Category: The INCARNATION

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, The INCARNATION, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 10 April – The Passion of Our Lord

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Thought for the Day – 10 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Passion of Our Lord

“The Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, is one of the most profound Mysteries of our religion.
It is a Mystery of Infinite Goodness and Mercy, which, out of love for fallen humanity, the Eternal Word of God, should have assumed a human form and become Man, in order to show us the way to Heaven and to enable us, to reach it.
Jesus came amongst us, to instruct us, to call us, to perfection and to give us, an example and the necessary assistance.
But, He did much more than this.
He came also to bear the weight of our offences and to offer Himself, as a spotless Victim of Love and suffering in expiation of our sins.
All this, seems too great a Mystery, almost inconceivable, in fact, until we consider that, the charity of God is as Infinite as His nature.
This is why, the Saints experienced hours of ecstasy contemplating the Passion and Death of our Divine Redeemer.
Whenever St Gertrude looked upon the figure of Jesus nailed to the Cross, she could not restrain her tears.
She was accustomed to say, that God was specially merciful towards those who meditated on the Passion and Death of Jesus.
St Bernard writes, that even as the rocks were rent asunder at the Death of Our Redeemer, so, our sin-hardened hearts, should feel as if they were breaking, when we meditate on His Sufferings.
Let us meditate, therefore, on the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we are sinners, as unfortunately, we all are, we shall be moved to weep for our sins.
If we are imperfect and lukewarm, we shall be set on fire with love and a determination, to requite, as far as possible, the Infinite charity of Jesus Christ.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MOTHER of GOD, PRAYERS on the CROSS of CHRIST, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION

Quote/s of the Day – 27 March – St John Damascene

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Quote/s of the Day – 27 March – St John Damascene (675-749) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church

“By the Cross all these things have been set aright…

It is a seal that the destroyer may not strike us,
a raising up of those who lie fallen,
a support for those who stand,
a staff for the infirm,
a crook for the shepherded,
a guide for the wandering,
a perfecting of the advanced,
salvation for soul and body,
a deflector of all evils,
a cause of all goods,
a destruction of sin,
a plant of resurrection
and a tree of eternal life.”

“This woman will be the Mother of God,
the door to light, source of life.
She will reduce to oblivion the judgement
that weighed on Eve.
Daughter of David the king and Mother of God,
King of the universe, masterpiece
in whom the Creator rejoices…
thou art to be nature’s full achievement.
For thou life is not thine,
thou were not born for thyself alone
but thou life is to be God’s.
thou came into the world for Him,
thou will serve for the salvation of all people,
fulfilling God’s design, established
from the beginning …”

“You are more to be valued than the entire creation,
for from you alone the Creator received
a share in the first-fruits of our humanity.
His Flesh was made of your flesh,
His Blood of your blood;
God was nourished by your milk
and your lips kissed the lips of God. …
In His foreknowledge of your dignity,
the God of all the world, has loved you
and, in accordance with His love for you,
He predestined you and called you into being ”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/27/quote-s-of-the-day-27-march-st-john-damascene-2/

St John Damascene (675-749)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Posted in CHRIST the KING, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

Quote/s of the Day – 25 March – The Annunciation

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Quote/s of the Day – 25 March – The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Isaias 7:10-15 – Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“ By a woman,
came the flood of our ills
and by a woman too,
our blessings,
have their spring.”

St Gregory Thaumaturgus (c213-c270)
“the Wonder-Worker,” Bishop, Confessor

“And some seed fell on good ground”
Luke 8:8

“Rejoice, O Mary, House of the Lord,
earth trodden by the Footsteps of God…
Rejoice, O Paradise
more happy than the Garden of Eden,
where every virtue has been seeded
and where the Tree of Life has grown.”

St Theodore the Studite (750-826)
Father, Abbot, Theologian, Writer

“Through a woman, [Eve]
a curse fell upon the earth;
through a woman, [Mary]
there returned to the earth,
a blessing!”

