The HOLY CROSS – Page 16

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The Stations of the Cross – 19 April – Stations Ten and Eleven

Posted on April 19, 2019April 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 19 April – Friday of the Passion of the Lord

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

The Tenth Station
Lord Jesus, You are stripped of Your garments

They strip your garments off You and as they do, Your blood encrusted wounds are ripped open again and start to bleed once again and in Your pain, they mock You in Your nakedness, thinking that they are revealing how pitiful You are.
What they don’t see is how God exalted man by becoming man.
Taking Your clothes, the soldiers want to leave You nothing but You are God and cannot be made nothing.
They want You to be shamed in your nakedness, as Adam and Eve were shamed but You are God and cannot be shamed.
They want to reveal Your guilt but instead only reveal Your innocence.
They try to take away your dignity and every last bit of You but You are God, You alone are everything. tenth station jesus is tripped - bl john henry newman - 19 april 2019

The Eleventh Station
Lord Jesus, You are nailed to the cross

Wounded, mangled, bleeding, dying, You consent to the violent attack of the hammer. Patient in Your agony, You allow the cruel tearing of Your body to make me one with You.
Pilate writes “Jesus Christ, King of the Jews” to mock You. If only He knew how right He was! Onto that wood is nailed the Messiah, the Christ, the King.
You give me Bread of life to fill me, even as You receive the nails caused by my sin.
You are constantly bombarded by sin, all the rage, all the hatred lust and greed and incessant lies of all mankind through all the ages bearing on You. You are bombarded with poison and still You love.
Because of Your love, You have holes ripped into Your hands and Your feet and You continue to bleed for me. the eleventh station jesus is nailed to the cross bl john henry newman 19 april 2019

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my
whole heart for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a Sinner.

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Quote/s of the Day – Friday of the Passion of the Lord

Posted on April 19, 2019April 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – Friday of the Passion of the Lord – 19 April

“Jesus was in a garden,
not of delight as the first Adam,
in which he destroyed himself
and the whole human race
but in one of agony,
in which He saved Himself
and the whole human race.”

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

“Take your crucifix in your hand
and ask yourselves whether this is the religion
of the soft, easy, worldly, luxurious days in which we live;
whether the crucifix does not teach you
a lesson of mortification, of self-denial, of crucifixion of the flesh.”

Cardinal Henry Edward Manning (1808-1892)

“As is well known, the initial cry of the Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, is recorded by the Gospels of Matthew and Mark as the cry uttered by Jesus dying on the Cross (cf. Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34). It expresses all the desolation of the Messiah, Son of God, who is facing the drama of death, a reality totally opposed to the Lord of life. Forsaken by almost all His followers, betrayed and denied by the disciples, surrounded by people who insult Him, Jesus is under the crushing weight of a mission that was to pass through humiliation and annihilation. This is why He cried out to the Father and His suffering took up the sorrowful words of the Psalm. But His is not a desperate cry, nor was that of the Psalmist who, in his supplication, takes a tormented path which nevertheless opens out at last into a perspective of praise, into trust in the divine victory.”

Pope Benedict XVI

General Audience 14 September 2011

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One Minute Reflection – 19 April – Christ crucified!

Posted on April 19, 2019April 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – Friday of the Passion of the Lord – 19 April, Gospel: John 18:1–19:42

There they crucified him and with him two others, one on either side and Jesus between them….John 18:18

REFLECTION – “Great thing is the knowledge of the crucified Christ. How many things are enclosed inside this treasure! Christ crucified! Such is the hidden treasure of wisdom and science. Do not be deceived, then, under the pretext of wisdom. Gather before the covering and pray, that it may be uncovered. Foolish philosopher of this world, what you are looking for is worthless… What is the advantage of being thirsty, if you despise the source? … And what is His precept but that we believe in Him and love each other? In whom? In Christ crucified. This is His commandment – that we believe in Christ crucified … But where humility is, there is also majesty, where weakness is, there shall one find power, where death is, there shall be life as well. If you wish to arrive at the second part, do not despise the first!“…St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church – Sermon 160, 3-4)

PRAYER –
Jesu! by that shuddering dread which fell on Thee;
Jesu! by that cold dismay which sicken’d Thee;
Jesu! by that pang of heart which thrill’d in Thee;
Jesu! by that mount of sins which crippled Thee;
Jesu! by that sense of guilt which stifled Thee;
Jesu! by that innocence that girded Thee;
Jesu! by that sanctity that reign’d in Thee;
Jesu! by that Godhead which was one with Thee;
Jesu! spare those souls which are so dear to Thee;
Who in prison, calm and patient, wait for Thee;
Hasten, Lord, their hour and bid them come to Thee;
To that glorious Home, where they shall ever gaze on Thee.
Amen
The Angel of the Agony
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

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Don’t let go of the Cross of Christ – St Augustine

Posted on April 19, 2019April 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Friday of the Passion of the Lord – 19 April

“When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last, he said: ‘Truly, this man is the Son of God!’ ” (Mk 15:39)

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Sermons on Saint John’s Gospel, no 2

“In the beginning was the Word, the Utterance of God” (cf. Jn 1:1). He is one and the same with Him; what He is, He is always; He is without change, He is being. This is the name He made known to His servant Moses: “I am who I am” and “You will say: I AM sent me to you” (Ex 3:14)… Who could understand this? Who could reach Him – supposing he were to direct all the powers of his soul as best he may to reaching Him who is? I will compare Him to an exile who sees his homeland from afar – the sea is separating him from it, he knows where he has to go but has no means of getting there. In the same way we want to reach that final haven which will be our own, where is the One who Is, for He alone is always the same. But the ocean of this world blocks the way…

He who calls us, came here below, to give us the means of getting there. He chose the wood that would enable us to cross the sea – indeed, no-one can Cross the ocean of this world, who is not borne by the Cross of Christ. Even the blind can cling to this Cross. If you can’t see where you are going very well, don’t let go of it, it will guide you by itself. So then, brethren, this is what I should like to impress on your hearts, if you want to live in a spirit of devotion, a christian spirit, cling to Christ just as He became for us, so as to rejoin Him as He is now and as He has always been. This is why He came down to us, for He became man that He might take up the weak, enabling them to cross the sea and disembark into the homeland, where a ship is no longer needed, because there is no more ocean to cross.

In all events, it would be better for one’s soul not to see Him who is and to embrace Christ’s Cross, than to see Him spiritually but despise the Cross. So, for our own happiness, may we both see where we are going and cling to the ship that is taking us there…! Some have succeeded and have seen what He is. It was because he had seen Him that John said: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” They saw Him and, to attain what they saw from afar, they clung to the Cross of Christ. They did not despise the humility of Christ. he who calls us - friday of the passion of the lord - st augustine - 19 april 2019.jpg

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The Stations of the Cross – 18 April – Maundy Thursday

Posted on April 18, 2019April 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 18 April – Maundy Thursday

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

Forgive my sins, O my God,
forgive my sins –
the sins of youth,
the sins of age,
the sins of my soul
and the sins of my body,
the sins which, through frailty,
I have committed,
my deliberate and grievous sins,
the sins I know
and the sins I do not know,
the sins I have laboured so long
to hide from others,
that now they are hidden
from my own memory;
let me be absolved
from all these iniquities
and delivered from
the bond of all these evils,
by the Life, Passion and Death
of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen

The Ninth Station
Again, a third time, Jesus falls

JESUS had now reached almost to the top of Calvary but, before He had gained the very spot where He was to be crucified, again He fell and is again dragged up and goaded onwards by the brutal soldiery.

