Thought for the Day – 1 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Devotion to the Sacred Heart
“When we consider it under it’s fundamental aspect as the cult of the love of God, rather than of the Incarnate Word, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is as old as Christianity, even though it is only in recent centuries, that it has assumed it’s present symbolism. “He who does not love, does not know God,” says St John, “for God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). “And we have come to know,” he continues “and have believed, the love that God has in our behalf. God is love and he who abides in love, abides in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). This cult of the love of God, particularly of the love of God made man, vibrates throughout the pages of the Gospel and of the writings of the Apostles, especially of St John and of St Paul.
In the works of the Fathers, there are references to the Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, from which flowed all the infinite graces of the Church for our redemption. We are reminded of this in the Encylical, Haurietis Aquas, published by Pope Pius XII in the year 1956. But the specific cult of the love of God, as symbolised by the Heart of Jesus, was explicitly approved by the Church after Jesus Himself appeared in the year 1674 to St Margaret Mary Alacoque and showed her His Heart on fire with love for men.”
One Minute Reflection – 1 June – “Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Readings: First: Tobit 2: 9-14, Psalm: Psalms 112: 1-2, 7-8, 9, Gospel: Mark 12: 13-17
“Whose is this image?” – Mark 12:16
REFLECTION – “Soul, you must seek yourself in Me And in yourself, must seek for Me.
Such is the power of love’s impress, O soul, to engrave you on My Heart, That any craftsman must confess He never could have the same success, However superlative his art.
It was by love that you were made Lovely and beautiful to be; So, if by chance, you should have strayed, Upon My Heart you are portrayed. Soul, you must seek yourself in Me.
For well I know that you will see Yourself engraved upon My Breast— An image vividly impressed— And then you will rejoice to be So safely lodged, so highly blest.
And if by chance you do not know Where to go in quest of Me, Do not go far My Face to see, Searching everywhere high and low, But in yourself must seek for Me.
For, soul, in you I am confined, You are My dwelling and My home; And if one day I chance to find Fast-closed the portals of your mind I ask for entrance when I come.
Oh, do not seek me far away, For, if you would attain to Me, You only need My Name to say And I’ll be there, without delay. Look in yourself to seek for Me!” – St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Carmelite, Doctor of the Church – Poems, no 8 “Alma, buscarte has en mí”
PRAYER – Lord God, true light and creator of light, grant us the grace to see clearly by the light who is Light, Your only Son. Lead us in His path and send us Your Spirit. Grant us the strength to grow in holiness so that our struggle against the powers of darkness may we a victory over temptation. May the prayers of the Mother of Your Son, the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother too, be a balm of enduring succour, as we fulfil Your commandments in this world and strive to reach our eternal home. We make our prayer through Christ Your divine Son, Whom You sent to make us like unto Himself, in the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen. All praise, honour and glory to the Divine Heart of JESUS. (This Ejaculation is Indulgenced – 50 Days, once a day. (See Instructions: – Unless otherwise stated, e.g., “once a day,” a partial Indulgence may be gained any number of times in succession.) 168Pope Leo XIII, 14 June 1901).
Our Morning Offering – 1 June – “Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Hail, Sacred Heart of Jesus! By St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)
Hail, Sacred Heart of Jesus! Living and strengthening, Source of eternal life, Infinite Treasury of the Divinity, Burning Furnace of Divine Love! You are my Refuge and my Sanctuary. My loving Saviour, consume my heart in that burning fire with which Your own is inflamed. Pour into my soul those graces which flow from Your Love. Let my heart be so united with Yours, that our wills may be one and my will, in all things, conformed with Yours. May Your Will be the guide and rule of my desires and of my actions. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 11 May – “Mary’s Month” – Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter,Readings: Acts 16: 22-34, Psalms 138: 1-2, 2-3, 7-8, John 16: 5-11
“I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord; he will guide you to all truth.”
John 16:7,13
“If one of us has a conscience polluted by the stain of avarice, conceit, vain-glory, indignation, irascibility, or envy and the other vices, he has “a daughter badly troubled by a demon” like the Canaanite woman.”
St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church
“A good man is not a perfect man; a good man is an honest man, faithful and unhesitatingly responsive to the Voice of God in his life.”
St John Fisher (1469-1535) Bishop, Martyr
“Just as speech has been given to men to be the interpreter of their feelings and desires, so it is through the conscience, that God teaches us, what He judges of everything and what He expects of each one of us. This divine Voice forms various interior words, to express various lessons and the different orders, that it pleases God to give to His creature. It is the bond of communication that the Lord desires to have with us and the most usual organ he makes use of, to touch our hearts and open to us His own.”