St Peter Damian (1007-1072)
Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

“May the Blessed Virgin,
unique in her merits,
stand in the presence of her Creator
interceding always in our favour.
She will be radiant in the fullness of glory,
she who brought forth,
from her virginal womb,
the King of glory.”

St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159) 

“She saw herself raised to the highest dignity
that ever was or will be, for although
it should please God to create anew many worlds,
He could never make a pure creature
be greater than the Mother of God.
Our Lady humbled herself
and acknowledged herself unworthy
of being raised to the high dignity of Mother of God, therefore, she was made to be His Mother,
for she had no sooner uttered the protestation
of her littleness, than, having abandoned
herself to Him, by an act of incomparable charity,
she became the Mother of the Most High,
Who is the Saviour of our souls!”

(Sermon on 25 March 1621
at a religious Profession).

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, Hail MARY!, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, The ANNUNCIATION, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 March – – ‘… Speak the word that is transitory and embrace the Word which is everlasting!’

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One Minute Reflection – 25 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” – The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Isaias 7:10-15 – Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And Mary said: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.” – Luke 1:38

REFLECTION – “You have heard, O Virgin, that you are to conceive and bring forth a Son and that this will not be through the power of man but, by the virtue of the Holy Spirit. The Angel awaits your reply, for it is time that he should return to God Who sent him. We, too, are waiting, O Lady, for a word of mercy, we, who are groaning under the sentence of condemnation. See, the price of our salvation is offered to you; if you consent, we shall at once be delivered. By the Eternal Word of God were we all created and behold, we will all die. By your brief answer, we shall be refreshed and recalled to life! …

Hasten, then, O Lady, to give your answer; hasten to speak the word so longed for by all on earth, in limbo and in Heaven. Yes, the King and Lord of all things, Who has “greatly desired your beauty” (Ps 44:12), desires, as eagerly, your word of consent by which He has purposed to save the world. He, Whom you pleased by your silence, will be yet more pleased by your reply. Hark! He calls to you from Heaven – “O most beautiful among women, let me hear your voice” (Sg 1:8; 2:14) … Answer the Angel quickly, then; yes, through the Angel give your consent to your God. Answer one syllable, receive the Word; utter your own word and conceive that which is Divine. Speak the word that is transitory and embrace the Word which is everlasting! …”

“Behold,” she says, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to thy word.” – St Bernard (1091-1153) Father and Doctor of the Church (Homily 4 on the “Missus est” [He was sent] #8-9).

PRAYER – O God, Who, by the message of an Angel, willed to take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly, the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

Our Morning Offering – 25 March – Blessed Shall be Her Name

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Our Morning Offering – 25 March – The Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Blessed Shall be Her Name
Anonymous Author

Praise we the Lord this day,
This day so long foretold,
Whose promise shone with cheering ray
On waiting saints of old.

The prophet gave the sign
That those with faith might read;
A Virgin, born of David’s line
Shall bear the promised Seed.

Ask not how this should be,
But worship and adore;
Like her whom Heaven’s majesty
Came down to shadow o’er.

She meekly bowed her head
To hear the gracious word,
Mary, the pure and lowly maid,
The favoured of the Lord.

Blessed shall be her name
In all the Church on earth,
Through whom that wondrous Mercy came,
The Incarnate Saviour’s Birth.

Jesus, the Virgin’s Son,
We praise You and adore,
Who are with God the Father One
And Spirit evermore.
Amen

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, SAINT of the DAY, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Dismas and the Saints for 25 March

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The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/25/the-solemnity-of-the-annunciation-of-the-lord-25-march/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/25/the-solemnity-of-the-annunciation-of-the-lord-our-lady-of-betania-and-memorials-of-the-saints-25-march/

By Paolo Matteis

St Alfwold of Sherborne
St Barontius of Pistoia
St Desiderius of Pistoia

St Dismas (Crucified with Jesus) “The Good Thief”
Here:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-saint-dismas-the-good-thief/

