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

Our Morning Offering – 23 April – Prayer Before Holy Communion

Our Morning Offering – 23 April – The Second Sunday after Easter

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

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Posted in Act of SPIRITUAL COMMUNION, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The HEART, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day –14 April – I Am with you all days …

Quote/s of the Day –14 April – Easter Friday – 1 Peter 3:18-22, Matthew 28:16-20 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

And behold, I Am with you all days,
even to the consummation of the world.

Matthew 28:20

Never separate yourself from the Church.
No institution has the power of the Church.
The Church is your hope.
The Church is your salvation.
The Church is your refuge.

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Act of Spiritual Communion
By St Bernard O. Cist (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

As I cannot this day enjoy the happiness
of assisting at the Holy Mysteries, O my God,
I transport myself in spirit to the foot of Your Altar.
I unite with the Church, which, by the hands of the Priest,
offers You, Your adorable Son in the Holy Sacrifice.
I offer myself with Him, by Him and in His Name.
I adore, I praise and thank You,
imploring Your mercy,
invoking Your assistance
and presenting to You,
the homage I owe You as my Creator
and the love due to You, as my Saviour.

Apply to my soul, I beseech You, O Merciful Jesus,
Your infinite merits;
apply them also to those
for whom I particularly wish to pray.
I desire to communicate spiritually,
that Your Blood, may purify,
Your Flesh, strengthen
and Your Spirit, sanctify me.
May I never forget that You,
my divine Redeemer,
died for me.
May I die to all that is not You,
that hereafter, I may live eternally with You.
Amen.

No tongue is able to declare
the greatness of the love
which Jesus bears to every soul
and, therefore, this Spouse,
when He would leave this earth,
in order that His absence
might not cause us to forget Him,
left us, as a memorial,
this Blessed Sacrament,
in which He Himself remained;
for He would not,
that there should be any other pledge
to keep alive, our remembrance of Him,
than He Himself!

St Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562)

My dear souls, let us recognise, I pray you,
Christ’s infinite charity towards us
in the institution of this Sacrament of the Eucharist.
In order that our love be a spiritual love,
He wills a new heart, a new love, a new spirit for us.
It is not with a carnal heart but with a spiritual one,
that Christ has loved us with a gratuitous love,
a supreme and most ardent love,
by way of pure grace and charity.
Ah! One needs to love Him back
with one’s whole, whole, whole,
living, living, living
and true, true, true heart!

St Lawrence of Brindisi(1559-1619)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, HOLY COMMUNION, PAPAL MESSAGES, PAPAL SERMONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The HOLY SPIRIT, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 April – And behold, I Am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. – Matthew 28:20

One Minute Reflection – 14 April – “The Month of the Resurrection” – Easter Friday – 1 Peter 3:18-22, Matthew 28:16-20 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

And behold, I Am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” – Matthew 28:20

REFLECTION – “Christ, our Advocate (1 Jn 2 :1), sits at the Right Hand of the Father. He is no longer visible amongst us in His human nature but He condescends to remain with us until the consummation of the world, invisible under the appearances of bread and wine in the Sacrament of His Love. This is the great Mystery of a God, Who is present and hidden, Who will come one day to judge the living and the dead.

It is towards this great day of God that the whole of humanity progresses from ages past, present and future. It is towards this day that the Church advances, mistress of faith and morals, for all nations, Baptising in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And we, insofar as we believe in the Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth, in the Son, Redeemer of humankind, so we believe in the Holy Ghost.

This is the Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son as their Consubstantial Love, promised and sent to the Apostles by Christ, on the day of Pentecost, the virtue from on high, Who fills them. He is the Paraclete and Comforter Who remains with them always, the invisible Spirit, unknown to the world, Who teaches them and reminds them of all that Jesus said to them.

Show Christians the Infinite Divine Power of the Creator Spirit, gift of the Most High, giver of every spiritual charism, most kind Consoler, Light of the heart, Who washes what is soiled within our souls, waters what is arid, heals what is wounded.

From Him, Eternal Love, descends the fire of that charity which Christ wishes to see kindled here below; the charity that makes the Church One, Holy, Catholic that animates her and makes her invincible in the midst of the assaults of the synagogue of Satan – the charity that unites, in the Communion of Saints; the charity that renews our friendship with God and remits sin.” – Venerable Pius XII (1876-1958) – Pope from 1939 to 1958 (Allocution to the Priests of Rome and the preachers during Lent, 17 February 1942).

PRAYER – Almighty and eternal God, in the Easter Sacrament Thou instituted the covenant, whereby Thou forgavest mankind; grant to our souls that what we outwardly profess, we may show forth in our deeds. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 April – The Bride of this Divine Bridegroom

One Minute Reflection – 11 April – “The Month of the Resurrection” – Easter Tuesday – Acts 13:16; 13:26-33; Luke 24:36-47 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

And He said to them: Why are you troubled and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?” – Luke 24:38

REFLECTION – “This Gospel passage… shows us in truth, Who the Messiah is and who the Church…, that we might understand well which Bride it is that this Divine Bridegroom has chosen and Who is the Bridegroom of this holy Bride… On this page we can read their deed of espousals…

You have learnt that Christ is the Word, God’s Utterance, united to a human soul and human body… Here, the disciples thought they were seeing a ghost; they did not believe that the Lord had a real body. But since the Lord understood the danger of such thoughts, He made haste to snatch them out of their hearts… “Why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at My Hands and My Feet; touch Me and see because a ghost does not have flesh and bone, as you can see I have.” Yet you, with these same questioning thoughts, strongly oppose the rule of faith you have received…

Christ is truly the Word, the Only-begotten Son equal to the Father, united to a truly human soul and a real body, clean of all sin. This is the Body which died, the Body which rose again, this Body was fastened to the Cross, this Body laid in the tomb, this Body is seated in the Heavens. Our Lord wished to persuade His disciples that what they were seeing was truly bone and flesh… Why did He want to convince me of this truth? Because He knew, just how much it was to my own good, to have faith in it and how much I had to lose ,if I did not. You too, then, have faith – it is He, the Bridegroom!

