Category: The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Posted in CATECHESIS, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The LAST THINGS

Thought for the Day – 9 May – The Eucharist, Pledge of our Resurrection

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 9 May – Thursday Third Week of Easter, C

The Eucharist, Pledge of our Resurrection

Saint Irenaeus (130-202)
Bishop, Father of the Church and Martyr

An excerpt from a Against Heresies

If our flesh is not saved, then the Lord has not redeemed us with His blood, the Eucharistic chalice does not make us sharers in His blood and the bread we break, does not make us sharers in His body.   There can be no blood without veins, flesh and the rest of the human substance and this the Word of God actually became – it was with His own blood that He redeemed us.   As the Apostle says – In Him, through His blood, we have been redeemed, our sins have been forgiven.

We are His members and we are nourished by creatures, which is His gift to us, for it is He who causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall.   He declared that the chalice, which comes from His creation, was His blood and He makes it the nourishment of our blood. He affirmed that the bread, which comes from His creation, was His body and He makes it, the nourishment of our body.   When the chalice we mix and the bread we bake, receive the Word of God, the Eucharistic elements become the body and blood of Christ, by which our bodies, live and grow.   How then can it be said, that flesh belonging to the Lord’s own body and nourished by His body and blood, is incapable of receiving God’s gift of eternal life?   Saint Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians that we are members of His body, of His flesh and bones.   He is not speaking of some spiritual and incorporeal kind of man, for spirits do not have flesh and bones.   He is speaking of a real human body composed of flesh, sinews and bones, nourished by the chalice of Christ’s blood and receiving growth from the bread which is His body.

The slip of a vine planted in the ground bears fruit at the proper time.   The grain of wheat falls into the ground and decays only to be raised up again and multiplied by the Spirit of God who sustains all things.   The Wisdom of God places these things at the service of man and when they receive God’s word, they become the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ.   In the same way our bodies, which have been nourished by the Eucharist, will be buried in the earth and will decay but they will rise again at the appointed time, for the Word of God will raise them up, to the glory of God the Father. Then the Father will clothe our mortal nature in immortality and freely endow our corruptible nature with incorruptibility, for God’s power is shown most perfectly in weakness.we are his members and we are nourished - st ireneus on the eucharist and resurrection 9 may 2019.jpg

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 8 May – “I am the bread of life”

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Quote/s of the Day – 8 May – Wednesday 3rd Week of Easter, C, Gospel: John 6:35–40

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life, he who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”…John 6:35john 6 35 - 11 april 2018.jpg

“A celebration may be flawless on the exterior, very beautiful —
but if it does not lead us to encounter Jesus Christ,
it is unlikely to bear any kind of nourishment
to our heart and our life.
Through the Eucharist, however,
Christ wishes to enter into our life
and permeate it with His grace,
so that in every Christian community
there may be coherence
between liturgy and life.”

Pope Benedict

General Audience, 12 February 2014a celebration may be flawless - pope benedict 8 may 2019.jpg

“Through the Eucharist
we enter Christ’s paschal mystery,
allowing us to pass
from death to life with Him.”

Pope Francisthrough the eucharist - pope francis - 8 may 2019.jpg

“The Eucharist is Jesus Himself
who gives Himself entirely to us.
Nourishing ourselves of that “Bread of Life”
means entering into harmony with the heart of Christ,
assimilating His choices,
His thoughts,
His behaviour.
It means entering into a dynamism of love
and becoming people of peace,
people of forgiveness, of reconciliation,
of sharing in solidarity.
Heaven begins precisely in this communion with Jesus”

Pope Francis

Angelus, 16 August 2015the eucharist is jesus himself - pope francis - 8 may 2019.jpg

Posted in QUOTES of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 7 May – “I am not alone”

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Quote/s of the Day – 7 May – Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter C, Gospel: John 6:30–35

“I am the bread of life…” John 6:35i am the bread of life - john 6 35 - 5 aug 2018.jpg

I am not alone.
Jesus dwells within me.
Whatever is pure, simple and innocent in me comes from Him.
With His love, I can love and give myself to others.
With His eyes, I can see God’s face,
with His ears, I can hear God’s voice,
with His heart, I can speak to God’s heart.
I know that, alone, I cannot see, hear or touch God in the world.
But God in me,
the living Christ in me,
can see, hear and touch God in the world
and, all that is Christ’s in me is fully my own.
His simplicity,
His purity,
His innocence,
are my very own
because they are truly given to me,
to be claimed, as my most personal possessions.
That is what Paul means when he says,
“I have been crucified with Christ,
yet, I live,
no longer I
but Christ,
lives in me.”

Fr Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)

i am not alone jesus dwells within me - fr henri nouwen pg29 7 may 2019.jpg

“The Sun of our lives
is the Eucharist.”

St Luigi Gianella (1842-1915)the sun of our lives - st luigi guanella 24 oct 2018.jpg

Posted in BAPTISM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 7 May – “We have been set free…”

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One Minute Reflection – 7 May – Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter, C, Gospel: John 6:30–35 and the Memorial of St Agostino Roscelli

“…My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.”...John 6:32bjohn 6 35 - the eucharist is the father's gift to the world.jpg

REFLECTION – ““Sing a new song to the Lord!” (Ps 96[95]:1).   It is a new song to match a new situation.   As Paul wrote: “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation:  the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2Cor 5:17).   Those who were Israelites according to the flesh were set free from the tyranny of the Egyptians thanks to their mediator at that time, all-wise Moses, they were set free from their levy of brickmaking, the useless sweat of their earthly toil…, the cruelty of their overseers, the inhuman harshness of Pharaoh.   They passed through the sea, ate manna in the wilderness, drank water that gushed forth from the rock, crossed dry-footed over the Jordan and entered into the Land of promise.

Now all of this has been renewed for our sakes and this new world is incomparably better than the old.   We have been set free, not from an earthly slavery but from a spiritual one, we have no longer been delivered from this world’s tasks but from the stains of carnal pleasure.   We have escaped, not from Egyptian foremen or an impious and pitiless tyrant, a man like ourselves but from cunning, immoral demons inciting us to sin and from Satan, the leader of their mob.

