Quote/s of the Day – 24 February – Friday after Ash Wednesday and the Feast of St Matthias, Apostle – Acts 1:15-26, Matthew 11:25-30 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, Who knows the hearts of all men, show which of these two Thou hast chosen, to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas hath, by transgression, fallen …”
Acts 1:24-25
“When we stand in the light it is not we who illumine the light and cause it to shine but we are illuminated and made shining by the light… God grants His blessings on those who serve Him because they are serving Him and on those who follow Him because they are following Him but He receives no blessing from them because He is perfect and without need.”
St Irenaeus(c130-c208) Bishop, Father of the Church
“You did not choose Me but I chose you…”
John 15:16
“That is amazing grace! For what were we before Christ had chosen us besides being wicked and lost? What then has He chosen in those who are not good? You cannot say, I am chosen because I believed. For if you believed in Him, you had already chosen Him. Nor can you say, before I believed I did good works and, therefore, was chosen. For what good work is there before faith when the Apostle says, “Whatever is not of faith is sin?” What is there for us to say, then but that we were wicked and were chosen, that by the grace of having been chosen, we might become good?”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“… It was their vocation to call sinners to repentance, to heal those who were sick, whether in body or spirit, to seek in all their dealing, never to do their own will but the will of Him who sent them and, as far as possible, to save the world by their teaching.”
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Bishop, Father & Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 24 February – Friday after Ash Wednesday and the Feast of St Matthias – Acts 1:15-26, Matthew 11:25-30 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I Am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy, and My burden light.” … Matthew 11:29-30
REFLECTION – “You are to “take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” You are not learning from me how to refashion the fabric of the world, nor to create all things visible and invisible, nor to work miracles and raise the dead. Rather, you are simply learning of me: “that I am meek and lowly in heart.”
If you wish to reach high, then begin at the lowest level. If you are trying to construct some mighty edifice in height, you will begin with the lowest foundation. This is humility. However great the mass of the building you may wish to design or erect, the taller the building is to be, the deeper you will dig the foundation. The building in the course of its erection, rises up high but he who digs its foundation, must first go down very low. So then, you see even a building is low before it is high and the tower is raised, only after humiliation.”… St Augustine(354-430) Father & Doctor (Sermon 69)
PRAYER – O God, Who added blessed Matthias to the company of Thy Apostles, grant, we beseech Thee, that by his intercession we may ever be aware of the depth of Thy love for us. 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).
St Evetius of Nicomedia Bl Ida of Hohenfels St Liudhard Bl Lotario Arnari Blessed Marco De’ Marconi OSH (1480-1510) Monk of the Order of the Hermits of Saint Jerome (The Hieronymites). St Modestus of Trier St Peter the Librarian St Praetextatus of Rouen St Primitiva St Sergius of Caesarea Bl Simon of Saint Bertin
Quote/s of the Day – 23 February – The Memorial of St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Doctor of the Church
“Let us detach ourselves in spirit from all that we see and cling to that which we believe. This is the Cross which we must imprint on all our daily actions and behaviour.”
“I scourge both flesh and spirit because I know that I have offended in both flesh and spirit.”
“May Christ be heard in our language, may Christ be seen in our life, may He be perceived in our hearts”
“Let us faithfully transmit to posterity, the example of virtue, which we have received, from our forefathers.”
St Alexander Akimetes St Boswell St Dositheus of Egypt St Felix of Brescia St Florentius of Seville St Giovanni Theristi (1049–1129) Monk Bl John of Hungary
St Lazarus Zographos (c 810-c 867) Priest, Monk known as “the Painter and the Iconographer.” Lazarus lived before and during the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. The Roman Martyrology states of him today: “St Lazarus, a Monk, whom the Iconoclast Emperor Theophilus ordered to be put to torture for having painted holy images. His hand was burned with a hot iron but, being healed by the power of God, he painted anew the holy images which had been defaced and finally rested in peace.” Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/23/saint-of-the-day-23-february-st-lazarus-zographos-810-865/
St Martha of Astorga St Medrald St Milburga (Died 715) Abbess Bl Milo of Benevento St Ordonius St Polycarp of Rome St Romana
St Serenus the Gardener (Died 307) Martyr. Serenus was by birth a Grecian. He left his family estate, friends and country to serve God in celibacy, penance and prayer. With this design he bought a garden in Sirmium in Pannonia, which he cultivated with his own hands and lived on the fruits and herbs it produced. His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/23/saint-of-the-day-23-february-st-serenus-the-gardener-died-307-martyr/
Martyrs of Syrmium – 73 Christians who were Martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know no details about them, and only six of their names – Antigonus, Libius, Rogatianus, Rutilus, Senerotas and Syncrotas.
One Minute Reflection – 6 February – “The Month of the Blessed Trinitys” – St Titus (Died c96) Bishop, Confessor – Ecclesiasticus 44:16-27; 45:3-20, Luke 10:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them forth two-by-two, before Him into every town and place, where He, Himself, was about to come.” – Luke 10:1
REFLECTION – “Beloved brothers, our Lord and Saviour sometimes gives us instruction by Words and sometimes by Actions. His very Deeds are our commands and whenever He acts silently, He is teaching us what we should do. For example, He sends His disciples out to preach, two-by-two because the precept of charity is twofold—love of God and of one’s neighbour.
The Lord sends His disciples out to preach in twos, in order to teach us, silently, that whoever fails in charity toward his neighbour, should by no means take upon himself the office of preaching.
Rightly is it said, that He sent them ahead of Him into every city and place, where He ,Himself was to go. For the Lord follows after the preachers because preaching goes ahead to prepare the way and then, when the words of exhortation have gone ahead and established Truth in our minds, the Lord comes to live within us. To those who preach ,Isaiah says: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. And the psalmist tells them: Make a way for Him who rises above the sunset. The Lord rises above the sunset because, from that very place where He slept in death, He rose again and manifested a greater glory. He rises above the sunset because, in His Resurrection, He trampled underfoot the death, which He endured. Therefore, we make a way for Him who rises above the sunset ,when we preach His glory to you, so that when He, Himself follows after us, He may illumine you with His Love.