St Dula the Slave
Bl Everard of Nellenburg
Bl Herman of Zahringen
St Hermelandus (Died c720) Priest, Abbot
St Humbert of Pelagius
Bl James Bird
St Kennocha of Fife

St Lucia Filippini (1672-1732) Virgin, Religious Sister, Founder. On 22 June 1930, Lucia Filippini was declared a Saint of the Church by Pope Pius XI and her Statue was given the last available niche in the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome. Her statue can be seen in the first upper niche from the main entrance on the left (south) side of the nave of St Peter’s.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-st-lucia-filippini-1672-1732/

Blessed Margaret Clitherow (1556-1586) Martyr, Married Laywoman and Mother of 3. Her 2 sons became Priests and her daughter a Nun. She is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. She was Beatified on 15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI.
Her Life and Most Horrible Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-saint-margaret-clitherow-1556-1586-the-pearl-of-york-marty/

St Matrona of Barcelona
St Matrona of Thessaloniki
St Mona of Milan
St Nicodemus of Mammola
St Pelagius of Laodicea Bishop

Blessed Placido Riccardi OSB (1844-1915. Priest and Friar of the Order of St Benedict. He was Beatified on 5 Dercember 1954 by Pope Pius XII. PATRONAGES – against Malaria, against all bodily illnesses
A Devout and Dedicated Servant:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-blessed-placido-riccardi-osb-1844-1915-priest/

St Procopius
St Quirinus of Rome
Bl Tommaso of Costacciaro

262 Martyrs of Rome: A group 262 Christians Martyred together in Rome. We know nothing else about them, not even their names.

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SIN, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 March –  ‘… By the word of an Angel …’

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One Minute Reflection – 24 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” –Feast of St Gabriel the Archangel – Daniel 9:21-26 – Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “So the Lord now manifestly came to His own. Born by His own created order which He Himself bears, He, by His obedience on the tree, renewed and reversed that which was done by disobedience, in connection with a tree.

The power of that seduction, by which the virgin Eve, already betrothed to a man, had been wickedly seduced, was broken, when the Angel in truth, brought good tidings to the Virgin Mary, who already, by her betrothal, belonged to a man.  For as Eve was seduced by the word of an Angel to flee from God, having rebelled against His Word, so Mary by the word of an Angel, received the glad tidings that she would bear God, by obeying His Word.

The former was seduced to disobey God and so fell but, the latter, was persuaded to obey God, so that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of Eve.

As the human race was subjected to death through the act of a Virgin, so was it saved by a Virgin, was precisely balanced by the obedience of Another. Then indeed, the sin of the first formed man was amended by the chastisement of the First Begotten, the wisdom of the serpent was conquered by the simplicity of the Dove and the chains were broken, by which we were in bondage to death.” – St Irenaeus (130-202) Bishop of Lyons, Martyr, Father of the Church (Against Heresies, 5)

PRAYER – O God, Who, out of all the Angels, chose the Archangel Gabriel to announce the Mystery of Thy Incarnation, mercifully grant that we who keep his feast on earth, may have him as our patron in Heaven.Through the same 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 ArchAngels and Angels, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

Our Morning Offering – 24 March – Hail Gabriel, Hail, a Thousand Hails!

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Our Morning Offering – 24 March – The Feast of St Gabriel the Archangel

Hail Gabriel, Hail, a Thousand Hails!
By Fr Fr Frederick W Faber CO (1814-1863)

Hail Gabriel, hail, a thousand hails
For thine whose music still prevails
To charm the list’ning ear;
Angelic word, sent forth to tell
How He the Eternal Word should dwell
Amid His creatures here.

Heaven’s voice of sweetness, uttered low,
Thy words like strains of music grow
Upon the stilly night;
Clear echoes from the mind of God
Which steal through Mary’s blest abode
In pulses of delight.

O voice, dear voice, the ages hear
That hail of thine, still ling’ring near,
An unexhausted song
And still, thou com’st with balmy wing
And still, thou sweetly seem’st to sing,
Thine Ave to prolong.