Now listen to what was said about the Bride… “The Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, is to be preached in His Name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” This is the Bride… the Church is spread all over the earth and has taken all peoples to her heart… The Apostles saw Christ and believed in what they did not see, the Church. We, on our part, see the Church; so let us believe in Jesus Christ, Whom we do not see and so, by holding onto what we see, we shall come to Him Whom, as yet, we do not see.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Father and Doctor of Grace (Sermon 238).

PRAYER – O God, Who art ever multiplying the children of Thy Church, grant unto the same, Thy servants that they may lead the rest of their lives, according to this beginning, wherein Thou hast given them faith to receive the Sacrament of the New Birth. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FRANCISCAN OFM, HOLY WEEK, MAUNDY THURSDAY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The PASSION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 6 April – Maundy Thursday – ‘ … He Whom the Angels adore in Heaven, is at these fishermen’s feet! …’

One Minute Reflection – 6 April – Maundy Thursday – 1 Corinthians 11:20-32, John 13:1-15 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

You call Me Master and Lord. And you say well, for so I Am. If then I, being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that as I have done to you, so you do also.” – John 13:14-15

REFLECTION – “Jesus rose from supper and took off His outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet. We read a story of the same kind in Genesis. Abraham says to the messengers – the three Angels who visit him: “Let some water be brought that you may bathe your feet and then rest yourselves under the tree; let me bring you a little food that you may refresh yourselves” (Gen 18:4-5). What Abraham did for the three Angels, Christ did for His Apostles, those messengers of the Truth, who were to preach faith in the Blessed Trinity, to all the world.

He stoops down to them, like a child – He stoops down and washes their feet. What an incomprehensible humility! what inexpressible goodness! He Whom the Angels adore in Heaven, is at these fishermen’s feet! The Face that causes Angels to tremble bends over the feet of these poor men! Therefore, Peter is seized with fear… When He has washed their feet He makes them “lie down under the tree” as it says in the Song of Songs: “I delight to rest in His shadow and His fruit is sweet to my mouth” (Song 2:3). This fruit is His Body and Blood, given them today by Him. It is the “morsel of bread” He set before them and that gave them strength for the work they must undertake…

Behold, “on this mountain the Lord of Hosts will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich meat with the marrow” (Is 25:6)… In the Upper Room where the Apostles are to receive the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the Lord of all the world, throws a feast today for all the peoples who believe in Him… This is what the Church does today throughout the world. It was for her sake that Christ prepared this feast on Mount Zion, this food that restores us, His True Body, rich in every spiritual virtue and charity. This He has given to His Apostles and has commanded them to give to those who believe in Him.” – St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Franciscan, Doctor of the Church (Sermons for Sundays and Feasts, Maundy Thursday).

PRAYER – O God, from Whom Judas received the punishment of his guilt and the thief the reward of his confession: grant unto us the full fruit of Thy clemency, that even as in His Passion, our Lord Jesus Christ gave to each a retribution according to his merits, so having taken away our old sins, He may bestow upon us the grace of His Resurrection. Who with Thee lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 3 April – The Betrayal of Judas

Thought for the Day – 3 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Betrayal of Judas

Failure to comply with the extraordinary graces which Jesus had granted him was responsible for the fall of Judas.
Whoever receives a great deal must give as much!

Judas had been called to the dignity of the Apostolate.
At the Last Supper, he received the fullness of the Priesthood along with the other Apostles and received Jesus Himself into his soul, under the species of the Consecrated bread.
In spite of all this, he deserted and betrayed his Master.

What about us?
Let us consider how many spiritual and temporal graces God has bestowed on us, throughout our lives.
Have we been thankful for them?
If we have not corresponded generously with all these favours, or if we have done worse and have rejected them by sin, let us repent and resolve to do better.
The example of Judas should, at the least, teach us this lesson!

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/09/thought-for-the-day-9-april-the-betrayal-of-judas/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/04/08/thought-for-the-day-8-april-the-betrayal-of-judas/

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Thought for the Day – 2 April –The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem

Thought for the Day – 2 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem

“The evening before Our Lord was arrested and put to death, Judas was negotiating His betrayal for a handful of money.
Peter was about to deny Him in public and the Apostles would abandon Him in the hour of trial.
Jesus knew all this.
He saw, moreover, how men would be forgetful of Him throughout the ages and how they would insult Him and hate Him.
Nevertheless, He resolved to remain amongst us forever, under the Eucharistic species.

I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you, before I suffer” (Lk 22:15).
Why did He say this?
Because, He was about to work the most amazing miracle of His Infinite Love, the institution of the Blessed Eucharist!

He took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to His Apostles, saving: “This is My Body, which is being given for you.
Then He took the cup of wine, gave thanks to His Heavenly Father and said: “This is the chalice of My Blood, the mystery of faith, which shall be shed for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.
There was nothing left for the Infinite Power and Goodness of Jesus to give.
He had given Himself, not only to His Apostles but, to all men throughout the ages.