We are told in Holy Scripture of three falls of Satan, the Evil Spirit. The first was in the beginning; the second, when the Gospel and the Kingdom of Heaven were preached to the world, the third will be at the end of all things. The first is told us by St John the Evangelist. He says: “There was a great battle in heaven. Michael and his Angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels. And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast out, the old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan.” The second fall, at the time of the Gospel, is spoken of by our Lord when He says, “I saw Satan, like lightning, falling from heaven.” And the third by the same St John: “There came down fire from God out of heaven, … and the devil … was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone.”

These three falls—the past, the present and the future—the Evil Spirit had in mind when he moved Judas to betray our Lord. This was just his hour. Our Lord, when He was seized, said to His enemies, “This is your hour and the power of darkness.” Satan knew his time was short and thought he might use it to good effect. But little dreaming that he would be acting in behalf of the world’s redemption, which our Lord’s passion and death were to work out, in revenge and, as he thought, in triumph, he smote Him once, he smote Him twice, he smote Him thrice, each successive time a heavier blow. The weight of the Cross, the barbarity of the soldiers and the crowd, were but his instruments. O Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, the Word Incarnate, we praise, adore and love You for Your ineffable condescension, even to allow TYourself, thus for a time, to fall into the hands and under the power of the Enemy of God and man, in order thereby, to save us, from being his servants and companions for eternity.

Or this

This is the worst fall of the three. His strength has for a while utterly failed Him and it is some time before the barbarous soldiers can bring Him to. Ah! it was His anticipation of what was to happen to me. I get worse and worse. He sees the end from the beginning. He was thinking of me all the time He dragged Himself along, up the Hill of Calvary. He saw, that I should fall again in spite of all former warnings and former assistance. He saw, that I should become secure and self-confident and that my enemy would then assail me with some new temptation, to which I never thought I should be exposed. I thought my weakness lay all on one particular side which I knew. I had not a dream that I was not strong on the other. And so, Satan came down on my unguarded side and got the better of me, from my self-trust and self-satisfaction. I was wanting in humility. I thought no harm would come on me, I thought I had outlived the danger of sinning, I thought it was an easy thing to get to heaven and I was not watchful . It was my pride and so I fell a third time.

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again grant that I
may love always
and then do with me what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

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Our Morning Offering – 18 April – Jesus Christ Crucified, our Salvation

Posted on April 18, 2019April 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 18 April – Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Jesus Christ Crucified, our Salvation
By St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108)
Father of the Church

Lord Jesus Christ
on the human side
You are sprung from David’s line,
Son of God, according
to God’s will and power,
born of the Virgin Mary,
baptised by John
and actually Crucified for us in the flesh,
under Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrach.
On the third day You raised a standard,
to rally Your saints and faithful forever,
in the one Body of Your Church.
By the grace and power of these mysteries,
fit us out with unshakeable faith,
nail us body and soul to Your Cross
and root us in love
by Your blood shed for us.
O Saviour of the world,
living and reigning,
now and forever,
amen. lord jesus christ, by st ignatius of antioch maundy thursday 18 april 2019.jpg

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Quote of the Day – 17 April 2019 – The Passion

Posted on April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 17 April 2019 – Wednesday of Holy week

“In the passion of our blessed Saviour,
six things chiefly are to be meditated upon.

First, the bitterness of His sorrow,
that we may compassionate with Him.

Secondly, the greatness of our sins,
which were the cause of His torments,
that we may abhor them.

Thirdly, the greatness of the benefit,
that we may be grateful for it.

Fourthly, the excellency of the divine charity
and bounty therein manifested,
that we may love Him more fervently.

Fifthly, the convenience of the mystery,
that we may be drawn to admiration of it.

Lastly, the multiplicity of virtues
of our blessed Saviour which did shine
in this stupendous mystery, that we may
partly imitate and partly admire them.”

St Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562)

“Anyone who turns away from the Cross, turns away from the Resurrection.”

Pope Francis

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The Stations of the Cross – 16 April – The Sixth Station Jesus and Veronica

Posted on April 16, 2019April 16, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 16 April – Tuesday of Holy Week

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

Act of Contrition
By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church

O my God,
I am exceedingly grieved for having offended thee
and with my whole heart
I repent of the sins I have committed.
I hate and abhor them above every other evil,
not only because, by so sinning,
I have lost heaven and deserved hell
but still more, because I have offended thee,
O infinite Goodness,
who are worthy to be loved above all things.
I most firmly resolve,
by the assistance of thy grace,
never more to offend thee for the time to come
and to avoid those occasions
which might lead me into sin.
Amen

Note: It is little known that St Robert is the Author of this, one of our most widely used prayers

The Sixth Station
Jesus and Veronica

AS Jesus toils along up the hill, covered with the sweat of death, a woman makes her way through the crowd and wipes His face with a napkin. In reward of her piety, the cloth retains the impression of the Sacred Countenance upon it.

The relief which a Mother’s tenderness secured is not yet all she did. Her prayers sent Veronica as well as Simon—Simon to do a man’s work, Veronica to do the part of a woman. The devout servant of Jesus did what she could. As Magdalen had poured the ointment at the Feast, so Veronica now offered Him this napkin in His passion. “Ah,” she said, “would I could do more! Why have I not the strength of Simon, to take part in the burden of the Cross? But men only can serve the Great High Priest, now that He is celebrating the solemn act of sacrifice.”

O Jesus! let us one and all minister to You according to our places and powers. And as You did accept from Your followers refreshment in Your hour of trial, so give to us the support of Your grace when we are hard pressed by our Foe. I feel I cannot bear up against temptations, weariness, despondency and sin. I say to myself, what is the good of being religious? {138} I shall fall, O my dear Saviour, I shall certainly fall, unless You renew for me my vigour like the eagle’s and breathe life into me by the soothing application and the touch of the Holy Sacraments which You have appointed. the sixth station - jesus and veronica - 16 april - bl john henry newman - o jesus i shall certainly fall - 16 april 2019.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again grant that I
may love always
and then do with me what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

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Quote/s of the Day – 15 April – Speaking of the Cross

Posted on April 15, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 15 April – Monday of Holy Week

Speaking of the Cross

“If you seek patience,
you will find no better example than the cross.
Great patience occurs in two way –
either when one patiently suffers much,
or, when one suffers things which one
is able to avoid and yet does not avoid.
Christ endured much on the cross
and did so patiently, because,
when He suffered, He did not threaten,
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter
and He did not open His mouth.”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor of the Church

“The road is narrow.
He who wishes to travel it more easily
must cast off all things
and use the cross as his cane.
In other words, he must be truly resolved
to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.”

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

“O souls! Seek a refuge, like pure doves,
in the shadow of the crucifix.
There, mourn the Passion of your divine Spouse
and drawing from your hearts flames of love
and rivers of tears, make of them a precious balm
with which to anoint the wounds of your Saviour.”

“Look upon the face of the Crucified,
who invites you to follow Him.
He will be a Father, a Mother –
everything to you.”

St Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

“What does he gain who refuses the cross?
He increases it’s weight!”

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church

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The Stations of the Cross – 14 April – The Fourth Station – Jesus meets His Mother

Posted on April 14, 2019September 27, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 14 April – Palm Sunday, Year C

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

The Fourth Station
Jesus meets His Mother

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

JESUS rises, though wounded by His fall, journeys on, with His Cross still on His shoulders. He is bent down but at one place, looking up, He sees His Mother. For an instant they just see each other and He goes forward.

