Quote/s of the Day – 4 December – The Memorial of St John Damascene (676-749) – Father and Doctor of the Church
“Think of the Father as a spring of life begetting the Son, like a river and the Holy Ghost like a sea, for the spring and the river and sea are all one nature. Think of the Father as a root and of the Son as a branch and the Spirit as a fruit, for the substance in these three is one. The Father is a sun with the Son as rays and the Holy Ghost as heat.”
“‘How can this come about?’ Mary asked. ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you,’ the angel answered’ and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow.’ And now you are the one who puts the question: ‘How can bread become Christ and wine His Blood?’ I answer: ‘The power of the Holy Spirit will be at work to give us a marvel which surpasses understanding.’”
“If the Word of God is living and powerful and if the Lord does all things whatsoever he wills; if he said, “Let there be light” and it happened; if he said, “let there be a firmament” and it happened; …if finally the Word of God Himself willingly became man and made flesh for Himself, out of the most pure and undefiled blood of the holy and ever Virgin, why should He not be capable of making bread, His Body and wine and water, His Blood?… God said “This is my Body” and “This is my Blood.”
Quote/s of the Day – 1 December – The Memorial of St Edmund Campion (1540-1581) and Bl Charles of Jesus de Foucauld (1858-1916) Both Martyrs
“To be a Catholic is my greatest glory.”
St Edmund Campion SJ (1540-1581)
“In order to save us, God came to us and lived among us, from the Annunciation to the Ascension, in a close and familiar way. God continues to come to us and to live with us in a close and familiar way, each day and at every hour, in the holy Eucharist. So we too must go and live among our brothers and sisters in a close and familiar way.”
“Whether our life be that of Nazareth, the Public Life or the Desert… it should cry the Gospel..”
“To pray, is to think about Jesus and love Him. The more we love, the better we pray.”
“God who is infinite, all powerful, has become man, the least of men. My way is always to seek the lowest place, to be as little as my Master, to walk with Him, step-by-step as a faithful disciple. My way, is to live with my God who lived this way all His life and, who has given me, such an example, from His very birth.
Sunday Reflection – 1 December – The First Sunday of Advent, Year A and the Memorial of Bl Charles of Jesus de Foucauld (1858-1916) Martyr
Lord Jesus, You are in the Holy Eucharist. You are there a yard away in the Tabernacle. Your body, Your soul, Your human nature, Your divinity, Your whole being is there, in its twofold nature. How close You are, my God, my Saviour, my Spouse, My Beloved!
You were not nearer to the Blessed Virgin during the nine months that she carried You, than You are to me, when You rest on my tongue in Holy Communion. You were no closer to the Blessed Virgin and St Joseph in the caves at Bethlehem, or in the flight into Egypt, or at any moment of that divine family life, than you are to me at this moment – and so many others – in the Tabernacle.
Mary… was no closer to you when she sat at your feet at Bethany, than I am here, at the foot of this altar. You were no nearer to Your apostles when you were sitting in the midst of them than You are to me now, my God. How blessed I am!
(Bl Charles was martyred 103 years ago today, 1 December 1916)
Thought for the Day – 29 November – The Memorial of Blessed Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos SJ (1711-1735) – First apostle of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Spain.
“On that day you will realise that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.”
John 14:20
Today’s young Saint and Mystic, Blessed Bernardo’s devotion led him to the most exquisite union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus … the spiritual marriage. Yes. It is no less strange however, that the Word, left His Father, to become one with man, to become Bread from Heaven.
I read someplace that Bl Bernardo’s intercession is especially helpful to those who struggle with the vice of impurity. I think Bernardo’s devotion to the Sacred Heart – the complete surrender of all his affections – is an antidote to all impurity. The grace of espousal seems to me, to be similar to the consummate love of Jesus in the Eucharist for us, whereby He gives us His body, blood, soul and divinity at every Communion. Isn’t it like that? Isn’t that total union what we are called to? At every Communion – even when I feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing – it seems especially then, that faith supplies.