If we meditate deeply on this mystery of Infinite Love, we should certainly love Jesus very much.
We should joyfully accept the nourishment of His Immaculate Body and should live with the supernatural life which comes from Him.

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/04/10/thought-for-the-day-10-april-the-entry-of-jesus-into-jerusalem/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HYMNS, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, Our MORNING Offering, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on THANKSGIVING, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Our Morning Offering – 19 March – God of Mercy and Compassion

Our Morning Offering – 19 March – Laetare Sunday / The Fourth Sunday in Lent

God of Mercy and Compassion
By Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)
Composer

God of mercy and compassion,
Look with pity upon me,
Father, let me call Thee Father,
‘Tis Thy child returns to Thee.

Refrain:
Jesus, Lord, I ask for mercy.
Let me not implore in vain,
All my sins, I now detest them,
Never will I sin again.

By my sins I have deserved
Death and endless misery,
Hell with all its pains and torments,
And for all eternity.
(Refrain)

By my sins I have abandoned
Right and claim to heav’n above.
Where the saints rejoice forever
In a boundless sea of love.
(Refrain)

See our Saviour, bleeding, dying,
On the cross of Calvary;
To that cross my sins have nail’d Him,
Yet He bleeds and dies for me.
(Refrain)

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736 was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist and organist. His best-known works include his Stabat Mater and the opera La serva padrona (The Maid Turned Mistress). His compositions include operas and sacred Masses and music. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 26.

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, GOD ALONE!, HOLY COMMUNION, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on PURITY, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Quote/s of the Day – 7 March – St Thomas Aquinas

Quote/s of the Day – 7 March – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas OP (1225-1274) Confessor, Doctor

The Cross is my sure salvation.
The Cross it is, which I worship evermore.
The Cross of our Lord is with me.
The Cross is my refuge
.”

O precious and wonderful Banquet
that brings us salvation
and contains all sweetness!
Could anything be of more intrinsic value?
Under the old law
it was the flesh of calves and goats,
which was offered but here,
Christ Himself, the True God,
is set before us as our food.
What could be more wonderful than this?
No other Sacrament has greater healing power;
through it, sins are purged away,
virtues are increased
and the soul is enriched
with an abundance of every spiritual gift.

Seek praises from God alone.

Prayer for Chastity and Purity
By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Dear Jesus,
I know that every perfect gift
and especially that of chastity,
depends on the power of Thy Providence.
Without Thee, a mere creature can do nothing.
Therefore, I beg Thee, to defend, by Thy grace
the chastity and purity of my body and soul.
And if I have ever sensed or imagined anything
that could stain my chastity and purity,
blot it out, Supreme Lord of my powers
that I may advance with a pure heart
in Thy love and service,
offering myself
on the most pure altar of Thy Divinity,
all the days of my life.
Amen

Prayer to St Thomas Aquinas
for the Gifts of Chastity and Purity

Chosen lily of innocence,
pure St Thomas,
who kept chaste the Robe of Baptism
and became an angel in the flesh
after being girded by two Angels,
I implore thee to commend me to Jesus,
the Spotless Lamb
and to Mary,
the Queen of Virgins.
Gentle protector of my chastity,
ask them that I,
who wear the holy sign
of thy victory over the flesh,
may also share thy purity
and after imitating thee on earth,
may, at last, come to be crowned
with thee among the Angels.
Amen

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/07/quotes-of-the-day-7-march-st-thomas-aquinas/

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

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, OUR Cross, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The TRANSFIGURATION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 5 March –Transfigured

Quote/s of the Day – 5 March – The Second Sunday in Lent
– Thessalonians 4:1-7, Matthew 17:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Lord, it is good for us to be here”

Matthew 17:4

And a cloud overshadowed them
and a Voice came out of the cloud,
“This is My beloved Son; listen to Him.

Mark 9:7

Eternal life flows
from this Sacrament
because God,
with all sweetness,
pours Himself out
upon the blessed.

St Albert the Great (1200-1280)
Doctor of the Church

At His Transfiguration
Christ showed His disciples,
the splendour of His Beauty,
to which He will shape and colour,
those who are His :
‘He will reform our lowness
configured to the Body of His Glory.

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

Aspire to God with short
but frequent outpourings of the heart,
admire His bounty,
invoke His aid,
cast yourself in spirit at the foot of His Cross,
adore His goodness,
treat with Him of your salvation,
give Him your whole soul –
a thousand times in the day.

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of Charity

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, GOD ALONE!, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, SACRED HEART REFLECTIONS, The HEART, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Our Morning Offering – 5 March – How Great is Your Goodness, Lord!

Our Morning Offering – 5 March – The Second Sunday in Lent

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.
Amen

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, HOLY COMMUNION, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Thought for the Day – 22 February – The Early Hours of the Day

Thought for the Day – 22 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Early Hours of the Day

If possible, it is desirable to begin the day by visiting Jesus.
He is always in the Tabernacle, waiting patiently and lovingly for us to visit Him.
Why could we not spend at least one half-hour with Him?
There are twenty four hours in the day.
Must we spend them in sleep, work, amusements and conversation without ever pausing to speak with Jesus?