St Claude la Colombière SJ (1641-1682)
Christian reflections (Spiritual writings, coll. Christus no 9,)
“The Heart of Jesus is with me.”
“Three things I cannot escape: the eye of God, the voice of conscience, the stroke of death. In company, guard your tongue. In your family, guard your temper. When alone guard your thoughts.”
Venerable Matthew Talbot (1856 – 1925)
“Then steer your ship with steady arm, Trust Me and rest your soul. Your little boat I’ll keep from harm, I’ll guide it toward its goal. … Be therefore, steadfast, calm and true, Your God is at your side. Through storm and night He’ll see you through With conscience as your guide.”
St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross OCD.(1891-1942 Edith Stein “At the Helm”
Thought for the Day – 1 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Betrayal of Judas
“Ingratitude is a very cruel thing. It imprints a deep wound on the human heart and the heart of Jesus, was infinitely more sensitive than ours. He had raised Judas to the high rank of the Apostolate; He had made him one of His closest friends and had entrusted him with the secrets of His infinite love. Now Judas betrays Him for the wretched sum of thirty pieces of silver. Worse is to follow, however. While Jesus is praying and perspiring blood at the thought of the ingratitude of men and of the nearness of His passion and death, the Garden of Gethsemane becomes suddenly aglow with torches and reverberates with the shouting of the hired ruffians, whom Judas has brought with him to arrest Jesus. The treacherous Apostle comes forward. He embraces our divine Redeemer, hails Him as his Master and greets Him with a sacrilegious kiss upon the cheek. Jesus neither repulses nor rebukes him but, with a gesture of infinite mercy, He addresses him as a friend. “Friend,” He says, “for what purpose hast thou come?” (Mt 26:50). “Dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Lk 22:28). If only Judas could have heeded this last appeal and begged for forgiveness at Jesus’ feet with tears of repentance! Jesus would certainly have taken him to His heart and returned his kiss with a kiss of pardon and divine friendship. Perhaps, we have also stood at times on the brink of sin and have been aware of a higher appeal to go back! But, have we heeded it? If ever we are in danger again, let us listen to this quiet voice which speaks to our conscience. Let us fall on our knees before Jesus and earnestly implore Him: “Be not silent, Lord, be not far from me!” (Ps 34:22). Let us ask Him to have pity on our weakness and to come to our assistance.”
One Minute Reflection – 18 February – Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Readings Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4, and 6, Luke 9:22-25 and the Memorial of St Theotinius (1082-1162) The First Saint of Portugal
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” – Luke 9:23
REFLECTION – “What joy to live in the Cross of Christ! Who could complain of suffering? Only the insensate man who does not adore the Passion of Christ, the Cross of Christ, the Heart of Christ, can in his own griefs, give way to despair… How good it is to live united with the Cross of Christ. Christ Jesus… teach me that truth, which consists in rejoicing in scorn, injury, degradation; teach me to suffer with that humble, silent joy of the saints; teach me to be gentle towards those who don’t love me or who despise me; teach me that truth, which from the mound of Calvary You reveal to the whole world. But I know: a very gentle voice within me explains it all; I feel something in me which comes from You and which I don’t know how to put into words; so much mystery is revealed that man cannot apprehend it. I, Lord, in my way, do understand it. It is love. In that is everything. I know it, Lord, nothing more is needed, nothing more, it is love! Who shall describe the love of Christ? Let men, creatures and all things, keep silent, so that we may hear in the stillness, the whisperings of love, meek, patient, immense, infinite, which from the Cross, Jesus offers us with His arms open. The world, mad, doesn’t listen.” – St Raphael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938) a Spanish Trappist Monk – Spiritual writings 07/04/1938
PRAYER – God of mercy, teach us to live as You have ordained. Help us to follow Your commandments with courage and steadfast devotion. Let our Saviour be our Master, help us to learn from Him, the ways of prayer in silence, the ways of love. Fill us with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that we may learn. Grant blessed Trinity, that by the prayers of St Theotonius, we may grow in holiness. Through Jesus our Lord, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 18 February – Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Jesus, Pierce My Soul with Your Love By St Bonaventure OFM (1221-1274) The Seraphic Doctor
Jesus, pierce my soul with Your love so that I may always long for You alone, the fulfilment of the soul’s deepest desires. May my heart always hunger and feed on You, my soul thirst for You, the source of life, wisdom, knowledge, light and all the riches of God. May I always seek and find You, think about You, speak about You and do everything for Your honour and glory. Be always my hope, my peace, my refuge and my help, in whom my heart is rooted, so that I may never be separated from You. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”
“He promises to be [our] strength, in proportion to the trust which [we] place in Him.”
