the land belonged erected a chapel, which immediately attracted pilgrims.   An altar was consecrated as early as 1448.   Pilgrimages to the Vierzehnheiligen continue to the present day between May and October.Holy Helpers triptych - anon

One of the most famous group depictions of the “Fourteen Saints” is a 1503 altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald for the monastery in Lichtenfels in Upper Franconia, unfortunately, I cannot find a complete image of this, below are Panels one and two.

The “fourteen angels” of the lost children’s prayer in the Composer, Engelbert Humperdinck’s (1854-1921) fairy opera, ‘Hansel and Gretel’, are the Fourteen Holy Helpers.   The English words are familiar and very beautiful:

When at night I go to sleep,
Fourteen angels watch do keep,
Two my head are guarding,
Two my feet are guiding;
Two upon my right hand,
Two upon my left hand.
Two who warmly cover
Two who o’er me hover,
Two to whom ’tis given
To guide my steps to heaven.

I will pray daily, to the Fourteen Holy Helpers, to Pray for us all, for the world is indeed suffering from a ‘Plague’ of a new kind!

Prayer to the Fourteen Holy Helpers
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church

Great princes of heaven, Holy Helpers,
who sacrificed to God all your earthly possessions,
wealth, preferment and even life
and who now are crowned in heaven
in the secure enjoyment of eternal bliss and glory;
have compassion on me,
a poor sinner in this vale of tears
and obtain for me from God,
for Whom you gave up all things
and Who loves you as His servants,
the strength to bear patiently all the trials of this life,
to overcome all temptations
and to persevere in God’s service to the end,
that one day I too may be received into your company,
to praise and glorify Him, the supreme Lord,
Whose beatific vision you enjoy
and Whom you praise and glorify forever.
Amenprayer to the 14 holy helpers by st alphonsus - 25 july 2018

14 holy helpers - pay for us - 25 july 2018

 

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DEVOTIO, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD

Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”

Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”holy fathers prayer intention for july 2018 - 1 july 2018

“He made them,
the vicars of His love.

St Ambrose (340-397)

Father & Doctor of the Churchhe made them the vicars of his love - st ambrose - 18 july 2018

“The power of the priest,
is the power of the divine person,
for the transubstantiation of the bread,
requires as much power,
as the creation of the world.”

St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)the power of the priest - st bernardine -2018

“St Bernard tells us that everything has come to us through Mary
and we may also say that everything has come to us through the priest,
yes, all happiness, all graces, all heavenly gifts.
If we had not the Sacrament of Orders, we should not have Our Lord.
Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle?
It was the priest.
Who was it that received your soul, on its entrance into life?
The priest.
Who nourishes it, to give it strength to make its pilgrimage?
The priest.
Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washing that soul,
for the last time, in the blood of Jesus Christ?
The priest – always the priest.
And if that soul comes to the point of death, who will raise it up,
who will restore it to calmness and peace?
Again the priest.
You cannot recall one single blessing from God,
without finding, side by side with this recollection,
the image of the priest.”st bernard tells us that all things - st john vianney on the priesthood - 18 july 2018

“If I were to meet a priest and an angel,
I should salute the priest before I saluted the angel.
The latter is the friend of God
but the priest holds His place.”

St John Vianney (1786-1859) Patron of Priestsif i were to meet a priest - st john vianney - 18 july 2018

“Day after day, it is necessary to learn,
that I do not possess my life for myself.
Day by day, I must learn to abandon myself,
to keep myself available for whatever He, the Lord,
needs of me at a given moment,
even if other things seem more appealing
and more important to me,
this means giving life, not taking it.”

Pope Benedict XVIday after day it is necessary to learn - pope benedict on the priesthood - 18 july 2018

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, SPEAKING of .....

Quote/s of the Day – 17 July – Speaking of: Seeking Repentance with the Fathers

Quote/s of the Day – 17 July – Tuesday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, B – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24

Speaking of:  Seeking Repentance with the Fathers

“When once you have departed this life,
there is no longer any place for repentance,
no way of making satisfaction.
Here, life is either lost or kept.
Here, by the worship of God and by the fruit of faith,
provision is made for eternal salvation.
Let no one be kept back either by his sins
or by his years from coming to obtain salvation.
To him who still remains in this world,
there is no repentance that is too late.”