Take up in Heaven, for us thy part
And singing to the Sacred Heart,
Thy strains of rapture raise
And tune with endless Ave still
The voices of the Blest and fill,
The ear of God, with praise.

The Above is an excerpt from Fr Faber’s 14 stanza Hymn.
Tune: “Pembroke” J. Foster, 1807-1885.

Posted in CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MIRACLES, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on HUMILITY, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 15 March – ‘ … A greater proof than the impact and supernatural character of miracles! …’

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One Minute Reflection – 15 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” – St Clement Mary Hofbauer CSsR (1751-1820) “The Apostle of Vienna” – Ember Saturday – Acts 1:15-26 Matthew 11:25-30 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I praise Thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that Thou hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to little ones.” – Matthew 11:25

REFLECTION – “The fact that the all-powerful God has been able to humble Himself even to the humility of the human condition, constitutes a greater proof than the impact and supernatural character of miracles! Indeed, when Divine power effects something of great sublimity, this is, after a fashion, in conformity with and appropriate to God’s nature … On the other hand, that God descended even to our lowliness is, in a certain way, the expression of an overwhelming power which, is not in the least restrained, by what is contrary to its nature…

Neither the expanse of the heavens, the brightness of the stars, the governing of the universe, nor the harmony of created things, reveal the splendid power of God so much, as His indulgence, which leads Him to lower Himself to the weakness of our nature … God’s goodness, wisdom, justice and power, are revealed in His plans on our behalf: goodness in His Will to “save that which was lost” (Lk 19,10); wisdom and justice, in His manner of saving us; power in the fact, that Christ became “in the likeness of men” (Phil 2,7-8) and made Himself conformable to the humility of our nature.” – St Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-395) Bishop, Father of the Church (Catechetical Discourse 23-26 ; SC 453).

PRAYER – From all perils of soul and body defend us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, and by the intercession of blessed and gloriosus ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of blessed Joseph, of Thy blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and of blessed N.St Clement Mary Hofbauer and all the Saints, graciously grant us safety and peace that all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom. 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 AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CATECHESIS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MIRACLES, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on PRIDE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The INCARNATION, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 March – Christ’s Miracles are symbols of the different events of our eternal salvatio …

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One Minute Reflection – 14 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” – Ember Friday, 1st Week in Lent – Ezekiel 18:20-28 – John 5:1-15 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Now a certain man was there who had been thirty-eight years
under his infirmity. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in this state a long time, He said to him: Do you wish to be made whole?” – John 5:5-6

REFLECTION – “Christ’s Miracles are symbols of the different events of our eternal salvation … this pool is the symbol of the precious gift the Lord’s Word gives us. To explain – this water is the Jewish people; the five porticos are the Law which Moses wrote in five books. And so, this pool was surrounded by five porticos, like the people enclosed by the Law. The water which was stirred and troubled, is the Saviour’s Passion in this people’s midst. Whoever went down into this water was healed – but only one person, so as to express unity. Those, who were unable to bear anyone speaking to them about the Passion, are the proud – they do not wish to go down and are not healed. “What!” says that arrogant man: “Believe a God to be Incarnate! that a God was Born of a woman, that a God has been Crucified, Scourged, covered with Wounds ,that He Died and has been Buried?! No, I would never believe in these Humiliations of a God, they are unworthy of Him!”

Let your heart speak here, rather than your head. The Humiliations of a God seem unworthy to the arrogant and that is why, they are very far from a cure. So protect yourself from this pride. If you desire your cure, accept to go down. There would be something to be worried about, if someone said to you that Christ had undergone some sort of change, in becoming Incarnate. But no … your God remains what He Is, have no fear; He does not perish and He prevents you, yourselves from perishing. Yes, He remains what He Is; He Is born of a woman but according to the flesh … it is as Man that He has been Seized, Bound, Scourged, Mocked and finally Crucified and put to Death. Why be afraid? The Word of the Lord remains forever. Anyone who refuses these humiliations of a God, does not wish to be cured of the mortal swelling of his pride!

