Posted in AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, REDEMPTIVE Suffering, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, The HEART, To JESUS through MARY, To JESUS through MARY

Thought for the Day – 18 August – The Apostolate of Prayer

Thought for the Day – 18 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Apostolate of Prayer

“Everybody cannot be an Apostle in the strict sense of the word.
Not everyone can dedicate his whole life to the expansion of God’s Kingdom upon earth and to the conversion of pagans, heretics and sinners.
Everyone can, however, do a little in this cause.
Perhaps you cannot leave your family as the missionaries do and travel to distant lands to extend the Kingdom of God.
Perhaps you cannot enter a Convent or dedicate yourself to God as a Priest or a Religious because you have not received this high vocation from God.
We know, however, that each one of us has some responsibility for his neighbour and must help him whenever possible.
Go surety for your neighbour according to your means ” (Eccles 29:20).

Now, the ‘Apostleship of Prayer’ offers everybody a simple way of doing exactly this.
Its object is to promote the glory of God and the salvation of souls, especially by means of prayer in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Besides prayer, we must offer the actions and sufferings of each day.
Let us decide to become one, with all the faithful, in offering the prayers and actions and sufferings of each day to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of His Mother Mary.

We shall certainly receive showers of graces, both for ourselves and for the salvation of the souls of our neighbours.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, FATHERS of the Church, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, INDULGENCES, MARIAN Aspirations and Ejaculations, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, PARTIAL Indulgence, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, Quotes on SALVATION, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, St Francis de Sales, The ANNUNCIATION, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, To JESUS through MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 1 August – Sweet Heart of Mary

Quote/s of the Day – 1 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”

Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.

(1943 Raccolta – Indulgence 300 days)

May the Blessed Virgin,
unique in her merits,
stand in the presence of her Creator
interceding always in our favour.
She will be radiant in the fullness of glory,
she who brought forth,
from her virginal womb,
the King of glory.

St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159) 

The Blessed Virgin was chosen
to be the Mother of God
and, therefore, it is not to be doubted,
but that God fitted her for it
by His graces.

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

To ask favours without interposing Mary
is to attempt to fly without wings
!

The prayers of Mary,
have the force of command with Jesus Christ.
Hence, it is impossible for the Son
not to grant a grace
for which the Mother asks.”

St Antoninus (1389-1459)

Posted in Hail MARY!, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SIMPLICITY, QUOTES on WATCHING, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HEART, The IMITATION of MARY, Thomas a Kempis, To JESUS through MARY

Thought for the Day – 7 May – The Imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Thought for the Day – 7 May – The Imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary By Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Extracts from The Imitation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
By Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)
Imprimatur 17 February 1947

PART ONE
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
Chapter I
The Imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

i. Many young girls, says the Author of Wisdom, have amassed riches but thou, O Mary, thou surpass them all greatly.
Children, be faithful imitators of Jesus and perfect imitators of Mary.
It matters a great deal, it matters for your salvation, for the honour of Jesus and the glory of Mary, that you always be devout in your prayers, sober in your words, discreet in your looks.
In brief, be scrupulously disciplined in all your deeds.

ii. Do you wish to praise Mary worthily; do you wish to praise her in all magnificence?
Be simple, like the simple children of God, without deception, without envy, without criticism, without murmuring and without any suspicion.
Support all adverse things with charity, with great patience and great humility.
For Jesus, for Mary and, in order to imitate the Saints, watch here below, watch and be yourselves saints!
To one who knows how to offer his life to the Divine Trinity, all which is bitter here on earth appears sweet and all which seems heavy, appears very light.
Such is the fruit of the remembrance of Mary and Jesus.

iii. Prayer: When the Heart Says: Ave Maria!