Mary would rather have had all His sufferings herself, could that have been, than not have known what they were by ceasing to be near Him. He, too, gained a refreshment, as from some soothing and grateful breath of air, to see her sad smile amid the sights and the noises which were about Him. She had known Him beautiful and glorious, with the freshness of Divine Innocence and peace upon His countenance; now she saw Him so changed and deformed that she could scarce have recognised Him, save for the piercing, thrilling, peace-inspiring look He gave her. Still, He was now carrying the load of the world’s sins and, all-holy though He was, He carried the image of them on His very face. He looked like some outcast or outlaw who had frightful guilt upon Him. He had been made sin for us, who knew no sin, not a feature, not a limb but spoke of guilt, of a curse, of punishment, of agony.

Oh, what a meeting of Son and Mother! Yet there was a mutual comfort, for there was a mutual sympathy. Jesus and Mary—do they forget that Passion-tide through all eternity? the fourth station - jesus meets his mother - 14 april 2019 palm sunday.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again
grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be i love you lord jesus act of contrition by st alphonsus liguori 14 april 2019.jpg

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One Minute Reflection – 14 April – Father, forgive them”

Posted on April 14, 2019April 14, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 14 April – Palm Sunday, Year C, Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:56

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do……And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”… Luke 23:34,43 THE FIRST WORD - LUKE 23 34 - THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF CHRIST - THE DEVOTION - 26 MARCH 2018

REFLECTION – “Words of Salvation – Whereas Matthew and Mark, report only Jesus’ cry of abandonment, Luke’s account of Jesus’ words from the Cross, carry a different tone. It is as if we hear, translated into spoken words, what the Word of God essentially accomplishes and intends by His suffering.
First He requests of His Father, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do” – the Jews are blinded, they fail to recognise their Messiah. The Gentiles do professionally what they had done a thousand times over, crucify a supposed criminal in accord with military orders.
In fact, no-one knows who Jesus is. His request aims at excusing those who are culpable and it finds a reason to excuse!
His words to the thief, are part of the ‘Grace of Forgiveness’ earned on the Cross.
His dying words, “into your hands Father, I commend my spirit,” replace the cry of abandonment found in the other gospels. Even if the Son no longer senses the Father, even if the Father’s hands have become imperceptible, He has no other place to place Himself. In Jesus’ words, Luke allows something of the Grace so painfully won for us, to radiate from the Cross.”…Cardinal Hans Urs von Bathasar (1905-1988)

PRAYER – Almighty, everliving God, You gave our Saviour the command to become man and undergo the Cross, as an example of humility for all men to follow and showed the Grace of Your love for us. We have the lessons of His suffering, grant us also the fellowship of His Resurrection. With Mary, His Mother and ours, who stood in pain and sorrow at the foot of the Cross, we ask her for prayers for our pardon and mercy. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen. mary mother of sorrows - pray for us - 17 may 2018.jpg

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The Stations of the Cross – 13 April – The Third Station

Posted on April 13, 2019April 13, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 13 April – Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787).

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.
Amen act of contrition - st alphonsus 13 april 2019.jpg

The Third Station
Jesus falls the first time beneath the Cross

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

JESUS, bowed down under the weight and the length of the unwieldy Cross, which trailed after Him, slowly sets forth on His way, amid the mockeries and insults of the crowd. His agony in the Garden itself was sufficient to exhaust Him but it was only the first of a multitude of sufferings. He sets off with His whole heart but His limbs fail Him and He falls.

Yes, it is as I feared. Jesus, the strong and mighty Lord, has found for the moment our sins stronger than Himself. He falls—yet He bore the load for a while, He tottered but He bore up and walked onwards. What, then, made Him give way? I say, I repeat, it is an intimation and a memory to thee, O my soul, of thy falling back into mortal sin. I repented of the sins of my youth and went on well for a time but at length, a new temptation came, when I was off my guard and I suddenly fell away. Then all my good habits seemed to go at once, they were like a garment which is stripped off, so quickly and utterly did grace depart from me. And at that moment I looked at my Lord and lo! He had fallen down and I covered my face with my hands and remained in a state of great confusion. the third station jesus falls the first time - bl john henry newman 13 april 20195.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love
above all things,
I repent
with my
whole heart
for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I
may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

LENT 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The LAMB of GOD, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – Thy Book

Posted on April 13, 2019April 13, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – Saturday of the Fifth week of Lent, Year C

“Study then, mortal, to know Christ, to learn your Saviour.
His body hanging on the cross, is a book, opened before your eyes.
The words of this book are Christ’s actions.
as well as His suffering and passion,
for everything that He did serves for our instruction.
His wounds are the letters or characters,
the five chief wounds being the five vowels
and the others the consonants of your book . . .
However much else you may know,
if you do not know this, I count all your learning for naught,
because without knowledge of this book,
both general and particular, it is impossible for you to be saved.

So eat this book which in your mouth and understanding
shall be sweet but which will make your belly bitter,
that is to say your memory,
because He that increases knowledge increases sorrow too.

May this book never depart from my hands, O Lord
but let the law of the Lord be ever in my mouth,
that I may know what is acceptable in Your sight.”

Dom John Whiterig OSB (c 1320–1371)
Hermit of Farne

Meditacio ad Crucifixum, Chapter 53, fols. 29v-30

“Thy body, sweet Jesus,
is like a book all written with red ink,
so is Thy body all written with red wounds . . .
grant me to read upon Thy book
and somewhat to understand,
the sweetness of that writing
and to have liking
in studious abiding of that reading.”

Richard Rolle (1290-1349)

Hermit, Mystic, Writer
Meditations on the Passion

CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The STATIONS of the CROSS

The Stations of the Cross – 12 April – The Second Station

Posted on April 12, 2019April 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 12 April – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787).

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

The Second Station
Jesus receives His Cross

A STRONG, and therefore heavy Cross, for it is strong enough to bear Him on it, when He arrives at Calvary, is placed upon His torn shoulders. He receives it gently and meekly, nay, with gladness of heart, for it is to be the salvation of mankind.

True – but recollect, that heavy Cross is the weight of our sins. As it fell upon His neck and shoulders, it came down with a shock. Alas! what a sudden, heavy weight have I laid upon Thee, O Jesus. And, though in the calm and clear foresight of Your mind—for You see all things—You were fully prepared for it, yet Your feeble frame tottered under it when it dropped down upon You. Ah! how great a misery is it that I have lifted up my hand against my God. How could I ever fancy He would forgive me! unless He had Himself told us, that He underwent His bitter passion, in order that He might forgive us. I acknowledge, O Jesus, in the anguish and agony of my heart, that my sins it was that struck You on the face, that bruised Your sacred arms, that tore Your flesh with iron rods, that nailed You to the Cross and let You slowly die upon it. the second station jesus receives his cros - 12 april 2019 bl john henry newman.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love
above all things,
I repent
with my
whole heart
for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I
may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be i love you lod jesus - st alphonsus 11 april 2019

LENT 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The STATIONS of the CROSS

The Stations of the Cross – 11 April – The First Station – By Blessed John Henry Newman

Posted on April 11, 2019 by AnaStpaul

The Stations of the Cross – 11 April – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

Each year I post the Stations from a different source, today we begin one of two Station Meditations, composed by Blessed John Henry.

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

The First Station
Jesus Is Condemned to Death

LEAVING the House of Caiphas and dragged before Pilate and Herod, mocked, beaten, and spit upon, His back torn with scourges, His head crowned with thorns, Jesus, who on the last day will judge the world, is Himself condemned by unjust judges to a death of ignominy and torture.