We have passed over the waves of this present life like a sea, with its commotion and insane bustle.   We have eaten spiritual manna, the bread that came down from heaven giving life to the world.   When we put our delight in the living waters of Christ, we drank from water that gushed from the rock.   We have passed over Jordan thanks to the grace of the holy baptism we were deemed worthy to receive.   We entered the Land promised to the saints and made ready for them, that land, which the Lord called to mind when he said:  “Blessed the gentle for they shall inherit the earth” (Mt 5:4)….St Cyril of Alexandria (380-444) Father & Doctor of the Churchmy father gives you the true bread john 6 32 -we have passed over - sdt cyril of alex 7 may 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Almighty Father, to whom this world, with all it’s goodness and beauty belongs, give us grace joyfully to begin this day in Your name and to fill it with the active love for You and our neighbour.   By the food You give us, to sustain us on this journey, we are brought to holiness in Your Son, our Lord Jesus the Christ, whom You gave to us as our food.   May the Mother of Your Son and our mother, lead us to You and may the prayers of St Agostino Roscelli, be a succour on our way.   Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.mary most holy pray for us - 9 nov 2018

st agostino roscelli pray for us 7 may 2019

Posted in PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 5 May – ” the privileged place”

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Sunday Reflection – 5 May – Third Sunday of Easter, Year C

Pope Benedict XVI

” The Eucharist, the privileged place in which the Church recognises “the Author of life” (Acts 3: 15) is “the breaking of the bread”, as it is called in the Acts of the Apostles.   In it, through faith, we enter into communion with Christ, who is “the priest, the altar and the lamb of sacrifice” (see Preface for Easter, 5) and is among us.

Let us gather round Him to cherish the memory of His words and of the events contained in Scripture, let us relive His Passion, death and Resurrection.   In celebrating the Eucharist, we communicate with Christ, the victim of expiation and from Him we draw forgiveness and life.

What would our lives as Christians be without the Eucharist?   The Eucharist is the perpetual, living inheritance which the Lord has bequeathed to us in the Sacrament of His Body and His Blood and which we must constantly rethink and deepen so that, as venerable Pope Paul VI said, it may “impress its inexhaustible effectiveness on all the days of our earthly life.” – (Insegnamenti, V [1967], p. 779)

in-it-through-faith-pope-benedict-15-april-2018 and 5 may 2019

Many Christians take their time 
and have leisure enough in their social life 
(no hurry here). 
They are leisurely, too, in their professional activities, 
at table and recreation (no hurry here either). 
But isn’t it strange, how those same Christians.
find themselves in such a rush 
and want to hurry the priest, 
in their anxiety to shorten the time devoted 
to the most holy sacrifice of the altar?“

St Josemaria Escriva (1902-1975)

many-christians-take-their-time-st-josemaria-15-april-2018.jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, EASTER, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 5 May – Marian Prayer before Mass

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Our Morning Offering – 5 May – Third Sunday of Easter, Year C

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Before Holy Mass

O most blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of tenderness and mercy,
I, a miserable and unworthy sinner,
fly to you with all the affection of my heart
and I beseech your motherly love,
that, as you stood by your most dear Son,
while he hung on the Cross,
so, in your kindness,
you may be pleased to stand by me, a poor sinner,
and all Priests who today are offering the Sacrifice
here and throughout the entire holy Church,
so that with your gracious help
we may offer a worthy and acceptable oblation
in the sight of the most high and undivided Trinity.
Amen.

(This prayer is adapted from the Priests’ Prayers Before each Mass)prayer-to-the-blessed-virgin-before-mass-15-april-2018.jpg

Posted in BAPTISM, CATHOLIC Quotes, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SACRAMENTS, The ASCENSION of the LORD, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The RESURRECTION

Thought for the Day- 4 May – God’s Plan of Salvation

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Thought for the Day- 4 May – Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

God’s Plan of Salvation

Second Vatican Council

An excerpt from Sacrosanctum Concilium, #7-8

In His desire that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, God spoke in former times to our forefathers through the prophets, on many occasions and in different ways.   Then, in the fullness of time He sent His Son, the Word made man, anointed by the Holy Spirit, to bring good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted as the physician of body and spirit and the mediator between God and men.   In the unity of the person of the Word, His human nature was the instrument of our salvation.   Thus in Christ, there has come to be, the perfect atonement that reconciles us with God and we have been given the power to offer the fullness of divine worship.

This work of man’s redemption and God’s perfect glory was foreshadowed by God’s mighty deeds among the people of the Old Covenant.   It was brought to fulfilment by Christ the Lord, especially through the paschal mystery of His blessed passion, resurrection from the dead and ascension in glory – by dying He destroyed our death, and by rising again He restored our life.   From His side, as He lay asleep on the cross, was born that wonderful sacrament, which is the Church in its entirety.

As Christ was sent by the Father, so in His turn He sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit.   They were sent to preach the Gospel to every creature, proclaiming that we had been set free from the power of Satan and from death by the death and resurrection of God’s Son and brought into the kingdom of the Father.   They were sent also to bring into effect, this saving work that they proclaimed, by means of the sacrifice and sacraments that are the pivot of the whole life of the liturgy.

So, by baptism men are brought within the paschal mystery. Dead with Christ, buried with Christ, risen with Christ, they receive the Spirit that makes them God’s adopted children, crying out – Abba, Father and so they become the true adorers that the Father seeks.

In the same way, whenever they eat the supper of the Lord they proclaim His death until He comes.   So, on the very day of Pentecost, on which the Church was manifested to the world, those who received the word of Peter were baptised.   They remained steadfast in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion of the breaking of bread, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people.

From that time onward the Church has never failed to come together to celebrate the paschal mystery, by reading what was written about Him in every part of Scripture, by celebrating the Eucharist in which the victory and triumph of His death are shown forth, and also by giving thanks to God for the inexpressible gift He has given in Christ Jesus, to the praise of God’s glory.

Glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be world without end.
Amenglory be to the father and - 4 may 2019

Posted in QUOTES of the SAINTS, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 28 April – O Sacrament Most Holy

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Sunday Reflection – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday

Fr Benedict Groeschel CFR (1933-2014)

O Lord Jesus Christ, how am I to prepare myself to attend that holy sacrifice, which You began at Your Last Supper and which You consummated on Calvary?