I never had experiences such as those Bl Bernardo participated in – I’m just grateful to be able to be recollected after each Communion and sometimes, to receive immense consolation too. Knowing He is there and I am with Him. I like the way Bl Bernardo put it: “I see that everything in my heart is moving towards God, drawn like iron to a magnet. It desires only God, searches only for God and longs only for God….”For Bernardo, that was his constant state – and he remained faithful to the graces he received. For me, perhaps this desire is only imperfectly experienced in the thanksgiving after Communion. Which is why I never want to waste those moments of recollection.
“Always holding my right hand, the Lord had me occupy the empty throne, then He fitted on my finger a gold ring…. “May this ring be an earnest of our love. You are Mine and I am yours. You may call yourself and sign Bernardo de Jesus, thus, as I said to my spouse, Santa Teresa, you are Bernardo de Jesus and I am Jesus de Bernardo. My honour is yours, your honor is Mine. Consider My glory that of your Spouse, I will consider yours, that of My spouse. All Mine is yours and all yours is Mine. What I am by nature you share by grace. You and I are one!”– The Visions of Bernard Francis De Hoyos, S.J. by Henri Bechard, S.J.
In the ascetic-mystical life of the saints, God Himself purifies the soul of disordered passions in and through purifying trials and temptations. Thus proving true Christ’s words, ‘what is impossible for man is possible for God.’ Blessed Bernardo was no exception.
As Catholics, we are not at all surprised by the ‘mystical marriage of today’s young Saint with Jesus’. However, it seems the rest are prone to think this an unusual and strange occurrence and regard it as an aberration, so please if you search Blessed Bernardo you might be horrified at some nasty statements – don’t be – you know the better part!
Thought for the Day – 27 November – Wednesday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:12–19
“But not a hair of your head shall perish.” … Luke 21:9
What is the surest kind of witness?
St Ambrose (340-397) Father & Doctor of the Church
“You can be a witness to Christ every day. You were tempted by the spirit of impurity but… you considered that chastity of spirit and body should not be soiled – you are a martyr or, in other words, a witness to Christ… You were tempted by the spirit of pride but, seeing the poor and needy, you were seized by tender compassion and preferred humility to arrogance – you are a witness to Christ. Better still – you have not given your witness in word alone but in deed as well.
What is the surest kind of witness? “Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus Christ came among us in the flesh” (cf. 1Jn 4,2) and who keeps the commands of the Gospel… How many there are each day of these hidden martyrs of Christ who confess the Lord Jesus! The apostle Paul knew that kind of martyrdom and witness of faith rendered to Christ, he who said: “Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience” (2Cor 1,12). For how many people have made a confession of faith exteriorly but denied it interiorly!… So be faithful and courageous in interior persecutions so that you may also win the victory in exterior persecutions. There are “kings and rulers,” judges of formidable power, in the persecutions within, likewise. You have an example of these in the temptations undergone by our Lord (Mt 4,1ff.)”… (Sermon 20 on Psalm 118)
“When I feel overwhelmed by misfortune, the greatest joy that the Lord can give me, is to go to the altar, to put my forehead against it (as on the day of my ordination to the priesthood) and to feel the presence of the only reality. Not only does calm return but my body seems to be annihilated, the only true life begins, the life of that which is intangible.”
Thought for the Day – 19 November – The Memorial of St Matilda/Mechtilde of Hackeborn (c 1241-1298)
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Matilda and Gertrude of Helfta/the Great, became ardent devotees and promoters of Jesus’ heart after it was the subject of many of their visions. The idea of hearing the heartbeat of God was very important to medieval saints, who nurtured devotion to the Sacred Heart. Women such as Saint Matilda and Saint Gertrude perceived Jesus’ heart as the breast of a mother. Just as a mother gives milk to nourish her child, so Jesus in the Eucharist gives us His life blood.