Jesus is condemned to death. His death-warrant is signed and who signed it but I, when I committed my first mortal sins? My first mortal sins, when I fell away from the state of grace into which You did place me by baptism; these it was that were Your death-warrant, O Lord. The Innocent suffered for the guilty. Those sins of mine were the voices which cried out, “Let Him be crucified.” That willingness and delight of heart with which I committed them was the consent which Pilate gave to this clamorous multitude. And the hardness of heart which followed upon them, my disgust, my despair, my proud impatience, my obstinate resolve to sin on, the love of sin which took possession of me—what were these contrary and impetuous feelings but the blows and the blasphemies with which the fierce soldiers and the populace received You, thus carrying out the sentence which Pilate had pronounced?

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us. the first station - jesus is condemned to death - bl john henry newman - the death warrant is signed 11 april 2019

I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again.
Grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be i love you lod jesus - st alphonsus 11 april 2019.jpg

LENT 2019, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 11 April – Where is your sin?

Posted on April 11, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 11 April – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Genesis 17: 3-9; Psalms 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; John 8:51-59

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death.”...John 8:51 john 8 51 - thursday of the fifth week lent 11 april 2019.jpg

Pope Francis

8 April 2014

“…The heart of God’s salvation is His Son who took upon Himself our sins, our pride, our self reliance, our vanity, our desire to be like God. A Christian who is not able to glory in Christ Crucified has not understood what it means to be Christian. Our wounds, those which sin leaves in us, are healed only through the Lord’s wounds, through the wounds of God made man who humbled Himself, who emptied Himself. This is the mystery of the Cross. It is not only an ornament that we always put in churches, on the altar, it is not only a symbol, that should distinguish us from others. The Cross is a mystery, the mystery of the love of God who humbles Himself, who empties Himself to save us from our sins.

Where is your sin? Your sin is there on the Cross. Go and look for it there, in the wounds of the Lord and your sins shall be healed, your wounds shall be healed, your sins shall be forgiven. God’s forgiveness is not a matter of cancelling a debt we have with Him. God forgives us in the wounds of His Son lifted up on the Cross. May the Lord might draw us to Himself and that we might allow ourselves to be healed”. where is your sin - pope francis - 11 april 2019.jpg

Daily Meditation:
Come to us, free us, help us and guide us.
We pray more intensely now, just a week before Holy Thursday.
We desire more and more that we might be free.
Sorrow leads to profound gratitude,
when we experience the depth of unconditional love offered us.
The gratitude of a loved sinner leads to great generosity.

Christ is the mediator of a new covenant so that since he has died,
those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised to them.
The Entrance Antiphon – Hebrews 9:15

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
all I want is to be faithful to You in my life,
but so often I fail.
Free me from my many sins
and guide me to the life I will share with You.
I wait for Your promise to be fulfilled
with great hope in my heart
and Your praise on my lips.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The LAST THINGS, The RESURRECTION

Lenten Reflection – 10 April – Do as Abraham did

Posted on April 10, 2019April 10, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 10 April – Wednesday of the Fifth week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Deuteronomy 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56; John 8:31-42

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do as Abraham did but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God, this is not what Abraham did....John 8:39-40 john 8 39-40 if you were abrahams children - wedfifthweeklent 10 april 2019.jpg

Do as Abraham did

St John Chrysostom (345-407)
Doctor of the Church

Looking wholly to God’s promise and setting aside all human ways of looking at things, knowing God to be capable of accomplishments beyond nature to achieve, Abraham put his trust in the words addressed to him, he let no shadow of doubt cross his mind and did not waver as to the meaning he should give God’s words. For, it is in the nature of faith to put its trust in the power of the one who promises… God had promised Abraham that a posterity without number would be born of him. This promise exceeded the possibilities of nature and all purely human forms of perception and that is why his faith towards God “was credited him as righteousness” (Gn 15:6; Gal 3:6).

Well then, if we are on the watch, yet more wonderful promises have been made to us and we will be satisfied to an even greater extent, than human thought can dream. And for this we have only to put our trust in the power of Him who has made these promises to us, so as to merit the righteousness, that comes from faith and obtain the promised reward. For all those good things we are hoping for, far exceed all human conception and thought, so exceedingly wonderful is what we have been promised!

Indeed, these promises do not concern only the present, the flourishing of our lives and the enjoyment of visible goods but they are even more, about the time, when we have left this earth, when our bodies have become subject to corruption, when our remains have been reduced to dust. God promises us, that He will then raise them up and establish them in glorious splendour, “for that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility,” Saint Paul assures us (1Cor 15:53). More than this, after the resurrection of our bodies, we have received the promise, of enjoying the Kingdom and of obtaining, throughout endless ages, in the company of the saints, those ineffable goods that “eye has not seen and ear has not heard nor has it not entered the human heart” (1Cor 2:9). Do you grasp the superabundance of the promises? Do you grasp the greatness of these gifts?

Daily Meditation:
Enlighten our minds and sanctify our hearts.
In our reflection, Jesus is about to face a fiery furnace,
which represents the full rejection of all our sins,
and the crushing defeat of death itself.
Praying the Stations again,
might help us grow in a sense that this is all “for me,” for my freedom.

We grow in a sense of repentance and deep sorrow.
We grow in a desire to celebrate
the glorious Light in the midst of all darkness.

Rid yourself of all your sins
and make a new heart and a new spirit.
Gospel antiphon, based upon Ezekiel 18:31

Closing Prayer:
Loving Creator,
I know in Your great love for me,
You see the deep sorrow in my heart.
Hear my prayers which are offered with such trust in You.

Be with me in both mind and heart
as I renew my life in Your spirit.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION, The SIGN of the CROSS

The Cross of Christ is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces – St Pope Leo the Great

Posted on April 9, 2019April 9, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 9 April – Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

The Cross of Christ

is the source of all blessings,

the cause of all graces

St Pope Leo the Great (c 400-461)
Bishop of Rome and Great Western Father & Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his On the Lord’s Passion

Sermon 8

Our understanding, which is enlightened by the Spirit of truth, should receive with purity and freedom of heart the glory of the Cross as it shines in heaven and on earth. It should see with inner vision the meaning of the Lord’s words when He spoke of the imminence of His passion – The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Afterwards, He said – Now my soul is troubled and what am I to say? Father, save me from this hour. But it was for this that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your Son. When the voice of the Father came from heaven, saying, I have glorified him and will glorify him again, Jesus said in reply to those around him: It was not for me that this voice spoke but for you. Now is the judgement of the world, now will the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.

How marvellous the power of the Cross, how great beyond all telling the glory of the passion, here is the judgement-seat of the Lord, the condemnation of the world, the supremacy of Christ crucified.

Lord, you drew all things to Yourself so that the devotion of all peoples everywhere might celebrate, in a sacrament made perfect and visible, what was carried out in the one temple of Judea under obscure foreshadowings.

Now there is a more distinguished order of Levites, a greater dignity for the rank of elders, a more sacred anointing for the priesthood, because Your Cross is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces. Through the Cross the faithful receive strength from weakness, glory from dishonour, life from death.

The different sacrifices of animals are no more – the one offering of Your body and blood is the fulfilment of all the different sacrificial offerings, for You are the true Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world. In Yourself, You bring to perfection all mysteries, so that, as there is one sacrifice in place of all other sacrificial offerings, there is also one kingdom gathered from all peoples.