That eternal Eucharist begun in sorrow and agony continues, not simply to the end of the world but throughout all eternity.   It is, the eternal act of obedience and love that You, as the head of our whole human race, offered to the Trinity, even to Yourself, in Your divinity.   These mysteries are completely beyond me.   Yet I know, they are true because You revealed them.

Soon, in the person of a priest, a poor human being, Your divine words will be spoken and each of us, at this Mass, will be lifted beyond this place and be part of the heavenly choirs and the eternal divine liturgy.   How dare we think that we, creatures of earth, could participate in such a thing!   We believe it, because this liturgy began here on earth.   From the very first moment of Your existence, as a human being, the altar was prepared, the linens were laid on the altar.   Throughout Your earthly life, You laboured in the preaching of the Gospel and in calling the faithful to prayer. Then, at the supreme moment of Your earthly existence, You offered Yourself in total obedience and sacrifice to the Father, for all the world.   Your glorious Resurrection and Ascension, point beyond the Cross and beyond the tomb and remind us that this Eucharist, is not only a memorial but an everlasting participation in Your divine and heavenly worship, as priest of the new covenant.

O Lord, give me Your Holy Spirit, that my heart may be lifted up in this Mass, that I may be in one of the choirs that join with You, that I may take my place prayerfully and in reverent attention, with the billions of saints, with the great choirs of angels, with the army of holy souls on their pilgrimage and with all the devout and struggling Christians in the world.   Let this Mass be the beginning of a new moment in my life, one step closer to You.   May I be encouraged by this sacred meal, to know that You will go with me in the wilderness of life, that You will sustain me so that I may, in fact, not only pray as one of those united to You but, that I may live and act, so that it may indeed be true, that I live, no longer I but You, who live in me. Amen, alleluia!

O Sacrament most holy
O Sacrament divine,
All praise and all thanks giving,
Be very moment Thine.+

Jesus, I love You with all my heart. I wish to love You more every day.   Thank You for being with me in this most Holy Sacrament.let this mass be the beginning of anew moment - fr benedict groeschel 28 april 2019.jpg

Posted in SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Saint of the Day – 26 April – Saint Paschasius Radbertus (785–865)

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Saint of the Day – 26 April – Saint Paschasius Radbertus (785–865) Monk, Abbot, Theologian – born 785 at Soissons, France and died in 865 of natural causes.   St Paschasius was a Carolingian theologian and the abbot of Corbie, a monastery in Picardy founded in 657 or 660 by the queen regent Bathilde with a founding community of monks from Luxeuil Abbey.   His most well-known and influential work is an exposition on the nature of the Eucharist written around 831, entitled De Corpore et Sanguine Domini.snip st paschasius radbertus.JPG

Paschasius was an orphan left on the steps of the convent of Notre-Dame de Soissons.   He was raised by the nuns there and became very fond of the abbess, Theodrara. Theodrara was sister of St Adalard of Corbie (C 751-827) and St Wala of Corbie (c 755–836), two monks (and both abbots prior to Paschasius) whom he admired greatly.   At a fairly young age, Paschasius left the convent to serve as a monk under Abbot Adalard, at Corbie.

Through the abbotship of both Adalard and Wala, Paschasius focused on the monastic life, spending his time studying and teaching.   When Adalard died in 826, Paschasius helped ensure Wala would become Abbot in his place.   Wala’s death in 836 brought yet another abbot to Corbie, Ratramnus, who held opposing views to Paschasius on a number of ecclesiastical issues.   Ratramnus wrote a refutation of Paschasius’ treatise on the Eucharist, De Corpore et Sanguine Domini, using the same title.st paschasius radvertus of corbie

By 844, Paschasius himself became abbot, however he resigned his title ten years later to return to his studies  . He left Corbie for the nearby monastery of St Riquier, where he lived in voluntary exile for some years.   Why he resigned is unknown, however, it is likely that his actions were motivated by factional disputes within his monastic community, misunderstandings between himself and the younger monks were likely factors in his decision.   He returned to Corbie late in life and resided in his old monastery until his death in 865.

St Paschasius’ body was first buried at the Church of St John in Corbie.   After numerous reported miracles, the Pope ordered his remains to be removed and interred in the Church of St Peter, Corbie.   He was Canonised in 1073 by Pope Gregory VII.

Corbiechurch.jpg
St Peter’s Corbie

St Paschasius has an extensive collection of works, including the “Vitae” or Lives of St Adalbert and St Wala and many exegeses on various books of the Bible.  He wrote commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew, Lamentations, a commentary on Revelations and an exposition of Psalm 45, which he dedicated to the nuns at St Mary at Soissons. De Partu Virginis, written for his friend Emma, Abbess of St Mary at Soissons and daughter of Theodrara, describes the lifestyle of nuns.  26_ St_ Paschasius Radbertus, AbbotHe also wrote a treatise, titled De Nativitae Sanctae Mariae, regarding the nature of the Virgin Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ.  Paschasius probably wrote much more but none of it has survived through the centuries.

The most well-known and influential work of St Paschasius, ‘De Corpore et Sanguine Domini’ The Body and Blood of Christ (written between 831 and 833), is an exposition on the nature of the Eucharist.   It was originally written as an instructional manual for the monks under his care at Corbie and is the first lengthy treatise on the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the Western world.   In it, Paschasius agrees with St Ambrose (340-397) in affirming that the Eucharist contains the true, historical body of Jesus Christ.

According to Paschasius, God is truth itself and, therefore, His words and actions must be true.   Christ’s proclamation at the Last Supper that the bread and wine were His body and blood must be taken literally, since God is truth.   He believes that the transubstantiation of the bread and wine to be used at the Eucharist occurs literally.  Only if the Eucharist is the actual body and blood of Christ can a Christian know it is salvific.

Paschasius believed that the presence of the historical blood and body of Christ allows the partaker a real union with Jesus in a direct, personal and physical union by joining a person’s flesh with Christ’s and Christ’s flesh with his.   To Paschasius, the Eucharist’s transformation into the flesh and blood of Christ is possible because of the principle that God is truth, God is able to manipulate nature, as He created it.