Let us listen now to His words as He sends His preachers forth: The harvest is great but the labourers are few. Pray, therefore, the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into His harvest. That the harvest is good but the labourers are few cannot be said without a heavy heart, for although there are many to hear the good news there are only a few to preach it. Indeed, see how full the world is of Priests but yet, in God’s harvest, a true labourer is rarely to be found;,although we have accepted the Priestly office, we do not fulfil its demands!
Think over, my beloved brothers, think over His Words: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into His harvest. Pray for us, so that we may be able to labour worthily on your behalf, that our tongue may not grow weary of exhortation, that after we have taken up the office of preaching, our silence may not bring us condemnation from the Just Judge! ” – St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Homily 17, On the Gospels).
PRAYER – O God, Who adorned blessed Titus, Thy Confessor and Bishop, with the virtues of an apostle, grant, through his merits and intercession that by living justly and piously in this world, we may be found worthy to enter Heaven. 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).
Our Morning Offering – 6 February – St Titus (Died c96) Bishop, Confessor
O Fathers of Our Ancient Faith
O Fathers of our ancient faith, With all the heav’n, we sing your fame Whose sound went forth in all the earth To tell of Christ and bless His Name.
You took the Gospel to the poor, The Word of God alight in you, Which in our day is told again, That timeless Word, forever new.
You told of God, Who died for us And out of death triumphant rose, Who gave the Truth which made us free and changeless through the ages goes.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Whose gift is faith that never dies, A light in darkness now, until The Day-Star in our hearts arise.
O Fathers of Our Ancient Faith is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office it is sung at Morning Prayer in the Common of Apostles. It is set to the anonymous tune associated with the 7th century Latin hymn, Creator Alme Siderum.
Saint of the Day – 6 February – St Titus (Died c96) Bishop, Confessor, Disciple of St Paul, Missionary, Peacemaker, Teacher, Administrator, Friend – Patron of Crete.
Saint Titus, Bishop and Confessor From the Liturgical Year, 1904
We are to celebrate today, the Feast of a holy Bishop of the Apostolic Age–a Disciple of the Apostle St Paul. Little is known of his life but, by addressing to him, one of his inspired Epistles, the Apostle of the Gentiles has immortalised his memory. Wheresoever the Faith of Christ has been or shall be preached, Titus’ name has been venerated by the Faithful and, as long as the world lasts, the holy Church will read to her children, this Epistle, which was written, indeed, to a simple Bishop of the Isle of Crete but was dictated by the Holy Ghost and, therefore, destined to be a part of those Sacred Scriptures, which contain the Word of God. The counsels and directions given in this admirable Letter, were the rule of the holy Bishop, for whom St Paul entertained a very strong affection. St Titus had the honour of establishing the Christian Religion in that famous Island, which was one of the strongholds of Paganism. He survived his master, who was put to death by Nero. Like St John, he sweetly slept in Christ at a very advanced age, respected and loved by the Church he had founded. As we have already observed, his life left but few traces behind it; but these few are sufficient, to prove him to have been, one of those wonderful men, whom God chose as the directors of His infant Church.
Titus, Bishop of Crete, was initiated into the Christian faith by Paul the Apostle and being prepared by the Sacraments, he shed so bright a light of sanctity on the infant Church that he merited to be chosen as one of the Disciples of the Doctor of the Gentiles. Being called to bear the burden of preaching the Gospel, so ardent and persevering was he, in the discharge of that duty that he endeared himself to St Pau,l so much, as to make the Apostle say in one of his Epistles that being come to Troas, to preach the Faith in that City, he found no rest for his heart because he found not there his brother Titus. And having, a short time after this, gone to Macedonia, he thus expresses his affection for his disciple in these terms -“ But God who comforteth the humble, comforted us by the coming of Titus.”
Being sent to Corinth by the Apostle, he acquitted himself in this mission (which mainly consisted in collecting the alms, given by the piety of the faithful, towards alleviating the distress of the Hebrew Church) with so much prudence and patience that he not only confirmed the Corinthians in the Faith of Christ but made them so desirous of a visit from Paul, who had been their first teacher in the faith that they shed tears of longing affection.
After having undertaken several journeys both by sea and land, in order to sow the seed of the Divine Word among people of various tongues and Countries and, after having supported, with great firmness of soul, countless anxieties and fatigues, in order to plant the standard of the Cross – he landed at the Island of Crete, in company with his master, St Paul. The Apostle made him Bishop of the Church which he had founded in that Island and it is not to be doubted but that Titus so discharged his duty, as that he became a model to the Faithful, according to the advice given to him by his master, in good works, in doctrine, in integrity, in gravity.
St Titus left with St Paul
Thus did he become a shining light, pouring forth the rays of the Christian Faith on them that were sitting in the darkness of idolatry and lies, as in the shadow of death. Tradition tells us that he passed into Dalmatia, where he laboured with extraordinary zeal to enlist that people under the Banner of the Cross.
At length, full of days and merit, in the ninety-fourth year of his age, he slept in the Lord, the death of the just, on the vigil of the nones of January (4 January) and was buried in the Church in which the Apostle had appointed him Minister of the Word. St John Chrysostom and St Jerome pass great eulogium upon this holy Bishop and his name is inscribed in the Roman Martyrology on the day abovementioned but in establishing his Feast to be celebrated, with an Office and Mass, throughout the Catholic world, by the Clergy secular and regular, the Sovereign Pontiff Pius the Ninth ordered it to be kept on the first vacant day following the anniversary of the Saint’s death, which is today, 6 February.