What about Mass and Holy Communion?
It is true that we are not obliged to go to Mass on weekdays, nor have we a strict obligation to receive Holy Communion, except during the Paschal period.
But a genuine Catholic should not be satisfied with doing only what is commanded under pain of mortal sin.
He should love Jesus so much that he will experience an urgent need of communication with Him.
He should be ready to sacrifice a little of his early morning sleep, for the purpose of receiving Jesus in Holy Communion – if he is so blessed as to be near an early morning Mass.
Never forget (and pray for them) that there are thousands, perhaps millions who are deprived of this great grace of living near a Church!
There is no surer way of being able to resist the temptations of the day and of acquiring peace of spirit.
The practice of daily Communion can transform a man’s life.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/14/thought-for-the-day-14-february-the-early-hours-of-the-day/
PART TWO:

https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/14/thought-for-the-day-13-february-the-early-hours-of-the-day/

Posted in DIVINE MERCY, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on PURITY, Quotes on SALVATION, The DIVINE INFANT, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Quote/s of the Day – 27 January – St John Chrysostom

Quote/s of the Day – 27 January – St John Chrysostom (347-407) Bishop, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church “Golden Mouthed.” – 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Matthew 5:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

If we approach with faith,
we too will see Jesus…
for the Eucharistic table
takes the place of the crib.
Here, the Body of the Lord is present,
wrapped, not in swaddling clothes
but in the rays of the Holy Spirit.

When you are before the Altar where Christ reposes,
you ought no longer to think
that you are amongst men
but believe that there are troops of Angels
and Archangels, standing with you
and trembling with respect
before the Sovereign Master of Heaven and earth.
Therefore, when you are in Church,
be there in silence
,
fear and veneration!

God defers hearing our prayers,
not because He rejects them
but, because He wishes to contrive
to draw us to Himself.
Do not cease praying
until you are heard!

He errs who believes
that he can overcome his sensual propensities
and preserve chastity, by his own efforts.
God’s mercy must extinguish nature’s ardour.
Have recourse to the intercession
of the Immaculate Virgin
and rest assured, you will obtain this mercy.

Never separate yourself from the Church.
No institution has the power of the Church.
The Church is your hope.
The Church is your salvation.
The Church is your refuge.

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/01/27/quote-s-of-the-day-27-january-st-john-chrysostom/

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Our Morning Offering – 21 January – Give Me Thyself, O My God By St Augustine

Our Morning Offering – 21 January – The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Give Me Thyself, O My God
By St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

Give me Thyself, O my God,
give Thyself to me.
Behold I love Thee
and if my love is too weak a thing,
grant me to love Thee more strongly.
I cannot measure my love
to know how much it falls short
of being sufficient
but let my soul hasten to Thy embrace
and never be turned away,
until it is hidden in the secret shelter
of Thy Presence.
This only do I know,
that it is not good for me
when Thou art not with me,
when Thou art only outside me.
I want Thee in my very self.
All the plenty in the world
which is not my God,
is utter want.
Amen

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OUR Cross, QUOTES on ANGER, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on SLOTH, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 20 January – Blessed are you who are poor …

Quote/s of the Day – 20 January – St Fabian, Pope, and St Sebastian – Martyrs – Hebrews 11:33-39, Luke 6:17-23 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the Kingdom of God.

Luke 6:20

“If the poison of pride is swelling up in you,
turn to the Eucharist and that Bread,
Which is your God humbling and disguising Himself,
will teach you humility.

If the fever of selfish greed rages in you,
feed on this Bread and you will learn generosity.

If the cold wind of coveting withers you,
hasten to the Bread of Angels and charity
will come to blossom in your heart.

If you feel the itch of intemperance,
nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ,
Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life
and you will become temperate.

If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things,
strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food
and you will grow fervent.

Lastly, if you feel scorched by the fever of impurity,
go to the banquet of the Angels
and the spotless Flesh of Christ,
will make you pure and chaste
.”

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father and Doctor

For everyone who exalts himself,
shall be humbled and he
who humbles himself, shall be exalted.

Luke 14:11

We must erect the mystical ladder of Jacob,
where Angels, ascending and descending,
appeared to him.
Ascent and descent means,
that we go downward when we exalt ourselves
and rise, when we are humbled.
The ladder represents our life in this world,
which our Lord erects to Heaven,
when our heart is humbled.
The sides of the ladder represent our soul and body,
sides between which,
God has placed several rungs of humility and, discipline,
whereby we are to ascend
if we would answer His call.”

(Rule of Benedict #7)

St Benedict (480-547)
Father of the Church

“If you seek an example of humility,
look upon Him Who is Crucified,
although He was God, He chose to be judged
by Pontius Pilate and put to death. …
If you seek an example of obedience,
imitate Him Who was obedient to the Father
“even to death” (Phil 2:8).
“For just as through the disobedience
of one person, Adam,
the many were made sinners,
so through the obedience of One,
the many will be made righteous” (Rom 5:19). .
If you seek an example of contempt
for earthly things,
imitate Him Who is “King of kings
and Lord of lords” (1 Tm 6:15),
“in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge” (Col 2:3).
On the Cross He was stripped naked,
ridiculed, spat upon, bruised,
crowned with thorns,
given to drink of vinegar and gall.

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

When he Canonised St Thomas,
John XXII declared that
“every article he wrote was a miracle!”
One might say that St Thomas Aquinas
was raised up by God, for he gathered together,
the whole of human knowledge up to his own time
and interpreted it in the new light of Christianity.
… In spite of his greatness, however,
Thomas of Aquin, was a very humble man.
There is a good deal of truth
in Pascal’s remark
that a little knowledge makes the mind proud
but real wisdom, makes it humble.
We cannot all imitate the knowledge
of St Thomas Aquinas but we should all
imitate his humility.