The book was given to Charles the Bald, the Frankish king, as a present in 844, with the inclusion of a special introduction.   The view Paschasius expressed in this work was met with some hostility.   Ratramnus, who preceded Paschasius as Abbot of Corbie, wrote a rebuttal by the same name, by order of Charles the Bald, who did not agree with some of the views Paschasius held.   Ratramnus believed that the Eucharist was strictly metaphorical, he focused more on the relationship between faith and the newly emerging science, while Paschasius believed in the miraculous.

Shortly thereafter, a third monk joined the debate, St Rabanus Maurus (c 780–856), which initiated the Carolingian Eucharist Controversy.   Ultimately, however, the king accepted Paschasius’ assertion and the physical presence of Christ in the Eucharist, which had already been believed for centuries, was cemented by St Paschasius book and cleared the way for a precise understanding of Transubstantiation.st paschasius radbertus

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Quote/s of the Day – 24 April – St Fidelis & St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

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Quote/s of the Day – 24 April – Wednesday of Easter week and the Memorial of St Fidelis of Sigmaringen OFM.Cap. (1577-1622) and St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)

“Woe to me if I should prove myself
but a half-hearted soldier in the service
of my thorn-crowned Captain.”woe-to-me-st-fidelis - 24 apil 2019 no 2

“What made the holy apostles and martyrs
endure fierce agony and bitter torments,
except faith and especially faith in the resurrection?
What is it that today makes true followers of Christ
cast luxuries aside, leave pleasures behind
and endure difficulties and pain?
It is a living faith that expresses itself through love.
It is this that makes us put aside the goods of the present
in the hope of future goods. It is because of faith
that we exchange the present for the future.”

St Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622)what made the holy apostles and martyrs - st fidelis - 24 april 2019

“May your heart be an altar,
from which the bright flame,
of unending thanksgiving
ascends to heaven.”may-your-heart-be-an-altar-st-mary-euphrasia-24-april-2019 no 2

“Draw near to our Lord, thoroughly aware
of you own nothingness and you may hope
all things from His Goodness and Mercy.
Never forget that Jesus Christ is no less generous
in the Blessed Sacrament than He was
during His mortal life on earth.”draw-near-to-our-lord-st-mary-euphrasia-24-april-2018

O my God,
may every beat of my heart,
be a prayer, to obtain grace
and pardon for sinners.
May all my sighs, be so many
appeals to Your infinite mercy.
May each look, have the virtue,
to gain to Your love,
those souls, whom I shall look on.
May the food of my life,
be to work without ceasing
for Your glory
and the salvation of souls.
Amen

St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)morning-prayer-of-st-mary-euphrasia-pelletier-24-april 2019-o-my-god-may-every-beat-of-my-heart-no-2-jpg2.jpg

Posted in EASTER, franciscan OFM, PAPAL MESSAGES, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 April – “Stay with us”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 24 April – Wednesday of Easter week, Gospel: Luke 24:13–35 and the Memorial of St Benedict Menni (1841-1914)

“Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.”   So he went in to stay with them....Luke 24:29

REFLECTION – “When the disciples on the way to Emmaus asked Jesus to stay “with” them, He responded by giving them a much greater gift, through the Sacrament of the Eucharist He found a way to stay “in” them.
Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus.   “Abide in me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4).   This relationship of profound and mutual “abiding” enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth.   Is this not the greatest of human yearnings?   Is this not what God had in mind when He brought about in history His plan of salvation?   God has placed in human hearts a “hunger” for His word (cf. Am 8:11), a hunger which will be satisfied only by full union with Him.   Eucharistic communion was given, so that we might be “sated” with God here on earth, in expectation of our complete fulfilment in heaven.
This special closeness which comes about in Eucharistic “communion” cannot be adequately understood or fully experienced apart from ecclesial communion…   The Church is the Body of Christ – we walk “with Christ” to the extent that we are in relationship “with his body”. Christ provided for the creation and growth of this unity, by the outpouring of His Holy Spirit.   And He Himself, constantly builds it up by His Eucharistic presence.   It is the one Eucharistic bread which makes us one body.   As the Apostle Paul states:  “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1Cor 10:17)…Saint John Paul II (1920-2005) – Apostolic Letter “ Mane nobiscum Domine ” §19-20luke 24 29 - stay with us - when the disciples on the way to emmaus - st john paul 24 april 2019 - wed easter octave.jpg

PRAYER – Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You.   You know how easily I abandon You.
Stay with me Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, so that I may not fall so often.
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, to show me Your will.
Stay with me Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You…. St Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) (Excerpt)  
And grant holy Father, that the prayers of St Benedict Menni, may assist us on our way. Through Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever, amen.st benedict menni pray for us 24 april 2019.jpg

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, HOLY WEEK, HOLY WEEK 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Holy Week Thoughts – Maundy Thursday – 18 April – The perfection of love

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Holy Week Thoughts – Maundy Thursday – 18 April

The perfection of love

Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Treatise 84

Dear brethren, the Lord has marked out for us the fullness of love that we ought to have for each other.   He tells us – No-one has greater love than the man who lays down his life for his friends.   In these words, the Lord tells us what the perfect love we should have for one another involves.   John, the evangelist who recorded them, draws the conclusion in one of his letters – As Christ laid down His life for us, so we too ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.   We should indeed love one another as He loved us, He who laid down His life for us.

This is surely what we read in the Proverbs of Solomon:  If you sit down to eat at the table of a ruler, observe carefully what is set before you, then stretch out your hand, knowing that you must provide the same kind of meal yourself.   What is this ruler’s table, if not the one at which we receive the body and blood of Him who laid down His life for us?   What does it mean to sit at this table if not to approach it with humility? What does it mean to observe carefully what is set before you, if not to meditate devoutly on so great a gift?   What does it mean to stretch out one’s hand, knowing that one must provide the same kind of meal oneself, if not what I have just said: as Christ laid down His life for us, so we in our turn, ought to lay down our lives, for our brothers?   This is what the Hpostle Paul said – Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we might follow in his footsteps.

