Category: SACRAMENTS

Posted in "Follow Me", APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

1 April – Devotions for the Month of April – The Resurrection and The Blessed Sacrament – ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life’

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Devotions for the Month of April

The Resurrection and The Blessed Sacrament

The Month of April is dedicated both to devotion to the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Holy Eucharist – the proof of the promise of the Love of God and of ETERNAL LIFE.

“My brethren, when was it that the Lord made Himself recognised? — When He broke the bread. — So, we ourselves are convinced too, that when we break the bread, we recognise the Lord. — If He had not wanted to be recognised until that moment, it was for our sakes, we, who were not to see Him in the flesh but who were yet to eat Him in the flesh. ” – St Augustine (354-430) Father, Doctor of Grace

“I am the Resurrection and the Life,
he who believes in Me,
although he be dead, shall live.”

John 11:25

“I am the Living Bread
Who came down from Heaven.
If any man eat of this Bread,
he shall live forever
and the Bread that I will give,
is My Flesh, for the Life of the world.”

John 6:51-52

“If we follow Christ closely we shall be allowed,
even on this earth,
to stand, as it were,
on the threshold of the heavenly Jerusalem
and enjoy the contemplation,
of that everlasting Feast,
like the blessed Apostles,
who, in following the Saviour as their leader,
showed and still show,
the way to obtain the same gift from God.
They said – See, we have left all things and followed Thee.
We too follow the Lord
and we keep His Feast
by deeds rather than by words.”

St Athanasius (297-373)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on PRAYER, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 30 March – ‘ … We are all beggars of God. …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 30 March – Laetare Sunday / The Fourth Sunday in Lent – Galatians 4:22-31 – John 6:1-15 Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“When, therefore, Jesus had lifted up His eyes
and seen, that a very great crowd
had come to Him, He said to Philip,
“Whence shall we buy bread
that these may eat?”
John 6:5

“AND SO CHRIST shares the foodstuffs and,
there is no question, He wants to give it to all.
He withholds it from no-one,
for He provides for everyone.
Nevertheless, when He breaks the loaves
and gives them to the disciples,
unless you hold out your hands
to receive your portion,
you will collapse along the way…”

St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“… Every man is both debtor and creditor…
A beggar asks you for alms but you, too,
are God’s beggar, for when we pray
we are all beggars of God.
We stand – or rather, prostrate ourselves –
at our Father’s door (cf Lk 11:5);
we beseech Him with groans,
anxious to receive a grace from Him
and this grace is God Himself!
What does the beggar ask of you?
Bread. And what is it that you are asking of God
but Christ, Who said:
“I am the Living Bread come down from Heaven”
(Jn 6:51).”

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

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, GOD ALONE!, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on GREED, WEALTH, QUOTES on HOSPITALITY, QUOTES on the POOR, QUOTES on WEALTH/RICHES, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 10 March – ‘ … You did NOT do it for Me.’

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Quote/s of the Day – 10 March – Monday of the First Week in Lent – Ezechiel 34:11-16 – Matthew 25:31-46 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Amen I say to you,
as long as you did NOT do it
for one of these least ones,
you did NOT do it for Me.”

Matthew 25:45

“If you are willing to listen to me,
then, O servants of Christ,
His brothers and co-heirs,
I say, we should visit Christ
while there is an opportunity,
take care of Him and feed Him.
We should clothe Christ and welcome Him.
We should honour Him,
not only at our table, like some;
not only with ointments, like Mary Magdalene;
not only with a sepulchre,
like Joseph of Arimathea;
nor with things which have to do with His burial,
like Nicodemus… nor finally,
with gold, incense and myrrh, like the Magi.”

St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“The great wealth of Christians
is found in the needs of the poor,
provided we grasp how to put our
possessions to good use.
The poor are always before us;
if we entrust our wealth to them,
we shall not lose it.”

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

“The Most Blessed Sacrament
is Christ made visible.
The poor sick person
is Christ again made visible.”

St Gerard Majella (1726-1755)

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on VOCATIONS, The DIVINE INFANT, The HEART

Quote/s of the Day – 27 February – St Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin

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Quote/s of the Day – 27 February – St Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin/Gabriel Possenti CP (1838-1862) Confessor

“The Infinite Mercy of God
has been able to arrange all things sweetly
and today, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows,
our Protectress and our Mother,
I have put on, with unutterable joy,
this holy religious Habit and taken the name
of Confrater Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows.”

(Letter to his Father,
From Morrovalle on
21 September 1856)

“What caution, in fact, does it not require,
to live as a good Christian in the world!”

(Letter to his Father,
From Morrovalle on
21 September 1856)

“May the Holy Infant Jesus
and Mary, His Immaculate Mother,
grant you all every happiness
and crown you with blessings.
Let us pray often to Him, Who came
from the Right Hand of His Father,
… to be born between two beasts
in a poor stable. Let us beg Our Saviour
Who so willingly exposed Himself to the insults
and outrages of His creatures,
in order to snatch us from everlasting hell
to which we were hopelessly condemned;
let us beg of Him, to purify our hearts
by a holy Communion and to inflame us
with His Divine Love.”

(Letter to his Father,
From Morrovalle on
2 December 1856)

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/28/quote-s-of-the-day-28-february-st-gabriel-of-the-sorrowful-virgin-gabriel-possenti-cp-1838-1862/

St Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin
/Gabriel Possenti CP (1838-1862)

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, GOD ALONE!, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 26 February – St Margaret of Cortona (1247–1297) Penitent

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Quote/s of the Day – 26 February – St Margaret of Cortona (1247–1297) Penitent

“This morning, my soul is greater
than the universe, since it possesses Thee,
Thou Whom Heaven and earth cannot contain!”