St Titus (First Century-c96) Bishop, Confessor, Disciple of St Paul, Missionary, Peacemaker, Teacher, Administrator, Friend – Patron of Crete. The New Testament does not record his death.
Saint Pedro Bautista Blásquez y Blásquez OFM (1542-1597) Priest Martyr and the 26 Martyrs of Japan – Died by Crucifixion on 5 February 1597. Canonised on 8 June 1862 by Pope Pius IX.
St Amand of Moissac St Amand of Nantes St Andrew of Elnone Bl Angelus of Furci St Antholian of Auvergne St Brinolfo Algotsson Cassius of Auvergne Bl Diego de Azevedo St Ethelburga of Wessex Bl Francesca of Gubbio St Gerald of Ostia St Gonsalo Garcia OFM St Guarinus St Guethenoc St Hildegund St Ina of Wessex St Jacut St Liminius of Auvergne St Maximus of Aurvergne St Mel of Ardagh St Melchu of Armagh St Mun of Lough Ree St Relindis of Eyck St Revocata St Saturninus St Tanco of Werden St Theophilus St Theophilus the Lawyer
St Vaast of Arras (c 453-539 or 540) Bishop – The First Bishop of Arras, France , Hermit, Ascetic, Miracle-worker, Advisor to King Clovis. The Roman Martyrology reads: “In Arras in Belgian Gaul, today in France, Saint Vedastus, Bishop, who, sent by Saint Remigius Bishop of Rheims to the devastated City, catechised King Clovis, re-established the Church and held it for about forty years and brought to an end, the need of work for evangelisation among the previously still pagan peoples of the region.” St Vaast is another Patron of eye diseases, problems and blindness. Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/06/saint-of-the-day-6-february-saint-vaast-of-arras-c-453-539-or-540/
St Victorinus of Auvergne
Martyrs of Emesa: St Luke the Deacon St Mucius the Lector
St Geminian of Modena Bl John Angelus St Julius of Novara Blessed Louise degli Albertoni TOSF (1474-1533) Widow, Mystic, Ecstatic, Apostle of the sick, the poor, the deprived, Miracle-worker. St Madoes St Marcella St Martin Manuel St Nicetas of Novgorod St Tryphaena of Cyzicus St Tysul St Ulphia of Amiens St Waldo of Evreux St Wilgils
Martyrs of Corinth – 14 Saints: A group of Christians tortured and Martyred together in Corinth, Greece in the persecutions of Decius. We know nothing about them except some names – Anectus, Claudius, Codratus, Crescens, Cyprian, Diodorus, Dionysius, Nicephorus, Papias, Paul, Serapion, Theodora, Victor and Victorinus.
Martyrs of Canope: A group of Christians tortured and Martyred together in Corinth, Greece in the persecutions of Decius. We know nothing about them except some names – Anectus, Claudius, Codratus, Crescens, Cyprian, Diodorus, Dionysius, Nicephorus, Papias, Paul, Serapion, Theodora, Victor and Victorinus.
Martyred in Alexandria, Egypt: Cyriacus Metranus Saturninus Tarskius Thyrsus Victor Zoticus
Our Morning Offering – 24 January – Feast of Saint Timothy, Bishop and Martyr
O Fathers of Our Ancient Faith
O Fathers of our ancient faith, With all the heav’n, we sing your fame Whose sound went forth in all the earth To tell of Christ and bless His Name.
You took the Gospel to the poor, The Word of God alight in you, Which in our day is told again, That timeless Word, forever new.
You told of God, Who died for us And out of death triumphant rose, Who gave the Truth which made us free and changeless through the ages goes.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Whose gift is faith that never dies, A light in darkness now, until The Day-Star in our hearts arise.
O Fathers of Our Ancient Faith is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office it is sung at Morning Prayer in the Common of Apostles. It is set to the anonymous tune associated with the 7th century Latin hymn, Creator Alme Siderum.
St Filip Geryluk St Guasacht St Ignacy Franczuk Bl John Grove St Julian Sabas the Elder St Macedonius Kritophagos Blessed Marcolino Amanni of Forli OP (1317-1397) Priest and Friar of the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, Mystic.
St Projectus St Sabinian of Troyes St Suranus of Sora St Thyrsus Bl William Ireland
Martyrs of Asia Minor – 4 Saints: A group of ChristiansMmartyred together for their faith. The only details to survive are four of their names – Eugene, Mardonius, Metellus and Musonius. They were burned at the stake in Asia Minor.
Martyrs of Podlasie – 13 Beati: Podlasie is an area in modern eastern Poland that, in the 18th-century, was governed by the Russian Empire. Russian sovereigns sought to bring all Eastern-rite Catholics into the Orthodox Church. Catherine II suppressed the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine in 1784. Nicholas I did the same in Belarus and Lithuania in 1839. Alexander II did the same in the Byzantine-rite Eparchy of Chelm in 1874 and officially suppressed the Eparchy in 1875. The Bishop and the Priests who refused to join the Orthodox Church were deported to Siberia or imprisoned. The laity, left on their own, had to defend their Church, their liturgy and their union with Rome. On 24 January 1874 soldiers entered the village of Pratulin to transfer the parish to Orthodox control. Many of the faithful gathered to defend their parish and Church. The soldiers tried to disperse the people but failed. Their commander tried to bribe the parishioners to abandon Rome but failed. He threatened them with assorted punishments but this failed to move them. Deciding that a show of force was needed, the commander ordered his troops to fire on the unarmed, hymn-singing laymen. Thirteen of the faithful died, most married men with families, ordinary men with great faith. We know almost nothing about their lives outside of this incident. Their families were not allowed to honour them or participate in the funerals and the authorities hoped they would be forgotten. Their names are:
Anicet Hryciuk
Bartlomiej Osypiuk
Daniel Karmasz
Filip Geryluk
Ignacy Franczuk
Jan Andrzejuk
Konstanty Bojko
Konstanty Lukaszuk
Lukasz Bojko
Maksym Hawryluk
Michal Wawryszuk
Onufry Wasyluk
Wincenty Lewoniuk Martyrdom:
shot on 14 January 1874 by Russian soldiers in Podlasie, Poland
buried nearby without rites by those soldiers.