This is what is meant by providing “the same kind of meal.”   This is what the blessed martyrs did, with such burning love.   If we are to give true meaning, to our celebration of their memorials, to our approaching the Lord’s table, in the very banquet at which they were fed, we must, like them, provide “the same kind of meal.”

At this table of the Lord we do not commemorate the martyrs in the same way as we commemorate others who rest in peace.  We do not pray for the martyrs as we pray for those others, rather, they pray for us, that we may follow in His footsteps.   They practised the perfect love, of which the Lord said, there could be none greater.   They provided “the same kind of meal” as they had themselves received at the Lord’s table.

This must not be understood as saying, that we can be the Lord’s equals by bearing witness to Him, to the extent of shedding our blood.   He had the power of laying down His life, we by contrast, cannot choose the length of our lives and we die, even if it is against our will.   He, by dying, destroyed death in Himself;  we are freed from death only in His death.   His body did not see corruption, our body will see corruption and only then be clothed through Him, in incorruption, at the end of the world.   He needed no help from us in saving us, without Him, we can do nothing.   He gave Himself to us, as the vine to the branches, apart from Him, we cannot have life.

Finally, even if brothers die for brothers, yet no martyr by shedding his blood brings forgiveness for the sins of his brothers, as Christ brought forgiveness to us.   In this, He gave us, not an example to imitate but a reason for rejoicing.   Inasmuch, then, as they shed their blood for their brothers, the martyrs provided “the same kind of meal” as they had received at the Lord’s table.   Let us then love one another as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us.he need no help from us - st augustine - 18 april 2019 holy thursday.jpg

Posted in HOLY WEEK, HOLY WEEK 2019, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The PASSION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 April -He loved them to the end…”

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One Minute Reflection – 18 April – Holy Thursday, Gospel: John 13:1–15

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end...John 13:1john 13 1 -now before the feast of the passover - 18 april 2019 holy thursday.jpg

REFLECTION – “The footwashing” – This shows “His love for them to the end” – this is an act of love that Peter, understandably, perceives as completely unacceptable, as turning the world upside-down. Yet, precisely this inversion, is the most upright thing possible. One must first let it happen to himself, precisely as the Lord did it – in His incomparable love’s humbling – before he can take it as “an example” (13:14) for himself and practice this self-abasement with the brethren.  This is the Gospel’s tangible demonstration of the subsequent passage’s description of the mystery of the Eucharist – Christians should, like Christ Himself, become edible food and potable drink, for each other.”…Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)the footwashing - this shows his love for them to the end - hans urs von blathasar 18 april 2019 holy thursday.jpg

“Christianity is above all a gift: God gives himself to us – He does not give some thing but Himself. And this takes place not only at the beginning, at the moment of our conversion. He continually remains the One who gives. He always offers us His gifts anew. He always precedes us. For this reason, the central action of being Christians is the Eucharist: gratitude for having been gratified, the joy for the new life that He gives us.”...Pope Benedict XVI 20 March 2008 Holy Thursday – Mass of the Lord’s Supperchristianity-is-above-all-a-gift-pope-benedict-18 april 2019 also used 29 march 2018-holy-thursday.jpg

PRAYER – Love of You, with our whole heart, Lord God, is holiness.   Increase then Your gifts of divine grace in us, so that, as in Your Son’s Death, You made us hope for what we believe, You may likewise, in His Resurrection, make us come to You, our final end.  Listen we beg, to the prayers of Your holy ones and may the Blessed Mother walk along with us and keep our hand, ever in hers.   Through Jesus Himself, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God with You, forever and ever, amen.our lady mother of sorrows pray for us 26 march 2019.jpg

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MARIAN QUOTES, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 14 April – God with Us! St John XXIII

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Sunday Reflection – 14 April – Palm Sunday, Year C

God with Us!
St John XXIII (1881-1963)

This is the great reality of Christian history – Jesus, the Sacred Host, the Bread of Life, in the midst of His Church.
This is that brightest Star which enables us to look forward with great confidence to the future Kingdom of Christ.   And, as we bless and adore Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist, we wish to raise our hearts in trustful prayer to Mary, His sweet Mother and our Mother too.

So let us turn to her, as our own dear Mother.   It is she, who bore and presented to the world, Jesus, our Redeemer and Saviour.   It is she, who leads innocent souls and penitent souls, to Jesus.   It was at her request at the wedding at Cana that our Saviour worked His first great miracle, to the joy and delight of all believers.

In her sanctuary of Lourdes and in so many other sanctuaries all over the world, she continues her motherly and pious task of leading to her Divine Son’s arms, all who pray to her, for the safety, peace and joy of the Holy Universal Church.   Is this not the literal accomplishment of our fervent resole – “to Jesus through Mary?”

Let us then understand one another, beloved children, as we worship Jesus in the Holy Eucharist – God with us!   God with us!

The Sacrament of Jesus, remains with us as our divine inheritance, for our salvation and for the joy of the Catholic and Apostolic Church.

When we pray before the Blessed Sacrament, may the Mother of Jesus, who is our Mother, continually be remembered, as our intercessor and protectress, the joy and gladness of our hearts.   Amen.god with us - this is the great reality - st john XXIII 14 april 2019.jpg

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote of the Day – 12 April – He leaves His angels

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Quote of the Day – 12 April – Friday of the Fifth Week, Year C and the Memorial of Saint Teresa de Jesús “de los Andes” OCD (1900-1920)

“How I would have loved, mother dear, to be by your side to console and weep with you. But our souls met by the tabernacle.   He leaves His angels and millions of people, to come into your soul, to consummate in you the most intimate union, to transform you into God, to nourish in you the life of grace with which you will attain heaven.”  … from the letters of Saint Terese de los Andes

St Teresa de Jesús “de los Andes” (1900-1920)he leaves his angels and - st teresa de los andes 12 april 2019.jpg

Posted in SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 7 April – Come to the altar with your wounds and scars.

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Sunday Reflection – 7 April – The Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year C

Every moment of your life is a preparation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, just as every moment of My life was a preparation for and a slow ascent to the Sacrifice of the Cross.   Understand this and you will see that nothing in your life is foreign to My plan for you, that everything you have done and that every place you have ever been and that every person with whom you have been or are connected, is part of My design for your life.