“Hide nothing from your Confessor …
a sick man can only be cured
by revealing his wounds.”

“In times of desolation,
God conceals Himself from us
so that we may discover, for ourselves,
what we are without Him.”

St Margaret of Cortona (1247–1297)
Penitent

Posted in ACT of ADORATION, ACT OF FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY, ACT of LOVE, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, St Francis de Sales

Our Morning Offering – 29 January – O Love Eternal! An Act of Love By St Francis de Sales

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Our Morning Offering – 29 January – St Francis Salesius, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church

O Love Eternal!
An Act of Love
By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church
(From his “A Treatise on the Love of God”)

O Love Eternal,
my soul needs and chooses Thee eternally!
Ah, come Holy Ghost
and inflame our hearts with Thine Love!
To love — or to die!
To die — and to love!
To die to all other love
in order to live in Jesus’ Love,
so that we may not die eternally
but that we may live in Thine Eternal Love,
O Saviour of our souls,
we eternally sing,
“Live, Jesus! Jesus, I love!
Live Jesus, Whom I love!
Jesus, I love, Jesus Who lives
and reigns forever and ever.”
Amen.

Posted in HOLY COMMUNION, In the PRESENCE of GOD, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), The HOLY FAMILY, THE HOLY FAMILY - FAMILIAE SANCTAE, The HOLY INFANCY

Thought for the Day – 19 January – “The Arrival in Egypt”

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Thought for the Day – 19 January – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Christmastide
“The Holy Infancy”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“The Arrival in Egypt”

+1. At length they reached the spot which God designed for their sojourn in a land full of idols and idolaters. What uncongenial surroundings for the Holy Family, alone in the midst of those who worshipped a false god!
So many a Catholic has to dwell in a most uncongenial atmosphere – perhaps among heretics, or bad Catholics, or those whose words and looks and actions continually jar and cause pain. Patience! Jesus and Mary know, by experience, what such have to suffer!

+2. When the Holy Family arrived in Egypt, in the Town where they came to dwell, all the idols in the temples fell prostrate to the ground and were shattered into pieces. Thus, when Christ comes to dwell within the soul, all that opposes itself to God is destroyed by His Sacred Presence. If Jesus dwells with us , we shall no longer allow pride, envy, bitterness, self-will, discontent, to reign in our hearts.

+3. The presence of the Holy Family in Egypt hallowed the spot where they sojourned. In early Christian times it was covered with the cells of the Monks and Hermits. Thus Jesus always leaves a blessing behind Him.
When He comes to me in Holy Communion, if only I put no obstacle in the way my soul will flourish with virtues and good works, as the effect of His Presence.

Posted in CATECHESIS, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, St Francis de Sales, VENIAL SIN

Quote/s of the Day – 16 January – It shall be loosed also in Heaven …

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 January – 1 Peter 5:1-4, 10-11; Matthew 16:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth,
it shall be bound also in Heaven
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth,
it shall be loosed also in Heaven.”

Matthew 16:19

“But He still follows behind us and counsels us,
although we have despised Him,
He still does not cease to call us.
We turn our backs on His face, so to speak,
when we reject His Words,
when we trample His Commandments underfoot
but He, Who sees that we reject Him,
still calls out to us by His Commandments
and waits for us by His patience,
stands behind us and calls us back
when we have turned away.”

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“We fight the monsters of Africa
in imagination
but, from lack of attention,
we allow ourselves, in reality,
to be killed by the little serpents
which lie in our way!”

(Intro to the Devout Life III:37)

“Do not content yourself
with confessing your venial sins
merely as to the fact
but accuse yourself too,
of the motive which induced you
to commit them.”

(Introduction to the Devout Life,
Part II, Chapter 19).

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

“Yet, after all it is the natural
and most suitable means of preparation.
It helps us to bring into subjection,
that lower nature which rebels against
the sovereignty of our King.
It detaches us from finding our satisfaction
in earthly things.
It is, in itself, an act of obedience to our King.
It renders us humble and teaches us
to put our necks under the yoke.
It saves us from being separated
from the Kingdom we are to share
by the long prison of Purgatory.
Learn from all this, to love penance!”

Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The LAST THINGS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 16 January – ‘ … Our God, … wants us to confess … in this world, so that we may not be ashamed … in the next. … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 16 January – “The Month of the Holy Name of Jesus and the Holy Family” – Saint Pope Marcellus I (Died 309) – 1 Peter 5:1-4, 10-11; Matthew 16:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven.” – Matthew 16:19

REFLECTION – “For our wellbeing 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 god-fearing man. This is what the Holy Ghost 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 Thou took away the guilt of my sin” (Ps 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, Father of the Church (Sermon to the laity No 59 ).

PRAYER – O Lord, we beseech Thee, graciously hear the prayers of Thy people, that we may be helped by the merits of blessed Marcellus, Thy Pope and Martyr, whose sufferings we celebrate. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRISTMASTIDE!, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, GOD ALONE!, HOLY COMMUNION, Meditations for ADVENT, QUOTES for CHRIST, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The O ANTIPHONS

Thought for the Day – 27 December – “O Emmanuel”

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Thought for the Day – 27 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“O Emmanuel”

“O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver,
the expectation of the nations and their Saviour,
Come to save us, O Lord our God!”

+1. Emmanuel, God with us, is a Name which in every way belongs to Christ Our Lord. He is with His people in all their needs, ever ready to help and console them. He is with us on every Altar, waiting for us to come and pour out our sorrow and our needs before Him. He is with us, above all, in Holy Communion, when He Comes to dwell in our heart and to bring with Him every grace we need. He is with us in the hour of death and He will be with us forever in Heaven.