Martyrs of Antioch: Babylas Epolonius Prilidian Urban
One Minute Reflection – 18 January – Feast of the Chair of the Apostle, St Peter at Rome – 1 Peter 1:1-7, Matthew 16:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Upon this rock I will build my church” … Matthew 16:18
REFLECTION – “Nothing escaped the Wisdom and Power of Christ, the elements of nature lay at His service, spirits obeyed Him, Angels served Him. … And yet, out of all the world, Peter alone was chosen to stand at the head, for the calling of all the peoples and the oversight of all the Apostles and Fathers of the Church. Thus, even though there are many Priests and shepherds among the People of God, Peter governed them all in person, while Christ also governs them in the capacity of Head. …
The Lord asks all the Apostles what people think of Him and they all say the same thing, so long as they are making known the doubts deriving from human ignorance. But when the Lord demands to know, what the disciples themselves think, the first to confess the Lord is he, who is the first in dignity of the Apostles. As he had said: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus answers him: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” That is to say, blessed are you because My Father taught this to you. Earthly opinion has not led you astray but it is heavenly inspiration that has instructed you. It is not flesh and blood that enabled you to discover Me but He, Whose only Son I Am.
“And so I say to you,” that is to say- just as my Father has manifested My Divinity to you, so I Am making known your superiority to you. “You are Peter” namely, I am the unshakeable Rock, the Cornerstone who makes two peoples one (Eph 2:14), the foundation other than which, no-one can lay any other (1 Cor 3:11). But you also, you are rock, since you are impregnable by My Strength and, what I have by virtue of My Power, you have in common with Me, by the fact,, that you participate in it. “On this rock I will build My Church” … On the firmness of this foundation, He says, will I build an everlasting temple and My Church, whose summit is to reach to Heaven, will be raised on the strength of that faith.” … Saint Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father and Doctor of the Church ( 4th sermon for the Anniversary of his Consecration).
PRAYER – O God, Who together with the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven didst bestow on thy blessed Apostle Peter the pontifical power of binding and loosing, grant that by the aid of his intercession, we may be released from the bonds of our sins. ThroughJesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
One Minute Reflection – 3 January – “The Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus” – Octave Day of St John, Apostle – Ecclesiasticus 15:1-6, John 21:19-24 –Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“This is that disciple who bears witness concerning these things and who has written these things and we know that his witness is true.” – John 21:24
REFLECTION – “In proportion to the grace that caused Jesus to love him and enabled him to rest on Jesus’ Breast at the Supper (Jn 13:23), John abundantly received [the Spirit’s gifts] of understanding and wisdom (Is 11:2) – understanding with which to comprehend Scripture, wisdom with which to compose his own books with wonderful skill. As a matter of fact, he did not receive this gift right from the time when he rested on our Lord’s Breast, even if he was subsequently able to draw from that Heart “in which are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). When he says, that when he went into the tomb “he saw and he believed,” he acknowledges that “they did not yet understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead” (Jn 20:9). Like all the other Apostles, John received its fullness, when the Holy Spirit came [at Pentecost] and when grace had been given to each of them “according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Eph 4:7). …
The Lord Jesus loved this disciple more than all the others … and opened the secrets of Heaven to him … to make of him the author of that profound Mystery which man can say nothing about, of himself: the Mystery of the Word, God’s Utterance, the Word made flesh. This is the fruit of that love. Yet even though He loved him, it was not to him that Jesus said: “You are Peter, and on this rock I shall build my Church” (Mt 16:18) … While He loved all His disciples and especially Peter, with a love in mind and soul, our Lord loved John with the love of His Heart …. In the order of Apostleship, Simon Peter received the first place and the “keys of the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt 16:19) but John, won another inheritance, the spirit of understanding, “a wealth of joy and gladness” (Sir 15:6).” – Rupert of Deutz (c 1075- c 1130) Benedictine Monk, Theologian and Writer (The Works of the Holy Spirit, IV, 10 SC 165)
PRAYER – O Lord, graciously shed light upon Thy Church, so that, enlightened by the teachings of blessed John, Thy Apostle and Evangelist, she may gain Thy everlasting rewards.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).
Our Morning Offering – 3 January – Octave Day of St John, Apostle
An Exile for the Faith By Father Nicolas Le Tourneux (1640– 1686) Trans. by Fr Edward Caswall C. Orat. (1814–1878)
An exile for the faith Of thy Incarnate Lord, Beyond the stars, beyond all space, Thy soul imprisoned soared, There saw in glory Him, Who liveth and was dead; There Judah’s Lion and the Lamb That for our ransom bled.
There of the Kingdom learnt The mysteries sublime; How, sown in Martyrs’ blood, the faith Should spread from clime to clime. The Holy City, bathed In her dear Spouse’s Light, Pure seat of bliss, thy spirit saw And gloried in the sight.
Now to the Lamb’s clear fount, To drink of life their fill, Thou callest all; O Lord, in me This blessed thirst instil. To Jesus, Virgin-born, Praise with the Father be, Praise to the Spirit Paraclete, Through all eternity. Amen.
St Anysia of Thessalonica St Anysius of Thessalonica
St Egwin of Worcester OSB (Died 717) Bishop of Worcester, England, Benedictine Monk, Reformer and Penitent, miracle-worker. Egwin was devout and lived for God from his youth. His biographers say, that king, clergy and the faithful, all united in demanding Egwin’s elevation to Bishop. About St Egwin: https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/30/saint-of-the-day-30-december-saint-egwin-of-worcester-osb-died-717/
St Elias of Conques St Eugene of Milan St Geremarus
St Hermes of Moesia St Jucundus of Aosta St Liberius of Ravenna
Blessed Margherita Colonna (c 1255-1284) Virgin, Nun, Mystic, Apostle of the poor. Beatified on 17 September 1847 by Pope Pius IX. The Roman Martyrology states: “At Palestrina in Lazio, Blessed Margherita Colonna, Virgin, who preferred poverty for Christ to the riches and pleasures of the world, which she served by professing the Rule of St Clare.” Her Life: https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/30/saint-of-the-day-30-december-blessed-margherita-colonna-c-1255-1284/
St Perpetuus of Tours Bl Raoul of Vaucelles St Rainerius of Aquila (Died c 1077) Bishop Bl Richard of Wedinghausen St Ruggero of Canne St Sebastian of Esztergom
Martyrs of Alexandria – 5 Saints: A group of Christians Martyred in the unrest caused by Monophysite heretics. We know the names for five of them – Appian, Donatus, Honorius, Mansuetus and Severus. They were martyred in c 483 at Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Oia – 6 Saints: A group of Christians Martyred together, date unknown. The only details to have survived are the names – Cletus, Florentius, Papinianus, Paul, Serenusa and Stephen. They were martyred in Oia, Greece.
Martyrs of Spoleto – 4 Saints: A group of Christians Martyred in the persecutions of DioSletian – Exuperantius, Marcellus, Sabinus and Venustian. They were martyred in 303 in Spoleto, Italy.
Thought for the Day – 27 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
St John, the Apostle and Evangelist
“Both in his Gospel and in his letters, St John continually emphasises the virtue of charity. He stresses the need for love of God and love of our neighbour, “God is love,” he says, “and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). According to St Jerome, when the Apostle John was almost a hundred years old and lacked the strength to speak for very long, he was accustomed to go, supported by his disciples, to gatherings of the faithful. There he prepared, on every occasion, the same exhortation: “My children, love one another.” His followers grew tired of this and finally asked him why he kept repeating the same phrase. “Because that is God’s command,” je replied, “and if we do no more than obey it, that is sufficient!”
Let us meditate on his words and let us remember that our love for God is futile, unless it is accompanied by a practical love for our neighbour. The love of God cannot be separated, from the love of our fellow-men.”
Our Prayers to the Saints – 27 December – St John the Apostle and Evangelist, the Beloved
Indulgenced Prayer to St John (Indulgence 200 days, once a day, Pope Leo XIII, 1897)
O Glorious Apostle, who, on account of thy virginal purity, wast so beloved by Jesus as to deserve to lay thy head upon His Divine breast and to be left, in His place, as son to His most holy Mother; I beg thee to inflame me with a most ardent love for Jesus and Mary. Obtain for me from Our Lord that I, too, with a heart purified from earthly affections, may be made worthy, to be ever united to Jesus. as a faithful disciple and to Mary, as a devoted child,, both here on earth and eternally in Heaven. Amen.
One Minute Reflection – 27 December – “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception” – St John the Apostle and Evangelist, the Beloved – Ecclesiasticus 15:1-6, John 21:19-24 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Peter saw following them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, the one who, at the supper, had leaned back upon His breast … Peter, therefore, seeing him, said to Jesus, Lord and what of this man?” – John 21:20-21
REFLECTION – “There are some persons who think they are not loved because they cannot be promoted and who allege that they are despised, if they are not entrusted with responsibilities and offices. We know that as a result of this type of thinking, no small discord has sprung up, among those who were considered friends, so that estrangement followed upon indignation and railings upon estrangement …
Let no-one say that he is held in contempt, for the reason that he is not promoted, since the Lord Jesus preferred Peter to John in this respect; nor did He, on that account, lessen His affection for John because He had given Peter the leadership. To Peter He commended his Church; to John, His most beloved Mother (Jn 19:27). To Peter He gave the keys of His Kingdom (Mt 16:19); to John He revealed the secrets of His Heart (Jn 13:25). Peter, therefore, was the more exalted; John, the more secure. Although Peter was established in power, nevertheless, when Jesus said, “One of you will betray me,” (Jn 13:21) he was afraid and trembled along with the rest but John, leaning on the bosom of his Master, was made the bolder and, at a nod from Peter, asked who the traitor was. Peter, therefore, was exposed to action, John was reserved for love, according to the words of Christ: “So will I have him remain until I come.” Thus Christ gave us the example that we might do in like manner.” – St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167) Cistercian Monk (Spiritual Friendship, III, 115, 117).
PRAYER – O Lord, graciously shed light upon Thy Church, so that, enlightened by the teachings of blessed John, ThyApostle and Evangelist, she may gain YThy everlasting rewards.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).
Our Morning Offering – 27 December – St John the Apostle and Evangelist, the Beloved – “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception”
Exsultet Orbis! Let the World Rejoice! Unknown Author
Now let the earth with joy resound, And Heaven the chant re-echo round; Nor Heaven nor earth too high can raise The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
O ye who, throned in glory dread, Shall judge the living and the dead, Lights of the world forever more! To you the suppliant prayer we pour.
Ye close the Sacred Gates on high. At your command apart they fly. O loose for us the guilty chain We strive to break and strive in vain.
Sickness and health your voice obey, At your command they go or stay. From sin’s disease our souls restore; In good confirm us more and more.
So when the world is at its end. And Christ to Judgment shall descend, May we be called, those joys to see Prepared from all eternity.
Praise to the Father, with the Son, And Holy Spirit, Three in One; As ever was in ages past And so shall be while ages last. Amen
(Roman Breviary for the Common of Apostles) An Office Hymn that was traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time. The Hymn is found as early as the tenth century in a hymnal of Moissac Abbey.
One Minute Reflection – 21 December – Feast of St Thomas, Apostle of Christ, Martyr – Ephesians 2:19-22, John 20:24-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The other disciples, therefore, said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Except I shall see in His Hands, the print of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hand into His Side, I will not believe.” – John 20:25
REFLECTION – “What, dearest brethren do you notice in this passage? Do you think that it happened by chance that this chosen disciple was absent at that time and afterwards coming, heard the news and hearing, doubted that doubting, he touched and touching, he believed? This did not happen by chance but by Divine dispensation. For the Divine clemency brought it about, in a wonderful way that the doubting disciple, while touching the wounds in his Master’s flesh, should thereby heal the wounds of our unbelief. The unbelief of Thomas is more to our faith, than the faith of the believing disciples. While he is brought back to faith by touching, our minds are set free from doubt and established in the faith.
So the Lord indeed, after His Resurrection permitted His disciple to doubt but He did not leave him in unbelief; just as before His birth, He wished Mary to have a spouse, who, however, never attained to the married state. The disciple who doubted and touched his Risen Lord, thus became, a witness to the truth of the Resurrection, just as the spouse of His Mother was the guardian of her inviolate Virginity. Thomas touched and cried out: My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him – Because you have seen me, you have believed. But since the Apostle Paul says – Now faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things which appear not; it is certainly clear that faith is the evidence, of those things which cannot appear. The things which appear are the object, not of faith but of knowledge.
Why then is it said to Thomas, who saw and touched – Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed? But he saw one thing and believed another. Indeed, mortal man cannot see the Divinity. So Thomas saw a Man and confessed Him to be God, saying: My Lord and my God. He, therefore, believed through seeing, for, looking upon One Who was truly Man, he cried out that this was God, Whom he could not see! The words which follow are cause of great joy to us: Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed. These words are meant especially for us, who cherish, in our minds, Him, Whom we do not see in the flesh. They are meant for us but only if we carry out our faith in works. For he truly believes, who puts his faith into practice!” – St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope. Father and one of the original four Doctors of the Latin Church (Sermon on the Feast of St Thomas).
PRAYER – O Lord, grant us, we beseech Thee, to glory in the Feast-day of blessed Thomas, Thy Apostle, that we maybe helped continually by his patronage and imitate his faith with a devotion like his. .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).
Our Morning Offering – 21 December – St Thomas Apostle
Exsultet Orbis! Let the World Rejoice! Unknown Author
Now let the earth with joy resound, And Heaven the chant re-echo round; Nor Heaven nor earth too high can raise The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
O ye who, throned in glory dread, Shall judge the living and the dead, Lights of the world forever more! To you the suppliant prayer we pour.
Ye close the Sacred Gates on high. At your command apart they fly. O loose for us the guilty chain We strive to break and strive in vain.
Sickness and health your voice obey, At your command they go or stay. From sin’s disease our souls restore; In good confirm us more and more.
So when the world is at its end. And Christ to Judgment shall descend, May we be called, those joys to see Prepared from all eternity.
Praise to the Father, with the Son, And Holy Spirit, Three in One; As ever was in ages past And so shall be while ages last. Amen
(Roman Breviary for the Common of Apostles) An Office Hymn that was traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time. The Hymn is found as early as the tenth century in a hymnal of Moissac Abbey.
Saint of the Day – 21 December – Feast of St Thomas, Apostle of Christ, Martyr. His Patronages are:• people in doubt; against doubt• architects• blind people and against blindness• builders• construction workers• geometricians• stone masons and stone cutters• surveyors• theologians• Ceylon• East Indies• India• Indonesia• Malaysia • Pakistan• Singapore• Sri Lanka• Diocese of Bathery, India• Castelfranco di Sopra, Italy• Certaldo, Italy• Ortona, Italy.
St Thomas, Apostle From the Liturgical Year, 1870
This is the last Feast the Church keeps before the great one of the Nativity of her Lord and Spouse. She interrupts the Greater Ferias, in order to pay her tribute of honour to Thomas, the Apostle of Christ, whose glorious Martyrdom has consecrated this twenty first day of December and has procured, for the Christian people, a powerful patron that will introduce them to the Divine Babe of Bethlehem.
To none of the Apostles could this day have been so fittingly assigned, as to St Thomas. It was St Thomas whom we needed; St. Thomas, whose festal patronage would aid us to believe and hope, in that God, Whom we see not and Who comes to us in silence and humility, in order to try our Faith.
St Thomas was once guilty of doubting, when he ought to have believed and only learned the necessity of Faith by the sad experience of incredulity. He comes then most appropriately to defend us, by the power of his example and prayers, against the temptations which proud human reason might excite within us.
Let us pray to him with confidence. In that Heaven of Light and Vision, where his repentance and love have placed him, he will intercede for us,and gain for us that docility of mind and heart, which will enable us to see and recognise Him, Who is the Expected of Nations and Who, though the King of the world, will give no other signs of His Majesty, than the swaddling-clothes and tears of a Babe.
One Minute Reflection – 17 December – “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception” – Saturday of Ember Week in Advent – Isaias 19:20-22, Luke 3:1-6 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“As it was written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: ‘A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord make straight His paths.’” – Luke 3:4
REFLECTION – “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God.’ The prophecy makes clear that it is to be fulfilled, not in Jerusalem but in the wilderness, it is there that the glory of the Lord is to appear and God’s salvation is to be made known to all mankind.
It was in the wilderness that God’s saving presence was proclaimed by John the Baptist and there that God’s salvation was seen. The words of this prophecy were fulfilled when Christ and His glory were made manifest to all after His Baptism, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, rested upon Him and the Father’s Voice was heard, bearing witness to the Son: ‘This is My beloved Son, listen to Him.‘
The prophecy meant that God was to come to a deserted place, inaccessible from the beginning. None of the pagans had any knowledge of God, since His holy servants and prophets, were kept from approaching them. The Voice commands that a way be prepared for the Word of God – the rough and trackless ground is to be made level, so that our God may find a highway when He comes. Prepare the way of the Lord – the way is the preaching of the Gospel, the new message of consolation, ready to bring to all mankind, the knowledge of God’s saving power.
Climb on a high mountain, bearer of good news to Zion. Lift up your voice in strength, bearer of good news to Jerusalem. These words harmonise very well with the meaning of what has gone before. They refer, opportunely, to the Evangelists and proclaim the coming of God to men, after speaking of the voice crying in the wilderness. Mention of the Evangelists suitably follows the prophecy of John the Baptist.
What does Zion mean if not the City previously called Jerusalem? This is the mountain referred to in that passage from Scripture: Here is mount Zion, where Thou dwelt. The Apostle says: You have come to mount Zion. Does not this refer to the company of the Apostles, chosen from the former people of the circumcision?
This is the Zion, the Jerusalem, which received God’s salvation. It stands aloft on the mountain of God, that is, it is raised high on the Only-begotten Word of God. It is commanded to climb the high mountain and announce the Word of Salvation. Who is the bearer of the good news but the company of the Evangelists? What does it mean to bear the good news but to preach to all nations but first of all, to the cities of Judah, the coming of Christ on earth?” – Eusebius of Caesarea (c 265-339) Bishop, Theologian, Historian, Father (An excerpt from his Commentary on Isaias).
PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we, who are heavy-laden under the yoke of sin, maybe delivered from the bondage of old, by the long-awaited new birth of Thy Only-begotten Son. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Rejoice! ejoice! Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel. Amen (Collect)
Quote/s of the Day – 2 December – The Memorial of St Chromatius of Aquileia (Died c 407) Bishop of Aquileia, Theologian, Exegete, Writer and friend of Saints Ambrose and Jerome, defender of Saint John Chrysostom.
Let us pray to the Lord with all our heart and with all our faith, let us pray to Him to deliver us from all enemy incursions, from all fear of adversaries. … The Lord will fight to defend you and you will be silent. It is He who fights, it is He who wins the victory…. And so that He may condescend to do so, we must pray as much as possible. He Himself said, in fact, through the mouth of the prophet – Call on Me on the day of tribulation; I will set you free and you will give Me glory.
“However, in the allegorical or mystical sense, this woman prefigured the Church, which offered the full and entire devotion of it’s faith to Christ … There are twelve ounces to a pound and this is the amount of perfume the Church possesses, having received the teaching of the twelve Apostles, as if it were a precious perfume. Indeed, what more precious is there, than the Apostles’ teaching, which contains both faith in Christ and the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven? ”
“No man lights a candle and puts it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel but upon a candlestick, that they who come in, may see the light.”
Luke 11:33
“If we fail to live in the Light, we shall, to our condemnation and that of others, be veiling over and obscuring, by our infidelity, the Light men so desperately need. As we know from Scripture, the man who received the talent should have made it produce a heavenly profit but instead, he preferred to hide it away rather than put it to work and was punished as he deserved. Consequently, that brilliant Lamp which was lit for the sake of our salvation should always shine in us. For we have the lamp of the heavenly commandments and spiritual grace, to which David referred: Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
St Chromatius of Aquileia (Died c 407) Father of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 30 November – Feast of St Andrew Apostle – Romans 10:10-18, Matthew 4:18-22 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“At once they left their nets and followed Him.” – Matthew 4:20
REFLECTION – “Andrew was the first of the Apostles to acknowledge the Lord as his teacher. … He abandoned John the Baptist’s teaching to attend the school of Christ. … He sought the true Light in the shining of the lamp (Jn 5:35). Beneath its dampened glow he prepared himself for Christ’s splendour. … Teacher though he was, John the Baptist became servant and herald of the Christ Who stood before him: “Behold,” he said, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). Behold Him Who delivers us from death; behold Him Who destroys sin. As for me, I was sent, not as the bridegroom but as the one who accompanies Him (Jn 3:29). I came as servant, not as lord.”
Struck by these words, Andrew left his former teacher and hurried towards the One he was announcing. … He hurried towards our Lord, his longing manifesting itself in his bearing … drawing John the Evangelist with him. Both abandon the lamp and make their way towards the Sun. Andrew is the first plant in the Garden of Apostles, it is he who opens the door to Christ’s teaching, the first to gather fruit in the field the prophets had tilled. … He was the first to recognise Him, of Whom Moses said: “A prophet like me, will the Lord your God raise up for you; to him you shall listen” (Dt 18:15). … He recognised the One, Whom the prophets foretold and brought Peter, his brother, to Him. He showed Peter the treasure which as yet, he did not know: “We have found the Christ (Jn 1:41) the One we have been longing for. We were waiting for His coming: now come and experience His Presence.” … Andrew leads his brother to Christ … – it was his first miracle!” – Basil of Seleucia (Died c 468) Archbishop (,).
PRAYER – We humbly pray Thy majesty, O Lord, that, as blessed Andrew was a preacher and ruler in Thy Church, so he may always intercede for us with Thee. 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).
Our Morning Offering – 30 November – Feast of St Andrew Apostle and Martyr
Exsultet Orbis! Let the World Rejoice! Unknown Author
Now let the earth with joy resound, And Heaven the chant re-echo round; Nor Heaven nor earth too high can raise The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
O ye who, throned in glory dread, Shall judge the living and the dead, Lights of the world forever more! To you the suppliant prayer we pour.
Ye close the Sacred Gates on high. At your command apart they fly. O loose for us the guilty chain We strive to break and strive in vain.
Sickness and health your voice obey, At your command they go or stay. From sin’s disease our souls restore; In good confirm us more and more.
So when the world is at its end. And Christ to Judgment shall descend, May we be called, those joys to see Prepared from all eternity.