In one vision, Mechtilde reported that Jesus said, “In the morning let your first act be to greet My Heart and to offer Me your own. Whoever, breathes a sigh toward Me, draws Me to himself.”
One of the visions recounted by Mechtilde states that Jesus having appeared to her, commanded her to love Him ardently and to honour His Sacred Heart in the Blessed Sacrament as much as possible. He gave her His Sacred Heart as a pledge of His love, as a place of refuge during her life and as her consolation at the hour of her death. From this time Mechtilde had an extraordinary devotion to the Sacred Heart and she received such great graces from It, that she was accustomed to say, that if she had to write down all the favours and all the blessings which she had received by means of this devotion, a large book would not contain them.
In another, Jesus Himself recommended the Gospel. Opening to her, the wound of His most gentle heart, He said to her: “Consider how great is my love – if you want to know it well, you will not find it expressed more clearly anywhere, than in the Gospel. No-one has ever expressed stronger or more tender feelings than these – As my Father has loved me, so have I loved you (John 15:9)”.
Her accounts of these visions were later compiled in the Liber Specialis Gratiae – The Book of Special Grace.
Quote/s of the Day – 18 November – The Memorial of Saint Odo of Cluny (c 880–942) Monk and Abbot
“My Lady, Mother of Mercy, who on this night gave birth to the Saviour, pray for me. May your glorious and unique experience of childbirth, O Most Devout Mother, be my refuge.”
“Jesus took upon Himself the scourging, that would have been our due, in order to save the creature, He formed and loves.”
“]This is the] sacrosanct mystery of the Lord’s Body, in whom the whole salvation of the world consists.”
Sunday Reflection – 17 November – The Third World Day of the Poor and the Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
“Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed,,
and broke and gave the loaves” … Matthew 14:19
“Jesus loves us so much and wants to be close to us and looks after those who follow Him. The Lord meets the needs of mankind but wants to render each one of us, a concrete participant in His compassion.
Now let us pause on this, Jesus’ gesture of blessing: “taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke and gave the loaves” (v. 19).
As you see, they are the same signs that Jesus performed at the Last Supper and they are also the same gestures, that each priest performs when he celebrates the Holy Eucharist.
The Christian community is born and reborn continually from this Eucharistic communion.
Living communion with Christ is, therefore, anything but being passive and detached from daily life, on the contrary, it includes us more and more in the relationship with the men and women of our time, in order to offer them the concrete sign of mercy and of the attention of Christ. Jesus wants to reach everyone, in order to bring God’s love to all.”
Our Morning Offering – 17 November – The Third World Day of Prayer for the Poor and the Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
At Your Table, Lord Cafod Prayer for the World Day of the Poor
Bountiful God,
When we eat this Bread,
and drink this Cup,
remind us that it is at Your table
that we do it,
a table weighed down with good things,
a table full to overflowing.
Remind us that we have neither earned,
nor deserve,
what You freely give.
For it is to the starving
that You bring satisfaction,
whereas the full, You send away empty.
Help us to respond to Your invitation
by sharing what we have received,
by breaking the body and blood of creation
with love and reverence
and by adjusting our own wants,
so that no-one is turned away.
Amen
Ged Johnson/CAFOD Catholic Agncy for Overseas Development
One Minute Reflection – 16 November – Saturday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 18:1–8 and The Memorial of St Edmund Rich of Abingdon (1175-1240) Archbishop of Canterbury
“And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night?” … Luke 18:7
REFLECTION – “ Pray at all times ” commands the apostle Paul (1 Th 5:17). Calling to mind this precept, Clement of Alexandria writes: “We have been commanded to praise and honour the Word, which we know to be our Savior and King and through Him, the Father, not on certain select days as others do but continually, our whole lives long and in every possible way.”