Dearly beloved, let us then acknowledge what Saint Paul, the teacher of the nations, acknowledged so exultantly. This is a saying worthy of trust, worthy of complete acceptance – Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. God’s compassion for us is all the more wonderful because Christ died, not for the righteous or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful and, though the divine nature could not be touched by the sting of death, He took to Himself, through His birth as one of us, something He could offer on our behalf.

The power of His death once confronted our death. In the words of Hosea the prophet, Death, I shall be your death; grave, I shall swallow you up. By dying He submitted to the laws of the underworld, by rising again, He destroyed them. He did away with the everlasting character of death, so as to make death a thing of time, not of eternity. As all die in Adam, so all, will be brought to life in Christ.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever.
Amen he did away with the everlasting character of deth - st pope leo the great 9 april 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SPEAKING of ....., The HOLY CROSS, The SIGN of the CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 9 April – “Speaking of the Cross of Christ”

Posted on April 9, 2019April 9, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 9 April – Tuesday of the Fifth week of Lent

“Speaking of the Cross of Christ”

“Jesus never sinned, yet He was crucified for you.
Will you refuse to be crucified for Him, who for your sake was nailed to the cross?
You are not the one who gives the favour, you have received one first.
For your sake He was crucified on Golgotha.
Now you are returning His favour, you are fulfilling your debt to Him.”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)

Father & Doctor of the Church

“By Baptism we are made flesh of the Crucified.”

“The cross of Christ is the true ground
and chief cause of Christian hope.”

“Let no one be ashamed of the cross
by which Christ has redeemed the world.
None of us must be afraid to suffer
for the sake of justice or doubt the
fulfilment of the promises,
for it is through toil that we come to rest
and through death that we pass to life.”

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

“O Blessed Cross,
You are venerated, preached
and honoured by the faith of the Patriarchs,
the predictions of the Prophets,
the senate that judges the Apostles,
the victorious army of Martyrs
and the throngs of all the Saints”
(Sermo XLVII, 14, p. 304)

St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Doctor of the Church

“This is that enviable and blessed cross of Christ . . .
the cross in which alone we must make our boast,
as Paul, God’s chosen instrument, has told us.”

St Raymond of Peñafort (1175-1275)
“Father of Canon Law”

this-is-that-enviable-st-raymond-of-penafort-7 jan 2019.jpg

“And if He gave His life for us,
then it should not be difficult
to bear whatever hardships arise for His sake.
If you seek patience,
you will find no better example than the cross.
Christ endured much on the cross and did so patiently,
because “when he suffered he did not threaten,
he was led like a sheep to the slaughter
and he did not open his mouth.”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

“The Cross is God’s chair in the world.”

St Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 9 April – “You will know that I Am He”

Posted on April 9, 2019April 9, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 9 April – Tuesday of the Fifth week of Lent, First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9, Gospel: John 8:21–30

The Readings:
Numbers 21:4-9; Psalms 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21; John 8:21-30

“Accordingly Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked at the bronze serpent and recovered.”…Numbers 21:9

St Justin Martyr (100-165) Father of the Church and Martyr
comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“Tell me, did not God, through Moses, forbid the making of an image or likeness of anything in the heavens or on earth? Yet didn’t He Himself have Moses construct the brazen serpent in the desert? Moses set it up as a sign by which those who had been bitten by the serpents were healed. In doing so, was Moses not free of any sin? By this, as I stated above, God through Moses announced a mystery by which He proclaimed that He would break the power of the serpent, who prompted the sin of Adam. He promises that He would deliver from the bites of the serpent (that is, evil actions, idolatries and other sins) all those who believe in Him who was to be put to death by this sign, namely, the Cross.”

(Dialogue with Trypho, 94)

“When you have lifted up the Son of man,
then you will know that I Am He…”… John 8:28

Daily Meditation:
Enlighten our minds and sanctify our hearts.
In our reflection, Jesus is about to face a fiery furnace,
which represents the full onslaught of all our sins
and the crushing defeat of death itself.
Praying the Stations again,
might help us grow in a sense
that this is all “for me,” for my freedom.

We grow in a sense of repentance and deep sorrow.
We grow in a desire to celebrate
the glorious Light in the midst of all darkness.

Rid yourself of all your sins
and make a new heart and a new spirit.
Gospel antiphon, based upon Ezekiel 18:31

Closing Prayer:
Loving God,
You have heard my complaints, my impatience.
Sometimes I become frightened when I move away from You.
Guide my heart back to You.
Help me to think beyond my own wants
and to desire only to do You will.

Thank You for the many blessings in my life
and for the ways I feel Your presence.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen. john 8 28 when yu have lifted up the son of man - tuesdayfifthweeklent 9 april 2019.jpg

LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 April – ” And all of our sins were there.”

Posted on April 9, 2019April 8, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 9 April – Tuesday of the Fifth week of Lent, First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9, Gospel: John 8:21–30

“When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I Am He…”...John 8:28

REFLECTION – “What is the serpent? The serpent is the sign for sin. We think of the Book of Genesis – it was the serpent that seduced Eve, that suggested that she sin. And God commands [Moses] to lift up the serpent, that is sin, as a flag of victory. It is something that one cannot understand well, if one does not understand what Jesus said in the Gospel. Jesus says to the Jews – ‘When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me”. Lifting up the symbol of their sin and transforming it into an instrument of salvation, therefore, represents the redemption which comes from Christ lifted up on the Cross.

“Christianity, is not a philosophical doctrine, it is not a programme of life that enables one to be well formed and to make peace. These are its consequences. Christianity is a person, a person lifted up on the Cross. A person who emptied Himself to save us. He took on sin. And so just as in the desert sin was lifted up, here God made man was lifted up for us. And all of our sins were there. Therefore, one cannot understand Christianity, without understanding this profound humiliation of the Son of God, who humbled Himself and made Himself a servant unto death, on the Cross. To serve”. john 8 28 when you have lifted up - what is the serpent - pope francis 9 april 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Holy Father, we have sinned against You and beg for Your forgiveness and mercy. Through the merits of the saving Cross of Your Son, help Your people O Lord, to persevere in obedience to Your will, so that through this obedience, we may reach our eternal home. We hope for the intercession of your angels and saints and our most loving Mother of Mercy. Through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen. mary, mothr of mercy - pray for us - 5 oct 2018.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Lenten Thoughts – 7 April – “If you wish to arrive at the second part, do not despise the first”

Posted on April 7, 2019April 7, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 7 April – The Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year C

“Great thing is the knowledge of the crucified Christ. How many things are enclosed inside this treasure! Christ crucified! Such is the hidden treasure of wisdom and science. Do not be deceived, then, under the pretext of wisdom. Gather before the covering and pray that it may be uncovered. Foolish philosopher of this world, what you are looking for is worthless… What is the advantage of being thirsty, if you despise the source? … And what is His precept but that we believe in Him and love each other? In whom? In Christ crucified. This is His commandment – that we believe in Christ crucified … But where humility is, there is also majesty, where weakness is, there shall one find power, where death is, there shall be life as well. If you wish to arrive at the second part, do not despise the first”

St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor
(Sermon 160, 3-4)

CHRIST the KING, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY CROSS, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Quote/s of the Day – 1 April – St Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180)

Posted on April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 1 April – Monday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C – Saint Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180) Early Church Father

Prayer in Praise of Christ

Born as a son,
led forth as a lamb,
sacrificed as a sheep,
buried as a man,
He rose from the dead as a God,
for He was by nature God and man.