“… Make use of Our Lord as an armour which covers [us] all about, by means of which [we] shall resist every device of [our] enemies. You shall then be my Strength, O my God! You shall be my Guide, my Director, my Counsellor, my Patience, my Knowledge, my Peace, my Justice and my Prudence.”
“[Prayer] is the one means for our purification, the one way to union with God, the one channel by which God may unite Himself with us, that He may do anything with us, for His glory. To obtain the virtues of an apostle, we must pray; to make them of use to our neighbour, we must pray; to prevent our losing them, while we use them in His service, we must pray. The counsel, or rather the commandment: Pray always, seems to me extremely sweet and by no means impossible. It secures the practice of the presence of God …”
St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”
Our Morning Offering – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”
Lord, be the Centre of Our Hearts By St Claude de la Colombiere
O God, what will You do to conquer the fearful hardness of our hearts? Lord, You must give us new hearts, tender hearts, sensitive hearts, to replace hearts that are made of marble and of bronze. You must give us Your own Heart, Jesus. Come, lovable Heart of Jesus. Place Your Heart deep in the centre of our hearts and enkindle in each heart a flame of love as strong, as great, as the sum of all the reasons that I have for loving You, my God. O holy Heart of Jesus, dwell hidden in my heart, so that I may live only in You and only for You, so that, in the end, I may live with You eternally in heaven. Amen
Mother of Mercy, Notre-Dame de Pellevoisin / Our Lady of Pellevoisin, France (1876) – 13 February: Pellevoisin is a little village not far from Tours in France. In 1876, a young woman, Estelle Faguette, lay dying from tuberculosis, at the aged of 33 – only five hours to live in the opinion of the doctors. With childlike faith, Estelle composed a letter to the Blessed Virgin Mary in which she asked for a cure. The letter was laid at the feet of a Statue of the Virgin in Montbel, the summer chateau of the Rochefoucaulds, about 3 km from Pellevoisin.
And, on the 13th of February, when all were expecting her death, Our Lady appeared near the sickbed. This occurred on three successive nights and then, as Our Lady had promised, the sick woman was instantly cured on a Saturday. During the visits, Our Lady of Pellevoisin frequently spoke to Estelle, her theme being that which she so often has expressed during the past hundred years:
“I am all-merciful and have great influence over my Son. What distresses me most is the lack of respect for my Son. Publish my glory.”
For some months after her miraculous cure, Estelle continued to live quietly at Pellevoisin. She was at a loss to find the means of fulfilling the mission entrusted to her by Our Lady. Her heavenly visitor, however, was watching over her and Estelle was to see her again and receive more minute instructions as to what was required of her. On the feast of Our Lady’s Visitation in the same year, 1876, as Estelle was praying in her room, she was granted another vision. Our Lady, robed in white and wearing on her breast a white scapular with the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, appeared to her favoured friend. This was the first of a series of wonderful visions enjoyed by Estelle, ten in all. Again and again Mary pointed to the great need for penance and expiation – a return to God. During one of these apparitions, Our Lady of Pellevoisin, taking her white scapular in her hand, held it before Estelle saying,
“I love this devotion.”
Immediately Estelle knew that her life’s work was to propagate devotion to the Sacred Heart by means of a scapular modeled on Mary’s. On her last appearance, December 8th, Our Lady commanded Estelle to approach her Bishop and give him a copy of the new scapular.
“Tell him to help you with all his power and that nothing would be more agreeable to me, than to see this badge on each one of my children, in reparation for the outrages that my Son suffers in the Sacrament of His Love. See, the graces I pour upon those who wear it with confidence and who help to make it known.”
The Prelate in question, the Archbishop of Bourges, Mnsgr de La Tour d’Auvergne, gave Estelle a favourable hearing and immediately set up a commission to investigate the whole matter. The result of all this was the establishment at Pellevoisin in 1894 by Pope Leo XIII of an Archconfraternity under the title of Mother of Mercy, Our Lady of Pellevoisin. The membership of this Confraternity has gone on increasing year after year, while Pellevoisin itself has become a centre of pilgrimages for thousands of Mary’s friends. Estelle lived her quiet and peaceful life at Pellevoisin, neither desiring nor receiving any personal credit. She died in 1929. Her miraculous cure was recognised in 1983 by Monsignor Paul Vignancour. Although no formal approval has been granted acknowledging the authenticity of the events at Pellevoisi, either by the local bishop at Bourges or by the Holy See, numerous acts of secondary level of approval, including recognition of Mary’s scapular request, have been granted. Pope Leo XIII, by a Motu Proprio, granted indulgences to encourage the pilgrimage to Pellevoisin on 20 December 1892, and on 4 April 1900, The Congregation of Rites issued a decree granting approval to the Scapular of the Sacred Heart.