Praise to the Father, with the Son, And Holy Spirit, Three in One; As ever was in ages past And so shall be while ages last. Amen
(Roman Breviary for the Common of Apostles) An Office Hymn that was traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time. The Hymn is found as early as the tenth century in a hymnal of Moissac Abbey.
St Abraham of Persia St Anders of Slagelse Bl Andrew of Antioch Bl Arnold of Gemblours St Castulus of Rome St Constantius of Rome St Crider of Cornwall Blessed Cuthbert Mayne (1544-1577) Priest Martyr St Domninus of Antioch St Euprepis of Rome Bl Everard of Stahleck
Bl Joscius Roseus St Justina of Constantinople St Mahanes the Persian St Maura of Constantinople St Merola of Antioch St Mirocles of Milan St Sapor St Simeon of Persia St Trojan St Tudwal of Tréguier Bl William de Paulo Zosimus the Wonder Worker
Martyrs of Saxony – 6 Saints: Missionaries who worked with Saint Willehad of Bremen. Martyrs. – Attroban, Benjamin, Emmingen, Folkard, Gerwald and Grisold. They were martyred on 30 November 782 at River Weser, Lawer Saxony, Germany.
One Minute Reflection – 24 November – St John of the Cross OCD (1542-1591) Confessor, Doctor of the Church – 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Matthew 5:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“You are the light of the world.” – Matthew 5:14
REFLECTION – “I shall always love and reverence the Apostles sent by Christ and their successors, in sowing the seed of the Gospel, those zealous and tireless co-operators in propagating the Word, who may justly say of themselves: Let a man so account of us as the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of God. For Christ, like a most watchful and most faithful householder, wished that the Gospel lamp should be lighted by such ministers and delegates, with fire sent down from Heaven and once lighted, should not be put under a measure but set upon a candlestick, so that it may spread its brightness far and wide and put to flight, all darkness and error, rife among both Jews and Gentiles.
Now it is not enough for the Gospel teacher to be a brilliant speaker in the eyes of the people; he must also be as a voice crying in the desert and endeavour, by his eloquence, to help many to lead good lives, lest, if he omit his duty of speaking, he be called the dumb dog that is not able to bark, spoken of by the prophet. Yes, he should also burn, in such a way, that, equipped with good works and love, he may adorn his evangelical office and follow the leadership of Paul. He indeed was not satisfied with bidding the Bishop of the Ephesians: This command and teach: conduct thyself in work as a good soldier of Christ Jesus but he unflaggingly preached the Gospel to friend and foe alike and, said with a good conscience to the Bishops gathered at Ephesus: You know how I have kept back nothing that was for your good but have declared it to you and taught you in public and from house to house, urging Jews and Gentiles to turn to God in repentance and to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Such should be the shepherd in the Church who, like Paul, becomes all things to all men, so that the sick may find healing in him; the sad, joy; the desperate, hope; the ignorant, instruction; those in doubt, advice; the penitent, forgiveness and comfort and finally, everyone, whatever is necessary for salvation. And so Christ, when He wished to appoint the chief teachers of the world and of the Church, did not limit Himself to saying to His disciples: You are the light of the world but also added these words: A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a measure but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all who are in the house. Those churchmen err, who imagine that it is by brilliant preaching, rather than by holiness of and all-embracing love, they fulfil their office.” – St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1597) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – O God, Who made blessed John, Thy Confessor and Teacher, an extraordinary lover of perfect self-denial and the Cross, grant that, by continually striving to imitate him, we may reach everlasting 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).
One Minute Reflection – 15 November – St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280) Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church – 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Matthew 5:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“You are the light of the world.” – Matthew 5:14
REFLECTION – “I shall always love and reverence the Apostles sent by Christ and their successors, in sowing the seed of the Gospel, those zealous and tireless co-operators in propagating the Word, who may justly say of themselves: Let a man so account of us as the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of God. For Christ, like a most watchful and most faithful householder, wished that the Gospel lamp should be lighted by such ministers and delegates, with fire sent down from Heaven and once lighted, should not be put under a measure but set upon a candlestick, so that it may spread its brightness far and wide and put to flight, all darkness and error, rife among both Jews and Gentiles.
Now it is not enough for the Gospel teacher to be a brilliant speaker in the eyes of the people; he must also be as a voice crying in the desert and endeavour, by his eloquence, to help many to lead good lives, lest, if he omit his duty of speaking, he be called the dumb dog that is not able to bark, spoken of by the prophet. Yes, he should also burn, in such a way, that, equipped with good works and love, he may adorn his evangelical office and follow the leadership of Paul. He indeed was not satisfied with bidding the Bishop of the Ephesians: This command and teach: conduct thyself in work as a good soldier of Christ Jesus but he unflaggingly preached the Gospel to friend and foe alike and, said with a good conscience to the Bishops gathered at Ephesus: You know how I have kept back nothing that was for your good but have declared it to you and taught you in public and from house to house, urging Jews and Gentiles to turn to God in repentance and to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Such should be the shepherd in the Church who, like Paul, becomes all things to all men, so that the sick may find healing in him; the sad, joy; the desperate, hope; the ignorant, instruction; those in doubt, advice; the penitent, forgiveness and comfort and finally, everyone, whatever is necessary for salvation. And so Christ, when He wished to appoint the chief teachers of the world and of the Church, did not limit Himself to saying to His disciples: You are the light of the world but also added these words: A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a measure but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all who are in the house. Those churchmen err, who imagine that it is by brilliant preaching, rather than by holiness of and all-embracing love, they fulfil their office.” – St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1597) Doctor of the Church (Sermon excerpt).
PRAYER – O God, Who made blessed Albert, ThyBishop and Doctor, eminent in the submission of human wisdom to divine faith, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to follow the path of his teaching that we may enjoy perfect light in Heaven.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).
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.