By His Incarnation, our Lord Jesus Christ has, therefore, restored hope to our flesh. He assumed the fruits of this earth which are only too well known and common – Birth and Death. Birth and death – here indeed are goods which the earth possesses in abundance! But in them were found, neither resurrection nor eternal life. He found here the unfortunate fruits of this unfruitful earth and gave us, in exchange, the possessions of His Heavenly Kingdom!” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (Sermon 124).

PRAYER – From all perils of soul and body defend us, O Lord, we beseech Thee and by the intercession of blessed and gloriosus ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of blessed Joseph, of Thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints, graciously grant us safety and peace that all adversities and errors, being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom. 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).Through the same 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 FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN Saturdays, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, The ANNUNCIATION, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 1 March – “Truly, “thou art blessed among women”

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One Minute Reflection – 1 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” – St David (c 542-c 601) Bishop, Confessor – Saturdaty of the Blessed Virgin (Salve Sancta Parens) – Ecclesiasticus 24:14-16; – Luke 11:27-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Blessed is the womb which bore Thee ” – Luke 11:27

REFLECTION – “Hail, O favoured one, the Lord is with thee” (Lk 1:28). Could anything transcend the joy which is thine, O Virgin Mary? Could anything surpass this grace?… Truly, thou art “blessed among women” (Lk 1:42), for thou hast changed the condemnation of Eve into a blessing. Because of thee and through thee, Adam, who was hitherto cast down and condemned, received a blessing.

Truly, “thou art blessed among women” for through thee, the blessing of the Father came to mankind and reprieved them from the age-old sentence.
Truly, “thou art blessed among women” because through thee, thy ancestors found salvation. Thou were to give birth to the Saviour, Who would win for them, God’s salvation.

Truly, “thou art blessed among women” for without the seed of man thou bore the Fruit Who gives a blessing to the whole earth and frees it from being condemned to produce only thorns.

Truly, “thou art blessed among women” for although thou art a woman like any other woman, thou will, in actual fact, become the Mother of God. If the One to be born of thee is, in truth God Incarnate, thou rightly deserve to be called ‘she who gave birth to God’ inasmuch as thou truly do give birth to God.” – St Sophronius of Jerusalem (c560-638) Bishop, Father of the Church (Sermon for the Annunciation 2).

PRAYER – We beseech Thee, O Lord, look graciously upon the fervour of Thy people, who mortify themselves in the flesh through abstinence that they may be refreshed in spirit, by the fruit of these good works and the intercession of Thy blessed Confessor, David. 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 CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, GOD the FATHER, Hail MARY!, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, The ANNUNCIATION, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 February – “Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

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One Minute Reflection – 11 February – “The Month of the Blessed Trinity” – The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Lourdes – Apocalypse 11:19; 12:1, 10; Luke 1:26-31 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “The degeneration caused by sin had obscured the beauty of our original nobility. But when, the mother of Supreme Beauty is born, our nature finds its purity once more and sees itself moulded according to the perfect model, worthy of God (Gn 1:26) … We had all preferred the world below to that above. There no longer remained any hope of salvation. The state of our nature cried aloud to Heaven to come to the rescue … Then at last, in His good pleasure, the world’s Divine Artificer determined to make a new world appear, a different world full of harmony and youth.

Now, was it not fitting that a most pure virgin, without stain, should place herself at the service of this mysterious plan, first of all? … And where was this virgin to be found, if not in this woman, alone of her kind, chosen by the world’s Creator before all generations? Yes, she indeed is Mother of God, divinely named Mary, whose womb gave birth to God Incarnate and whom, He, Himself, had supernaturally prepared as His Temple…

In this way, then, the design of the Redeemer of our race was to bring about a birth and, as it were, a new creation to replace the one which went before. Therefore, just as in Paradise, He had taken a litle clay out of the pure and spotless earth, to fashion the first Adam (Gn 2:7), so, at the moment of bringing about His own Incarnation, He made use of another earth, so to speak, namely this pure and immaculate Virgin, chosen from among all other beings He had created. It is in her that He, Adam’s Creator, has remade us in our very substance and become a new Adam (1 Cor 15:45) that the old, might be saved by the new and eternal.” – St Andrew of Crete (c650-c730) Bishop and Father of the Church (Sermon 1 for the Nativity of the Mother of God).