Amidst our daily occupations, at times when we overcome our egoistical tendencies, when we experience the joy of friendship towards others, at all such times, Christians must discover God. Through Christ and in the Holy Spirit, Christians gain intimacy with God the Father and run along the way, as they seek that kingdom which, although it is not of this world (Jn 18:36), is prepared for, in this world and begins in this world.
We need to go regularly to Christ in the Word and the Bread, in the Eucharist and prayer. And stay with Him frequently, as one stays with a friend, a truly alive person – just as Christ is, being risen… Christ, the risen Christ is our companion, our Friend. A companion who is only to be seen in the semi-darkness but whose reality fills our lives and makes us want His company permanently. “The Spirit and the Bride say: ‘Come!’ Let those who hear say: ‘Come!’ Let anyone who thirsts come forward and let those who desire it receive the gift of life-giving water… He who gives this testimony says: ‘Yes, I am coming soon!’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rv 22:17.20).” … St Josémaria Escriva de Balaguer (1902-1975) – Sermon of 26/03/67 in ‘Es Cristo que pasa’
PRAYER – Holy Father, grant us a strong Faith! Poor Your graces into our hearts that we may believe with all our hearts, minds and souls and that in believing, we may constantly raise our entire being to You in prayer and supplication, in prayer and adoration, in prayer and love. May the intercession of St Edmund Rich of Abingdon, a man of deep prayer from his youth, strengthen our perseverance. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 15 November – The Memorial of St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280), Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Do This in Remembrance of Me
Saint Albert the Great
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
An excerpt from Commentary on the Gospel of Luke
Do this in remembrance of Me. Two things should be noted here. The firs,t is the command that we should use this Sacrament, which is indicated when He says: Do this. The second, is that this Sacrament commemorates the Lord’s going to death for our sake.
Do this. Certainly He would demand nothing more profitable, nothing more pleasant, nothing more beneficial, nothing more desirable, nothing more similar to eternal life. We will look at each of these qualities separately.
This Sacrament is profitable because it grants remission of sins; it is most useful because it bestows the fullness of grace on us in this life. The Father of spirits instructs us in what is useful for our sanctification. And his sanctification is in Christ’s sacrifice, that is, when He offers Himself in this Sacrament to the Father for our redemption, to us for our use. I consecrate Myself for their sakes. Christ, who through the Holy Spirit offered Himself up without blemish to God, will cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
Nor can we do anything more pleasant. For what is better than God manifesting His whole sweetness to us. You gave them bread from heaven, not the fruit of human labour but a bread endowed with all delight and pleasant, to every sense of taste. For this substance of Yours revealed Your kindness toward Your children and serving the desire of each recipient, it changed to suit each one’s taste.
He could not have commanded anything more beneficial, for thisSsacrament is the fruit of the tree of life. Anyone who receives this Sacrament with the devotion of sincere faith will never taste death. It is a tree of life for those who grasp it and blessed is he who holds it fast. The man who feeds on Me shall live on account of Me.
Nor could He have commanded anything more lovable, for this Sacrament produces love and union. It is characteristic of the greatest love to give itself as food. Had not the men of my tent exclaimed: Who will feed us with his flesh to satisfy our hunger? as if to say: I have loved them and they have loved Me so much, that I desire to be within them and they wish to receive Me so that they may become My members. There is no more intimate or more natural means for them to be united to Me and I to them.
Nor could He have commanded anything, which is more like eternal life. Eternal life flows from this Sacrament, because God, with all sweetness, pours Himself out upon the blessed.
St Albert the Great, Pray for Us that we may receive the Body of Christ with total faith, conviction and love!
Quote/s of the Day – 15 November – The Memorial of St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church and of Bl Mary of the Passion FMM (1839-1904)
“The whole world is indebted to Jesus for His Passion. Similarly, all of us, are indebted to our Lady, for her compassion.”
“…By ourselves, we never could have accomplished our vocation. It is for this reason, that the exposed Holy Eucharist, has become our weapon, our banner and our sovereign strength to fight the Lord’s battles.”
“…Let us continue Immaculate Mary’s mission. All is included in it. May [we].. follow her example and be the handmaid of the Lord in everything, everywhere and always.”
Quote/s of the Day – 8 November – The Memorial of Blessed John Duns Scotus OFM (c 1265-1308) and St Elizabeth of the Trinity O.Carm (1880-1906)
O Lord our God! You are one in nature. You are one in number. Truly have You said that besides You there is no God. For though many may be called gods or thought to be gods, You alone are by nature God. You are the true God from whom, in whom and through whom, all things are, You are blessed forever. Amen!
Blessed John Duns Scotus (c 1265-1308)
“A soul united to Jesus, is a living smile that radiates Him and, gives Him.”
“I have found heaven on earth, since heaven is God and God is in my soul.”
Quote/s of the Day – 7 November – The Memorial of All Dominican Saints
Just a few quotes from Dominican Saints
“Heretics are to be converted by an example of humility and other virtues far more readily, than by any external display or verbal battles. So let us arm ourselves with devout prayers and set off, showing signs of genuine humility and go barefooted to combat Goliath.”
St Dominic (1170-1221)
“Anyone who receives this Sacrament, with the devotion of sincere faith, will never taste death.”
St Albert the Great (1200-1280) OP Doctor of the Church
“Do not be attached, therefore, to clothing and riches because they divided My garments among themselves. Nor to honours, for I experienced harsh words and scourgings. Nor to greatness of rank, for weaving a crown of thorns, they placed it on My head. Nor to anything delightful, for in My thirst, they gave Me vinegar to drink.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor of the Church
“Remember that you will derive strength by reflecting that the saints, yearn for you to join their ranks, desire to see you fight bravely, and behave like a true knight in your encounters with the same adversities which they had to conquer and that breathtaking joy is the eternal reward, for having endured a few years, of temporal pain. Every drop of earthly bitterness, will be changed into an ocean of heavenly sweetness.”
Blessed Henry Suso OP (1290-1365)
“He will provide the way and the means, such as you could never have imagined. Leave it all to Him, let go of yourself, lose yourself on the Cross and you will find yourself entirely.”
“Speak the truth in a million voices. It is silence that kills!”
“What is it you want to change? Your hair, your face, your body? Why? For God is in love with all those things and He might weep when they are gone!”
St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
“Once humility is acquired, charity will come to life, like a burning flame, devouring the corruption of vice and filling the heart so full, that there is no place for vanity.”…
St Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419)
“Apart from the Cross there is no other ‘ladder’ by which we might get to heaven.”
Sunday Reflection – 27 October – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 18:9–14
Mary Receives Him
St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
I see thee after the Ascension.
This is a time of bereavement but still of consolation.
It was still a twilight time but not a time of grief.
The Lord was absent but He was not on earth, He was not in suffering.
Death had no power over Him.
And He came to her, day-by-day in the Blessed Sacrifice.
I see the Blessed Mary at Mass and Saint John celebrating.
She is waiting for the moment of her Son’s Presence – now she converses with Him in the Sacred rite and what shall I say now? She receives Him, to whom once she gave birth …..
O Holy Mother, stand by me now at mass time, when Christ comes to me, as thou did minister to thy infant Lord – as thou did hang upon His words when He grew up, as thou was found under His Cross.
Stand by me, Holy Mother, that I may gain somewhat of thy purity, thy innocence, thy faith and He may be the one object of my love and my adoration, as He was of thine. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 27 October – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Adoro te Devote, latens Deitas! I Devoutly Adore You, hidden Deity By St John Paul II (1920-2005)
We adore You, O wonderful Sacrament
of the presence of the One
who loved His own “to the end.”
We thank You, O Lord,
who edifies,
gathers together
and gives life to the Church.
O divine Eucharist, flame of Christ’s love
that burns on the altar of the world,
make the Church, comforted by You,
evermore caring, in wiping away,
the tears of the suffering
and in sustaining the efforts
of all who yearn for justice and peace.
And you, Mary, “Eucharistic” Woman
who offered your virginal womb
for the incarnation of the Word of God,
help us to live the Eucharistic Mystery
in the spirit of the “Magnificat.”
May our lives be a never-ending praise
of the Almighty who concealed Himself
beneath the humility of the Eucharistic signs.
Adoro te devote, latens Deitas. .. Adoro te… adiuva me!
I Devoutly Adore You, hidden Deity I Adore You, help me!
Quote/s of the Day – 24 October – The Memorial of St Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870) and St Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)
“When I am before the Blessed Sacrament. I feel such a lively faith that I can’t describe it. Christ in the Eucharist is almost tangible to me… When it is time for me to leave, I have to tear myself away from His sacred presence.”
“Lord, by the words of consecration, the substance of the bread and wine is converted into the substance of Your Body and Blood. All powerful Lord, say over me the word which will change me into You.”
Our Morning Offering – 20 October – Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C and World Mission Sunday
Unite Me to Thyself From In Sinu Jesu (The Journal of a Priest at Prayer) Slightly adapted
O my beloved Jesus
unite me to Thyself,
my body to Thy Body,
my blood to Thy Blood,
my soul to Thy Soul,
my heart to Thy Heart,
all that I am,
to all that Thou are,
so as to make me with Thyself, O Jesus,
one with Thou
offered to the glory of Thy Father,
out of love for Thy spouse, the Church …
for the sanctification of Thy priests,
the conversion of sinners,
the intentions of Pope Francis
and in sorrowful reparation
for our innumerable sins.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – The Memorial of St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35 – 107) Father of the Church, Martyr
“They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in His goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes.”
“Pray that we will remain faithful to the teachings of the Risen Jesus.”
Sunday Reflection – 13 October – Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C and today, John Henry Newman will be Canonised
The Birth of Jesus
Saint John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
“Consider that the birth of Jesus Christ, caused universal joy in the whole world. Jesus was the Redeemer who had been desired and awaited for so many years. He was called ‘the desire of the nations’ and ‘the desire of the eternal hills.’ Today, we behold Him, born in a little cave! Let us consider, that this day, the angel also announces to us the same great joy announced to the shepherds. “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, for a saviour has been born.”
What great rejoicing there is in a country when the firstborn son of a king is born. But surely, there should be even greater rejoicing when we see the Son of God born! We were lost and He came to save us. He is the shepherd who has come to save His sheep from death. He is the lamb of God, who has come to sacrifice Himself, to become our deliverer, our life, or light and even our food in the Most Holy Sacrament.
Saint Maximus says that for this reason, among many others, Jesus chose to be laid in the manger, where the animals are fed, to make us understand that He has become human and also our food. “In the manger, where the food of animals is placed, He allowed Himself to be laid, demonstrating that His own body would be the eternal food of humankind.”
Besides this, He is born every day in the Sacrament of the Altar, the Altar is the crib and we go to the Altar to be fed and nourished. Some might desire to hold the Infant Jesus in their arms as the prophet Simeon did but faith teaches us, that when we receive Holy Communion, we too, hold the same Jesus, who was in the manger in Bethlehem, not in our arms alone but in our hearts.
My beloved Jesus, if I do not love You, who are my Lord and God, whom shall I love?”
Our Morning Offering – 13 October – Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C and today, John Henry Newman will be Canonised
O Good Jesu By St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Soul of Christ, be my sanctification.
Body of Christ, be my salvation.
Blood of Christ, fill all my veins.
Water of Christ’s side, wash out my stains.
Passion of Christ, my comfort be.
O good Jesu, listen to me.
In Thy wounds, I fain would hide.
Ne’er to be parted, from Thy side.
Guard me, when my life shall fail me,
Bid me come to Thee above,
With Thy saints to sing Thy love,
World without end,
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 6 October – Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
”O Blessed Host” Prayer before Holy Communion By St Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) Diary 159
O Blessed Host, in golden chalice enclosed for me,
That through the vast wilderness of exile I may pass –
pure, immaculate, undefiled.
Oh, grant that through the power of Your love
This might come to be.
O Blessed Host, take up Your dwelling within my soul,
O Thou my heart’s purest love!
With Your brilliance the darkness dispel.
Refuse not Your grace to a humble heart.
O Blessed Host, enchantment of all heaven,
Though Your beauty be veiled
And captured in a crumb of bread,
Strong faith tears away that veil.
Amen
Sunday Reflection – 29 September – Twenty Sixth in Ordinary Time, Year C
“When you go to Holy Communion, you must always have an intention and say, when you are on the point of receiving our Lord’s Body:
“O my good Father, who art in heaven, I offer You, at this moment, Thy dear Son, as He was taken down from the Cross and laid in the arms of the Blessed Virgin and offered by her to You, as a sacrifice for us. I offer Him to You, by the hands of Mary to obtain ‘such-and-such a grace – faith, charity, humilty….’
My children, mark this well – whenever I obtained a grace, I asked it in this way and it has never failed!”
Our Morning Offering – 29 September – Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Anima Christi By St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within Your wounds hide me.
Permit me not to be separated from You.
From the wicked foe, defend me.
At the hour of my death, call me
and bid me come to You
That with Your saints, I may praise You
Forever and ever.
Amen
This prayer attracts an Indulgence of 300 days, or of 7 years, if recited after Holy Communion.
Quote/s of the Day – 23 September – The Memorial of St Padre Pio (1887-1968)
“Keep close to the Catholic Church at all times, for the Church alone can give you true peace, since she alone possesses Jesus, the true Prince of Peace, in the Blessed Sacrament.”
“Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvellous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we, ourselves, do not know… It is easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!”
“Remember – the sinner, who is sorry for his sins, is closer to God, than the just man, who boasts of his good works.”
“If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
Mark 9:35b
“The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self: there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection, except at the price of pain.”
“My past, O Lord, to Your mercy, my present, to Your love, my future, to Your Providence.”
Sunday Reflection – 22 September – The Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Jesus’ Sacrifice on Calvary
In the book “Padre Pio’s Mass” written by Fr Tarcisio of Cervinara, we again are given proof that the Holy Mass is the unbloody Holy Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, offered once and for all on Calvary. At the Council of Trent in the 22nd. session it states:
“Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, when he was about to offer himself once on the altar of the Cross to God the Father, making intercession by means of his death, so that he might gain there an eternal redemption, since his priesthood was not to be extinguished by death, at the last Supper, ‘on the night that he was handed over’, left to his beloved Spouse the Church a visible sacrifice, such as the nature of man requires, by which the bloody sacrifice achieved once upon the Cross might be represented and its memory endure until the end of the age and its saving power be applied to the remission of those sins which are daily committed by us.”
St Padre Pio is the first priest to have received the “stigmata,” the wounds of Jesus in his body (hands, feet and side). St Francis received them but only as a deacon. This is important because Padre Pio offered the sacrifice of the Holy Mass and St Francis was only able to assist.
St Padre Pio’s Holy Masses would last from 3 to 4 hours. People came from all over the world to be present. They would have to get there very early to be able to get a place in the church. No-one complained about it being so long and quiet. The only person for whom it was excruciating long was St Padre Pio. During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, he would actually re-live the passion and crucifixion of Jesus.
First we need to be reminded, that at every Holy Mass, Jesus is, in an un-bloody form, offering His life on the Cross for the salvation of sinners. Then that the priest is truly an Alter Christus, which means the priest actually becomes the victim with Jesus Christ at the Holy Mass. This is shown by the priest saying: “This is My Body” and “This is My Blood”. The priest does not say: This is Jesus‘ Body or This is Jesus‘ Blood.
So when St Padre Pio would offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, he would become literally this Alter Christus in suffering the crucifixion and bleeding in his wounds. One priest who was next to the altar during Padre Pio’s Mass, said he could never do that again, because he could not stand to see Padre Pio go through that agony again.
Cleonice Morcaldi, one of the spiritual daughters of Padre Pio, asked him several times what he felt and lived in each of his Masses. She wrote carefully each of his answers and thanks to her, we have a unique testimony from the Father himself about his Mass.
– Father, what is your Mass?
– A sacred accomplishment of the Passion of Jesus.
– What should I comprehend in your Holy Mass?
– All of Calvary.
– Father, tell me all that you suffer at the Holy Mass.
– All that Jesus suffered in His Passion, I inadequately suffer to the extent a human creature can possibly suffer. All of it, at no merit of my own and only because of His Goodness.
Father, is it true that you suffer the torment of the crowning of thorns during the Holy Mass?
– And you doubt it?
– During the whole Mass?
– And also before and after it. The crown is never taken away.
Saint Padre Pio’s Feast Day is tomorrow, 23 September.
Our Morning Offering – 22 September – Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Stay With Me, O Lord St Padre Pio (1887-1968)
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life
and without You I am without fervour.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light
and without You I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord,
so that I hear Your voice and follow You.
Stay with me, Lord,
for I desire to love You very much
and always be in Your company.
Stay with me, Lord,
if You wish me to be faithful to You.
Stay with me, Lord, as poor as my soul is,
I want it to be a place of consolation for You,
a nest of Love.
Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late
and the day is coming to a close
and life passes, death, judgement
and eternity approach.
It is necessary to renew my strength,
so that I will not stop
along the way and for that, I need You.
It is getting late and death approaches,
I fear the darkness, the temptations,
the dryness, the cross, the sorrows.
O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!
Stay with me tonight, Jesus,
in life with all its dangers, I need You.
Let me recognise You as Your disciples did,
at the breaking of the bread,
so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light
which disperses the darkness,
the force which sustains me,
the unique joy of my heart.
Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death,
I want to remain united to You,
if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.
Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for,
Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will,
Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You
and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.
With a firm love, I will love You
with all my heart while on earth
and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 16 September – The Memorial of Sts Cornelius & Cyprian
“Not by words alone but also by deeds, has God taught us to pray. He Himself prayed frequently and demonstrated what we ought to do, by the testimony of His own example. As it is written: “But he himself was in retirement in the desert and in prayer” and again, “He went out into the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.” But if He who was without sin prayed, how much more ought sinners to pray and if He prayed continually, watching through the whole night with uninterrupted petitions, how much more ought we to lie awake at night in continuing prayer!”
“So, my brothers, let us pray as God our master has taught us. To ask the Father in words His Son has given us, to let Him hear the prayer of Christ ringing in His ears, is to make our prayer one of friendship, a family prayer. Let the Father recognise the words of His Son. Let the Son who lives in our hearts, be also on our lips. We have Him as an Advocate for sinners, before the Father, when we ask for forgiveness for ours sins, let us use the words given by our Advocate. He tells us – Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you. What more effective prayer could we then make, in the name of Christ, than in the words of His own prayer?”
An excerpt from his “On the Lord’s Prayer”
“As we do battle and fight, in the contest of faith, God, His angels and Christ Himself, watch us. How exalted is the glory, how great the joy of engaging in a contest with God presiding, of receiving a crown, with Christ as judge.” An excerpt from his Letter 58
“{Lapsed Christians} will often take Communion before their sin is expiated, before confession has been made of their crime, before their conscience has been purged by sacrifice and by the hand of the priest, before the offence of an angry and threatening Lord has been appeased, [and so] violence is done to His body and blood and they sin now, against their Lord, more with their hand and mouth than when they denied their Lord.” (The Lapsed 15–16 [written in 251])
“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.”
“Whatever a man prefers to God, that, he makes, a god to himself.”
St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200-258)
Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church
AnaStpaul 
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