+2. He Who thus Comes to dwell with us in familiar friendship is our King; He Who thus condescends to be our companion, is the God Who has an absolute right to our obedience. He is our Lawgiver and the statutes He enacts for us have but one end and aim and object, to lead His subjects into the ways of happiness and the paths of peace .

+3. Come then, O God, our Lord and our Saviour. Come and save us from all the perils of the Evil One and from our own weakness and frailty.
Come and save us in the hour of temptation, for Thou alone art our King and none save Thee shalt rule over us.
Come and bring us safely through this vale of tears to Thy Eternal Kingdom, where we shall dwell forever, O sweet Jesus, in the everlasting delights of Thy blissful Company.

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on SACRILEGE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, VENIAL SIN

Quote/s of the Day – 11 December – ‘Make ready then the vessel of your soul …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 December – Advent Preparation and Penance

“Make ready then the vessel of your soul
that you may become a son of God
and an heir of God
and joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17);
if, indeed, you are preparing yourself
that you may receive;
if you are drawing near in faith
that you may be made faithful;
if of set purpose,
you are putting off the old man!”

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

“If they, must regard themselves
as useless servants, who have done all their duty,
what must I do, who have done
so small a part of what I ought to have done?”

St Andrew Avellino CR (1521–1608)

“What better penance
can a heart do
which commits faults,
than to submit
to a continual abnegation
of self-will?”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

“What hope would you entertain
of the recovery of the man, who,
instead of taking the medicine prescribed by his physician, drank a cup of poison instead?
God! What can the Sacrament of Penance be
to those who conceal their sins but a deadly poison
which adds to their guilt, the malice of Sacrilege?
What, then, does the sinner do, when he conceals
his sins in Confession?
He tramples underfoot, the Blood of Jesus Christ.
And should he afterwards receive the Holy Communion
in a state of sin, he is, according to St Chrysostom,
as guilty as if he threw the Consecrated Host into a sink …
Accursed shame! how many poor souls
do you bring to hell?
… Unhappy souls! they think only of the shame
of confessing their sins and do not reflect
that, if they conceal them, they shall be
certainly damned!”

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

“Unfortunately, our only return for God’s
continual favours, has been negligence,
ingratitude and sin!
Since it is an offence against God,
Who is infinitely good and amiable,
even venial sin cannot properly be atoned for
by the merits of all the Angels
and of all the Saints of Heaven.
Therefore, it was necessary for the Son of God,
made Man, to offer Himself
as a Victim of Expiation, on our behalf.
Remembering His Infinite Merits,
we should humbly ask God –
‘forgive us our debts.‘ that is, our many sins
and failings and, whatever punishment is owing to us,
for every sin demands some expiation,
either in this life or in the next!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, HOLY COMMUNION, Meditations for ADVENT, QUOTES on PURITY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Thought for the Day – 9 December – The Fulfilment of the Decree

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Thought for the Day – 9 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Fulfilment of the Decree

+1. The promised Coming of the Redeemer had indeed been long delayed. Patriarch had succeeded Patriarch, and died without having the privilege of seeing that long-expected day . The long line of the Prophets had passed away but, their desire, for the Messias, had not been satisfied. God always keeps His servants waiting, for His best gifts and, therefore, it was but fitting, they should wait for thousands of years before receiving this Gift of gifts, this Gift in which He gave them Himself.

+2. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity had also been waiting for one, whose immaculate purity should make her fit, as far as any child of Adam could be fit, to be His Mother. There had been many holy women among the daughters of Abraham but none, without sin and, therefore, none in whose womb the Son of God could find repose.
If Christ thus could not come to dwell with one who was stained with sin, what must be the purity He requires now, of those whose Guest He becomes in Holy Communion
O Jesus, forgive me all my careless receptions of Thee, my want of careful preparation, my faults innumerable!

+3. Christ Himself had prepared a resting-place for Himself in Mary’s sacred breast. As we read in Holy Scripture “The Most High has sanctified a tabernacle for Himself.”
So now, if I am to be fit to receive Him, He must prepare my
heart. Do I think of this during my preparation for Communion and pray Him to cleanse me from every stain in His Most Precious Blood, to beautify with many graces the tabernacle where He is to abide?

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, BAPTISM, CATECHESIS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The RESURRECTION, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 29 November – “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Romans 13:14

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One Minute Reflection – 29 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – The Vigil of St Andrew Apostle –Romans 13:11-14, Luke 21:25-33 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Romans 13:14

REFLECTION – “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh and its desires, so that you may be clothed with the Life of Him, Whom you have put on in this Sacrament. You have all been clothed with Christ by your Baptism in Him. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female, you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Such is the power of this Sacrament: it is a Sacrament of new life which begins here and now, with the forgiveness of all past sins and will be brought to completion, in the resurrection of the dead. You have been buried with Christ by Baptism into death, in order that, as Christ has risen from the dead, you also may walk in newness of life.

You are walking now by faith, still on pilgrimage in a mortal body away from the Lord but He, to Whom your steps are directed, is Himself the sure and certain Way for you – Jesus Christ, Who, for our sake became man. For all who fear Him, He has stored up abundant happiness which He will reveal to those who hope in Him, bringing it to completion, when we have attained the reality which, even now, we possess, in hope.

This is the octave day of your new birth. Today is fulfilled in you, the sign of faith that was prefigured in the Old Testament by the circumcision of the flesh, on the eighth day after birth. When the Lord rose from the dead, He put off the mortality of the flesh; His Risen Body was still the same Body but it was no longer subject to death. By His Resurrection, He consecrated Sunday, or the Lord’s Day. Though the third after His Passion, this day is the eighth after the Sabbath and thus also, the first day of the week.

And so, your own hope of resurrection, though not yet realised, is sure and certain because you have received the Sacrament or sign of this reality and have been given the pledge of the Spirit. If, then, you have risen with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is seated at the Right Hand of God. Set your hearts on heavenly things, not the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your Life, appears, then you too will appear with Him in glory.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (An excerpt from: Sermon 8 – On the Paschal Octave).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, unto all Thy servants that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness, both of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness and enter into the joy of Thine eternal gladness.Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in Act of SPIRITUAL COMMUNION, DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, Holy Name PRAYERS, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on BAD CONVERSATION, QUOTES on SLOTH, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The HOLY NAME

Quote/s of the Day – 26 November – St Leonard of Port Maurice

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Quote/s of the Day – 26 November – St Leonard of Port Maurice OFM (1676-1751) Confessor, Priest and Franciscan Friar

“Oh Most Sacred Name,
Name of peace,
Balsam of Life,
which is the centre of all the sighs,
of the most fervent lovers of Jesus.
The Sign of those who truly love Jesus
is to bear Jesus imprinted in the heart
and to Name often and with devotion,
the Most Holy Name of Jesus.”

“What graces, gifts and virtues
the Holy Mass calls down!”

“If you practice the holy exercise
of Spiritual Communion a good many times each day,
within a month you will see
yourself completely changed.”

A Short Act of Spiritual Communion
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church

My Jesus,
I believe that Thou art present
in the Blessed Sacrament.
I love Thee above all things
and I desire Thee in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally,
come at least spiritually, into my heart.
As though Thou were already there,
I embrace Thee
and unite myself wholly to Thee,
permit not, that I should ever,
be separated from Thee.
Amen

“Avoid sloth, bad company,
dangerous conversations and games;
remembering that time passes and never returns
that you have a soul and, if you lose
your soul, you lose all.”

St Leonard of Port Maurice OFM (1676-1751)

Posted in ACT of ADORATION, ACT of CONTRITION, ACT OF FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY, ACT of LOVE, GOOD RESOLUTIONS, HOW to PRAY at ALL TIMES, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of PETITION, QUOTES on MEDITATION

Thought for the Day – 25 November – A Method of MENTAL PRAYER, II The Body of the Prayer

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Thought for the Day – 25 November – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“How to Pray at All Times”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

A Method of MENTAL PRAYER
or Meditation According to St Alphonsus.
Excerpt – Part II THE BODY OF THE PRAYER.

II. THE BODY OF THE PRAYER.

Use the mind in thinking on some subject as much as is necessary in order to pray fervently. But do not imagine that very much is necessary in order to pray. Do not wait for a great fire to burn up in your soul but cherish any little spark you may feel.

To help your mind, read a text of Scripture or a short Meditation in a book.
St Teresa used a book in her Meditations for seventeen years.

Meditate for a few minutes on any thought which has struck you, that is, think for a short time on the meaning, the lessons it teaches and ask yourself: What have I done about this hitherto? What shall I now do?
But remember, you think only in order that you may pray.

The great benefit of Mental Prayer consists. less in meditation or thinking, than in acts, prayers and resolutions – the fruits of Meditation. The thinking is the needle which draws after it the golden thread of the fruits (the acts, prayers and resolutions)..
The thread is more important than the needle.
The chief part of the time of Meditation should, then, be spent in making:

  1. Acts and Affections:
    Examples. –Acts of Humility: ‘My God, I am nothing in Thy sight.’ Act of Thanksgiving: ‘My God, I thank Thee for Thy goodness.’ Act of Love: ‘ My God, I love Thee with my whole heart. I wish to please Thee in all things. I will only what Thou wiliest. I love Thee because Thou art Infinitely Good. Do with me and mine all that pleases Thee because it is Thy Will.’
    Acts of Love and of contrition are golden chains binding us to God. St Thomas says: ‘ Every Act of Love merits eternal life. Make then many simple but fervent, Acts of Love and Sorrow.
  2. Prayers of Petition:
    In mental prayer, it is extremely useful and, perhaps better than all else, to make many earnest petitions for the graces you wish. Always ask, above all, for (a) the perfect forgiveness of all past sin; (b) the perfect love of God and (c) the Grace of a holy death. …
  3. Resolutions:
    ‘The progress of a soul,‘ says St Teresa, ‘ does not consist in thinking much of God but in loving Him and this love is gained by resolving to do much for Him.‘
    Make one practical resolution which you mean to keep during the day.
Posted in ACT of ADORATION, ACT of CONTRITION, ACT OF FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY, ACT of LOVE, HOW to PRAY at ALL TIMES, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on MEDITATION, SACRED HEART PRAYERS

Thought for the Day – 24 November – A Method of MENTAL PRAYER

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Thought for the Day – 24 November – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“How to Pray at All Times”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)


A Method of MENTAL PRAYER
or Meditation According to St Alphonsus.
Excerpt – Part I Preparation

I. PREPARATION.

A recollected life and regular Spiritual Reading are the best remote preparation.
For the immediate preparation, make three short but fervent Acts of Devotion:

(I) An Act of Adoration of God, present to the soul:
Example: O my God, I believe Thou art really here present;
I bow down and adore Thee. Thou art so good, I am so
sinful; Thou art so great, I am only nothingness … etc.

(2) An Act of Sorrow for Sin:
Example: O my God, I am heartily sorry for all my sins of thought, word, deed and omission and by the help of Thy
holy Grace I will never sin again.

(3) A Petition for Light and Strength:
Example: O my God, give me light to see Thy holy Will, give me Grace to do Thy holy Will. O .Wisdom of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, direct me in all my ways. O Love of the Sacred Heart, consume me in Thy fire.

Add a Hail Mary to the Blessed Virgin, an Aspiration to St Joseph, your Patron Saints and Angel Guardian.

Posted in EUCHARISTIC, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, HOLY COMMUNION, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 17 November – Soul of My Saviour, Sanctify My Breast

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Our Morning Offering – 17 November – Pentecost XXVI

Soul of My Saviour,
Sanctify My Breast
Trans. Attri. to Fr John Hegarty (1752-1834)

Soul of my Saviour,
sanctify my breast;
Body of Christ,
be Thou my saving Guest;
Blood of my Saviour,
bathe me in Thy tide;
Wash me with water
flowing from Thy side.

Strength and protection,
may Thy Passion be;
O Blessed Jesus, hear
and answer me;
Deep in Thy Wounds, Lord,
hide and shelter me;
So shall I never, never,
part from Thee.

Hear me, Lord Jesus,
listen as I pray;
“Lead me from night,
to never-ending day.
Fill all the world,
with love and grace Divine,
And glory, laud and praise,
be ever Thine.”

This Hymn is based on the original Latin text of the Anima Christi. Fr Hegarty is attributed with its translation and/or arrangement.
He was born in County Derry, Ireland, educated at Dublin University and was Ordained in June 1890 and spent most of active apostolic years in Brisbane, Australia. He died aged 82 years.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, QUOTES on WATCHING, SACRAMENTS, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 10 November – “Suffer both to grow until the harvest” – Matthew 13:30

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One Minute Reflection – 10 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – St Andrew Avellino CR (1521–1608) Confessor – Col ossians 3:12-17: Matthew 13:24-30 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

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

REFLECTION – “In today’s Gospel, my friends, we see that when the owner of the field had sowed his seed in good soil, the enemy came while he was sleeping and sowed weeds in it. What this means, is that God created man good and perfect but the enemy came and sowed sin. This was Adam’s downfall and a terrible fall which opened the door to sin in the human heart.

Are you saying that we must exterminate the weeds? “But no,” the Lord replies, “for fear that in pulling up the weeds ,you harm the good seed at the same time. Wait until the harvest.” This is how the human heart must remain until the end – a mixture of good and bad, vice and virtue, light and darkness, good seed and weeds. God did not wish to destroy this mix and refashion a nature in us where there would be nothing but good seed. He wants us to fight, to strive to prevent the weeds from overwhelming us. The devil comes to sow temptation across our path but we are able to overcome it by grace, we can smother the weeds.

Three things are absolutely necessary against temptation – prayer to enlighten us, the Sacraments to strengthen us and vigilance to preserve us. Happy are the souls who are tempted! It is when the devil judges a soul is tending towards union with God that he redoubles his rage.” – St Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859) Priest and the Patron of Priests, The Curé d’Ars (The Spirit of the Curé d’Ars, Sermons Conversations).

PRAYER – O God, by his difficult vow to make daily progress in holiness, Thou placed in the heart of blessed Andrew, Thy Confessor, a wondrous longing to ascend unto Thee, grant us, by his merits and intercession, so to become sharers of that same grace that, ever pursuing the more perfect things, we may be happily brought unto the height of Thy glory. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DEVOTIO, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, GOD ALONE!, HOLY COMMUNION, Holy Name PRAYERS, INDULGENCES, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, ROSARY QUOTES, ROSARY REFLECTIONS and QUOTES, The HOLY NAME, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 7 November – The Feast of All Saints of the Order of Preacher

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Quote/s of the Day – 7 November – The Feast of All Saints of the Order of Preacher

“Speak only with God
or about God.”

“None who persevered in devotion
to the Holy Rosary, will be condemned.”

St Dominic (1170-1221)

“Your purity of life, your devotion,
deserve and call for a reward
because you are acceptable
and pleasing to God.
Your purity of life must be made purer still,
by frequent buffetings,
until you attain perfect sincerity of heart.
If, from time to time, you feel the sword
falling upon you with double or treble force,
this also should be seen as sheer joy
and the mark of love!”

St Raymond of Peñafort (1175-1275)

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name
is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.
It is a source of joy and inspiration in our youth;
of strength in our manhood,
when only His Holy Name and His grace,
can enable us to overcome temptation;
of hope, consolation
and confidence at the hour of our death,
when more than ever before,
we realise, that the meaning of Jesus is
‘Lord, the Saviour.’
We should bow in reverence to His Name
and submission to His Holy Will.”

Bl Henry Suso OP (1290-1365)

“Love takes up,
where knowledge leaves off.”

“If then, you are looking for the way
by which you should go,
take Christ, for He, Himself, is the Way.”

St Thomas Aquinas OP (1225-1274)
Doctor Angelicus / Doctor Communis

“When troubled by temptations,
raise up your heart and soul to God,
humbly beseeching Him
to turn them to His greater glory
and to your salvation,
supporting the temptations
as long as it shall please Him
and imploring Him, to grant you grace,
never to offend Him.”

St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)

O Divine Jesus!
Lonely in So Many Tabernacles
By St Pope Pius X (1835-1914)
“Pope of the Blessed Sacrament”
(St Pius X was elected to the Chair of St Peter
on the Feast of St Dominic
and became a ‘Protector’ of the Order).

O Divine Jesus!
Lonely today in so many Tabernacles,
without visitor or worshipper,
I offer Thee my lonely heart.
May it’s every beat be a prayer of love to Thee.
Thou are ever watching under the Sacramental Veils,
in Thou love, Thou never sleeps
and Thou are never weary of Thy vigils for sinners.
O Loving Jesus!
O Lonely Jesus!
may my heart be a lamp,
the light of which shall burn and beam
for Thee alone.
Watch, Sacramental Sentinel!
Watch for the weary world,
for the erring soul
and for Thy poor lonely child.

O Jesus, my God, I adore Thee,
here present in the Sacrament of Thy love.
Amen

Indulgences:
100 days each time before the Tabernacle
300 days each time before the Blessed Sacrament Exposed
(St Pope Pius X – 3 July 1908)
Prayers to the Sacred Heart
15th Ed 1936

MORE DOMINICAN QUOTES:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/11/07/quote-s-of-the-day-7-november-st-dominic-and-his-ops/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on PURITY, SACRAMENTS, The BEATITUDES, The COMMUNION of SAINTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 6 November – ‘There is nothing as beautiful as a soul which is pure. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 6 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – Within the All Saints Octave – Apocalypse 7:2-12; Matthew 5:1-12 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.” … Matthew 5:8

REFLECTION – “There is nothing as beautiful as a soul which is pure. If we understood this, we would be incapable of losing our purity. A pure soul is like a beautiful pearl. As long as it is concealed in a shell, at the bottom of the sea, no-one thinks of admiring it. But if you display it in the sun, then this pearl shines and draws people’s eyes.

Purity comes from Heaven, we have to ask God for it. If we ask for it, we shall receive it. We must take great care not to lose it. It closes our hearts to pride, sensuality and every other passion.

Children, we cannot understand the power which a pure soul has over the Good God – it receives all it wishes for. … Before God, a pure soul is like a child before its mother, it caresses her and hugs her and its mother returns its caresses and embraces.

To preserve our purity, there are three things – the Presence of God, prayer and the Sacraments.” … St John-Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859) Curé d’Ars (Selected Thoughts of the Curé d’Ars).

PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, Who granted us to honour the merits of all Thy Saints in a single solemn festival, bestow on us, we beseech Thee, through their manifold intercession that abundance of Thy mercy for which we yearn. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, EUCHARISTIC ADORATION and Nocturnal, GOD is LOVE, HOLY COMMUNION, PREPARATION for DEATH

Thought for the Day – 4 November – CONSIDERATION XXXIII, The Holy Communion

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Thought for the Day – 4 November – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION XXXIII

The Holy Communion
“Take, eat; This is My Body.”
(Matt xxvi: 26)

FIRST POINT:
LET us observe how great a gift is this Holy Sacrament;  how great is the Love which Jesus has shown to us in this gift and, how great is His desire, of our reception of this, His GREAT GIFT.

Let us consider, in the first place, the great Gift, Jesus Christ procured for us, in giving Himself to be wholly Food in the Holy Communion.
St Augustine says that our Blessed Lord: “although He is omnipotent, was not able to give us more than this.”
St Bernardine of Sienna asks: “What greater treasure can the heart of man possess, than the most holy Body of Christ?”
… If our Redeemer had not given us this gift, whoever would have been able to ask for it, who would ever have dared to say to Him, Lord, if Thou desiredst to make us know Thy Love, conceal Thyself under the form of Bread and permit us to feed on Thee!? It would have been esteemed madness! even to think of this.
St Augustine asks: “Would it not seem madness to say, Eat My Flesh and drink My Blood!?”

When our Blessed Lord revealed to His disciples this gift of the Holy Sacrament which He wished to leave them, many of them could not attain to the belief of it and they parted from Him, saying: “How can this Man give us His Flesh to eat? …. This is a hard saying; who can hear it? (John vi: 52,60).
But what men were not able, at any time to conceive, the great Love of our Lord Jesus Christ, both intended and wrought.
St Bernardine says that our Blessed Lord left us “this Sacrament to be a memorial of His Love” and the record which St Luke has left of our Lord’s words, agrees with this statement: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke xxii: 19).
St Bernardine adds, the love of our Lord was not satisfied with sacrificing His Life for us: “In that excess of fervour, when He was ready to die for us, He was impelled, by this ocean of love, to do a greater work than ever had been wrought, to give to us His Body for food.”
Abbot Guerric says, in this Sacrament, Jesus “poured out upon His friends, the last strength of His Love” and the same sentiment is expressed more forcibly, when it was said of old that, in the Eucharist, our Blessed Lord, “as it were, poured out upon men, the riches of His Love.”

… Our Blessed Lord, in Holy Communion, gives us, for food, not only a part of His own table, not only a part of His own Body but His whole Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity!: “Take, eat; this is My Body” and, together with His Body, He gives us even His Soul and His Divinity. In short, says St John Chrysostom, in this Holy Communio, Jesus Christ “gave Himself to thee wholly and left nothing for Himself.”
St Thomas Aquinas adds: “God, in the Eucharist, has given to us, all He Is and all He has.”
St Bonaventure exclaims with wonder of our Blessed Lord’s Presence in the Eucharist: “Behold, He Whom the world cannot contain, is our prisoner!”

And, if the Lord in the Eucharist gives us His whole Self, how can we ear He will deny us any grace we ask of Him:  “How shall He not, freely give us all things!?” (Rom viii: 32).

Affections and Prayers

O my Jesus!
What has ever led Thee to give Thy whole Self for our food? And what remains, after Thou hast given us this gift, to compel us to love Thee?
Oh ! Lord, give usThine Light and make us to understand, how excessive is the love which caused Thee to reduce Thyself to food, to unite Thyself to ourselves, poor sinners!
But if Thou givest Thyself wholly to us, it is a reason why we also should give ourselves wholly to Thee.

O my Redeemer, how have I been able to offend Thee, Who hast so loved me and Who hast had nothing more Thou couldst do to gain my love? Thou hadst become Man for me; Thou didst die for m ; Thou hast made Thyself my food; tell me what more it remains for Thee to do?