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, SACRAMENTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Thought for the Day – 4 December – The Use and Abuse of the Sacraments

Thought for the Day – 4 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Use and Abuse of the Sacraments

In His great love and mercy, Jesus Christ has given us all the other Sacraments as well as Baptism.
This long chain of spiritual favours links the stages of our progress, from the cradle to the grave, sustaining and sanctifying us on the way.

Although His goodness is Infinite, God could not do any more for us.
He has endowed us through the Sacrament of Baptism, with supernatural life; He has given us the light and strength of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation; He has granted us forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance; power over His Real and His Mystical Body, in the Sacrament of Holy Orders and, a reflection of Divine Love, in the Sacrament of Matrimony.
At the close of our lives, He will heal the scars of sin and comfort our weary hearts, by means of Extreme Unction.
But, He has also bestowed on us, a gift, infinitely greater than all these, for He has given us Himself, in the Blessed Eucharist.

How can we remain cold and indifferent in the presence of so much goodness and generosity?
We have all the means necessary for salvation.
It will be disastrous for us, if we fail to cherish them and, if we neglect to repay such great love, with all the love of our poor hearts and with a determined effort to be good and holy
.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/11/thought-for-the-day-11-december-the-use-and-abuse-of-the-sacraments/

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CARMELITES, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on HUMAN DIGNITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Quote/s of the Day – 22 November – “Charity never fails!

Quote/s of the Day – 22 November – St Cecilia Died 3rd Century) Virgin Martyr – Ecclesiasticus 51:13-17, Matthew 25:1-13 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

But the wise took oil in their vessels

Matthew 25:4

The Apostle says,
“I will show you a still more excellent way.”
“If I speak with the tongue of mortals
and of angels but do not have love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
This is charity.
It is “that way above the rest,” which is,
with good reason, signified by the oil.
For oil swims above all liquids.
Pour in water and pour in oil upon it,
the oil will swim above.
If you keep the usual order, it will be uppermost,
if you change the order, it will be uppermost.
“Charity never fails!

Love the Lord and so,
learn to love yourselves
that when, by loving the Lord,
you shall have loved yourselves,
you may securely love
your neighbour as yourselves. …
So then, have faith with love.
This is the “wedding garment!

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

Charity is the sweet and holy bond
which links the soul
with its Creator;
it binds God with man
and man with God.

St Catherine of Siena OP (1347-1380)
Doctor of the Church

My dear souls, let us recognise, I pray you,
Christ’s infinite charity towards us
in the institution of this Sacrament of the Eucharist.
In order that our love be a spiritual love,
He wills a new heart, a new love, a new spirit for us.
It is not with a carnal heart but with a spiritual one,
that Christ has loved us with a gratuitous love,
a supreme and most ardent love,
by way of pure grace and charity.
Ah! One needs to love Him back
with one’s whole, whole, whole,
living, living, living
and true, true, true heart!

St Lawrence of Brindisi(1559-1619)

Humility and charity
are the two master chords –
one, the lowest;
the other, the highest;
all the others are dependent on them.
Therefore, it is necessary, above all.
to maintain ourselves in these two virtues,
for observe well,
that the preservation of the whole edifice
depends on the foundation and the roof!

St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

A word or a smile,
is often enough,
to put fresh life
into a despondent soul.

St Therese of the Child Jesus
and the Holy Face (1873-1897)
Doctor of the Church

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Thought for the Day – 20 November – The Storms of Life

Thought for the Day – 20 November – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Storms of Life

At other times, however, the tempest will come from outside ourselves and will have a shattering effect on our spiritual life.
It may be some insult which has seriously wounded us.
There may be somebody near to us who has grown quite insufferable.
Or perhaps suffering will come to us in the guise of illness, disgrace or loss of our dear ones.
We shall feel lonely and abandoned in the midst of the storm.
To whom shall we have recourse in our hour of need?
Shall we turn to our fellow-men?
Perhaps there will be nobody able to understand us perfectly, or, if there is somebody who sympathises with us,he may be able to do nothing for us, save to utter a few kind words.

Let us turn, therefore, to Jesus on the Cross and to Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist.
The Crucifix will teach us how to suffer with resignation and with love.
Before this mystery of infinite love, all our anguish and unrest, will give way to a Christian acceptance of suffering.

If this is not enough, let us turn to Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist.
Let us invite Him into our hearts to calm the tempest and to give us His divine grace, which will conquer every temptation and heal every wound.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/17/thought-for-the-day-17-april-the-storms-of-life/

Posted in Act of SPIRITUAL COMMUNION, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, Holy Name PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The HOLY NAME

Our Morning Offering – 13 November – Act of Spiritual Communion by St Bernard

Our Morning Offering – 13 November – The Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost – All Saints of the Benedictine & Cistercian Orders

Act of Spiritual Communion
By St Bernard O. Cist (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

As I cannot this day enjoy the happiness
of assisting at the Holy Mysteries, O my God,
I transport myself in spirit to the foot of Your Altar.
I unite with the Church, which, by the hands of the Priest,
offers You, Your adorable Son in the Holy Sacrifice.
I offer myself with Him, by Him and in His Name.
I adore, I praise and thank You,
imploring Your mercy,
invoking Your assistance
and presenting to You,
the homage I owe You as my Creator
and the love due to You, as my Saviour.