St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258)

Father of the Churchwhen once you have departed - st cyprian - speaking of seeking repentance - 17 july 2018

“Do you fast?
Then feed the hungry,
give drink to the thirsty,
visit the sick, do not forget the imprisoned,
have pity on the tortured,
comfort those who grieve and who weep,
be merciful, humble, kind, calm, patient, sympathetic,
forgiving, reverent, truthful and pious,
so that God might accept your fasting
and might plentifully grant you the fruits of repentance.”

“Since it is likely that, being men, they would sin every day,
St Paul consoles his hearers by saying ‘renew yourselves’
from day to day.
This is what we do with houses:
we keep constantly repairing them as they wear old.
You should do the same thing to yourself.
Have you sinned today?
Have you made your soul old?
Do not despair, do not despond
but renew your soul by repentance and tears and Confession
and by doing good things.
And never cease doing this.”do-you-fast-st-john-chrysostom-17 july-2018

“If repentance is neglected for an instant,
one can lose the power of the Resurrection
as he lives with the weakness of tepidity
and the potential of his fall.”

St John Chrysostom (347-407)

Father and Doctor of the Churchif repentance is neglected - st john chrysostom - 17 july 2018 - speaking of seeking repentance

“Reform yourself and so be always ready.
Be not afraid of the last day, as a thief,
who will break up your house as you sleep
but awake and reform yourself today.”reform-yourself-st-augustine-29-jan-2018

“In failing to confess, Lord,
I would only hide You from myself,
not myself from You.”

St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Churchin-failing-to-confess-lord-st-augustine-13-march-2018

“To do penance
is to bewail the evil we have done
and to do no evil
to bewail.”

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)

Father & Doctor of the Churchto-do-penance-st-pope-gregory-the-great-29-jan-2018

“Repentance raises the fallen,
mourning knocks at the gate of Heaven
and holy humility opens it.”repentance raises the fallen - st john climacus - 17 july 2018 - speaking of repentance

“Repentance is the renewal of baptism. 
Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. 
A penitent is a buyer of humility. 
Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. 
Repentance is self-condemning reflection of carefree self-care. 
Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. 
A penitent is an undisgraced convict. 
Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord 
by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. 
Repentance is purification of conscience. 
Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions. 
A penitent is the inflicter of his own punishments. 
Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach
and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness.”repentance is the renewal of baptism - st john climacus - 29 jan 2019

“Confession is like a bridle that keeps the soul
which reflects on it from committing sin
but anything left unconfessed
we continue to do without fear as if in the dark.”

St John Climacus (579-649) Father of the Churchconfession-is-like-a-bridle-st-john-climacus-13-march-2018

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 11 July – The Memorial of St Benedict of Nursia OSB (c 480-547)

Quote/s of the Day – 11 July – The Memorial of St Benedict of Nursia OSB (c 480-547)

“Ora et labora.”ora et labora - st benedict - 11 july 2018

“Be careful to be gentle,
lest in removing the rust,
you break the whole instrument.”becareful-to-be-gentle-st-benedict-11 july 2017

“He should first show them,
in deeds,
rather than words,
all that is good and holy.”first show them in deeds - 11 july 2018

“Before all
and above all,
attention shall be paid
to the care of the sick,
so that they shall be served,
as if they were Christ Himself.”before all and above all - st benedict - 11 july 2018

“He who labours as he prays,
lifts his heart to God with his hands.”

“Whenever you begin any good work,
you should first of all,
make a most pressing appeal
to Christ our Lord,
to bring it to perfection.”

St Benedict of Nursia (c 480-547)he-who-labours-as-he-prays-st-benedict-11 july 2017

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The SIGN of the CROSS

Thought for the Day – 9 July – Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

Thought for the Day – 9 July – Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

THE GIFT OF EVERY DAY
St John Vianney (1786-1859)

Before beginning your work, my dear brethren, never fail to make the Sign of the Cross.before beginning your work - st john vianney - 9 july 2018

Do not imitate those people without religion who dare not do this because they are in company.

Offer quite simply all your difficulties to God and renew from time to time this offering, for by that means you will have the happiness of drawing down the blessing of Heaven on yourself and on all you do.

Just think, my dear brethren, how many acts of virtue you can practice by behaving in this way, without making any change in what you are actually doing.   

If you work with the object of pleasing God and obeying His Commandments, which order you to earn your bread by the sweat of your brow, that is an act of obedience.   

If you want to expiate your sins, you are making an act of penance.

If you want to obtain some grace for yourself or for others, it is an act of hope and of charity.   

Oh, how we could merit Heaven every day, my dear brethren, by doing just our ordinary duties, but by doing them for God and the salvation of our souls!   Who stops you, when you hear the chimes striking, from thinking on the shortness of time and of saying in your minds:

“Time passes and death comes closer.   I am hastening towards eternity. Am I really ready to appear before the tribunal of God?Am I not in a state of sin?”

St John Vianney, Pray for us!st john vianney pray for us - 9 july 2018

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 June – Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:20-26.

One Minute Reflection – 14 June – Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:20-26.

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift...Matthew 5:23-24

REFLECTION – “The Church does not exist for us to remain divided when we come to it but rather so that our divisions might be nullified.   That is what the assembly means. Thus if we have come for the Eucharist, let us not do anything in contradiction to the Eucharist, let us not hurt our brother.   You have come to give thanks for the kindnesses you have received, therefore, do not separate yourself from your neighbour.
Christ offered his body to everyone without distinction when he said:  “Take and eat, all of you.”   Why do you not admit everyone to your own table? … You are remembering Christ and you disdain someone who is poor? … You are taking part in this divine meal; you should be the most compassionate of all people.   You have drunk the Lord’s blood and you do not acknowledge your brother?   But even if you have ignored him until now, at this table you must acknowledge him.   We must all be in the Church as in one common house, we form only one body.   We have only one baptism, one single table, one single source, as well as one single Father.”…St John Chrysostom (345-407), Father & Doctor of the Church (Homilies on the 1st Letter to the Corinthians, no 27 -cf Eph 4:5; 1 Cor 10:17 )therefore if you bring your gift to the altar mt 5 23-24-we must all be in the church - st john chrysostom - 14 june 2018

PRAYER – Lord God, true light and creator of light, grant that faithfully following the instructions of Your Son and pondering all that is holy, we may ever live in the splendour of Your presence.   By the gifts of the Holy Spirit, may we always be light to our neighbour.   Mary, Mother of Love and our loving mother, by your prayers, may we grow in charity and love.  We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord amen.loving mother pray for us - 14 june 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

Thought for the Day — 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests

Thought for the Day — 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests

The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests 2002 takes its inspiration from the theme of John Paul II’s Letters to Priests for Holy Thursday 2000, 2001, and 2002.   Below is an excerpt from the Congregation of the Clergy to all our Priests all over the world.

From St John Chrysostom (347-407)  Father & Doctor

“These are really the ones who are in charge of spiritual travail and responsible for the birth which comes through baptism.   Through them we put on Christ and are buried in union with the Son of God and become members, obedient to our blessed Head (cf. Rom 6,1; Gal 3,27).   For that reason they should not only be more justly feared than rulers and kings but also, be more honoured, than our parents.   For our parents generated us of blood and the will of the flesh (cf. Jn 1,13) but the priests are the authors of our birth from God, even that blessed regeneration which is true freedom and adopted sonship according to grace” (cf. St John Chrysostom, De sacerdotio, III, 6, PG 48, 643-644).

From St Anthony of Padua  (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor

“Our altar of gold is the Heart of Christ.   We must enter into the Holy of Holies, which is this same Heart of Jesus and gather up the riches of His love” (St Anthony of Padua).

From St John of Avila (1500-1569) Doctor of the Church

“If the Jewish High priest carried the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on his shoulders and on his breast, how much more Christ, our High Priest, carries our names written on His Heart” (St John of Avila).

From the holy Curé of Ars (1786-1859) Patron of Priests

“The Priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus” (CCC, n. 1589—St John Vianney, quoted in B. Nodet, Jean-Marie Vianney, Curé d’Ars, 100).

“The priest is not a priest for himself.   He does not give absolution to himself.   He does not administer the sacraments to himself.   He does not exist for himself, he exists for you” (Curé of Ars: Monnin II 453).

From St Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)

“Today everything which concerns the Sacred Heart of Jesus has become familiar and doubly dear to me.   My life seems destined to be spent in the light shining from the tabernacle and it is to the Heart of Jesus that I must look for a solution to all my troubles. I feel I would be ready to shed my blood for the cause of the Sacred Heart.   My fondest wish is to be able to do something for that precious object of my love.

“At times the thought of my arrogance, of my unbelievable self-love and of my great unworthiness alarms and dismays me and robs me of my courage but I soon find reason for comfort, in the words spoken by Jesus to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque:  ‘I have chosen you to reveal the marvels of my heart, because you are such an abyss of ignorance and insufficiency’.

“Ah! I wish to serve the Sacred Heart of Jesus, today and always.   I want my devotion to His Heart to be the measure of all my spiritual progress.   I desire to do everything in intimate union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

“My greatest joy will be to seek and find comfort only in that Heart which is the source of all consolation.   I am determined to give myself no peace until I can truly say, I am absorbed into the Heart of Jesus”   (Bl. John XXIII, Journal of a Soul, [“During the retreat in preparation for the ordination to the diaconate, 9-18 December 1903”], pp. 208-209, New English Library: London, 1966).

Prayer for Priests

O Jesus, eternal High Priest, who, in an incomparable love for men,
allowed Catholic priesthood to issue from Your Sacred Heart,
deign to continue to pour out on Your priest,
the life-giving streams of Infinite Love.
Live in them, transform them into Yourself;
Render them by Your grace instruments of Your Mercy;
Act in them and through them
and grant that they may perform in Your Name
and by the strength of Your Spirit,
the works which You Yourself
accomplished for the salvation of this world.
Divine Redeemer of souls,
see how great is the multitude of those,
who still sleep in the darkness of error;
count the number of those unfaithful sheep,
who are walking on the edge of an abyss;
consider the crowds of the poor, the hungry,
the ignorant and the weak,
who are groaning in their state of abandonment.
Return to us again, dear Sacred Heart of Jesus,
live again in very truth in them;
act through them and pass again through this world
teaching, pardoning, consoling, offering sacrifice,
renewing the Bonds of Love
between the Heart of God and the hearts of men.
We pray through the intercession
of Mary, Mother of all hearts.
Amenprayer for priests - 8 june 2018 - sacred heart.jpg

 

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SAINT of the DAY, VATICAN Resources

Blessed and Holy Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests – 8 June

8 June – Blessed and Holy Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – (Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost) and The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.sacred heart - header 1header - Sacred Heart of Jesus in you I trust

Excerpt from ENCYCLICAL of Pope Pius XII
HAURIETIS AQUAS – on DEVOTION TO The SACRED HEART
15 May 1956

Venerable Brethren:  Health and Apostolic Benediction.

1. “You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour’s fountain.”  These words by which the prophet Isaias, using highly significant imagery, foretold the manifold and abundant gifts of God which the Christian era was to bring forth, come naturally to Our mind when We reflect on the centenary of that year when Our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, gladly yielding to the prayers from the whole Catholic world, ordered the celebration of the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Universal Church.

2. It is altogether impossible to enumerate the heavenly gifts which devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has poured out on the souls of the faithful, purifying them, offering them heavenly strength, rousing them to the attainment of all virtues.   Therefore, recalling those wise words of the Apostle S. James, “Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights,” We are perfectly justified in seeing in this same devotion, which flourishes with increasing fervour throughout the world, a gift without price, which our divine Saviour the Incarnate Word, as the one Mediator of grace and truth between the heavenly Father and the human race imparted to the Church, His mystical Spouse, in recent centuries when she had to endure such trials and surmount so many difficulties.

3. The Church, rejoicing in this inestimable gift, can show forth a more ardent love of her divine Founder and can, in a more generous and effective manner, respond to that invitation which St John the Evangelist relates as having come from Christ Himself: “And on the last and great day of the festivity, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me and let him drink that believeth in Me.   As the Scripture saith: Out of his heart there shall flow rivers of living waters.’   Now this He said of the Spirit which they should receive who believed in Him.”header - sacred heart

8. The Church has always valued and still does, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus so highly, that she provides for the spread of it among Christian peoples everywhere and by every means.   At the same time she uses every effort to protect it against the charges of so-called “naturalism” and “sentimentalism.”   In spite of this it is much to be regretted that, both in the past and in our own times, this most noble devotion does not find a place of honour and esteem among certain Christians and, even occasionally, not among those who profess themselves moved by zeal for the Catholic religion and the attainment of holiness.

17. Through the years of Our pontificate–years filled not only with bitter hardships but also with ineffable consolations, these effects have not diminished in number or power or beauty but, on the contrary, have increased.   Indeed, happily there has begun a variety of projects which are conducive to a rekindling of this devotion.   We refer to the formation of cultural associations for the advancement of religion and of charitable works, publications setting forth the true historical, ascetical and mystical doctrine concerning this entire subject, pious works of atonement and, in particular, those manifestations of most ardent piety which the Apostleship of Prayer has brought about, under whose auspices and direction local gatherings – families, colleges, institutions – and sometimes nations have been consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.   To all these We have offered paternal congratulations on many occasions, whether in letters written on the subject, in personal addresses, or even in messages delivered over the radio.

18. Therefore when We perceive so fruitful an abundance of healing waters, that is, heavenly gifts of divine love, issuing from the Sacred Heart of our Redeemer, spreading among countless children of the Catholic Church by the inspiration and action of the divine Spirit, We can only exhort you, venerable brethren, with fatherly affection to join Us in giving tribute of praise and heartfelt thanks to God, the Giver of all good gifts.   We make Our own these words of the Apostle of the Gentiles: “Now to Him Who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations world without end. Amen.”sacred heart 3sacred heart 2

All information on this Devotion here:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/23/celebrating-the-solemnity-of-the-most-sacred-heart-of-jesus-23-june-2017/

And the Twelve Promises here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/23/friday-23-june-2017-blessed-and-holy-solemnity-of-the-most-sacred-heart-of-jesus-friday-after-the-second-sunday-after-pentecost/

The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests

This celebration offers an opportunity to lift up our priests in prayer and thanksgiving, asking God, that they might continually rediscover the gift of their ordination and experience the joy of the mission entrusted to them, while always growing in sanctity.

Let us Pray:

“Our Father for Priests”

Our Father who art in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy name be hallowed,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy kingdom come,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To give us each day the Bread of life,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To forgive us our trespasses,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That we be not led into temptation,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
And deliver us
And all of Your priests from evil. Amen.
(Anonymous)

Issued by the Congregation for the Clergy (vatican.va)our father for priests - sacred heart solemnity - 8 june 2018

 

 

Posted in franciscan OFM, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 4 June – Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

Quote/s of the Day – 4 June – Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

Speaking of: “The Most Holy Eucharist/The Holy Mass”

“I am going to the Church’s press, to the altar.
That is where the sacred wine of this delicious
and unique grape’s blood, flows constantly
and from which very few have the good fortune,
to be able to become intoxicated.
There, you know that – because I cannot do otherwise –
I will present you, to the Father of Heaven
united with His Son,
it is in Him and with Him,
that I am entirely yours in the Lord.”i am going to the Church's press, the altar - st pio - 4 june 2018

“Lord Jesus, save them all.
I offer myself as a victim for all of them.
Make me stronger,
take my heart,
fill it with Your love
and then ask of me,
whatever You want.”

St Pio of Pietrelcina “Padre Pio” OFM CAP. (1887-1968)lord jesus, save them all - st padre pio - 4 june 2018

“However it is very necessary to nourish one’s soul also
and since nothing created, can nourish the soul, which is spirit,
God wished to give Himself as food.”

“If only Christians could understand these words
of our Lord saying to them:
“In spite of your wretchedness, I desire to see from near,
this beautiful soul I have created for Myself.
I have made it so great,
that there is none but Me,
who is able to fill her.
I have made it so pure,
that there is only my Body
capable of feeding it.”

St John Marie Vianney (1786-1859)however it is very necessary & if only christians could understand - st john vianney - 4 june 2018 - speaking of the Eucharist

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 4 June – Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

One Minute Reflection – 4 June – Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Readings: 2 Peter 1:2-7, Psalms 91(90):1-2.14-15ab.15c-16, Mark 12:1-12

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes and the elders in parables.   “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press and built a tower.   Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey...Mark 12:1-2

REFLECTION – “With all my heart I bless God for having let me know really good souls.   I could announce to them that they are also the Lord’s vineyard:  their faith is the cistern, their hope is the tower, their love is the press, the law of God is the hedge which separates them from the children of darkness.”…St Pio of Pietrelcina “Padre Pio” OFM CAP. (1887-1968)with all my heart i bless god - mark 12-1 - the vineyard - st padre pio - 4 june 2018

PRAYER – Lord, be the beginning and the end of all that we do and say.   Prompt our actions with Your grace and complete them with Your all powerful help.   St Filippo Smaldone, you shone the light of Christ on all around you, strengthened by love of Christ in the most Blessed Sacrament and by His Holy Mother.   Pray for us, that we may be little lanterns in the darkness and ‘good vines’ pruned to perfection.   Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.st filippo smaldone - pray for us - 4 june 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL SERMONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

The Solemnity of The Body and Blood of Christ “Corpus Christi” – 3 June

The Solemnity of The Body and Blood of Christ “Corpus Christi” – 3 June

Happy Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God!  What a Gift we celebrate today!