O Mary, O sweet Mother of my Jesus,
I beg you, deign to open to thy poor servant,
both thy maternal compassion and thy love,
laden with sweetness.
Pour into my heart, one drop of thy tenderness
so that I may love thee with a pure heart,
thee, O Mother, the sweetest of all mothers,
so that I may imitate thee and Jesus.
Listen to me, Mother, listen to me, Mary,
kneeling I salute thee: Ave Maria!
The sky rejoices and the earth smiles
when the heart says: Ave Maria!
Satan flies afar and all hell shudders
when the heart says: Ave Maria!
The world seems small and the flesh trembles,
when the heart says: Ave Maria!
Sadness flees and happiness reigns,
when the heart says: Ave Maria!
Lukewarmness disappears and love reappears
when the heart says: Ave Maria!
Devotion grows and compunction is born,
when the heart says: Ave Maria!
Hope gushes forth and consolation increases,
when the heart says: Ave Maria!
The whole soul rekindles and love grows tender,
when the heart says: Ave Maria!
So rich and so great is the sweetness of this prayer
that it could not be expressed in words.
Thus, again I kneel before thee,
O Mary, O Virgin, O Mother
filled with goodness and I say to thee,
over and over, with reverence and devotion:
Hail, Mary, Hail!
Receive this pious salutation and with it receive me,
O Mother, within your bosom.

(Thomas à Kempis– Discourse XXV)

Posted in MARIAN QUOTES, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, To JESUS through MARY, To JESUS through MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 15 March – St Clement Mary Hofbauer

Quote/s of the Day – 15 March – St Clement Mary Hofbauer CSsR (1751-1820) “The Apostle of Vienna”

Lord, give me this soul,
for if Thou refuse,
I shall go to Thy Mother
!”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/15/quote-of-the-day-15-march-pray-the-rosary-for-the-dying/

St Clement Mary Hofbauer 1751-1820)
“The Apostle of Vienna”

Posted in CATECHESIS, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOMINICAN OP, GOD ALONE!, Hail MARY!, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARY, MATER ECCLESIAE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, St Francis de Sales, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, To JESUS through MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 27 June – – Mother of Perpetual Succour

Quote/s of the Day – 27 June – – Mother of Perpetual Succour

Let not your heart be disturbed.
Do not fear that sickness,
nor any other sickness or anguish.
Am I not here, who is your Mother?
Are you not under my protection?
Am I not your health?
Are you not happily within my fold?
What else do you wish?
Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything!

Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego
9 December 1531

Gracious Lady,
you are a Mother and Virgin,
you are the Mother
of the body and soul
of our Head and Redeemer,
you are also truly Mother
of all the members of Christ’s Mystical Body.
For through your love,
you have co-operated
in the begetting of the faithful in the Church.
Unique among women,
you are Mother and Virgin,
Mother of Christ and Virgin of Christ.
You are the beauty and charm of earth, O Virgin.
You are, forever, the image of the holy Church.
Through a woman came death,
through a woman came life!
yes, through you, O Mother of God.

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

Whenever I Say Hail Mary
Blessed Alain de la Roche (1428-1475)

Whenever I say Hail Mary,
The Court of Heaven rejoices
And the earth is lost in wonderment
And I despise the world
And my heart is brim full
Of the love of God.

When I say Hail Mary,
All my fears wilt and die
And my passions are quelled.

If I say Hail Mary,
Devotion grows within me
And sorrow for sin awakens.

When I say Hail Mary,
Hope is made strong in my breast
And the dew of consolation
Falls on my soul
more and more,
Because I say Hail Mary.
And my spirit rejoices,
And sorrow fades away
When I say …
Hail Mary!

Let me now say something of the devotion
which we ought to have toward this holy Virgin.
The worldly-minded imagine
that devotion to Our Lady
usually consists in carrying a Rosary in their cincture.
It seems to them that, it is enough,
to pray it a number of times without doing anything else.
In this, they are greatly mistaken!
For our dear Mistress wants us to do
what her Son commands us [Jn 2:5]
and, considers as done to herself,
the honour we give to her Son,
by keeping His commandments.

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

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, GOD ALONE!, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, Our MORNING Offering, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The DIVINE INFANT, To JESUS through MARY

Our Morning Offering – 22 June – The Mater Christi!

Our Morning Offering – 22 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” and Mary’s Day

The Mater Christi!
Unknown Author

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
What shall I ask of thee?
I do not sigh for the wealth of earth
For the joys that fade and flee,
But, Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
This do I long to see —
The bliss untold which thy arms enfold,
The Treasure upon thy knee.