Apply to my soul, I beseech You, O Merciful Jesus,
Your infinite merits;
apply them also to those
for whom I particularly wish to pray.
I desire to communicate spiritually,
that Your Blood, may purify,
Your Flesh, strengthen
and Your Spirit, sanctify me.
May I never forget that You,
my divine Redeemer,
died for me.
May I die to all that is not You,
that hereafter, I may live eternally with You.
Amen.

Posted in OUR Cross, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 10 November – St Andrew Avellino

Quote/s of the Day – 10 November – St Andrew Avellino CR (1521–1608) Confessor

Ah ! what is all that I do and suffer,
ompared with what my Jesus did
and suffered for my sake?
O, that I might, for His honour,
be torn with scourges and pierced with nails
and expire on the Cross for Him!

One cannot separate
the most Holy Eucharist
from the Passion of Jesus.

St Andrew Avellino (1521–1608)

It has been curiously remarked
by St Andrew Avellino
that those who have a special devotion
to the Passion, generally die
quiet and sweet deaths,
as the Virgin Mary, St John the Evangelist
and St Mary Magdalen did.
Certainly, it is remarkable that,
while most of those close to Our Lord
died violent deaths,
the three who assisted at Calvary,
should have died so softly,
as if already their real death had been died there!

Father Frederick William Faber CO (1814-1863)

(From Spiritual Conferences)

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, NOVEMBER - Month of the SOULS in PURGATORY, PURGATORY, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPARATION, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Thought for the Day – 7 November – How We Can Help the Faithful Departed

Thought for the Day – 7 November – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

How We Can Help the Faithful Departed

There are many ways in which we can come to the assistance of the faithful departed.

(a) We can help them by prayer.
This is the simplest way and one which is possible for everyone.
When we pray for our dead, we feel that we are close to them and are consoled in our sorrow.
Moreover, we can be sure of gaining a great deal in return, for the prayers which they offer on our behalf, are very pleasing to God.

(b) We can offer Holy Mass for them.
When we do this, it is not only we who pray but Jesus joins with us and offers Himself as a victim of reparation on behalf of the suffering souls.
The Mass has an infinite value and one Mass alone would be enough to empty Purgatory.
But the application of its infinite merits are always limited, in accordance with the hidden designs of God.
Ir is certain, however, that there is no more effective means of helping the faithful departed.

(c) We can offer our good works on their behalf.
Every good action has power to satisfy God for some of the debts which we or others have contracted in His regard.
Among the good works which we can offer for the souls in Purgatory, are Holy Communion, voluntary mortifications, meek acceptance of the unavoidable sorrows of life, acts of patience and of compassion, spiritual and corporal works of mercy, Indulgences and almsgivine.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/11/07/thought-for-the-day-7-november-how-we-can-help-the-faithful-departed/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, DYING / LAST WORDS, HOLY COMMUNION, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, MARIAN QUOTES, ON the SAINTS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SILENCE, QUOTES on VANITY, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The HOLY NAME, The TRANSFIGURATION

Quote/s of the Day – 7 November – St Dominic and Friends OPs

Quote/s of the Day – 7 November – The Feast of All Saints of the Order of Preacher

These, my much loved ones,
are the bequests which I leave to you, as my sons –
have charity among yourselves,
hold fast to humility,
keep a willing poverty.

Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you
after my death and I shall help you then,
more effectively, than during my life.

St Dominic OP (1170-1221)

Eternal life flows
from this Sacrament
because God,
with all sweetness,
pours Himself out
upon the blessed.

Mary is the divine Page
on which God the Father
wrote the Word of God, His Son.
Let us draw near to her and read her!

St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280)
Doctor of the Church

“At His Transfiguration
Christ showed His disciples,
the splendour of His Beauty,
to which He will shape and colour,
those who are His :
‘He will reform our lowness
configured to the Body of His Glory.”

Charity is
the form,
mover,
mother
and root
of all
the virtues.

To love is to
will the good
of the other.

The greatest kindness
one can render
to any man
consists in leading him
from error to truth.

St Thomas Aquinas OP (1225 – 1274)
Angelic Doctor of the Church

The eternal God
asks a favour of His bride:
“Hold Me close to your heart,
close as locket or bracelet fits.”
No matter whether
we walk or stand still,
eat or drink,
we should at all times
wear the golden locket
“Jesus” upon our heart.

Bl Henry Suso OP (1295-1366)

Enrich your soul in the great goodness of God –
The Father is your Table,
the Son is your Food
and the Holy Spirit waits on you
and then makes His Dwelling in you.

Charity is the sweet and holy bond
which links the soul
with its Creator;
it binds God with man
and man with God.

St Catherine of Siena OP (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.

A vain question deserves nothing
but silence.
So learn to be silent for a time;
you will edify your brethren
and silence will teach you,
to speak when the hour is come.

St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)

St Dominic’s Blessing
By St Dominic de Guzman OP (1170-1221)

May God the Father,
who made us, bless us.
May God the Son,
send His healing among us.
May God the Holy Spirit,
move within us
and give us eyes to see with,
ears to hear with,
and hands, that Your work,
might be done.
May we walk and preach
the word of God to all.
May the angel of peace
watch over us
and lead us at last,
by God’s grace,
to the Kingdom.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Quote/s of the Day – 25 October – ‘ … The Holy Bond of Love … ‘

Quote/s of the Day – 25 October – Saints Chrysanthus and Daria Died c 282) Martyrs, Married Couple

Neither the weeping mothers’ love,
nor the mourning of fathers weeping for their sons,
nor the screams and howling
of the children themselves,
holds you back.
You massacre these little ones in their bodies
because fear is killing you, in your heart.
And you think that, if you achieve your end,
you will live on for a long time,
whereas, it is Life itself,
you are trying to kill!
He Who is the source of grace,
Who is both small and great,
Who is lying in a manger,
causes your throne to topple.
He accomplishes His design through you,
without your knowing it.
He gathers together the children of your enemies
and makes of them, children of adoption.”