He is all things:
He judges and so He is Law,
He teaches and so He is Wisdom,
He saves and so He is Grace,
He begets and so He is Father,
He is begotten and so He is Son,
He suffers and so He is Sacrifice,
He is buried and so He is man,
He rises again and so He is God.
This is Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs glory for all ages.

“The Lord, though He was God, became man. He suffered for the sake of whose who suffer, He was bound for those in bonds, condemned for the guilty, buried for those who lie in the grave but He rose from the dead and cried aloud: “Who will contend with me? Let him confront me.” I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life, raised men from their graves. Who has anything to say against me? I, He said, am the Christ, I have destroyed death, triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot, bound the strong one and taken men up to the heights of heaven. I am the Christ. Come, then, all you nations of men, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you. I am your forgiveness. I am the Passover that brings salvation. I am the lamb who was immolated for you. I am your Ransom, your Life, your Resurrection, your Light, I am your Salvation and your King. I will bring you to the heights of heaven. With my own right hand I will raise you up and I will show you the eternal Father.”

– from a letter by Saint Melito of Sardis

St Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180)

Early Church Father

FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FREEDOM, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 1 April – “Go, your son will live.”

Posted on April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 1 April – Monday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Isaiah 65:17-21; Psalms 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12A and 13B; John 4:43-54 john 4 50 go your son will live mon fourthweek lent 1 april 2019.jpg

“Go, your son will live.”…John 4:50

Saint Anastasius II of Antioch (550-609)
Monk, then Patriarch of Antioch from 549-570 and from 593-599

Sermon 5, on the Resurrection of Christ, (trans. cf breviary, Office of the Dead)

“To this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Rm 14:9). But “God is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Lk 20:38). Consequently, the dead over whom He who lives has power are no longer dead but alive. Life has power over them so that they may live without any further fear of death just as “Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again” (Rm 6:9). Raised up and freed from corruption they shall see death no more. They will share in the Resurrection of Christ just as He shared in their death. For no other reason did He descend to earth, whose bars are barriers to eternity, except to “shatter the doors of bronze and cut in two the bars of iron” (Ps 107[106]:16). He came to lead our lives away from corruption to Himself and gave us freedom in place of slavery.

If the work of this arrangement of providence does not seem to be finished yet, for men still die and their bodies rot in the grave, this should in no way undermine our faith. In advance of all the good things already mentioned we have even now received a pledge through Christ our first fruits. Through Him, we attain the highest heaven and take our places with Him who carried us up to the heights with Himself. That is what Saint Paul says somewhere: “he raised us up with him and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). he came to lead our lives away from corruption st anastasius of antioch 1 april 2019.jpg

Daily Meditation:
You give us new life.
We now begin the second part of Lent.
The Gospel according to John will be our guide.
Before we enter into the controversy and the sense of being in a court room,
we have a wonderful story of a healing.
In this gospel, the acts of power that Jesus works
are the “signs” that help us see who He is.

We are reminded that He is the one, who will give us new life.

Lo, I am about to create
new heavens and a new earth.
Isaiah 65:17 The First Reading

Closing Prayer:
God who created me,
You offer me new life through Your Son
and through the gift of Your sacraments.
While I see new life all around me,
I don’t always recognise the new life You offer me.
Help me to grow this Lent in an awareness
of the gifts You place in my life
and in a greater appreciation for Your care.
Give me the courage to ask for help.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HAPPINESS, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 31 March -Laetare!

Posted on March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

“There is more joy in heaven over a converted sinner
than over a righteous person standing firm.
A leader in battle has more love for a soldier
who returns after fleeing and who valiantly pursues the enemy,
than for one who never turned back
but who never acted valiantly either.
A farmer has greater love for land which bears fruitfully,
after he has cleared it of thorns, than for land
which never had thorns but which never yielded a fruitful harvest.”

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

“The sun of our lives is the Eucharist.”

“The earth is filled with tabernacles – Praise Him!”

St Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)

“Real joy
seems to me,
almost as unlike
security or prosperity,
as it is unlike
agony.”

“You can’t go back
and change the beginning
but you can start where you are
and change the ending.”

“He died for us.
Why not live for Him?”

C S Lewis (1898-1963)

LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 28 March – “Whoever does not gather with me scatters”

Posted on March 28, 2019March 27, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 28 March – Thursday of the Third Week of Lent, Year C

The Readings
Jeremiah 7:23-28; Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; Luke 11:14-23 luke 11 23 whoever does not gather with me thurs3rdweeklent 28 march 2019.jpg

“Whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Luke 11:23

St Simeon the New Theologian (949-1022)
Catechesis 27

Your Master is not disturbed by mockery and do you get upset? He bears spittle, blows, strokes of the lash and can you not take a harsh word? He accepts the cross, a humiliating death, the torture of the nails and can you not undertake to carry out the lowliest of tasks? How can you become a sharer in His glory (1 Pt 5:1) if you will not consent to become a sharer in His humiliating death?

Your having forsaken your wealth is truly useless if you have no wish to take up the cross, as He Himself commanded with His word of truth. “Sell what you have and give to the poor,” stipulated Christ to the young man, as also to ourselves, “Take up your cross”, “Come, follow me” (Mt 19:21; 16:24). You may indeed have shared out your goods yet without consenting to take up your cross, that is to say, courageously enduring the attack of all kinds of trials. You have strayed on the path of life and, to your own misfortune, have parted from your most sweet God and Master.

I implore you, my brethren, let us observe all Christ’s commands, let us bear until death, for love of the Kingdom of heaven, the trials that assail us so that we may have communion with the glory of Jesus, share in eternal life and inherit the joy of those good things that cannot be expressed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

how can you become a sharer in his glory - 28 march 2019 st simeon the new theologian 28 march 2019.jpg

Daily Meditation:
May our love grow each day.

We are at the half-way point in our Lenten journey today.
There is so much yet to learn, to examine, to heal, to renew.
We have a sense of the patterns we are naming and a sense of the graces we are asking for,
as well as the ways God is working in us.

We want to be ready and our Lord wants us to be confident.
So we keep asking and we keep giving thanks, throughout our day.

‘Obey my voice and I will be your God
and you shall be my people
and walk in all the way that I command you,
that it may be well with you.’

Jeremiah 7:23

Closing Prayer:
Loving God,
I hear Your invitation, “Come back to me”
and I am filled with such a longing to return to You.
Show me the way to return.
Lead me this day in good works I do in Your name
and send Your Spirit to guide me and strengthen my faith.
I ask only to feel Your love in my life today.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

FATHERS of the Church, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 24 March – “…A full and perfect patience”

Posted on March 24, 2019October 23, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 24 March – The Third Sunday of Lent, Year C

Readings:
Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15; Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-11; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9 (Different Readings apply for the Scrutinies Mass)

Daily Meditation:
Form a new heart within.

“And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure, And if it bears fruit next year, well and good and if not, you can cut it down.”...Luke 13:8-9 The third sunday - year C 24 march 2019.jpg

St Cyprian of Carthage – (c 200- c 258) Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church

The good of patience, 6, 7-8

“This, beloved brethren, Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, did not teach by words only but he also fulfilled by His deeds… In the very hour of His passion and cross… what violent abuses He listened to with patience and what shameful insults He endured! He was even covered with the spittle of His revilers when but a short time before, He had cured the eyes of the blind man with His own spittle(Jn 9:6)… He who now crowns the martyrs with eternal garlands was Himself crowned with thorns, He who now gives true palms to the victors was beaten in the face with hostile palms; he who clothes all others with the garment of immortality was stripped of His earthly garments, He who has given us the food of heaven was fed with gall, He who has offered us the cup of salvation was given vinegar to drink. He the innocent, the just man, nay rather, Innocence itself and Justice itself, is counted among criminals and Truth is concealed by false testimonies. He who is to judge is judged and the Word of God, silent, is led to the cross. And although the stars are confounded at the crucifixion of the Lord, the elements are disturbed and the earth trembles… yet He does not speak, nor is He moved, nor does He proclaim His majesty, even during the suffering itself. He endures all things even to the end with constant perseverance so that in Christ, a full and perfect patience may find its realisation.