I love Thee, O Infinite Goodness; I love Thee, O Infinite Love! Lord, come often into my soul: inflame me wholly with Thy holy Love and cause me to forget all else, that I may neither think of, nor love any other than Thee.

Posted in CARMELITES, CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on PURITY, St Francis de Sales, The COMMUNION of SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 1 November – All Saints Day

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Quote/s of the Day – 1 November – All Saints Day

“Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.”

Matthew 5:8

“Let listening to worldly news
be BITTER FOOD for you
and let the words of
Saintly men
be as combs
filled with honey.”

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

“To Saints,
their very slumber,
is a prayer!”

St John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Doctor of the Church

“Our greatest fault is, that
we wish to serve God in our way,
not in His way — according to our will,
not according to His will….
To be truly a Saint, it is necessary
to be one according to the will of God.”

“The Holy Eucharist
is the perfect Communion of Saints,
for it is the food common to Angels
and sainted souls in Paradise
and ourselves – it is the true Bread
of which all Christians participate.
The forgiveness of sins,
the Author of forgiveness being there, is confirmed;
the seed of our resurrection sown,
life everlasting bestowed. …
This very belief in the Most Holy Sacrament,
which, in truth, reality and substance,
contains the true and natural
Body of Our Lord,
is actually the abridgment of our Faith,
according to that of the Psalmist:
“He had made a memory of His wonderful works.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, BAPTISM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, LENT, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ANGELS, QUOTES on SIN, St PAUL!, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 October – ‘ … Once washed in the saving waters … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 24 October – “The Month of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Angels” – Feast of St Raphael the Archangel – Tobias 12:7-15; John 5:1-4 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered, waiting for the moving of the water (by the Angel). ” – John 5:3

REFLECTION – “We read in the Old Testament that in the times of Noah, since all humankind had been won by sin, Heaven’s floodgates opened and rain poured down for forty days … This was a symbol – it was less about a flood than about a Baptism. For it was indeed a Baptism which bore away the misdeeds of the sinners and spared the uprightness of Noah. And so today, just as it was then, our Lord has given Lent to us, so that the skies may open for the same number of days, to inundate us with the floods of Divine Mercy. Once washed in the saving waters of Baptism, this Sacrament enlightens us and, just as formerly, its waters bear away the evil of our sins and confirm the uprightness of our virtues.

Today’s situation is just the same as in Noah’s time. Baptism is flood to sinners and Consecration for the faithful. In Baptism, the Lord rescues justice and destroys injustice. We can see this in the example of one and the same man – before he was cleansed by the spiritual commands, the Apostle Paul was a persecutor and blasphemer (1 Tm 1:13). But once he had been bathed with the Heavenly rain of Baptism, the blasphemer died, the persecutor died, Saul died. Then the Apostle, the just man, Paul came to life… Anyone who lives Lent in a religious manner and observes the Lord’s decrees, will see sin die in himself and grace come to life… such as these die as sinners and live as righteous persons.” – St Maximus of Turin (Died c420) Bishop of Turin, Father of the Church (Sermon for Lent).

PRAYER – O God, Who gave blessed Raphael the Archangel as a traveling companion to Your servant Tobias, grant us, Your servants, ever to be protected by his guardianship and by his help.Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, GOD ALONE!, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on the POOR, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TIME, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, SAINT of the DAY, The HEART, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 16 October – St Gerard Majella

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 October – St Gerard Majella CSsR (1726-1755) Religious Lay Brother of the Redemptorists

“The Most Blessed Sacrament
is Christ made visible.
The poor sick person
is Christ again made visible.”

“Who except God can give you peace?
Has the world ever been able
to satisfy the heart?”

“Consider the shortness of time,
the length of eternity
and reflect, how everything here below
comes to an end and passes by.
Of what use is it then, to lean upon that
which cannot give support?”

St Gerard Majella (1726-1755)

Posted in Act of SPIRITUAL COMMUNION, AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CATHOLIC TIME, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, HOLY COMMUNION, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 27 September – Give me Thyself, O My God By St Augustine (

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Our Morning Offering – 27 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross”

Give me Thyself, O My God
By St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

Give me Thyself, O my God,
give Thyself to me.
Behold I love Thee
and if my love is too weak a thing,
grant me to love Thee more strongly.
I cannot measure my love, to know
how much it falls short of being sufficient
but let my soul hasten to Thine embrace
and never be turned away,
until it is hidden in the secret shelter
of Thine presence.
This only do I know,
that it is not good for me
when Thou art not with me,
when Thou art only outside me.
I want Thee in my very self.
All the plenty in the world
which is not my God,
is utter want!
Amen

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, BAPTISM, CHRIST the LIGHT, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, GOOD FRIDAY, HOLY WEEK, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, PRAYERS on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on MEDITATION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, QUOTES on VICE, QUOTES on VIRTUE, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The SIGN of the CROSS, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Quote/s of the Day – 14 September – Exaltation of the Holy Cross – the “Book of Life”

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Quote/s of the Day – 14 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – Exaltation of the Holy Cross

“The Cross gives Light to the whole universe;
it casts out darkness
and gathers nations together in charity,
into One Church, One Faith, One Baptism…”

St Ephrem (306-373)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“As they were looking on, so we too gaze on His Wounds as He hangs.
We see His Blood as He dies.
We see the price offered by the Redeemer, touch the scars of His Resurrection.

He bows His Head, as if to kiss you.
His Heart is made bare, open, as it were, in love to you.
His arms are extended that He may embrace you.
His whole body is displayed for your redemption.

Ponder how great these things are.
Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind, as He was once fixed to the Cross in every part of His Body for you, so He may now be fixed in every part of your soul!”