St Quodvultdeus (Died c 453)
Father of the Church, Bishop of Carthage

Without the Cup of the Lord
preserving the holy bond of love,
even if a man should deliver his body
to be burned, he gains nothing!

St Fulgentus of Ruspe (c 462 – 533)

Suffering is the ancient law of love;
there is no quest without pain;
there is no lover who is not also a Martyr.

Bl Henry Suso (1295-1366)

We should not forget,
that the devil has his martyrs
and that he infuses into them
a false constancy.
It is not the punishment
but the cause,
that makes the Martyr;
that is – the confession
of the True Faith.

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, HOLY COMMUNION, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The LORD'S PRAYER

Thought for the Day – 21 October – “Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread”

Thought for the Day – 21 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
“Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread”

“We should not ask only for food for the body but for spiritual nourishment.
Not by bread alone does man live” says Holy Scripture “but, by every word which comes forth from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4; cf Deut 8:3).
The soul must be nourished, as well as the body, for it has its own life which is worn away by the daily conflict against sinful inclinations and by the constant struggle to achieve sanctity.
It needs to be nourished by the word of God, by His grace and especially, by receiving the Author of grace frequently in Holy Communion.
We should ask, before anything else, for the grace of God and for the true Bread of Life, which descends from Heaven.
Whoever eats this Bread shall live forever.

Let us ask for the life-giving Bread, for ourselves and for our unfortunate brothers who are living apart from Jesus, in a state of spiritual death.
May daily Communion become, once more, the inexhaustible source of the spiritual life and of Christian virtue which it was in the early days of the Church.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/20/thought-for-the-day-20-october-give-us-this-day-our-daily-bread/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/10/21/thought-for-the-day-21-october-give-us-this-day-our-daily-bread/

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FRANCISCAN OFM, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, PATRONAGE - EUCHARISTIC ADORATION and Nocturnal, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Quote/s of the Day – 19 October – St Peter of Alcantar

Quote/s of the Day – 19 October – St Peter of Alcantara OFM (1499-1562) Confessor

Truly, matters in the world,
are in a bad state
but if you and I begin, in earnest,
to reform ourselves,
a really good beginning
will have been made.

Our Lord, in the Blessed Sacrament,
has His Hands full of graces
and He is ready to bestow them
on anyone, who asks for them

No tongue is able to declare
the greatness of the love
which Jesus bears to every soul
and, therefore, this Spouse,
when He would leave this earth,
in order that His absence
might not cause us to forget Him,
left us, as a memorial,
this Blessed Sacrament,
in which He Himself remained;
for He would not,
that there should be any other pledge
to keep alive, our remembrance of Him,
than He Himself!”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/10/19/quote-s-of-the-day-19-october-st-peter-of-alcantara/

St Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on WORRY/ANXIETY, SACRED HEART QUOTES, SACRED HEART REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The REDEMPTION

Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – St Margaret Mary Alacoque

Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) Virgin

Announce it and let it be announced
to the whole world,
that I set neither limit, nor measure,
to My gifts of grace,
for those who seek them
in My Heart.

The words of the Our Lord Jesus Christ
to St Margaret Mary Alacoque

“The Sacred Heart is the symbol
of that boundless love
which moved the Word to take flesh,
to institute the Holy Eucharist,
to take our sins upon Himself
and, dying on the Cross,
to offer Himself as a victim
and sacrifice to the eternal Father.

We must never be discouraged
or give way to anxiety. . .
but ever have recourse
to the adorable Heart of Jesus
.”

“I need nothing but God
and to lose myself
in the Heart of God.”

My greatest happiness is to be
before the Blessed Sacrament,
where my heart is, as it were, in Its centre.

St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/10/17/quote-s-of-the-day-17-october-st-margaret-mary-alacoque/

Posted in Act of SPIRITUAL COMMUNION, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, Our MORNING Offering, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Our Morning Offering – 9 October – O Jesus, Sweetest Love, Come Thou to Me

Our Morning Offering – 9 October – The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

O Jesus, Sweetest Love,
Come Thou to Me
(1940)
By Fr Francis Xavier Lasance (1860–1946)

O JESUS, sweetest Love, come Thou to me.
Come down in all Thy beauty unto me.
Thou Who didst die for longing of me
And never, never more depart from me.
Free me, O beauteous God, from all but Thee;
Sever the chain that holds me back from Thee;
Call me, O tender Love, I cry to Thee;
Thou art my all! O bind me close to Thee.
O suffering Love, Who hast so loved me;
O patient Love, Who wearies not of me.
Thou alone O Love! Thou weary not of me!
Ah! Weary not till I am lost in Thee,
Nay, weary not, till I am found in Thee.
Amen

Posted in CATHOLIC TIME, INDULGENCES, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Our Morning Offering – 6 October – O DIVINE Heart of JESUS (Indulgenced Prayer)

Our Morning Offering – 6 October – Thursday:  The Holy Eucharist

O DIVINE Heart of JESUS
Pope Leo XIII

Indulgence 100 Days, Once a day
Raccolta 167
13 March 1901.