And even after such sufferings He still receives His murderers if they are converted and come to Him and, with a patience instrumental in saving man, this kind Master closes His Church to no-one. He not only receives and pardons those adversaries, those blasphemers, those persistent enemies of His name, provided they do penance for their offence and acknowledge the crime committed but He admits them to the reward of the kingdom of heaven. What can be called more patient, what more kind? Even he who shed the blood of Christ is given life by the blood of Christ. Such is the wonderful patience of Christ. And unless it were so wonderful, the Church would not have had Paul, the great Apostle.”

he not only receives and pardons - st cyprian - 24 march 2019 3rdsunlentyearc.jpg

This Sunday brings us closer to the font of renewing our baptismal commitment.
It is also the first of three Scrutinies for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

We are deeply aware that there is a struggle going on in us.
We turn to God, that we might not become discouraged.
We rely on God’s compassion and love for us.
We acknowledge who we are
– sinners who experience the consequences of our selfishness –
but we know we are loved and we desire to be filled with hope.

We go into this week renewed in our desire to continue our
prayer, fasting and generosity toward others.

Bless the Lord, O my soul
and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy…
Psalm 103:1-4

Closing Prayer:
Loving Father,
So many times I turn away from You
and always You welcome me back.
Your mercy and love gives me confidence
Thank You for the invitation to share, fast and pray
so that You can form a new heart within me.
Your powerful compassion for my weaknesses
leads me to ask for mercy
and await with great hope the Easter joy You share with us.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The SIGN of the CROSS

Lenten Thoughts – 15 March – “When war comes, fight courageously for Him.”

Posted on March 15, 2019March 15, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 15 March – Friday of the First week of Lent, Year C Gospel: Matthew 5:20–26

“Will you refuse to be crucified for Him,
who for your sake was nailed to the cross?”

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

An excerpt from his Catecheses, 13

The Catholic Church glories in every deed of Christ. Her supreme glory, however, is the cross. Well aware of this, Paul says – God forbid that I glory in anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!

At Siloam, there was a sense of wonder and rightly so. A man born blind recovered his sight. But of what importance is this, when there are so many blind people in the world? Lazarus rose from the dead but even this affected only Lazarus. What of those countless numbers who have died because of their sins? Those five miraculous loaves fed five thousand people. Yet this is a small number compared to those all over the world who were starved by ignorance. After eighteen years a woman was freed from the bondage of Satan. But are we not all shackled by the chains of our own sins?

For us all, however, the cross is the crown of victory! It has brought light to those blinded by ignorance. It has released those enslaved by sin. Indeed, it has redeemed the whole of mankind!

Do not, then, be ashamed of the cross of Christ, rather, glory in it. Although it is a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles, the message of the cross is our salvation. Of course it is folly to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it was not a mere man who died for us but the Son of God, God made man.

In the Mosaic law a sacrificial lamb banished the destroyer. But now it is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Will He not free us from our sins even more? The blood of an animal, a sheep, brought salvation. Will not the blood of the only-begotten Son bring us greater salvation?

He was not killed by violence, He was not forced to give up His life. His was a willing sacrifice. Listen to His own words – I have the power to lay down my life and take it up again. Yes, he willingly submitted to His own passion. He took joy in his achievement, in His crown of victory He was glad and in the salvation of man He rejoiced. He did not blush at the cross for by it He was to save the world. No, it was not a lowly man who suffered but God incarnate. He entered the contest, for the reward He would win by His patient endurance.

Certainly in times of tranquillity the cross should give you joy. But maintain the same faith in times of persecution. Otherwise you will be a friend of Jesus in times of peace and His enemy during war. Now you receive the forgiveness of your sins and the generous gift of grace from your King. When war comes, fight courageously for Him.

Jesus never sinned, yet He was crucified for you. Will you refuse to be crucified for Him, who for your sake was nailed to the cross? You are not the one who gives the favour, you have received one first. For your sake He was crucified on Golgotha. Now you are returning His favour, you are fulfilling your debt to Him. jesus never sinned yet he was crucified for you - st cyril of jerusalem 15 march 2019.jpg

JESUIT SJ, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

Thursday after Ash Wednesday – 7 March -“Let him take up his cross daily and follow Me”

Posted on March 7, 2019March 7, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thursday after Ash Wednesday – 7 March

“Let him take up his cross daily and follow Me”

Lord, help us to see in Your Crucifixion and Resurrection an example of how to endure and seemingly to die in the agony and conflict of daily life, so that we may live more fully and creatively. You accepted patiently and humbly the rebuffs of human life, as well as the tortures of your Crucifixion and Passion. Help us to accept the pains and conflicts that come to us each day, as opportunities to grow as people and become more like You. Enable us to go through them patiently and bravely, trusting that You will support us. Make us realise that it is only by frequent deaths of ourselves and our self-centred desires, that we can come to live more fully,
for it is only, by dying with You, that we can rise with You.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

(A Gift for God – prayers and meditations)

Daily Meditation:
The Journey Begins

God has revealed Himself in Christ. Let us praise His goodness and ask Him from our hearts:
Remember us, Lord, for we are Your children.

Teach us to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Church,
– that it may be more effective for ourselves and for the world as the sacrament of salvation.
Lover of mankind, inspire us to work for human progress,
– seeking to spread Your kingdom in all we do.
May our hearts thirst for Christ,
– the fountain of living water.
Forgive us our sins,
– and direct our steps into the ways of justice and sincerity.

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
Let everything I do this day and in this season of Lent
come from You, be inspired by You.

I long to be closer to You.
Help me to remember, that nothing is important in my life
unless it glorifies You in some way.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day of my life and keep saying,
“Tomorrow, I will spend more time in prayer”
but now my longing meet Your love and I want to do it now.
Help me to rely on You for help.

Please, Lord, remind me that “perfection”
isn’t the crazy, “successful” way I try to live my life
but a perfection of my most authentic, real self.
My “perfection” might be holding my many flaws in my open hands,
asking You to help me accept them.

Make me whole Lord and help me to find You in the darkness of my life.
Let me reach out in this darkness and feel Your hand and love, there to guide me.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen. luke 9 23 thurs after ash wed - if any man will come after me - 7 march 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, PAPAL SERMONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY CROSS, The SIGN of the CROSS

Thought for the Day – 21 February – Peter, Servant of the Servants of the Cross of Christ

Posted on February 21, 2019February 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 21 February – the Memorial of St Peter Damian OSB (1007-1072) Doctor of the Church

Excerpt from Pope Benedict’s Catechesis on St Peter Damian
General Audience
Wednesday, 9 September 2009

One detail should be immediately emphasised – the Hermitage at Fonte Avellana was dedicated to the Holy Cross and the Cross was the Christian mystery that was to fascinate Peter Damian more than all the others. “Those who do not love the Cross of Christ do not love Christ”, he said (Sermo XVIII, 11, p. 117) and he described himself as “Petrus crucis Christi servorum famulus Peter, servant of the servants of the Cross of Christ” (Ep, 9, 1).
Peter Damian addressed the most beautiful prayers to the Cross in which he reveals a vision of this mystery which has cosmic dimensions for it embraces the entire history of salvation: “O Blessed Cross”, he exclaimed, “You are venerated, preached and honoured by the faith of the Patriarchs, the predictions of the Prophets, the senate that judges the Apostles, the victorious army of Martyrs and the throngs of all the Saints” (Sermo XLVII, 14, p. 304).
Dear Brothers and Sisters, may the example of St Peter Damian spur us too always to look to the Cross as to the supreme act God’s love for humankind of God, who has given us salvation.