PRAYER – O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, prepared a worthy dwelling for Thy Son, we humbly beseech Thee that, recalling the apparition of the same Virgin, we may obtain health for both soul and body. Through the same 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 BREVIARY Prayers, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MOTHER of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The LITTLE OFFICE of MARY

Our Morning Offering – 9 February – Hail, O Mary, Mother of God By St Cyril of Alexandria

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Our Morning Offering – 9 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – Feast of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) “The Pillar of Faith” “Doctor of the Incarnation”& “Seal of all the Fathers” Bishop,Confessor, Father and Doctor, of the Church.

Adapted from a sermon preached by St Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, presiding as representative of the Holy See at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, in 431. In refuting Nestorianism, he is called “Doctor of the Incarnation.”

Hail, O Mary, Mother of God
By St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin and Mother!
Morning Star, perfect vessel.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Holy Temple in which God
Himself was conceived.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Chaste and pure dove.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
who enclosed the One
Who cannot be encompassed
in your sacred womb.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
From you flowed the true light,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you the Conqueror
and triumphant Vanquisher
of hell, came to us.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you, the glory
of the Resurrection blossoms.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
You have saved every faithful Christian.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on POVERTY, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on the POOR, The BEATITUDES, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 January – ‘ … What could be more wretched for God, than to take the form of a slave? …’

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One Minute Reflection – 20 January – “The Month of the Holy Name of Jesus and the Holy Family” – 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

REFLECTION – “As almost all men have a natural tendency to pride, the Lord begins the Beatitudes by casting aside the original sin of self-sufficiency and by counseling our imitation of Him, Who is truly blessed, the genuinely voluntary Poor Man … so, we might become like Him in a voluntary poverty which is according to our means, so as to share His blessedness, His happiness. “Have among you the same attitude which is also yours in Christ Jesus. Who, although He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave,” (Phil 2:5-7).

What could be more wretched for God, than to take the form of a slave? What lowlier for the King of the Universe, than to share our human nature? The King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Judge of the world, pays taxes to Caesar (1 Tim 6:17; Heb 12:23; Mk 12:17)! Creation’s Lord embraces this world, enters a cave, finds no place in an inn and takes refuge in a stable, in the company of irrational beasts. He, Who is pure and spotless, takes upon Himself, the stains of human nature and, after sharing all our poverty, goes as far as to experience our death. Consider the excessiveness of His voluntary poverty! Life tastes death; the Judge is dragged before the court; the Master of the lives of us all submits to a magistrate; the King of the Heavenly Powers does not escape the hands of torturers! This is the pattern, says the Apostle Paul, against which His humility is measured.” – St Gregory of Nyssa (c335-395) Bishop, Father of the Church, Brother of St Basil the Great (The Beatitudes 1).

PRAYER – Be mindful of our weakness, Almighty God and since the burden of our sins weighs heavily upon us, may the glorious intercession of Thy holy Martyrs, Fabian and Sebastian sustain us. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The DIVINE INFANT, THE EPIPHANY of the LORD, The HOLY INFANCY, The INCARNATION

Thought for the Day – 13 January – “Their Gifts (3) Myrrh”

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Thought for the Day – 13 January – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Christmastide
“The Holy Infancy”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Their Gifts (3) Myrrh”

+1. Myrrh is the herb used most often for embalming. It has the power to prevent corruption and preserve the purity and freshness of the body with which it is in contact. It was offered to Our Lord as a testimony, not only of the perfect and unsullied purity of those to whom He is united, by the bonds of charity but too, in evidence of the power of His Sacred Body, to save from corruption, those who partake of it in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

+2. Thus Myrrh was offered to Our Lord as possessing a truly Human Body, as truly Man and too, truly God.
We must never lose sight of this fact of Christ’s Humanity, in which, He has all the sympathy and interest, in all concerning us, all His desire to help us, all His wisdom, prudence, patience, appreciation of our griefs and sorrows and all this, to a degree, compared with which, our best friend on earth does not deserve the name.
Why do I not have recourse to Him more frequently?