St Julian of Lyon St Lucinus of Angers St Marice St Martinian the Hermit St Maura of Ravenna St Modomnoc St Paulus Lio Hanzuo St Peter I of Vercelli St Phaolô Lê Van Loc St Stephen of Lyons St Stephen of Rieti
Thought for the Day – 28 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Blessed Eucharist
“By means of this wonderful gift, we can live the life of Jesus Himself.
It is Our Lord Himself, Who says to us: “As the living Father has sent me and as I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also shall live because of me” (Jn 6:58). In other words, as He draws His divine and human life from the Father and lives by means of Him, to Whom as God, He is substantially united and equal, so anyone who partakes of the Eucharist, is united closely to Jesus, lives His life and is transformed by His supernatural grace. When Holy Communion is received, therefore, as it ought to be and as the Saints received it, it leads to the mysterious union of which St Paul speaks: “To me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). “It is now no longer I that live but Christ, lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
The effect of Holy Communion on us, should be similar to that of a graft upon a tree, whose life is thereby transformed and which begins to produce the fruit of the new shoot instead of the old trunk. We should no longer live the life of the old man but, that of the new, which is Jesus. We ought, therefore, to produce His divine fruits. Our actions will have a supernatural value because they are performed in Jesus and through Jesus. We should be very grateful to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for this gift of His infinite love and goodness. We should approach Holy Communion with humility, love and complete self-surrender. Our hearts should be fused in the Heart of Jesus and our love should be fused in His infinite love.”
O Most Compassionate Jesus! By Bl Pope Pius IX(1792-1878) Indulgence of 100 days, once a day 6 October 1870
O Most compassionate Jesus! Thou alone art our salvation, our life and our resurrection. We implore Thee, therefore, do not forsake us in our needs and afflictions but by the agony of Thy Most Sacred Heart and by the sorrows of Thy Immaculate Mother, succour Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy most Precious Blood. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 17 January – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19, Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10, 1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20, John 1:35-42
“Come and you will see.”
“Speak Lord for your servant hears.”
1 Samuel 3:10
He said to them, “Come and you will see.”
John 1:39
“Go your way, behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”
Luke 10:3
“A person who wishes to become the Lord’s disciple must repudiate a human obligation, however honourable it may appear, if it slows us, ever so slightly, in giving the wholehearted obedience we owe to God.”
St Basil the Great (329-379) Father and Doctor of the Church
“He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the Great Light, bathed in the glory of Him who is the Light of Heaven.”
St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Be strengthened in Almighty God and in the power of His might, for with His help, nothing is difficult. Throw off the heavy load of your own will, cast aside the burden of sin and gird yourselves as valiant warriors. Forget what you are leaving behind; strain forward to the great things before you. I tell you, that every place where you set foot, shall be yours. For the Spirit who goes before your face is Christ the Lord. He will carry you to the topmost peak in the arms of His love.”
St Francis of Assisi (c 1181-1226)
“Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes, through which, the compassion of Christ, looks out to the world. Yours are the feet, with which, He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands, with which, He is to bless others now.”
St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Doctor of the Church
“It is our vocation to set people’s hearts ablaze, to do what the Son of God did, who came to light a fire on earth in order to set it ablaze with His love.”
Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor”
“The well-being of souls is only in Christ. Therefore, let the love of Jesus be our perfection and our profession, let us light our hearts from the eternal flames of love that radiate from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
Bl Paolo Manna PIME (1872-1952) “A Burning Soul”
Priest, Missionary in Burma (Myanmar), Superior General of PIME, Founder of the Pontifical Missionary Union
One Minute Reflection – 14 January – Thursday of the First week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Hebrews 3:7-14, Psalms 95:6-7, 8-9, 10-11, Mark 1:40-45
“If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will, be clean.” – Mark 1: 40-41
REFLECTION – “As for me, what can I appropriate that I lack, from the Heart of the Lord who abounds in mercy? … He was thinking thoughts of peace and I did not know it, for who knows the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counsellor? But the piercing nail has become a key to unlock the door, that I may see the goodwill of the Lord. And what can I see as I look through the hole? Both the nail and the wound cry out, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. The sword pierced His soul and came close to His Heart, so that He might be able to feel compassion for me in my weaknesses.