O DIVINE Heart of JESUS,
grant, we beseech Thee,
eternal rest to the souls in purgatory,
the final grace to those who shall die today,
true repentance to sinners,
the light of the faith to pagans
and Thy Blessing to me and mine.
To Thee, O most compassionate Heart of JESUS!
I commend all these souls
and I offer to Thee, on their behalf,
all Thy merits,
together with the merits
of Thy most Holy Mother
and of all the Saints, Angels
and all the Sacrifices of the Holy Mass,
Communions, prayers and good works,
which shall be accomplished today,
throughout the Christian world.
Amen

In Catholic Time, Thursday is the day of The Holy Eucharist – Our Lord instituted the most holy Eucharist on a Thursday, so it is fitting that we remember this greatest of sacraments on this day.   The Eucharist is the greatest gift of God to mankind, as it is nothing less than Jesus Himself.   What gift could be greater?

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Saint of the Day – 29 September – The Feast of the Dedication of St Michael the Archangel

Saint of the Day – 29 September – The Feast of the Dedication of St Michael the Archangel

Saint Michael, the Guardian Angel
of the Blessed Sacrament
By Fr Francis Xavier Lasance (1860-1946)

Michael,” or “Who is like to God?” Such was the cry of the great Archangel when he smote the rebel Lucifer, in the conflict of the heavenly hosts and from that hour, he has been known as “Michael,” the Captain of the Armies of God, the type of of divine fortitude, the champion of every faithful soul, in strife with the powers of evil. Thus he appears in Holy Scripture, as the guardian of the children of Israel, their comfort and protector in times of sorrow or conflict. He it is, who prepares for their return from the Persian captivity, who leads the valiant Machabees to victory and, who rescues the body of Moses from the envious grasp of the Evil One.

And since Christ’s coming, the Church has ever venerated St Michael as her special Patron and Protector. She styles him “the Chief of the Angelic Hosts set over paradise, whom the citizens of Heaven delight to honour; the messenger of God to the souls of the just.” She invokes him by name in her confession of sin, summons him to the side of her children in the agony of death and chooses him, as their escort, from the chastening flames of Purgatory to the realms of Holy Light. Lastly, when Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is Michael, who will unfurl once more, the standard of the Cross, sound the last trumpet and, binding together the false prophet and the beast, hurl them for all eternity into the burning pool.

Although the Blessed Sacrament is the property of the souls of men and belongs to them, in a way and with an intimacy, which the spirits of the Angels cannot share, there is, nevertheless, a great connection between the Angels and the Blessed Sacrament. It is the especial mystery of that human nature, in which Jesus is head of the Angels. It is one of the Mysteries they adore and humbly desire to look into. They admire it with a special admiration and follow it all over the world–in the Priests’ hands, on the throne, in the Tabernacle, round the Church, on its obscure visits to the sick–as if they were attracted by it, which they are. It is called Angels’ Food and the Bread of Angels and, although they cannot enjoy the proper Sacramental union, with the Flesh of our dearest Lord, they doubtless feed on it, in their intelligences by a kind of spiritual Communion. St Thomas says that the Angels see Christ in clear vision and enjoy Him in His own proper species and this, is their spiritual Communion, which precludes their receiving, by a spiritual Communion, this Sacrament, where He is seen only by faith and enjoyed only under the Sacramental Species. “They feed not on the Sacrament but on Him ,Who is in the Sacrament.”–(Summa. p. 3., q. 80, a. 2, c).

It is said that St Michael revealed to St Eutropius, the Hermit, that he had been chosen to be the Guardian Angel of the Blessed Sacrament . . . and there are also on record, several revelations of his to various Saints concerning the worship of the Blessed Sacrament. Some have supposed him to be the Angel of the Mass, referred to in the Canon; he is spoken of at the beginning of the Mass in the Confiteor and again, in the second incensing at the High Mass and also, in the Offertory of Masses of Requiem.

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, The HOLY EUCHARIST, The HOLY VIATICUM

Thought for the Day – 24 August – Holy Viaticum, Part One

Thought for the Day – 24 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Holy Viaticum

“When the Prophet Elias was afraid and discouraged because the chosen people had abandoned God and slain all the other Prophets, he fled into the desert.
One day he was tired and dejected and lay down to sleep in the shade of a Juniper tree.
He was awakened suddenly by an Angel of the Lord, who showed him, on two successive occasions, a hearth cake which he pressed him to eat.
The Prophet ate and drank “and walked in the strength of that food, forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God” (Cf 3 Kings 19:4-8).

Some commentaters see, in this bread which Elias ate, an image of the Blessed Eucharist and, in his journey to the mount of God, our own voyage through life to eternity.

Sometimes, we too feel tired along the way and it seems to us that God has abandoned us.
Often we are troubled and sorrowful, humbled by our many lapses into sin, despairing of ever becoming holy.
On such occasions, like Elias, we need nourishment, the nourishment of the Blessed Sacrament.
This spiritual food which contains the Real Living Jesus, the Author of Grace, is all that can give us the courage and strength, to continue our journey and to overcome the obstacles which we encounter on the way.

Let us have frequent recourse to this wonderful means of sustenance, through which, Jesus supplies us with the supernatural strength which we need.
Then we shall be able to repeat the words of St Paul: “I can do all things in Him Who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13)
.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci