CONFESSION – AnaStpaul

CONFESSION, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PARTIAL Indulgence, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 16 March – Purification

Posted on March 16, 2023March 14, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 16 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Purification

“We should also value Indulgences as a means of spiritual purification.
They ought not to be treated lightly.
Jesus gave His Church, the power of loosing and binding every bond of sin.
As long as we have the necessary dispositions, therefore, it can draw on the merits of Christ and of the Saints, to release us from the temporal punishment due to the sins which have already been forgiven us.
It achieves this by the concession of Indulgences.
These require, on our part, the fulfilment of certain conditions, a sincere sorrow for sin and, a strong resolution never to offend God again.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/25/thought-for-the-day-25-july-purification/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/19/thought-for-the-day-25-july-purification-2/

CONFESSION, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI

Thought for the Day – 25 February – The Sacrament of Penance

Posted on February 25, 2023February 23, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 25 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Sacrament of Penance

“St Charles Borromeo had the habit of going to Confession everyday.
This was not the result of scruples on his p[art, it was simply that he was supernaturally enlightened so as to perceive, even his smallest faults and he was anxious to remove, from his soul, the slightest trace of sin.

We do not have to follow his example but, weekly or fortnightly Confession is strongly recommended by spiritual writers.
It is a great loss to neglect Confession for too long a period.
We are deprived of the graces of this Sacrament, our fervour grows cold and we slip easily from venial into mortal sin.

Let us decide to make a good Confession every week whenever we find it possilbe.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/23/thought-for-the-day-23-february-the-sacrament-of-penance/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/23/thought-for-the-day-22-february-the-sacrament-of-penance/

CONFESSION, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, INDULGENCES, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 25 July – Purification

Posted on July 25, 2022July 24, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 25 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Purification

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/25/thought-for-the-day-25-july-purification/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/19/thought-for-the-day-25-july-purification-2/

ACT of CONTRITION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 9 March – Act of Contrition, By St Alphonsus

Posted on March 9, 2022March 8, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 9 March – Wednesdayof the First Week of Lent, Ember Wednesday – FAST & PARTIAL ABSTINENCE

Act of Contrition
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

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

"Follow Me", CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THANKSGIVING, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The KINGDOM of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 16 February – ‘Persevere to the end’

Posted on February 16, 2022February 16, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 16 February – Septuagessima Weekday – 1 Cor. 9:24-27; 10:1-5, Matthew 20:1-6

“Even so, the last shall be first
and the first last;
for many are called
but few are chosen.”

Matthew 20:16

“This is the time for Confession.
Confess the sins you have committed
in word or deed,
by day or by night.
Confess during this “favourable time”
and on “the day of salvation,”
receive Heaven’s treasure… ”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (313-350),
Father & Doctor of the Church

“… We must all rejoice exceedingly,
to be even the last,
in the Kingdom of God!”

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father and Doctor

“From now on, then,
if God has no need of your goods,
neither does He have to give you this great thing,
if you refuse to love Him,
all He requires is love,
without which nothing constrains His giving.
Love, then and you will receive
the Kingdom, love and you will possess it…
Love God more than yourself
and already, you begin to have
what it is your desire to possess fully, in heaven.”

St Anselm (1033-1109)
Doctor magnificus
Doctor Marianus

“Rejoice and be happy!
Persevere to the end
and prefer to die
rather than abandon the post,
to which God has called you!”

St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Doctor of the Church

CONFESSION, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 6 February – “Until the harvest” – – Matthew 13:30

Posted on February 6, 2022February 5, 2022 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 6 February – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – Readings: Colossians 3:12-17, Matthew 13:24-30

“Suffer both to grow until the harvest” – Matthew 13:30

REFLECTION – “Nor must one imagine that the Body of the Church, just because it bears the name of Christ, is made up during the days of its earthly pilgrimage, only of members conspicuous for their holiness, or, that it consists only of those whom God has predestined to eternal happiness. It is owing to the Saviour’s infinite mercy, that place is allowed in His Mystical Body here below, for those whom, of old, He did not exclude from the banquet (cf. Mt 9:11). For not every sin, however grave it may be, is such as of its own nature to sever a man from the Body of the Church, as does schism or heresy or apostasy. Men may lose charity and divine grace through sin, thus becoming incapable of supernatural merit and yet, not be deprived of all life, if they hold fast to faith and Christian hope and if, illumined from above, they are spurred on, by the interior promptings of the Holy Spirit to salutary fear and are moved to prayer and penance for their sins.

Let everyone then abhor sin, which defiles the mystical members of our Redeemer but,, if anyone unhappily falls and his obstinacy has not made him unworthy of communion with the faithful, let him be received with great love and let eager charity see in him a weak member of Jesus Christ. For, as the Bishop of Hippo remarks –
“it is better to be cured within the Church’s community than to be cut off from its Body as incurable members. As long as a member still forms part of the Body, there is no reason to despair of its cure; once it has been cut off, it can be neither cured nor healed.’”- Venerable Pius XII (1876-1958) – Pope from 1939 to 1958 – Encyclical – Mystici Corporis Christi, 1943.

PRAYER – All-powerful and ever-living God, splendour of true light and never-ending day, chase away the night of sin and fill our minds with the glory of Your coming. Take away our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, help us in our battle with sin and the devil. By our prayers, Your holy sacraments and the strength of the Holy Spirit, may we be ever vigilant of the evil one. Hear the prayers of our Queen and Mother, the Blessed Virgin of Mercy on our behalf dear Lord. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

ARMOUR of CHRIST, BAPTISM, CONFESSION, CONFIRMATION, HOLY COMMUNION, HOLY ORDERS, HOLY SPIRIT, LAST RITES, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on HUMAN DIGNITY, QUOTES on MARRIAGE, MARRIED LOVE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THANKSGIVING, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, QUOTES on VOCATIONS, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The KINGDOM of GOD, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 21 April – The Dignity and Responsibility of Being a Christian

Posted on April 21, 2021April 21, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 21 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Dignity and Responsibility of Being a Christian

Although, we are all wretched sinners, by this give of the divine mercy, we can recover our lost innocence and return to the grace and friendship of God.
Moreover, in order to prevent us from falling back into sin, Jesus give us Himself in the Blessed Eucharist, which is called, by St Thomas Aquinas, the greatest miracle of His infinite love (Opusculum 56, Officium de festo Corporis Christi, lectures 1-4).

But this is not all.
If it is our vocation for form a family, God consecrates our union at the altar and gives us the graces necessary, to sanctify it, so that it may produce a good Christian family.
If God has called us, on the other hand, to become spiritual fathers of the souls redeemed by His Precious Blood, He raises us to this high dignity, by the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Finally, when we shall have come to the end of our mortal lives, the Priest will be still by our side, to wash away, by the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, the last traces of sin and to comfort us in our passage to eternity.
The whole life of a Christian, is a chain of favours which accompany him, from the cradle to the grave.
We should be grateful to God for the goodness with which He has treated us and continues to treat us.
We should co-operate generously with His gifts by recognising the lofty honour it is, to be a Christian and by living in accordance with this dignity.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, HOLY COMMUNION, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on GRACE, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Thought for the Day – 20 April – Frequent Confession and Communion

Posted on April 20, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 20 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Frequent Confession and Communion

“The purifying and reforming action of frequent Confession is completed by the practice of receiving Communion, as frequently as possible.

Sacramental Confession gives us the grace of God, while Holy Communion gives us the Author of that grace, Jesus Christ, living and really present, Who comes to dwell in our poor hearts.
How can anybody who goes frequently to Confession and Communion sin?
How can any man cast himself once more into the clutches of the devil after experiencing the heavenly consolation of the Eucharist?

Do not protest that we are not worthy to go to Holy Communion frequently…
It is true that we are not worthy but, we have a great need of this divine nourishment.
If we wait until we are worthy, we shall never approach the Sacred Banquet but, if we realise our need of Jesus, we shall want to receive Him everyday.
This was the practice of the early Christians, who were persevering in prayer and in the ‘Breaking of Bread’ that is, in receiving Holy Communion.
From the divine Eucharist, they gained the courage to endure martyrdom.
A good life is a slow martyrdom – we, who must be virtuous, have a continual need of Holy Communion, the food of the strong!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/29/thought-for-the-day-29-september-frequent-confession-and-communion-part-one/

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE MERCY, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 9 April – The Repentance of St Peter

Posted on April 9, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 9 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Repentance of St Peter

“Peter had denied his Master three times.
He was standing in the courtyard of the High Priest, waming hmself before a brazier and not even thinking of the depths to which he had descended.
Jesus, caluminated, struck and mocked, as if He were a criminal, forgets altogether about Himself.
Moved by compassion for the leader of His Apostles, now become a perjurer, He turns His gaze towards him.
Peter is jerked back to his senses by this look, which is at the same time, stern and affectionate.
He realises at last, the level to which he has fallen.
He is stricken to the heart and feels a sudden tightness in hs throat.
“And Peter went out and wept bitterly” (Lk 22:62).

Peter saw clearly, at this stage, the chasm into which he had fallen.
He thought of all the gifts and favours which he had received from Jesus and recalled the prophecy which his Master had made.
“A cock will not crow ths day, until thou hast denied, three times, that thou knowest me” (Lk 22:34).
He remembered, also, how he had sworn that he would never deny Jesus.
Now he saw himself in the role of the prodigal son or the lost sheep … and, as he wept bitterly, he saw again, the reproachful, yet loving gaze of Jesus.
His grief found an outlet in hIs tears and he was filled with confidence, that Jesus, in His infinite goodness, wuld forgive him.

If we should fall (as we often do, unfortunately), let us rise again immediately, as Peter did.
Let us weep for our sins and kneeling before Jesus, represented by the Priest, let us confess our faults and tell God, that we shall never offend Him again. ”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, LENT 2021, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, St PETER!, The WORD, THOMAS a KEMPIS

Lenten Journey Day Forty – 30 March – I confess that I am deserving of all scorn and contempt.

Posted on March 30, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Journey Day Forty – 30 March – Tuesday of Holy Week, Readings: First: Isaiah 49: 1-6, Psalm: Psalms 71: 1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17, Gospel: John 13: 21-33, 36-38

Imitating Christ with Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

In You is the source of life
and in Your Light Lord, we see light
Psalm 35(36)

“The cock will not crow before you deny me three times.” – John 13:38

Truly, my sins have deserved nothing but hell and everlasting damnation.
I confess that I am deserving of all scorn and contempt.
Neither is it fitting that I should be remembered among Your devoted servants. And although it is hard for me to hear this, yet for truth’s sake I will accuse my sins against myself, so that I may more easily deserve to beg Your mercy.
What shall I say, guilty as I am and full of all confusion?
My tongue can say nothing but this alone: “I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned; have mercy on me and pardon me. Suffer me a little that I may pour out my grief, before I go to that dark land that is covered with the shadow of death.” (Job 10:20-21)

What do you especially demand of a guilty and wretched sinner, except that he be contrite and humble himself for his sins?
In true sorrow and humility of heart, hope of forgiveness is born, the troubled conscience is reconciled, grace is found, man is preserved from the wrath to come and God and the penitent meet with a holy kiss.

To You, O Lord, humble sorrow for sins is an acceptable sacrifice, a sacrifice far sweeter than the perfume of incense. This is also the pleasing ointment which You would have poured upon Your sacred feet, for a contrite and humble heart You will not spurn (Ps 51:19). There is the place of refuge from the wrath of the enemy, there, watever has been defiled, is washed away.
(Book 3 Ch 52:2b-4)

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 30 March – St John Climacus

Posted on March 30, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 30 March – The Memorial of St John Climacus (c 525-606) Father of the Church

“A servant of the Lord
stands bodily before men
but mentally,
he is knocking at the gates of heaven.
with prayer.”

“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 (c 525-606)
Father of the Church

MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/30/quote-s-of-the-day-30-march-st-john-climacus-humility/

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, INDULGENCES, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, NOVEMBER - Month of the SOULS in PURGATORY, PURGATORY, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 16 March – Purification

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 16 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Purification

“God has given us two supernatural means of purifying ourselves after we have sinned – the Sacrament of Penance and Indulgences.
The Sacrament of Penance is the plank of salvation to which we can cling when we have been shipwrecked by sin and, by means of Indulgences, we can draw on the infinite treasury of the merits of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints, in order to make partial or total satisfaction for the temporal punishment due to our sins.
In this way, we can shorten our purgatory in this life and escape it in the next!

We should make good use of the Sacrament of Penance.
If we fall into mortal sin, let us have recourse at once to this fount of grace.
Even when we are not in mortal sin, let us be faithful to the practice of weekly or at least, fortnightly, confession.

We should not abuse this great gift simply because it seems such a simple method of obtaining pardon.
God is infinitely just, we must remember and, He expects us to co-operate with His graces.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Part One Here:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/25/thought-for-the-day-25-july-purification/Adv

CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, GOD ALONE!, LENT 2021, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The WORD, THOMAS a KEMPIS

Day Twenty-eighth of our Lenten Journey – ‘… Despise the world and seek to live for God… ‘

Posted on March 16, 2021March 20, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Day Twenty-eighth of our Lenten Journey – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Readings: Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12, Psalms 46:2-3, 5-6,8-9, John 5:1-16

Imitating Christ with Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

In You is the source of life
and in Your Light Lord, we see light
Psalm 35(36)

“Do you wish to be healed?” – John 5:6

I WILL bring witness against myself to my injustice and to You, O Lord, I will confess my weakness.

Often it is a small thing that makes me downcast and sad. I propose to act bravely but when even a small temptation comes, I find myself in great straits. Sometimes, it is the merest trifle which gives rise to grievous temptations. When I think myself somewhat safe and when I am not expecting it, I frequently find myself almost overcome by a slight wind. Look, therefore, Lord, at my lowliness and frailty, which You know so well. Have mercy on me and snatch me out of the mire, that I may not be caught in it and may not remain forever utterly despondent.

That I am so prone to fall and so weak in resisting my passions, oppresses me frequently and confounds me, in Your sight. While I do not fully consent to them, still their assault is very troublesome and grievous to me and it wearies me exceedingly, thus to live in daily strife. Yet from the fact that abominable fancies rush in upon me, much more easily than they leave, my weakness becomes clear to me.

Oh that You, most mighty God of Israel, zealous Lover of faithful souls, would consider the labour and sorrow of Your servant and assist him in all his undertakings! Strengthen me with heavenly courage, lest the outer man, the miserable flesh, against which I shall be obliged to fight, so long as I draw a breathw, in this wretched life and which is not yet subjected to the spirit, prevail and dominate me.

Alas! What sort of life is this, from which troubles and miseries are never absent, where all things are full of snares and enemies? For when one trouble or temptation leaves, another comes. Indeed, even while the first conflict is still raging, many others begin unexpectedly. How is it possible to love a life that has such great bitterness, that is subject to so many calamities and miseries? Indeed, how can it even be called life, when it begets so many deaths and plagues? And yet, it is loved and many seek their delight in it.

Many persons often blame the world for being false and vain, yet do not readily give it up because the desires of the flesh have such great power. Some things draw them to love the world, others make them despise it. The lust of the flesh, the desire of the eyes and the pride of life lead to love, while the pains and miseries, which are the just consequences of those things, beget hatred and weariness of the world.

Vicious pleasure overcomes the soul that is given to the world. She thinks that there are delights beneath these thorns because she has never seen or tasted the sweetness of God or the internal delight of virtue. They, on the other hand, who entirely despise the world and seek to live for God, under the rule of holy discipline, are not ignorant of the divine sweetness, promised to those who truly renounce the world. They see clearly how gravely the world errs and in how many ways it deceives.
(Book 3 Ch 20)

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on SUFFERING

Thought for the Day – 13 March – Mortification and Penance

Posted on March 13, 2021March 13, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 13 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mortification and Penance

“Our Lord reiterates many times, the command to do penance.
“Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mt 4:17).
He even insists on penance as a necessary condition for salvation.
“Unless you repent, you will all perish in the same manner” (Lk 13:3).
It is a stern command and it may even seem cruel to some.
Why does the infinitely good God, Who is our loving Father, wish us to impose penances and sufferings on ourselves?
The answer is simple.
God makes us suffer and do penance because He knows that it is necessary for our salvation.
It is because He loves us and desires our welfare.

Mortification and suffering are necessary for two reasons.
They are particularly necessary because, we are all sinners and must expiate our sins.
Secondly, they are necessary because, without penance and suffering, we become attached to the world and forget all about Heaven, which is our real home.
In His love for us, therefore, God commands us to do penance.

The Saints were gluttons for penance and mortifiation and went as far as imposing on themelves, sufferings which horrify us today.
What are we doing in the way of penance?
Let us remember the command of Jesus: “Unless you repent, you will all perish!” (Ibid).”

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/25/thought-for-the-day-25-march-mortification-and-penance/

"Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The KINGDOM of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 24 February – Repent!

Posted on February 24, 2021February 24, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 24 February – Wednesday of the First week of Lent, Readings: Jonah 3:1-10,Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19, Luke 11:29-32

“The sign of Jonah”

Luke 11:29

“Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.
Rend your hearts, not your garments
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger,
rich in kindness
and relenting in punishment.”

Joel 2:12-13

“… In the conceitedness of our souls,
without taking the least trouble
to obey the Lord’s commandments,
we think ourselves worthy
to receive the same reward
as those who have resisted sin to the death!”

St Basil the Great (329-379)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Today, for those who will not repent
at the approach of the kingdom of heaven,
the reproof of the Lord Jesus is the same…
As for when the end of the world will be,
that is God’s concern…
Even so, the time is very near for each of us,
for we are mortal.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of Grace

“My children, eternal life is being offered to us,
the kingdom of heaven is made ready
and Christ’s inheritance awaits us …
So let us run from now on with increased energy
and above all you, lazy, recalcitrant,
dull of heart, friends of murmuring who,
unless you improve, are like the cursed fig tree.
… Let us seek out the fight,
bravely pour with our sweat,
adorn ourselves with crowns,
gain praises and gather up,
like a treasure,
“what eye has not seen
and ear has not heard
and what has not entered the human heart”
(1 Cor 2:9).

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)

“And when I hear it said,
that God is good and He will pardon us
and then see, that men cease not from evil-doing,
oh, how it grieves me!
The infinite goodness
with which God communicates with us,
sinners as we are,
should constantly make us love and serve Him better
but we, on the contrary,
instead of seeing in His goodness
an obligation to please Him,
convert it into an excuse for sin,
which will, of a certainty,
lead in the end,
to our deeper condemnation.”

St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

BAPTISM, CONFESSION, CONFIRMATION, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on MARRIAGE, MARRIED LOVE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD, SACRAMENTS, St PETER!, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Thought for the Day – 22 February – The Church

Posted on February 22, 2021July 23, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 22 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971) – The Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter

The Church

“Besides being our infallible teacher, the Church is also our affectionate Mother.
Along with the inexhaustible treasury of His graces, it has inherited, from Jesus, His infinite love fo all mankind.
Let us consider what the Church does and has done for us.
As soon as we are born into this mortal life, She gives us, through the waters of Baptism, a second life, which is supernatural and everlasting.
When we are a little older and exposed to the onslaughts of evil, She stengthens us in gace by means of another Sacrament and makes us soldiers of Christ.
She raises us up.
In the Sacament of Penance, She gives us God’s forgiveness and the spiritual strength to rise agin.
Moeover, She gives us Jesus Christ Himself, in the Blessed Eucharist.
By means of another Sacament, she elevates those who receive the power of Orders.
In yet another, She blesses and consecrates matrimonial love and the pure marriage union.
When we are dying, She comes, compassionately to our side again and, through the final Sacrament, gives us strength and purity of purpose, for the great journey into eternity.
Nor is this enough.
She is present with her prayers and blessings, even by our coffin nd by our graveside.

We owe the Church more than obedience!
We owe Her our love!
We should love very much, this good Mother, who accompanies us from the cradle to the grave, from our birth upon earth, to our spiritual birth into everlasting happiness!” Amen

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/01/19/thought-for-the-day-19-january-the-church-jesus-masterpiece/

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, INDULGENCES, LENT, LENT 2021, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PURGATORY, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 19 February – Purification

Posted on February 19, 2021March 16, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 19 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Purification

We should not abuse this great gift simply because it seems such a simple method of obtaining pardon.
God is infinitely just, we must remember and, He expects us to co-operate with His graces.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Part One Here:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/25/thought-for-the-day-25-july-purification/

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE MERCY, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TRUST in GOD

Thought for the Day – 30 January – Depending Always on Jesus

Posted on January 30, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 30 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Depending Always on Jesus

“We must continue to trust in Jesus even when we have been guilty of imperfection or of sin.
Sin, according to St Thomas Aquinas, is the denial of love and, therefore, of God, Who is charity.
It places a distance between God and the soul.
Precisely because of this, whenever we fall into sin or imperfection, we should return immediately to Jesus and ask Him to support us once more, in our weakness.
There is no need to be afraid.
It was for this purpose that He became man and suffered and died for love of us.
We can be sure, that whenever we return to Him, in a spirit of repentance, He will receive us lovingly and will grant us forgiveness,
He will support us with His omnipotent power, so that we may not fall again.

We must, as St Francis de Sales writes, lean on the arm of Jesus, as the child leans securely on the arm of it’s mother.
“It matters little,” he adds, “where she walks, on a grassy plain or on a steep path surrounded by precipices.”
She, is his mother and she carries him; that is enough to make him happy and content.
We must trust Jesus in this way, relying always on His support in joy and in sorrow, in moments of trial and in moments of satisfaction, in life and in death.
Let us not be afraid; Jesus is better and stronger than our earthly mother.
If He guides and supports us, we can be sure of Heaven, no matter what happens!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CONFESSION, DIVINE MERCY, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, INCORRUPTIBLES, MARIAN Antiphons, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 15 September – Our Lady of Sorrows and of St Catherine of Genoa

Posted on September 15, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 15 September – The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows and of St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

‘By the cross of our salvation
Mary stood in desolation
While the Saviour hung above
All her human powers failing,
Sorrow’s sword, at last prevailing,
Stabs and breaks her heart of love…
Virgin Mary, full of sorrow,
From your love I ask to borrow
Love enough to share your pain.
Make my heart to burn with fire,
Make Christ’s love my own desire,
Who for love of me was slain.’

Stabat Mater

“The spear which opened His side
passed through the soul of the Virgin,
which could not be torn
from the heart of Jesus.”

St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

“Whoever you are, who love the Mother of God,
take note and reflect
with all your innermost feelings,
upon her, who wept for the Only-Begotten as He died…
The grief she felt in the Passion of her son,
goes beyond all understanding.”

St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159)

“Near the cross stood His mother, speechless;
living she died;
dying she lived.”

St Alphonsus (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

More Sorrowful Mother here:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/15/quote-s-of-the-day-15-september-the-memorial-of-our-lady-of-sorrows/

+++++++++++++

“Any time spent before the Eucharistic presence,
be it long or short,
is the best-spent time of our lives.”

“We must not wish anything other
than what happens from moment to moment,
all the while, however, exercising ourselves in goodness.”

“The one sole thing, in myself,
in which I glory,
is that I see in myself,
nothing, in which I can glory.”

“Oh, what peril attaches to sin, wilfully committed!
For it is so difficult for man to bring himself to penance
and without penitence,
guilt remains and will ever remain,
so long as man retains unchanged,
the will to sin,
or is intent upon committing it.”

“I see clearly with the interior eye,
that the sweet God loves, with a pure love,
the creature that He has created
and has a HATRED for nothing but SIN,
which is more opposed to Him,
than can be thought or imagined.”

St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 12 August – ‘… The medicine of confession’

Posted on August 12, 2020August 11, 2020 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 12 August – Wednesday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22, Psalms 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, Matthew 18:15-20 and the Memorial of St Jane Frances de Chantal VHM (1572-1641)

“Whatever you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.” … Matthew 18:18

REFLECTION – “For our well-being and salvation, all the Holy Scriptures warn us constantly and humbly, to confess our sins, not only before God but also before a holy and godfearing man. This is what the Holy Spirit advises us to do through the mouth of James the apostle: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed” (5:16) … and the psalmist says: “I confess my faults to the Lord and you took away the guilt of my sin” (Ps 32[31]:5).

We are always wounded by our sins and, in the same way, we should always have recourse to the medicine of confession. For indeed, if God wants us to confess our sins, it is not because He would be unable to know what they are but, because the devil wants to find something of which to accuse us before the judgement seat of the eternal Judge. That is why he would rather we thought more about excusing them than accusing ourselves of them. Our God, to the contrary, being good and merciful, wants us to confess them in this world, so that we may not be ashamed because of them in the next. So if we confess them then He, on His part, shows Himself to be merciful; if we acknowledge them then He forgives … As for ourselves, my brethren, we are really your spiritual physicians, seeking with all concern to heal your souls.” … St Caesarius of Arles (470-543) Bishop and Monk – Sermons to the laity, no. 59 matthew 18 18 whatever you bind on earth - our god being good and merciful- 12 aug 2020 st caesarius of arles

PRAYER – Lord, You chose St Jane Frances to serve You, both in marriage and in religious life. By her prayers help us to be faithful in our vocation and always to work against our perverse inclinations. Only in You and with You and through You may we attain perfection. Lead us Lord! We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. St Jane de Chantal, pray for us, amen. st jane fances de chantal pray for us 12 aug 2020

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SCANDAL, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION

Thought for the Day – 20 July – Our Dominant Passion

Posted on July 20, 2020July 20, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 20 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Our Dominant Passion

“Among the passions which disturb us, there is one predominant tendency, which is our particular weakness.
Perhaps we are not aware what it is but, those who have to live with us, know it well!
It is essential for us to know it also, in order to make it a special objective in our spiritual combat.

This information may be obtained by praying earnestly to the Holy Spirit to enlighten us to know ourselves, by making a daily examination of conscience and, by seeking the advice of our confessor, of our spiritual director and of any sincere friend.

It is our predominant passion which most often leads us into sin.
It recurs in all our confessions and we have great difficulty in overcoming it.
The predominant passion of Cain was envy, which he failed to combat in time, so that eventually, it caused him to commit fratricide.
Lust was the predominant passion of Mary of Magdala and of St Augustine and until they managed to control it, it led them into many grave errors.
It was because the Apostle Judas, neglected to struggle against his own avarice, that he became a traitor.
There are others who are inordinately proud and ambitious and, still others, who are governed by a craving for pleasure.

What is your predominant passion?
You must know what it is, in order to combat it determinedly, for otherwise, it will lead you into one sin after another, until you are eternally ruined!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE MERCY, DOCTORS of the Church, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on The HUMAN SOUL, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The PASSION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 2 July – “Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee.” Matthew 9:2

Posted on July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 2 July – Thursday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: Amos 7: 10-17, Psalms 19: 8, 9, 10, 11, Matthew 9: 1-8

“Be of good heart, son,
thy sins are forgiven thee.”

Matthew 9:2

“If you forgive the sins of any,
they are forgiven them;
if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

John 20:23

” Indeed, the instant you say:
“I have sinned against the Lord”,
the response is given you:
“Your sins are forgiven” (Mt 9:2).
… Only do not keep away, or distance yourself,
from He who has chosen you to sing
and pray but all your life long,
remain close to Him,
either through pure confidence,
or by a holy audacity and courageous confession.”

John of Karpathos (7th Century) Bishop

“When you commit some infidelity,
do not be anxious
but with humility and confidence,
immediately turn to the Lord.
Do not flee from the Offended
but embrace Him as a lover
and ask for forgiveness.”

Bl Mary of the Angels Fontanella (1661-1717)

“My beloved Redeemer,
how much did it cost You to raise me from the ruin,
which I brought on myself through my sins?
What can I do without Your grace?
I can do nothing but pray
that You will help me
but even this prayer comes
from the merits of Your suffering and death!
O my Jesus, help me!”

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most zealous Doctor

“To whom does your heart belong?
To the devil, perhaps?
You expected to find satisfaction
and you have found disillusionment.
You hoped for peace and found remorse.
Instead of the happiness you expected,
you will know only despair,
unless you turn back to God immediately.
There is only one way out of your predicament,
the way chosen by the prodigal son –
“I will get up and go to my father” (Lk 15:18).
Rise up, then and cast yourself
into the merciful arms of your heavenly Father,
Who is waiting for you.”

“Even if we are unfaithful servants
and are covered with the leprosy of sin,
let us go to Him and He will heal us.
Even if we have deserved Hell a thousand times,
let us shed tears of repentance at His feet
as Magdalen did and,
He will give us His forgiveness and His peace.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Jesus carries us to the inn.
Imagine you are in the arms of Jesus,
being carried, half-dead in sin—
some of your own making,
some done to you—to a place of help.
You can rest in His arms.
In another surprise,
the inn is the Church,
the hospital for sinners.
The innkeeper might be a priest,
family member,
or friend who helps you
through a dark time in your life.”

Pope Benedict XVI

“So many people
see the Confessional
as a place of defeat
but Confession is a place of victory
every single time.”

Father Mike Schmitz

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on BAD CONVERSATION, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on COWARDICE, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on VIRTUE, SPEAKING of ....., The LAST THINGS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 12 June – Speaking of: Sin

Posted on June 12, 2020June 12, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 12 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Friday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: 1 Kings 19:9, 11-16, Psalm 27:7-9, 13-14, Matthew 5:27-32

Speaking of: Sin

” It is better for you to lose one of your members,
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.”

Matthew 5:29

“The dragon sits by the side of the road,
watching those who pass.
Beware lest he devour you.
We go to the Father of Souls
but it is necessary to pass by the dragon.”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation,
for there is no conflict without an enemy,
no victory without strife.”

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

“When God forgives a sinner who humbly confesses his sin,
the devil loses his dominion over the heart he had taken.”

St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor

“Let the enemy rage at the gate;
let him knock, pound, scream, howl;
let him do his worst.
We know for certain,
that he cannot enter our soul,
except by the door of our consent.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of Charity

“We are generally,
the carpenters
of our own crosses.”

St Philip Neri (1515-1595)

“The power of evil men
lives on the cowardice of the good.”

“Do not try to excuse your faults,
try to correct them.”

“Fly from bad companions
as from the bite
of a poisonous snake.”

“Act today in such a way,
that you need not blush
tomorrow.”

St John Bosco (1815-1888)

“That conversation… was as dirty as a sewer!
It is not enough for you to take no part in it.
You must show your repugnance for it strongly!”

St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975)

“For the sinner, hell begins on this earth!”