+3. Myrrh is too, the symbol of mortification.
If our bodies are to be pure, we must mortify our evil desires and give up that which is very attractive to our lower nature.
If we desire great purity of heart, we must mortify ourselves in things lawful and deny ourselves even that which we might enjoy without sin. Do I do this?

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRISTMAS Quotes, CHRISTMASTIDE!, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 December – ‘ … Let us then run to Bethlehem, the Town of the Good News! … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 25 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Day! – Titus 2:11-15; Luke 2:1-14 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“… For today in the City of David, a Saviour has been born to you, Who is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:11

REFLECTION – “Brethren, now we have been told about the miracle, let us turn aside to see this unusual sight, as Moses did (Ex 3:3) – in Mary, the burning bush is not consumed, the Virgin gives birth to the Light, without defilement … Let us then run to Bethlehem, the Town of the Good News! If we are real shepherds, staying awake on our watch, then it is to us that the voice of the Angels is addressed, announcing a great joy … “Glory to God in the highest for peace is coming down to earth!”  There, where, only yesterday, there was nothing but misfortune, battlefields and exile, now earth receives peace for today “Truth shall spring out of the earth and justice shall look down from heaven” (Ps 84:12). Behold the fruit earth gives to humankind, in reward for the goodwill reigning among men (Lk 2:14). God is joined to man, to raise man to the stature of God.

At this news, my brethren, let us go to Bethlehem to behold … the mystery of the crib, a child wrapped in swaddling clothes rests in a manger. A Virgin, after giving birth, His undefiled Mother, embraces her Son. Let us repeat the words of the Prophet along with the shepherds: “As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of our God.” (Ps 47:9)

But why does our Lord seek shelter in this cave at Bethlehem? Why is He sleeping in a manger? Why does He participate in Israel’s census?  My brethren, He who brings liberty to the world, comes to be born into our slavery to death. He is born in this cave to reveal Himself to us, who are immersed in darkness and the shadow of death. He rests in a manger because, He is the One Who makes grass grow for the cattle (Ps 103:14). He is the Bread of Life, Who feeds us with a spiritual food that we too might live in the Spirit… What more joyful Feast is there than that of today? Christ, the Sun of Justice (Mal 3:20), comes to illumine our night. What had fallen, is raised up again, what was overcome, is now set free… what was dead is restored to life… Let us all sing today with one voice over all the earth: “Death came through one man, Adam, today salvation has come through One Man (cf Rom 5:17)” … St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–c 395) Bishop, Father of the Church (Sermon on the Nativity).

PRAYER – O God, Who have brightened this most holy night with the splendour of the true Light, grant, we beseech Thee that we may know in Heaven the joy of that light which we have known mystically on earth. Through the same 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 CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 23 December – “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. ”– Luke 3:6

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One Minute Reflection – 23 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” –1 Corinthians 4:1-5 – Luke 3:1-6– Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. ” – Luke 3:6

REFLECTION – “What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerning the Word of Life, we proclaim now to you” (1 Jn 1:1-3) … The Incarnate Word was made known to the Apostles in two ways – first of all, they recognised Him by sight, as receiving knowledge of the Word from the Word Himself; secondly, by hearing, this time by receiving knowledge of the Word from the witness of St John the Baptist.