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

“The Kingdom of Heaven, says the Gospel,
is like a mustard seed …
Christ is the Kingdom of Heaven!
Sown like a mustard seed
in the garden of the Virgin’s womb,
He grew up into the Tree of the Cross,
whose branches,
stretch across the world …
Christ is the Kingdom
because all the glory of His Kingdom,
is within Him.
Christ is a Man
because all humanity is restored in Him.
Christ is a Mustard Seed
because the infinitude of Divine greatness,
is accommodated to
the littleness of flesh and blood!”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
“Golden Words”
Father & Doctor of the Church

“No-one, however weak, is denied
a share in the victory of the Cross.
No-one is beyond the help
of the prayer of Christ.”

St Pope Leo the Great (c400-461)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“The Cross is my sure salvation.
The Cross it is, I worship evermore.
The Cross of our Lord is with me.
The Cross is my refuge.”
[Indulgence of 300 days]

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor Angelicus / Doctor Communis

“Consider Jesus on the Cross
as you would a devout book,
worthy of your unceasing study
and, by which you may learn the practice
of the most heroic virtues.
This is the book which may truly be called
the “Book of Life” [Apocalypse, III, 5],
which, at once enlightens the mind by its doctrines
and inflames the will by its examples.
The world is full of books but were it possible
for man to read them all, he would never
be so well instructed, to hate vice
and embrace virtue,
as by contemplating a Crucified God!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

(The Spiritual Combat
LII: … The Benefits derived from
Meditations on the Cross)
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/23/thought-for-the-day-23-april-the-benefits-derived-from-meditations-on-the-crossand-the-imitation-of-the-virtues-of-christ-crucified/

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/09/14/quote-s-of-the-day-14-september-exaltation-of-the-holy-cross/

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 6 September – His Life-Giving Eucharist

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 6 September – Ferial Day – Galatians 5:16-24, 6:1-10; Luke 7:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Young man, I say to thee, arise!”
Luke 7:14

“Even for restoring the dead to life,
the Saviour did not stop at acting by Word alone,
although it was the bearer of Divine Commands.
For such a surpassing work,
He took His own Flesh as His assistant –
if one might put it that way –
that He might show, that it has the power
to give life and, that He might cause it
to be seen that it is entirely One with Him.
… Thus, He not only conferred to His Word
the power to raise the dead
but He even touched the dead,
to show that His Body is Life-giving and,
through His Flesh, He caused life
to pass into their corpses.
If the touch alone of His Sacred Flesh
restores life to a corrupting body,
what profit shall we not discover
in His Life-giving Eucharist
when we make of it our food?
It will wholly transform into its own property
which is immortality, those who participate in it.”

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Posted in CATHOLIC TIME, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, EUCHARISTIC, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, HOLY COMMUNION, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 5 September – O Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 5 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – Our Lord instituted the most holy Eucharist on a Thursday, so it is fitting that we remember this greatest of Sacraments on this day.

O Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
By The League of the Sacred Heart
1929 (Ireland)

O Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,
overflowing with gentleness,
tenderness and charity,
I bury in the abyss of Thy Mercy,
all my iniquities and all my negligence.
I offer Thee
my labours and my sufferings,
my sorrows and my miseries,
I recommend to Thee
my life and my death.
Solace my doubts Sweet Jesus,
calm my fears
and grant, that day-by-day,
I may become more united to Thy Sacred Heart,
learning Thy love and Thy holiness.
Amen

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CONFESSION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 4 September – Awake and arise!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 4 September – Ferial Day – Galatians 5:16-24, Luke 7:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Young man,
I say to thee,
arise!”

Luke 7:14

“I shall arise and shall go to my Father”

Luke 15:18

“Awake, O Sleeper and Rise from the Dead”

Ephesians 5:14

“Listen to the Lord’s appeal:
‘Come, then, return to Me
and learn to know Me as your Father,
Who repays good for evil,
love for injury
and boundless charity
for piercing wounds!”

St Peter Chrysologus (c400-450)
“Golden Words”
Father & Doctor of the Church

“As the prodigal son,
I will return to my Father’s house
and I will be welcomed back home.
I shall do the same, as he did –
will the Father not grant my prayer too?
O forgiving Father, here I am at Thy door
and I knock, open to me, let me enter,
so that I may not ruin myself, go away and die!
Thou made me Thy heir
and I neglected my inheritance
and squandered my goods –
from now on, may I be as a mercenary
and as a servant to Thee.”

St Jacob of Sarug (c451-521)
Bishop, Theologian, Poet, Writer, Father

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HOLY COMMUNION, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 18 August – “Soul of My Saviour,

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 18 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Pentecost XIII

Soul of My Saviour,
Sanctify My Breast
Trans. Attri. to Fr John Hegarty (1752-1834)

Soul of my Saviour,
sanctify my breast;
Body of Christ,
be Thou my saving Guest;
Blood of my Saviour,
bathe me in Thy tide;
Wash me with water
flowing from Thy side.

Strength and protection,
may Thy Passion be;
O Blessed Jesus, hear
and answer me;
Deep in Thy Wounds, Lord,
hide and shelter me;
So shall I never, never,
part from Thee.

Hear me, Lord Jesus,
listen as I pray;
“Lead me from night,
to never-ending day.
Fill all the world,
with love and grace Divine,
And glory, laud and praise,
be ever Thine.”

This Hymn is based on the original Latin text of the Anima Christi. Fr Hegarty is attributed with its translation and/or arrangement.
He was born in County Derry, Ireland, educated at Dublin University and was Ordained in June 1890 and spent most of active apostolic years in Brisbane, Australia. He died aged 82 years.