Through these sacred wounds we can see the secret of His Heart, the great mystery of love, the sincerity of His mercy, with which He visited us from on high. Where have Your love, Your mercy, Your compassion shone out more luminously, than in Your wounds, sweet, gentle Lord of mercy? More mercy than this no-one has, than that He lay down His life for those who are doomed to death.
My merit comes from His mercy; for I do not lack merit so long as He does not lack pity. And if the Lord’s mercies are many, then I am rich in merits. For even if I am aware of many sins, what does it matter? Where sin abounded grace has overflowed. And if the Lord’s mercies are from all ages forever, I too will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. Will I not sing of my own righteousness? No, Lord, I shall be mindful only of Your justice. Yet that too is my own, for God has made You my righteousness.” – St Bernard of Clarirvaux (1090-1153) Doctor of Light – Excerpt from his Sermon 61 On the Song of Songs
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, we make our prayer to You at morning, noon and evening. Dispel from our hearts, the darkness of sin and bring us to the true light, Christ Your Son. Grant that through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, all your Angels and Saints, we may deny ourselves in love and obedience to You the reward of our love. Through Jesus, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 11 December – Friday of the Second week of Advent
“May We Love Only You”
“Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
Luke 24:29
“You hide your heart from man – hide it from God if you can. … Where will you go? Where will you flee? Do you want to hear some advice? If you want to flee from Him – flee to Him. Flee to Him by Confessing, not from Him, by hiding, for you cannot hide but you can Confess. Tell Him. “You are my refuge” (Ps 32[31]:7) and let there be nursed in yo, the love that alone leads to life.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
May We Love Only You By St Columban (543-615)
Loving Saviour, be pleased to show Yourself to us who knock, so that in knowing You, we may love only You, love You alone, desire You alone, contemplate only You, day and night and always think of You. Inspire in us the depth of love that is fitting for You to receive as God. So may Your love pervade our whole being, possess us completely and fill all our senses, that we may know no other love but love for You, Who are everlasting. May our love be so great, that the many waters of sky, land and sea cannot extinguish it in us – many waters could not extinguish love. May this saying be fulfilled in us also, at least in part, by Your gift, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen
“How good and pleasant it is to dwell in the Heart of Jesus! Who is there who does not love a heart so wounded? Who can refuse a return of love to a Heart so loving? Amen.”
St Bernard (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
“Who could ever soften this heart of mine but YOU alone O Lord!”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our “measure.” There is no realm, that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil, that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem, that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!”
St John Leonardi (1541-1609)
“During the night we must wait for the light.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of Charity
“Only God fills the soul and fills it wholly. Let scientists go on asking – Where is God? He is where those clever ones, arrogant in their knowledge, cannot reach.”
Our Morning Offering – 29 October – Thursday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Gaetano Errico (1791-1860), Founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Prayer to the Two Loving Hearts By St John Eudes (1501-1680)
O Jesus, only Son of God, only Son of Mary, I offer You the most loving Heart of Your divine Mother which is more precious and pleasing to You than all hearts.
O Mary, Mother of Jesus, I offer you the most adorable Heart of your well-beloved Son, who is the life and love and joy of your Heart.
Blessed be the Most Loving Heart and Sweet Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the most glorious Virgin Mary, His Mother, in eternity and forever. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 16 October – The Memorial of St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”
“Announce it and let it be announced to the whole world, that I set neither limit nor measure to my gifts of grace, for those who seek them in my Heart.”
Revelations of Our Lord to St Margaret Mary Alacoque
“The Sacred Heart is the symbol of that boundless love which moved the Word to take flesh, to institute the Holy Eucharist, to take our sins upon Himself and, dying on the Cross, to offer Himself as a victim and sacrifice to the eternal Father.”
“O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee, for I fear all things, from my own weakness, but I hope for all things, from Thy Goodness.”
“Let every knee bend before You, O greatness of my God, so supremely humbled in the Sacred Host. May every heart love You, every spirit adore You and every will be subject to You!”
The Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary or those Devoted to His Sacred Heart:
I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
I will establish peace in their families.
I will console them in all their troubles.
They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
Tepid souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.
From Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque’s Vision of Jesus
St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart“
Our Morning Offering – 9 October – Friday of the Twenty Seventh Week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St John Henry Newman C.Orat (1801-1890)
O Heart of Jesus, All Love By St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
O Heart of Jesus all love, I offer You these humble prayers for myself and for all those, who unite themselves with me in spirit to adore You. O holiest Heart of Jesus most lovely, I intend to renew and to offer to You, these acts of adoration and these prayers, for myself, a wretched sinner and for all those, who are associated with me in Your adoration, through all moments which I breathe, even to the end of my life. I recommend to You, O my Jesus, Holy Church, Your dear spouse and our true Mother, all just souls and all poor sinners, the afflicted, the dying and all mankind. Let not Your Blood be shed for them in vain. Finally, deign to apply it in relief of the souls in Purgatory and of these in particular …………………..…. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 25 September – Friday of the Twenty-fifth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, Psalms 144:1, 2, 3-4, Luke 9:18-22
“Then he said to them, But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, The Christ of God.”
Luke 9:20
“If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.”
Matthew 9:21-22
“It is I, be not afraid”
John 6:20
“What determines that the gifts of God dwells in us, is the measure of each one’s faith. Because, it is to the extent that we believe that the enthusiasm to act is given us. And so, those who act, reveal the measure of their faith proportionate to their action, they receive their measure of grace according to what they have believed. …”
St Maximus the Confessor (c 580-662) Monk and Theologian
“I believe though I do not comprehend and I hold by faith, what I cannot grasp with the mind.”
St Bernard (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
“Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth, by command of the will, moved by God through grace.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus Doctor Communis
“O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee, for I fear all things, from my own weakness, but I hope for all things, from Thy Goodness.”
St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
“Faith is that which makes us believe from the depths of our souls… all the truths that our religion teaches us, all that the Gospel holds and all that the Church sets before us. The just man lives truly by this faith (Rom 1:17), for it replaces for him, the greater part of his natural senses. It so transforms all things, that the senses are of little use to the soul, which through them is only deceived, whilst faith shews it realities. Where the eye sees but a poor man, faith sees Jesus (Mt 25:40).”
Bl Charles Eugène de Foucauld of Jesus OCSO (1858-1916)
Our Morning Offering – 31 August – The last day of the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – Monday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time
Deign, O Immaculate Virgin By St Paschasius Radbertus (785–865)
Deign, O Immaculate Virgin, Mother most pure, to accept the loving cry of praise which we send up to you from the depths of our hearts. Though they can but add little to your glory, O Queen of Angels, you do not despise, in your love, the praises of the humble and the poor. Cast down upon us a glance of mercy, O most glorious Queen, graciously receive our petitions. Through your immaculate purity of body and mind, which rendered you so pleasing to God, inspire us with a love of innocence and purity. Teach us to guard carefully the gifts of grace, striving ever after sanctity, so that, being made like the image of your beauty, we may be worthy to become the sharers of your eternal happiness. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 19 August – Monday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time and The Memorial of St John Eudes Orat. (1601-1680) “Apostle of Two Hearts”
Be the Heart of My Heart By St John Eudes (1501-1680)
O Heart all lovable and all loving of my Saviour, be the Heart of my heart, the Soul of my soul, the Spirit of my spirit, the Life of my life and the sole principle of all my thoughts, words and actions, of all the faculties of my soul and of all my senses, both interior and exterior. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 13 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Thursday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time and the Feast of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners
Shelter Me Under Your Mantle Refuge of Sinners By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Most holy Virgin Immaculate, my Mother Mary,
to you who are the Mother of my Lord,
the Queen of the Universe, the Advocate,
the hope, the refuge of sinners,
I, who am the most miserable of all sinners,
have recourse this day.
I venerate you, great Queen
and I thank you for the many graces
you have bestowed upon me even unto this day,
in particular for having delivered me from the hell
which I have so often served by my sins.
I love you, my dearest Lady
and because of that love,
I promise to serve you willingly forever
and to do what I can,
to make you loved by others also.
I place in you all my hopes for salvation,
accept me as your servant
and shelter me under your mantle,
you who are the Mother of Mercy.
And since you are so powerful with God,
deliver me from all temptations,
or at least obtain for me the strength
to overcome them until death.
From you I implore a true love for Jesus Christ.
Through you I hope to die a holy death.
My dear Mother, by your love for Almighty God,
I pray you to assist me always
but most of all, at the last moment of my life.
Forsake me not then,
until you shall see me safe in heaven,
there to bless you
and sing of your mercies through all eternity.
Such is my hope.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 7 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Friday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Heart of Love and Mercy
O Most Blessed Mother,
heart of love,
heart of mercy,
ever listening, caring, consoling,
hear our prayer.
As your children,
we implore your intercession
with Jesus your Son.
Receive with understanding
and compassion
the petitions we place before you today,
especially those so deep in our heart.
We are comforted in knowing
your heart is ever open
to those who ask for your prayer.
We trust to your gentle care and intercession,
those whom we love
and those who are sick or lonely or hurting.
Help all of us, Holy Mother,
to bear our burdens in this life
until we may share eternal life
and peace with God forever.
Amen
“This Virgin Mother of the Only begotten of God is called Mary, worthy of God, Immaculate of the Immaculate, one of the one.”
Origen (c 185-253)
Historically, devotion to Mary Most Holy in the form of her Immaculate Heart first occurs in the thirteenth century with St Mechtilde, St Gertrude, St Bernardine of Siena and others. In the seventeenth century, St Francis de Sales was an exponent of this devotion. But it was St John Eudes the great apostle of the Immaculate Heart (1601-1680), who gave the decisive impulse to the practice.
In the same century, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus came back to light through St Margaret Mary Alacoque and her confessor, St Claude de La Colombiere. As the devotion to the Sacred Heart spread, so did the devotion to the Immaculate Heart. Both St Margaret Mary and St Claude, were deeply dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as well.
Beginning with Pope Pius VI, several popes incrementally spread the devotion but in 1944 Pope Pius XII extended it to the whole Church, fixing the Feast Celebration on 22 August. Today, the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated on the Saturday following the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is movable, always observed on a Friday, nineteen days after Pentecost Sunday.
The Physical Heart, Symbol of the Spiritual Heart
The Fathers of the Church consider that when, from the Cross, Our Lord Jesus made the Blessed Lady, the mother of St John and thus He appointed her the mother of all men.
Thus, Mary’s heart is the physical symbol of her boundless love for God and humankind. But Our Lady’s physical heart is also the symbol of her spiritual heart. Thus, in the Immaculate Heart of Mary we also honour her inner life, her virtues, her perfect purity, her boundless humility, her affections and her sorrow.
Poignant in Catholic tradition is the representation of Mary’s heart pierced by a sword, symbol of her immense sorrow at witnessing and willing her Son’s passion and death for the salvation of our souls.
Fatima and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
–The Five First Saturdays Devotion
In the second apparition of Fatima, Our Lady showed the seers, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, her heart encircled by thorns. Later, on 10 December 1925, in a private apparition to Sister Lucia, she asked for the devotion of reparation of the Five First Saturdays.
The Blessed Mother appeared alongside the Child Jesus who stood over a luminous cloud. Our Lady rested one hand on the Child’s shoulder while she held on the other hand a heart pierced with thorns.
The Child said,
“Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother which is covered with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment with no-one to extract them with an act of reparation.
I want My Church to…put the devotion to this Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart.”
“Look, my daughter, My Heart surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment with blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, make sure to console me and announce that all those who for five months, on the first Saturdays, go to Confession, receive Communion, say five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for 15 minutes meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making reparation to Me, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls.”
Our Lady assured Lúcia: “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.” Thus, if we devote ourselves to her Immaculate Heart, Mary will lead us to her Son, Jesus Christ and we will be on the way to Heaven.
Our Lady of Fatima
“…Let us continue Immaculate Mary’s mission. All is included in it. May [we].. follow her example and be the handmaid of the Lord in everything, everywhere and always.”
Our Morning Offering – 19 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – The Sixteenth Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time
Sweet Sacrament, We Thee Adore
I see upon the Altar placed
The Victim of the greatest love.
Let all the earth below adore
and join the heavenly choirs above:
Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore,
Oh! make us love Thee more and more.
Jesus! dear Shepherd of the flock,
that crowds in love, about Thy feet,
Our voices yearn to praise Thee, Lord
and joyfully Thy presence greet:
Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore,
Oh! make us love Thee more and more.
O Precious Blood of Jesus, cleanse my soul from every stain! Most pure Heart of Jesus, purify me! Most humble Heart of Jesus, teach me Thy humility! Sweet Heart of Jesus, communicate to me Thy gentleness and patience! Most merciful Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me! Most loving Heart of Jesus, inflame my heart with love of Thee! Amen
Our Morning Offering – 9 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Thursday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time
May I Be United With You, Good Jesus By St Peter Canisius (1521-1597) Doctor of the Church
Let my eyes take their sleep
but may my heart always
keep watch for You.
May Your right hand bless Your servants
who love You.