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
He was All-in-All to thee,
In the winter’s cave, in Nazareth’s home,
In the hamlets of Galilee,
So, Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
He will not say nay to thee,
When He lifts His Face to thy sweet embrace,
Speak to Him, Mother, of me.

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
The world will bid Him flee,
Too busy to heed His gentle Voice,
Too blind His charms to see,
Then, Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
Come with thy Babe to me,
Tho’ the world be cold, my heart shall hold
A shelter for Him and thee.

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
What shall I do for thee?
I will love thy Son with the whole of my strength,
My only King shall He be.
Yes! Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
This will I do for thee,
Of all that are dear or cherished here,
None shall be dear as He.

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
I toss on a stormy sea,
O lift thy Child as a Beacon Light,
To the Port where I fain would be!
And, Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
This do I ask of thee —
When the voyage is o’er, oh! stand on the shore
And show Him at last to me!

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, LENT, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on BAD CONVERSATION, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, QUOTES on VICE, QUOTES on VIRTUE, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, St Francis de Sales, The PASSION, To JESUS through MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 5 February – In Sexagesima Week, Preparing for Lent

Quote/s of the Day – 5 February – In Sexagesima Week, Preparing for Lent

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

Have Mercy, Lord
By St Peter Damian (1007-1072)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Have mercy, Lord,
on all my friends and relatives,
on all my benefactors,
on all who pray to Thee for me
and on all who have asked me
to pray to Thee, for them.
Give them the spirit of fruitful penance,
mortify them in all vices
and make them flower
in all Thy virtues.
Amen

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

O Jesus, My Sweet Love!
(I too have kept Thee suffering)
Prayer of Contrition
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

O Jesus, my sweet Love!
I too have kept Thee suffering
through all Thy life.
Tell me, then, what I must do
in order to win Thy forgiveness.
I am ready to do all Thou askest of me.
I am sorry, O sovereign Good,
for all the offences I have committed against Thee.
I love Thee more than myself,
or at least, I feel a great desire to love Thee.
Since it is Thou Who hast given me this desire,
do Thou also give me the strength to love Thee exceedingly.

It is only right that I,
who have offended Thee so much,
should love Thee very much.
Always remind me of the love
Thou hast borne me,
in order that my soul may ever burn
with love of Thee and long to please Thee alone.
O God of love,
I, who was once a slave of hell,
now give myself all to Thee.
Graciously accept me and bind me to Thee
with the bonds of Thy love.
My Jesus, from this day and forever,
in loving Thee will I live
and in loving Thee will I die.

O Mary, my Mother and my hope,
help me to love Thy dear God and mine.
This is the only favour I ask of thee
and through thee, I hope to receive it.
Amen

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, To JESUS through MARY

Our Morning Offering – 14 October – Look Down, O Mother Mary! By St Alphonsus

Our Morning Offering – 14 October – “The Month of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Angels” and Mary’s Day

Look Down, O Mother Mary!
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Transl, Fr Edmund Vaughan, CSSR in 1863

Look down, O Mother Mary!
From thy bright throne above;
Cast down upon thy children
One only glance of love.

And if a heart so tender
With pity flows not o’er,
Then turn away, O Mother!
And look on us no more.

See how, ungrateful sinners,
We stand before thy Son;
His loving heart upbraids us
The evil we have done.

But if thou wilt appease Him,
Speak for us—but one word;
Thou only canst obtain as
The pardon of our Lord.

O Mary, dearest Mother!
If thou wouldst have us live,
Say that we are thy children,
And Jesus will forgive.

Our sins make us unworthy
That title still to bear
But thou art still our Mother,
Then show a Mother’s care.

Open to us thy mantle,
There stay we without fear,
What evil can befall us
If, Mother, thou art near?

O sweetest, dearest Mother!
Thy sinful children save;
Look down on us with pity,
Who thy protection crave.