“The Sacrament of Penance,
is our plank of salvation
in the shipwreck of sin.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

ARMOUR of CHRIST, BAPTISM, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, CONFIRMATION, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, HOLY COMMUNION, HOLY ORDERS, LAST RITES, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on HUMAN DIGNITY, QUOTES on MARRIAGE, MARRIED LOVE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THANKSGIVING, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, QUOTES on VOCATIONS, QUOTES/PRAYERS on THE FAMILY, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The HOLY SPIRIT, The KINGDOM of GOD, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 29 April – The Dignity and Responsibility of Being a Christian

Posted on April 29, 2020April 29, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 29 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Dignity and Responsibility of Being a Christian

“It is a great dignity to be a Christian.
By Baptism, we become sons of God, heirs to Heaven, temples of the Holy Spirit and members of the Mystical Body of Jesus, which is the Church.
God’s grace raises us to the supernatural order and makes us, as St Paul expresses it, sharers in the divine nature.
By the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Holy Spirit fortifies our faith and gives us the strength to resist the temptations of the devil and to fight like loyal soldiers, for the triumph in ourselves and in others, of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
The Sacrament of Penance, is our plank of salvation in the shipwreck of sin. the sacrament of penance is our plank of salvation in the shipwreck of sin - bacci 29 april 2020
Although, we are all wretched sinners, by this give of the divine mercy, we can recover our lost innocence and return to the grace and friendship of God.
Moreover, in order to prevent us from falling back into sin, Jesus give us Himself in the Blessed Eucharist, which is called, by St Thomas Aquinas, the greatest miracle of His infinite love (Opusculum 56, Officium de festo Corporis Christi, lectures 1-4). the greatest miracle of his ifinite love - eucharist - bacci 29 april 2020
But this is not all.
If it is our vocation for form a family, God consecrates our union at the altar and gives us the graces necessary, to sanctify it, so that it may produce a good Christian family.
If God has called us, on the other hand, to become spiritual fathers of the souls redeemed by His Precious Blood, He raises us to this high dignity, by the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Finally, when we shall have come to the end of our mortal lives, the Priest will be still by our side, to wash away, by the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, the last traces of sin and to comfort us in our passage to eternity.
The whole life of a Christian, is a chain of favours which accompany him, from the cradle to the grave.
We should be grateful to God for the goodness with which He has treated us and continues to treat us.
We should co-operate generously with His gifts by recognising the lofty honour it is, to be a Christian and by living in accordance with this dignity.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

ACT of CONTRITION, DIVINE MERCY, LENT 2020, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Lenten Reflection – 27 March – ‘Here is the Son of God …’

Posted on March 27, 2020March 27, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 27 March – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Readings: Wisdom 2:1, 12-22, Psalm 34:17-21, 23, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”

“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

Daily Meditation:
May we reach out with joy to grasp Your hand.

“In His Resurrection Christ has revealed the God of merciful love, precisely because He accepted the Cross as the way to the Resurrection. And, it is for this reason, that, when we recall the Cross of Christ, His passion and death, our faith and hope are centred on the Risen One – on that Christ who “on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, . . .stood among them” in the upper Room, “where the disciples were, …breathed on them and said to them: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’ ” (Jn 20:19).
Here is the Son of God, who in His Resurrection, experienced in a radical way, mercy shown to Himself, that is to say the love of the Father which is more powerful than death. And it is also the same Christ, the Son of God, who… reveals Himself as the inexhaustible source of mercy, of the same love… more powerful than sin.” … St Pope John Paul (1920-2005) – Encyclical « Dives in Misericordia » # 8

and-it-is-also-the-same-christ-st-john-paul-encyclical-frifourtheweeklent-5-april-2019 AND 27 MARCH 2020

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:17-18

friday of the fourth week 27 march 2020

Intercessions:
Let us pray to Christ our Saviour,
who redeemed us by His Death and Resurrection:
Lord, have mercy on us.

You went up to Jerusalem to suffer and so enter into Your glory,
– bring Your Church to the Passover feast of heaven.
You were lifted high on the cross and pierced by the soldier’s lance,
– heal our wounds.
You made the Cross the Tree of Life,
– give its fruit to those reborn in baptism.
On the Cross You forgave the repentant thief,
– forgive us our sins.

Closing Prayer:

Act of Contrition
By St Alphonsus Mary Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church

ACT of CONTRITION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2020, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 27 March – O Lord the House of My Soul is Narrow

Posted on March 27, 2020March 27, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 27 March – Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

O Lord, the House of My Soul is Narrow
By St Augustine ((354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church

O God, the Light of the heart that sees You,
The Life of the soul that loves You,
The Strength of the mind that seeks You,
May I ever continue to be steadfast in Your love.
Be the joy of my heart;
Take all of me to Yourself and abide therein.
The house of my soul is, I confess, too narrow for You.
Enlarge it that You may enter.
It is ruinous but do repair it.
It has within it what must offend Your eyes,
I confess and know it,
But whose help shall I seek in cleansing it but Yours alone?
To You, O God, I cry urgently.
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep me from false pride and sensuality
That they not get dominion over me.
Amen

o-lord-the-house-of-my-soul-is-narrow-full-prayer-new-25-oct-2018-st-augustine and 27 march 2020

ACT of CONTRITION, DIVINE MERCY, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2020, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The PASSION, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 24 March – By your blood, forgive my sins.

Posted on March 24, 2020March 24, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 24 March – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Readings: Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12, Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9, John 5:1-16 and the Memorial of Blessed Didacus Joseph of Cadiz OFM Cap (1743–1801)

“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethzatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed. One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. … John 5:2-5
“It was because Jesus did things such as this on the Sabbath
that they began to persecute him.” …John 5:16
For me!

Daily Meditation:
We begin to feel the power of the Fourth Gospel.
The “forces” that are opposed in the gospel
have everything to do with the forces at work in my heart.