May I be united with the praise
that flows from You, Lord Jesus,
to all your saints;
united with the gratitude
drawn from Your heart, good Jesus,
that causes Your saints to thank You;
united with Your passion, good Jesus,
by which You took away our guilt;
united with the divine longing
that You had on earth, for our salvation;
united with every prayer
that welled from Your divine Heart, good Jesus
and flowed into the hearts of Your saints.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 7 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Tuesday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13, Psalm 115:3-10, Matthew 9:32-38
“And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night?”
Luke 18:7
“Prayer is an act of love, words are not needed. Even if sickness distracts from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to love.”
St Teresa of Jesus of Avila (1515-1582)
“Give yourself to prayer and try by it, to procure, first the amendment of your fault, then the practice of Christian virtues and finally a great love of God.”
Bl Sebastian Valfre (1629-1710)
“Do not neglect prayer, however busy you may be.”
Bl William Joseph Chaminade (1761-1850)
“O holiest Heart of Jesus most lovely, I intend to renew and to offer to You, these acts of adoration and these prayers, for myself, a wretched sinner and for all those, who are associated with me in Your adoration, through all moments which I breath, even to the end of my life.”
St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
“There is One very near you Who knocks at your door every hour of the day, Who begs you to listen to Him and to keep silence in order to hear Him.”
St Simon-Marie-Just Ranfer de Bretenières (1838-1866) Martyr
“Prayer is our strength, our sword, our consolation and the key to paradise.”
St Joseph Freinademetz (1852-1908)
“To pray, is to think about Jesus and love Him. The more we love, the better we pray.”
Bl Charles of Jesus de Foucauld (1858-1916)
“Prayer is an aspiration of the heart. It is a simple glance directed to Heaven. It is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy.”
St Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873-1897)
Doctor of the Church
Thought for the Day – 30 June – “The Last Day of Month of the Sacred Heart” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Devotion to the Sacred Heart
“When we consider it under it’s fundamental aspect as the cult of the love of God, rather than of the Incarnate Word, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is as old as Christianity, even though it is only in recent centuries, that it has assumed it’s present symbolism. “He who does not love, does not know God,” says St John, “for God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). “And we have come to know,” he continues “and have believed, the love that God has in our behalf. God is love and he who abides in love, abides in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). This cult of the love of God, particularly of the love of God made man, vibrates throughout the pages of the Gospel and of the writings of the Apostles, especially of St John and of St Paul.
In the works of the Fathers, there are references to the Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, from which flowed all the infinite graces of the Church for our redemption. We are reminded of this in the Encylical, Haurietis Aquas, published by Pope Pius XII in the year 1956. But the specific cult of the love of God, as symbolised by the Heart of Jesus, was explicitly approved by the Church after Jesus Himself appeared in the year 1674 to St Margaret Mary Alacoque and showed her His Heart on fire with love for men.”
Quote/s of the Day – 30 June – “The Last day of the Month of the Sacred Heart” – Tuesday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time Year A, Readings: Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12, Psalm 5:5-8, Matthew 8:23-27
And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord, we are perishing.”
Matthew 8:25
“It is I, be not afraid”
John 6:20
“Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14:27
“The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus.”
“Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to His promise and read His message, that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? ‘Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!'”
St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church
“It is not a calm sky, beloved but the storm which tests a pilot’s skill. When the breeze is mild, even the poorest sailor, can manage the ship. But in the crosswinds of a tempest, we want the best pilot with all His skill.”
St Peter Chrysologus (c 406 – c 450)
Father and Doctor of the Church
“Whoever has become a servant of the Lord, fears only his Master. But whoever is without the fear of God, is often afraid of his own shadow. Fearfulness is the daughter of unbelief. A proud soul is the slave of fear, hoping in itself, it comes to such a state, that it is startled by a small noise and is afraid of the dark.”
St John Climacus (579-649)
Father of the Church
“O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee, for I fear all things, from my own weakness, but I hope for all things, from Thy Goodness.”
St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
“…Therefore, never allow yourself to start brooding again but always be brave and trust. Serve your good Master with an open heart full of joy. The right way is to see all events and all obstacles in the spirit of faith as being in the hands of Our Lord and to hear Him say to you, on every occasion, as He did to the disciples ‘It is I. Do not fear. Have faith.’”
St Michael Garicoïts (1797-1863)
“We need not be afraid because even while He sleeps, He watches over us. Jesus does not save us FROM storms, He saves us IN storms. DO NOT WAKE Jesus. Let Him sleep. He is still in control!”
AnaStpaul 
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