When you bring to your Mass all that you have experienced — your whole life story — you allow Me to redeem those things that are most dark, bitter and painful by taking them into the mystery of My Sacrifice.

Come to the altar with your wounds and scars.   Give them to Me and I shall unite them to My own sufferings and so make them shine in My sight.   Come to the altar with your sins, even with those of which you are most ashamed and I shall show you that I have already taken them upon Myself and expiated them in my Blood.   Come to the altar with every troubled and broken relationship of your past, with every betrayal, every failure, and every falling away from holiness and I shall cast all these things into the ocean of My mercy, never again to be recovered, or named, or used by the Accuser against you.

(From In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest)when you bring to mass - in sinu jesus - 7 april 2019 sun reflection .jpg

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 7 April – Prayer in Honour of the Eucharistic King

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Our Morning Offering – 7 April – The Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year C

Prayer in Honour of the Eucharistic King
By St Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)

O Jesus, King of all peoples and all ages,
accept the Acts of Adoration and praise,
which we, Your brothers by adoption,
humbly offer You.
You are the “Living Bread which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world,”
Supreme Priest and Victim.
On the Cross, You offered Yourself to the Eternal Father
as a bloody sacrifice of expiation,
for the redemption of the human race
and now, You offer Yourself daily upon our altars,
by the hands of Your ministers,
in order to establish, in every heart,
Your “reign of truth and life, of holiness and grace,
of justice, love and peace.”
O King of glory, may Your kingdom come!
Reign from Your “throne of grace”,
in the hearts of children,
so that they may guard untainted
the while lily of baptismal innocence.
Reign in the hearts of the young,
that they may grow up healthy and pure,
obedient to the commands of those who represent You
in their families and schools and in the Church.
Reign in our homes,
so that parents and children may live in peace,
in obedience to Your holy law.
Reign in our lands,
so that all citizens,
in the harmonious order of the various social groups,
may feel themselves children of the same heavenly Father,
called to co-operate for the common good of this world,
happy to belong to the one Mystical Body,
of which Your Sacrament is at once the symbol
and the everlasting source.
Finally, reign, O King of kings
and “Lord of lords,”
over all the nations of the earth
and enlighten all their rules in order that,
inspired by Your example, they may make
“plans for welfare and not for evil.”
O Jesus, present in the Sacrament of the Altar,
teach all the nations to serve You with willing hearts,
knowing that “to serve God is to reign.”
May Your Sacrament, O Jesus,
be light to the mind,
strength to the will,
joy to the heart.
May it be the support of the weak,
the comfort of the suffering,
the wayfaring bread of salvation for the dying
and for all,
the “pledge of future glory”
Amenprayer in honour of the eucharisdtic king.jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

April Devotion – The Blessed Sacrament

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April Devotion – The Blessed Sacrament

Other Christians, most notably the Eastern Orthodox, some Anglicans and some Lutherans, believe in the Real Presence, that is, they believe, as we Catholics do, that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament of the altar (though only Catholics define this change as transubstantiation).

However, only the Catholic Church has developed the practice of Eucharistic adoration. Every Catholic Church contains a Tabernacle in which the Body of Christ is reserved between Masses and the faithful are encouraged to come and pray before the Blessed Sacrament.   Frequent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is a path to spiritual growth.april-devotion

Eucharistic Adoration
The practice of Eucharistic adoration on earth not only brings us grace but prepares us for our life in Heaven.   As Ven Pope Pius XII wrote in Mediator Dei (1947):

“These exercises of piety have brought a wonderful increase in faith and supernatural life to the Church militant upon earth and they are reechoed to a certain extent by the Church triumphant in heaven which sings continually a hymn of praise to God and to the Lamb “who was slain.”

This month, why not make a special effort to spend some time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament?   It doesn’t need to be long or elaborate – You can start simply by making the Sign of the Cross and uttering a short profession of faith, such as “My Lord and my God!” as you pass a Catholic church.   If you have the time to stop for five minutes, all the better.

“A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent
in sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

“When you want to find me, come near the tabernacle.”

St Pio of Pietrelcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)a thousand years and when you want to find me - st padre pio 3 april 2019.jpg

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Saint of the Day – 3 April – Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937)

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Saint of the Day – 3 April – Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937) – Religious Sister and Founder of the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Priests known as Little Friends of Jesus , Apostle of Eucharistic Adoration, of Prayer especially for priests.   Also known as Sister Maria Serafina of the Heart of Jesus Pierced and Mother Maria Teresa. Additional Memorial – 29 October (Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, diocese of Frascati, Italy, based on the date of her baptism).   Born on 27 October 1864 in Frascati, Italy and died around 5am on 3 April 1937 at Oblate monastery on the via del Casaletto in Grottaferrata, Rome, Italy of natural causes, aged 72.

Maria Teresa Casini was born on 27 October 1864 to Tommaso Casini and Melania Rayner as their first born daughter, she was baptised on 29 October.

She travelled to Rome for her studies at the Santa Rufina boarding school that the nuns of the Madams of the Sacred Heart conducted. She received her First Communion on 7 May 1878 which solidified her vocation.   Due to a period of ill health, she had to leave school and return home for recuperation.bl maria teresa casini young

Shortly after she turned eighteen, she responded to her vocation and met Father Arsenio Pellegrini who became her guide and her spiritual director and who served as the Abbot of the Basilian Monks of Grottaferrata.   Despite entering the convent, ill health forced her to leave, though she attempted to enter once again yet failed due to the death of the foundress after which the institute she joined ceased to exist.

In due time, she became a nun after entering the monastery of Sepolte Vive in Rome on 2 February 1885.   Casini only started to live in Grottaferrata with fellow entrants from 17 October 1892 onwards.   On 2 February 1894, she founded the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

It was not until 1925 that Casini started the special work of the “Little Friends of Jesus” in order to promote and to cultivate the vocations of prospective priests.   The group’s special character came to life when Cardinal Francesco Satolli requested Casini and her congregation to take up new and vigorous apostolic work.   This group also worked for the sanctification of all priests and so the group opened a boarding school for males in order to please the Lord’s request for good and wholesome priests.