The Eucharist is the source and summit of the whole Christian life.   The feast of Corpus Christi is a celebration of Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.   It parallels the celebration on Holy Thursday in commemoration of the institution of this Aacrament. When the Eucharist is carried through the streets in solemn procession, the Christian people give public witness of their faith and devotion toward the Sacrament of the Eucharist

In 1246, Bishop Robert de Thorete of the Belgian diocese of Liège, at the suggestion of St Juliana of Mont Cornillon (also in Belgium), convened a synod and instituted the celebration of the feast.

From Liège, the celebration began to spread and, on 8 September 1264, Pope Urban IV issued the papal bull “Transiturus,” which established the Feast of Corpus Christi as a universal feast of the Church, to be celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday.

At the request of Pope Urban IV, St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Doctor of the Church, composed the office, the official prayers of the Churc, for the feast.   This office is widely considered one of the most beautiful in the traditional Roman Breviary and it is the source of the famous Eucharistic hymns Pange Lingua Gloriosi and Tantum Ergo Sacramentum.

The feast is also celebrated with a Eucharistic procession, in which the Sacred Host is carried throughout the town, accompanied by hymns and litanies.   There the Eucharistic Lord, held in the monstrance by the priest, is escorted by candles, canopies, incense, choirs, altar servers, and worshipers.   The faithful venerate the Body of Christ as the procession passed by, with Benediction celebrated along the way.

The feast of Corpus Christi is one time when our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is exposed not just to faithful Catholics but to all the world.   This is a time when Catholics can show their love for Christ in the Real Presence by honouring Him in a very public way.   It is also a wonderful way in which we can show our love for our neighbors by bringing Our Lord and Savior closer to them.   So many conversions are a result of Eucharistic Adoration experienced from inside the Church.   How many more there would be if we could reach those who only drive by the church in worldly pursuits.

“Corpus Christi reminds us first of all of this:, that being Christian means coming together from all parts of the world to be in the presence of the one Lord and to become one with him and in him.
The second constitutive aspect, is walking with the Lord. ,This is the reality manifested by the procession that we shall experience together after Holy Mass, almost as if it were naturally prolonged by moving behind the One who is the Way, the Journey. With the gift of Himself in the Eucharist, the Lord Jesus sets us free from our “paralyses”, He helps us up and enables us to “proceed “, that is, He makes us take a step ahead and then another step and thus sets us going with the power of the Bread of Life.”

Pope Benedict XVI, Corpus Christ 2008

Throughout our lives, if we were raised Catholic, we were taught reverence for the Eucharist.    But “reverence” is not enough.  Most Catholics reverence the Eucharist, meaning, we genuflect, kneel and treat the Sacred Host with respect.    But it’s important to ponder a question in your heart.    Do you believe the Eucharist is God Almighty, the Saviour of the world, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity?  Do you believe deeply enough to have your heart moved with love and profound devotion every time you are before our divine Lord present before us under the veil of the Eucharist?   When you kneel do you fall down prostrate in your heart, loving God with your whole being?5 - Adoration of the Eucharist, by Jeronimo Jacinto Espinosa, 1650

Perhaps this sounds like it’s a bit excessive.  Perhaps simple reverence and respect is enough for you.   But it’s not.   Since the Eucharist is God Almighty, we must see Him there with the eyes of faith in our soul.   We must profoundly adore Him as the angels do in Heaven.   We must cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.”  We must be moved to the deepest of worship as we enter into His divine presence.

Ponder the depth of your faith in the Eucharist today and strive to renew it, worshiping God as one who believes with your whole being.

I devoutly adore You, O hidden Deity, truly hidden beneath these appearances.  My whole heart submits to You and in contemplating You, it surrenders itself completely.  Sight, touch, taste are all deceived in their judgement of You but hearing suffices firmly to believe.  Jesus, I trust in You.