“Go down, my brothers and put on the Holy Spirit in the waters of baptism;
be united with those spiritual beings who serve our God.
Blessed be He who instituted baptism for the forgiveness of Adam’s sons!
This water is the secret fire that marks His flock with a sign,
with the three spiritual names that confound the Evil one (cf. Rev 3:12). (…)
John bore witness concerning our Saviour:
“He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11).
Here, my brethren, in the true baptism, is that fire and that Spirit.
For baptism is more powerful than Jordan, that little stream,
its waves of water and oil wash away all human sin.
Elisha, by initiating it seven times, purified Naaman of his leprosy (2 Kgs 5:10);
whereas baptism purifies us of sins hidden in our souls.
Moses baptised the people in the sea (1 Cor 10:2)
yet could not cleanse their hearts from within,
Stained, as they were, by sin.
And now here is a Priest, like Moses, who cleanses the soul from its stains
and with oil He marks with a sign, lambs newborn for the Kingdom. (…)
With the water that flowed from the rock, the people’s thirst was quelled (Ex 17:1f.),
See how, through Christ and His spring, is quenched the thirst of nations. (…)
See how, from Christ’s side, there flows a life-giving stream (Jn 19:34),
peoples who thirst have drunk from it and there forgot their affliction.
Pour your dew on my weakness, Lord.
By your blood, forgive my sins.” … St Ephrem (306-373) Father & Doctor of the Church

pur your dew on my weakness lord by your blood forgive my sins - st ephrem 24 march 2020

Intercessions:
God the Father has given us His only Son, the Word made human,
to be our food and our life. Let us thank Him and pray:
May the word of Christ dwell among us in all its richness.

Help us this Lenten season to listen more frequently to Your word,
– that we may celebrate the solemnity of Easter
with greater love for Christ, our Paschal Sacrifice.
May Your Holy Spirit be our teacher,
– that we may encourage those in doubt and error to follow what is true and good.
Enable us to enter more deeply into the mystery of Your Anointed One,
– that our lives may reveal Him more effectively.
Purify and renew Your Church in this time of salvation,
– that it may give an ever greater witness to You.

Closing Prayer:

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 and 24 march 2020

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 23 February – The Sacrament of Penance

Posted on February 23, 2020February 22, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 23 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Sacrament of Penance

“Sin is the shipwreck of the soul.
If the sin is serious, it is a fatal shipwreck.
Confession is the only plank to which we can safely cling, if we want to be brought back to the harbour of God’s grace.
Admittedly, in cases of necessity, we can regain God’s friendship equally well, by an act of perfect contrition, along with the intention of going to confession.
But, an act of perfect contrition demands an act of perfect love of God, which is not altogether easy.
There can always be a doubt as to whether we have achieved the necessary degree of perfection.
If, on the other hand, we receive the Sacrament of Penance with the proper dispositions, not only will it give us grace but confidence and peace of mind as well.
This sacrament, has been very appropriately called, the masterpiece of God’s mercy.
What would be our fate, poor sinners that we are, if God had not given the Apostles and their successors in the Priesthood, the sacramental power of forgiving sins?
We should be very grateful to God, for this great gift!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 24 July – “A sower went out to sow”

Posted on July 24, 2019July 24, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 24 July – Wednesday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9

“A sower went out to sow”

Matthew 13:3

“Jesus invites us today to look inside ourselves –
to give thanks for our good soil
and to tend the soil that is not yet good.
Let us ask ourselves if our heart is open
to welcome the seed of the Word of God with faith.
Let us ask ourselves if our rocks of laziness
are still numerous and large,
let us identify our thorns of vice
and call them by name.
Let us find the courage to reclaim the soil,
to effect a conversion of our heart,
bringing to the Lord in Confession
and in prayer, our rocks and our thorns.”

Pope Francis

(Angelus, 16 July 2017)

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Purification

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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The Sacrament of Penance

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Purification

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Matthew 20:16

St Cyril of Jerusalem (313-350),Father & Doctor of the Church

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)Father and Doctor

St Anselm (1033-1109)Doctor magnificusDoctor Marianus

St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)Doctor of the Church

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The Dignity and Responsibility of Being a Christian

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Frequent Confession and Communion

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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The Repentance of St Peter

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Imitating Christ with Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

In You is the source of lifeand in Your Light Lord, we see lightPsalm 35(36)

“The cock will not crow before you deny me three times.” – John 13:38

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St John Climacus (c 525-606)Father of the Church

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Purification

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Imitating Christ with Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

In You is the source of lifeand in Your Light Lord, we see lightPsalm 35(36)

“Do you wish to be healed?” – John 5:6

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Mortification and Penance

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Luke 11:29

Joel 2:12-13

St Basil the Great (329-379)Father and Doctor of the Church

St Augustine (354-430)Father & Doctor of Grace

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)

St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

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The Church

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Purification

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Depending Always on Jesus

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Our Dominant Passion

St Cyril of Jerusalem (313-350),
Father & Doctor of the Church

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father and Doctor

St Anselm (1033-1109)
Doctor magnificus
Doctor Marianus

St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Doctor of the Church

In You is the source of life
and in Your Light Lord, we see light
Psalm 35(36)

St John Climacus (c 525-606)
Father of the Church

In You is the source of life
and in Your Light Lord, we see light
Psalm 35(36)

St Basil the Great (329-379)
Father and Doctor of the Church

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of Grace

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most zealous Doctor

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Father and Doctor of the Church

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

St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of Charity