St Peter Damian, who was essentially a man of prayer, meditation and contemplation, was also a fine theologian – his reflection on various doctrinal themes led him to important conclusions for life. Thus, for example, he expresses with clarity and liveliness the Trinitarian doctrine, already using, under the guidance of biblical and patristic texts, the three fundamental terms which were subsequently to become crucial also for the philosophy of the West – processio, relatio and persona (cf. Opusc. XXXVIII: PL CXLV, 633-642; and Opusc. II and III: ibid., 41 ff. and 58 ff).
However, because theological analysis of the mystery led him to contemplate the intimate life of God and the dialogue of ineffable love, between the three divine Persons, he drew ascetic conclusions from them for community life and even for relations between Latin and Greek Christians, divided on this topic. His meditation on the figure of Christ, is significantly reflected, in practical life, since the whole of Scripture is centred on Him.
The “Jews”, St Peter Damian notes, “through the pages of Sacred Scripture, bore Christ on their shoulders as it were” (Sermo XLVI, 15). Therefore Christ, he adds, must be the centre of the monk’s life: “May Christ be heard in our language, may Christ be seen in our life, may he be perceived in our hearts” (Sermo VIII, 5). Intimate union with Christ engages not only monks but all the baptised. Here we find a strong appeal for us too not to let ourselves be totally absorbed by the activities, problems and preoccupations of every day, forgetting that Jesus must truly be the centre of our life.

Communion with Christ creates among Christians a unity of love. In Letter 28, which is a brilliant ecclesiological treatise, Peter Damian develops a profound theology of the Church as communion. “Christ’s Church”, he writes, is united by the bond of charity to the point that just as she has many members so is she, mystically, entirely contained in a single member – in such a way that the whole universal Church is rightly called the one Bride of Christ in the singular, and each chosen soul, through the sacramental mystery, is considered fully Church”. This is important – not only that the whole universal Church should be united but that the Church should be present in her totality in each one of us. Thus the service of the individual becomes “an expression of universality” (Ep 28, 9-23).
However, the ideal image of “Holy Church” illustrated by Peter Damian does not correspond as he knew well to the reality of his time. For this reason he did not fear to denounce the state of corruption that existed in the monasteries and among the clergy, because, above all, of the practice of the conferral by the lay authorities of ecclesiastical offices; -various Bishops and Abbots were behaving as the rulers of their subjects rather than as pastors of souls. Their moral life frequently left much to be desired. For this reason, in 1057 Peter Damian left his monastery with great reluctance and sorrow and accepted, if unwillingly, his appointment as Cardinal Bishop of Ostia. So it was that he entered fully into collaboration with the Popes in the difficult task of Church reform. He saw that to make his own contribution of helping in the work of the Church’s renewal contemplation did not suffice. He thus relinquished the beauty of the hermitage and courageously undertook numerous journeys and missions.

Dear brothers and sisters, it is a great grace that the Lord should have raised up in the life of the Church a figure as exuberant, rich and complex as St Peter Damian. Moreover, it is rare to find theological works and spirituality as keen and vibrant as those of the Hermitage at Fonte Avellana.

St Peter Damian was a monk through and through, with forms of austerity which to us today might even seem excessive. Yet, in that way he made monastic life an eloquent testimony of God’s primacy and an appeal to all to walk towards holiness, free from any compromise with evil. He spent himself, with lucid consistency and great severity, for the reform of the Church of his time. He gave all his spiritual and physical energies to Christ and to the Church but always remained, as he liked to describe himself, Petrus ultimus monachorum servus, Peter, the lowliest servant of the monks.

	Santo Damianus de Ve… on 10 May – The Memorial of…
	Santo Valerianus dan… on Saints of the Day – 14 April –…
	Santo Hermenegild… on Saint of the Day – 13 April –…
	Santas e Santos do d… on Nuestra Señora de la Palabra /…
	Beato Antonius Neyro… on Saint of the Day – 10 Ap…

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Tenth Station Lord Jesus, You are stripped of Your garments

The Eleventh Station Lord Jesus, You are nailed to the cross

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a Sinner.

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Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Cardinal Henry Edward Manning (1808-1892)

Pope Benedict XVI

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St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church

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Meditations on the Stations of the Cross By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Ninth Station Again, a third time, Jesus falls

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St Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562)

Pope Francis

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Meditations on the Stations of the Cross By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Sixth Station Jesus and Veronica

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Speaking of the Cross

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

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

St Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church

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Meditations on the Stations of the Cross By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Fourth Station Jesus meets His Mother

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Meditations on the Stations of the Cross By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Third Station Jesus falls the first time beneath the Cross

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Dom John Whiterig OSB (c 1320–1371) Hermit of Farne

Richard Rolle (1290-1349)

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Meditations on the Stations of the Cross By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Second Station Jesus receives His Cross

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Each year I post the Stations from a different source, today we begin one of two Station Meditations, composed by Blessed John Henry. Meditations on the Stations of the Cross By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The First Station Jesus Is Condemned to Death

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Pope Francis

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Do as Abraham did

St John Chrysostom (345-407) Doctor of the Church

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The Cross of Christ

is the source of all blessings,

the cause of all graces

St Pope Leo the Great (c 400-461) Bishop of Rome and Great Western Father & Doctor of the Church

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“Speaking of the Cross of Christ”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)

Father & Doctor of the Church

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

St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Doctor of the Church

St Raymond of Peñafort (1175-1275) “Father of Canon Law”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

St Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

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St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor (Sermon 160, 3-4)

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St Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180)

Early Church Father

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Saint Anastasius II of Antioch (550-609) Monk, then Patriarch of Antioch from 549-570 and from 593-599

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

St Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)

C S Lewis (1898-1963)

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St Cyprian of Carthage – (c 200- c 258) Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church

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“Will you refuse to be crucified for Him, who for your sake was nailed to the cross?”

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Tenth Station
Lord Jesus, You are stripped of Your garments

The Eleventh Station
Lord Jesus, You are nailed to the cross

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Ninth Station
Again, a third time, Jesus falls

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Sixth Station
Jesus and Veronica

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor of the Church

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

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Fourth Station
Jesus meets His Mother

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Third Station
Jesus falls the first time beneath the Cross

Dom John Whiterig OSB (c 1320–1371)
Hermit of Farne

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The Second Station
Jesus receives His Cross

Each year I post the Stations from a different source, today we begin one of two Station Meditations, composed by Blessed John Henry.

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

The First Station
Jesus Is Condemned to Death

St John Chrysostom (345-407)
Doctor of the Church

St Pope Leo the Great (c 400-461)
Bishop of Rome and Great Western Father & Doctor of the Church

St Raymond of Peñafort (1175-1275)
“Father of Canon Law”

St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor
(Sermon 160, 3-4)

Saint Anastasius II of Antioch (550-609)
Monk, then Patriarch of Antioch from 549-570 and from 593-599

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

“Will you refuse to be crucified for Him,
who for your sake was nailed to the cross?”

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