Throughout her life, Casini offered “the oblation of herself, in faithful response to the Love that overflows from the open Heart of the Savior, and which she imparted to so many daughters and priests”. This even earned the praise of Pope Pius X in 1904 who wrote:  “In order to bring about the reign of Jesus Christ, nothing is more necessary than the sanctity of the clergy.   God bless these sisters for their selfless love for these men of God, for through them, through the sacraments, we are fortified and purified for the journey”.bl maria teresa casini

Casini grew ill in the final years of her life and she died in 1937.   Her final words were: “I am peaceful.   I feel God is near me”.

Casini’s order continues to flourish on an international level in places such as Africa, the United States of America, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, India, Guinea Bissau.  The Generalate is in Rome and the Motherhouse is in Grottaferrata, Italy.

The first of the males of the Little Friends of Jesus that Casini herself oversaw was ordained as a priest in 1938.bl maria teresa casini 2

Blessed Maria Teresa was buried in the chapel of the Zealots of the Sacred Heart in a nearby cemetery and her remains were re-interred at the Generalate of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart in Grottaferrata on 20 May 1965.   She was Beatified on 31 October 2015 by Pope Francis.   The Beatification recognition was celebrated at the Piazza San Pietro at the cathedral in Frascati, Italy, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato.   Her Beatification miracle involved the 25 – 27 June 2003 healing of the brain lesions and trauma of Jacob “Jack” Ronald Sebest, a five year old drowning victim in Youngstown, Ohio.canonisation bl maria teresa maxresdefault.jpg

The Oblate Sisters are called to live and to participate intimately in the Oblation of Jesus to the Father, to repair and console His Pierced Heart, with an intense life of prayer and unconditional gift of ourselves, so that Priests may be holy.   They also care for retired and convalescent priests in special homes which they administer.

From their Constitution:
“The exclusive pursuit of God – which is the goal of our community life – is the foundation of that spirit of prayer that must characterise our whole existence as
Christians, religious and Oblates.   From the spirit of prayer, springs prayer itself as the source and fundamental expression of our community and personal life because “the Oblate’s life is intimately tied to the altar.”   In founding the Institute, Mother
Teresa wanted to root it in faith, prayer and that unconditional gift of herself to priests, which knew no limits in our first sisters, if not in the consummation of life itself.

In silent and adoring prayer we express the typical attitude of our consecration and
Oblate spirituality, because with it, we join our feelings to the feelings of Jesus Himself, which are an endless act of love and an unceasing supplication to the Father for the Church and for its priests.   Our individual prayer finds its climax in daily adoration.   It brings us close to the altar, seen as the true source of our specific mission in the Church: suppliant and atoning prayer for the holiness of priests.”

“The life Jesus leads in the Sacrament of His love and which the Oblate must imitate and make her own is this – a life of generous and limitless sacrifice… a life of incessant prayer …a life of obedience… a life of poverty…”….Blessed Mother Maria Teresa

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HAPPINESS, QUOTES on JOY, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 31 March – “The Joy of the Eucharist, all through Life!”

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Sunday Reflection – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

“The Joy of the Eucharist, all through Life!”

St John Vianney (1786-1859)

“When Jesus entered the house of St Elizabeth, although He was imprisoned in Mary’s womb, He sanctified both mother and child and Elizabeth exclaimed, “Whence comes so great a happiness to me, that the Mother of my God deigns to come to me?”

I leave you to consider how much greater is the happiness of him who receives Jesus Christ in Holy Communion, not like Elizabeth, into his house but into the depths of his heart, to be its protecting Master, not six months, as in Elizabeth’s case but all through life!”

i leave you to consider - st john vianney sun refl 31 march 2019 laetare sun.jpg

Posted in 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!

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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”there-is-more-joy-in-heaven-st-pope-gregory-3-sept-2018.jpg

“The sun of our lives is the Eucharist.”the sun of our lives - st luigi guanella 24 oct 2018.jpg

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

St Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)the-earth-is-filled-with-tabernacles-st-luigi-guanella-24-oct-2018.jpg

“Real joy
seems to me,
almost as unlike
security or prosperity,
as it is unlike
agony.”real-joy-c-s-lewis-12-oct-2018.jpg

“You can’t go back
and change the beginning
but you can start where you are
and change the ending.”you-cant-go-back-and-change-the-beginning-c-s-lewis-23-april-2018.jpg

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

C S Lewis (1898-1963)he-died-for-us-c-s-lewis-13-oct-2017-no2 (1).jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 31 March – I Thank You!

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Our Morning Offering – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

I Thank You!
Prayer after Holy Communion
By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

LORD, Father all-powerful,
and ever-living God,
I thank You,
for even though I am a sinner,
Your unprofitable servant,
not because of my worth,
but in the kindness of Your mercy,
You have fed me with the precious Body
and Blood of Your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that this holy communion
may not bring me condemnation
and punishment
but forgiveness and salvation.
May it be a helmet of faith
and a shield of goodwill.
May it purify me from evil ways
and put an end to my evil passions.
May it bring me charity and patience,
humility and obedience,
and growth in power to do good.
May it be my strong defense
against all my enemies,
visible and invisible,
and the perfect calming
of all my evil impulses,
bodily and spiritual.
May it unite me more closely to You,
the one true God
and lead me safely through death
to everlasting happiness with You.
And I pray that You will lead me,
a sinner to the banquet
where You with Your Son and Holy Spirit,
are true and perfect light,
total fulfillment,
everlasting joy,
gladness without end,
and perfect happiness to Your saints.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
AmenI thank YOU- prayer after holy comm st thomas aquinas - 31 march 2019.jpg

Posted in QUOTES of the SAINTS, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 24 March – Jesus, Our Daily Sacrifice

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

Jesus, Our Daily Sacrifice
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Our Lord not only offered Himself as a Sacrifice on the Cross but He makes Himself a perpetual, a daily Sacrifice, to the end of time.

In the Holy Mass, that One Sacrifice on the Cross once offered is renewed, continued, applied to our benefit.

He seems to say,
“My Cross was raised up 2000 years ago and only for a few hours – and very few of My servants were present there – but I intend to bring millions into My Church.   For their sakes, then, I will perpetuate My Sacrifice, that each of them may be as though they had severally been present on Calvary.

I will offer Myself up day by day to the Father, that everyone of My followers may have the opportunity to offer his petitions to Him, sanctified and recommended by the all-meritorious virtue of My Passion.

Thus, I will be a Priest forever, after the order of Melchisedech – My priests shall stand at the altar – but not they but rather I, will offer.   I will not let them offer mere bread and wine but I Myself will be present upon the altar instead and I will offer up Myself invisibly, while they perform the outward rite.”

jesus our daily sacrifice bl john henry newman 24 march 2019 sun reflection.jpg

Posted in Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 24 March – How Great is Your Goodness, Lord

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Our Morning Offering – 24 March – The Third Sunday of Lent, Year C

How Great is Your Goodness, Lord
By Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury (c 1125-1190)

How great is Your goodness, Lord,
who does not shrink from letting
Your servant, place You upon his heart!
How great my own worth,
since You have chosen me
to have part in Yours,
to have You abiding in me,
to love You, as You deserve,
above myself.
Lord, take from me this hard heart
and give me a new, clean heart
of flesh and blood.
You who make my heart pure,
take possession of mine
and make it Your home.
Hold it and fill it,
You who are higher than my topmost height,
more inward than my inward being.
You, the seal of holiness,
beauty of beauties,
engrave on my heart
Your image
and the imprint of Your mercy.
Be, O God,
my eternal love
and my inheritance.
Amenhow great is your goodness lord archbishop baldwin of canterbury 24 march 2019 prayer before holy communion.jpg

Posted in Archbishop Alban GOODIER SJ, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 17 March – The Mystery of Love

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Sunday Reflection – 17 March – The Second Sunday of Lent, Year C

The Mystery of Love

By Archbishop Alban Goodier SJ (1869-1939)

You loved me from all eternity,
therefore, You created me.
You loved me, after You had made me,
therefore, You became man for me.
You loved me, after You became man for me,
therefore, You lived and died for me.
You loved me, after You had died for me,
therefore, You rose again for me.
You loved me, after You had risen for me,
therefore, You went to prepare a place for me.
You loved me, after You had gone to prepare a place for me,
therefore, You came back to me.
You loved me, after You came back to me,
therefore, You desired to enter into me
and be united to me.
This is the meaning of the Blessed Sacrament,
The Mystery of Love!

The mystery of love - sun reflec 17 march 2019 - archbishop alban goodier.jpg

Posted in LENT 2019, Our MORNING Offering, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 17 March – The Food for Service

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 17 March – The Second Sunday of Lent, Year C

The Food for Service
St Pope John XXIII

O Jesus,
present in the Sacrament of the Altar
teach all nations to serve You
with willing hearts,
knowing that to serve God,
is to reign.
May Your Sacrament, O Jesus,
be light to the mind,
strength to the will,
joy to the heart.
May it be the support of the weak,
the comfort of the suffering,
the wayfaring bread of salvation
for the dying
and for all,
the pledge of future glory.
Amenthe food for service by st pope john XXIII 17 march 2019

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, Thomas a Kempis, Uncategorized

Sunday Reflection – 10 March – “What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist? – St John Vianney

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Sunday Reflection – 10 March – The First Sunday of Lent

“What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist?

It is God, who, as our Saviour, offers Himself each day for us to His Father’s justice.

If you are in difficulties and sorrows, He will comfort and relieve you.
If you are sick, He will either cure you or give you strength to suffer, so as to merit Heaven.
If the devil, the world and the flesh are making war upon you, He will give you the weapons with which to fight, to resist and to win the victory.
If you are poor, he will enrich you with all sorts of riches for time and for eternity.
Let us open the door of His Sacred and Adorable Heart and be wrapped about for an instant, by the flames of His love and we shall see, what a God who loves us, can do.
O my God, who shall be able to comprehend?”

St John Vianney (1786-1859)

what does jesus christ do in the eucharist - st john vianney - sun reflection 10 march 2019

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 10 March – St Anselm – Prayer before Holy Communion

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 10 March – The First Sunday of Lent

Prayer Before Holy Communion
By St Anselm (1033-1109)
Doctor of the Church

O Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God,
Who according to the Will of the Father
and with the co-operation of the Holy Ghost,
has, by Thy Death. given life to the world,
I adore and revere thi, Thy Holy Body
and this, Thy Holy Blood
which was given up
and poured forth, for the many,
unto remission of sins.
O merciful Lord,
I beg of Thee mercy,
that through the power of this Sacrament,
Thou will make me one of that many.
Through faith and love, make me feel
the power of these Sacraments,
so I may experience their saving power.
Absolve and free from all sin
and punishment of sin, Thy servants,
Thy handmaidens, myself,
all who confessed their sins to me,
those whom I have promised,
or am obliged, to pray for
and so too, those who themselves hope
or beg, to be helped, by my prayers to Thee.
Make our Church rejoice
in Thy constant protection and consolation.
Amen

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, Uncategorized

Sunday Reflection – 24 February -Your Intention at Holy Communion

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Sunday Reflection – 24 February – Seventh Sunday 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!”

St John Vianney (1786-1859)when you go to holy communion st john vianney - sun reflection 24 feb 2019.jpg

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 24 February – Grant me, O my God

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 24 February – Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Grant me, O my God
By St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)

Good Jesus,
let me be penetrated with love
to the very marrow of my bones,
with fear and respect toward You;
let me burn with zeal for Your honour,
so that I may resent terribly all the outrages
committed against You, especially those
of which I myself have been guilty.
Grant further, O my God,
that I may adore
and acknowledge You humbly, as my Creator
and that, penetrated with gratitude
for all Your benefits,
I may never cease to render You thanks.
Grant that I may bless You in all things,
praise and glorify You
with a heart full of joy and gladness
and that, obeying You with docility
in every respect, I may one day,
despite my ingratitude and unworthiness,
be seated at Your table
together with Your Holy Angels and Apostles
to enjoy ineffable delights.
Amengood-jesus-let-me-be-penetrated-with-love-st-vincent-ferrer no 2 -24 feb-2019.jpg