Posted in MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, MOTHER of GOD, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, To JESUS through MARY

Thought for the Day – 11 October – Mary, the Mother of God

Thought for the Day – 11 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mary, the Mother of God

“Most Holy Mary, not only were you raised to the dignity of Mother of God but, you carried out His holy Will, heroically on all occasions.
Obtain for me, from your divine Son, Jesus, the grace to co-operate always and at all costs, with His designs for me, both in life and in death, amen.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/10/11/thought-for-the-day-11-october-mary-mother-of-god/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/10/11/thought-for-the-day-11-october-mary-the-mother-of-god/

Posted in DOGMA, MARIAN NOVENAS, MARIAN QUOTES, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, THE ASSUMPTION, To JESUS through MARY

Reminder – The Novena to Our Lady of the Assumption – Begins tomorrow

The Novena to Our Lady of the Assumption
Begins 6 August in preparation
for the Feast on 15 August – a Holy Day.

We never give more honour to Jesus
than when we honour His Mother,
and we honour her,
simply and solely,
to honour Him all the more perfectly.
We go to her only as a way
leading to the goal we seek – Jesus, her Son.
” s

St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)

Please join us as we pray a Novena in reverence and filial devotion
to Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Assumed into Heaven, our Queen and our Mother Mary.

We pray in preparation for the great Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, Body and Soul as defined and declared as Dogma on 1 November 1950, by Pope Pius XII.
Thus he solemnly proclaimed that the belief whereby, the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the close of her earthly life, was taken up, body and soul, into the Glory of Heaven, definitively forms part of the deposit of faith, received from the Apostles.

Our Novena will include a brief Meditation with practical reflection, a preparatory prayer by St Alphonsus Liguori and the daily prayer each morning for nine days. See you here!

Posted in AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, IMMACULATE HEART Quotes, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SACRED HEART QUOTES, The DIVINE INFANT, The NATIVITY of JESUS, To JESUS through MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 11 January – ‘ … For it is through her, that the true Light shines on the sea of this life.’

Quote/s of the Day – 11 January – Within the Octave if Epiphany

Go to Mary and sing her praises
and you will be enlightened.
For it is through her,
that the true Light
shines on the
sea of this life.

St Ildephonsus (607-670)

Do you not know,
that not only is Jesus,
resting and dwelling continually
in the Heart of Mary
but that He is, Himself the Heart of Mary …

St John Eudes CO (1601-1680)
Apostle of the Two Holy Hearts

The Mater Christi
Unknown Author

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
What shall I ask of thee?
I do not sigh for the wealth of earth
For the joys that fade and flee,
But, Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
This do I long to see —
The bliss untold which thy arms enfold,
The Treasure upon thy knee.

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
He was All-in-All to thee,
In the winter’s cave, in Nazareth’s home,
In the hamlets of Galilee,
So, Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
He will not say nay to thee,
When He lifts His Face to thy sweet embrace,
Speak to Him, Mother, of me.

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
The world will bid Him flee,
Too busy to heed His gentle voice,
Too blind His charms to see,
Then, Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
Come with thy Babe to me,
Tho’ the world be cold, my heart shall hold
A shelter for Him and thee.

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
What shall I do for thee?
I will love thy Son with the whole of my strength,
My only King shall He be.
Yes! Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
This will I do for thee,
Of all that are dear or cherished here,
None shall be dear as He.

Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
I toss on a stormy sea,
O lift thy Child as a Beacon Light,
To the Port where I fain would be!
And, Mother of Christ, Mother of Christ,
This do I ask of thee —
When the voyage is o’er, oh! stand on the shore
And show Him at last to me.

Most Holy Mary, may I follow your example here on earth.
Please lead us, together with your Divine Son, Jesus,
here in our earthly pilgrimage,
for you never once lost sight of God.
May the darkness of this world not encompass me,
for with you beside me and Christ around me,
I will be safe.
For the beauty of the created things
can be a snare of immense power.
May the Light of your Son,
be my beacon and Light my path
and intercede for me,
that I may ever radiate His Light.
Grant that I may see, in all things,
the Presence and Beauty of God alone,
so that I may always continue to advance,
nearer and nearer to Him.
Amen.

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)