Concerning the Word, John the Baptist first affirms that: “We have seen His glory”… For Saint John Chrysostom these words are connected with that which precedes in John’s Gospel: “The Word became Flesh.” What the Evangelist means is – the Incarnation has bestowed on us the blessing, not merely of becoming children of God but, of seeing His glory. For indeed, weak and feeble eyes cannot, of themselves, look at the Light of the Sun but when it shines through a cloud, or some other opaque body, then they can do so. Before the Incarnation of the Word, human minds were incapable, of themselves, of beholding the Light “which enlightens everyone.” But so that they might not be deprived of the joy of seeing Him, the Light Himself, the Word of God, desired to be clothed with Flesh, so we might be able to see Him.

Thus, people “turned toward the desert and lo! the glory of the Lord appeared in a Cloud” (Ex 16:10), namely the Word of God in Flesh … And Saint Augustine comments, so that we might be able to see God, the Word cured men’s eyes, by making a healing eye-ointment of His Flesh … That is why, immediately after saying: “The Word became Flesh”the Evangelist adds: “And we saw His glory” as if to say, no sooner had the ointment been applied, than our eyes were cured … This is the glory which Moses desired to see but of which he saw only a shadow and a symbol. The Apostles, on the other hand, saw His Majesty itself!” – St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Dominican, Doctor of the Church (Commentary on St John’s Gospel 1:178).

PRAYER – O God, Who, by the message of an Angel, willed to take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CATECHESIS, CATHOLIC Quotes, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD the FATHER, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CHILDREN, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on MEEKNESS, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on SIMPLICITY, QUOTES on VIRTUE, St Francis de Sales, The DIVINE INFANT, The INCARNATION

Quote/s of the Day – 19 December – This Divine Infant

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Quote/s of the Day – 19 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

“If we would please this Divine Infant,
we too must become children,
simple and humble.
We must carry to Him, flowers of virtue,
of meekness, of mortification, of charity.
We must clasp Him in the arms of our love.”

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

“Our Lord is begotten virginally, from all eternity,
in the bosom of His Heavenly Father.
He shares in the One Divinity of His Eternal Father,
without dividing it or fracturing the Divine Simplicity.
He remains One same God with Him.
The most holy Virgin produced her Son,
Our Lord on earth, as He is produced
by His Father eternally in Heaven that is, virginally.
There is one important difference, however,
she brought Him forth from her womb
and not in her womb,
for once He left it He will no more return there
but His Heavenly Father begets Him
from His bosom and in His bosom
and He will remain there eternally!”

(The Coming of the Divine Infant
24 December 1613
Sermon for Christmas Eve)

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

Posted in CATECHESIS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, Quotes on SALVATION, St Francis de Sales, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 18 December – Chastity and Humility

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Feast of Our Lady of Expectation

“ By a woman,
came the flood of our ills
and by a woman too,
our blessings,
have their spring.”

St Gregory Thaumaturgus (c213-c270)
“the Wonder-Worker,” Bishop, Confessor

“And Mary said,
‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be to me according to thy word.’”

Luke 1:38

“The price of our salvation
is offered to thee.
We shall be set free at once, if thou consent.
In the eternal Word of God, we all came to be
and behold, we die.
In thy brief response,
we are to be remade.
in order to be recalled to life.… Answer quickly, O Virgin.
Reply in haste to the Angel,
or rather, through the Angel to the Lord.
Answer with a word,
receive the Word of God.
Speak thine own word,
conceive the Divine Word.
Breathe a passing word,
embrace the Eternal Word!”

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
The Last Father and the Mellifluous Doctor

“She saw herself raised to the highest dignity
that ever was or will be, for although
it should please God to create anew many worlds,
He could never make a pure creature be greater
than the Mother of God.
Our Lady humbled herself and acknowledged herself unworthy of being raised to the high dignity
of Mother of God, therefore, she was made to be His Mother, for she had no sooner uttered the protestation of her littleness, than, having abandoned herself to Him,
by an act of incomparable charity,
she became the Mother of the Most High,
Who is the Saviour of our souls!”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

Posted in ADVENT, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, EMBER DAYS, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on PURITY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 December – ‘ … She indeed, is Mother of God, divinely named Mary … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 18 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Ember Wednesday – The Feast of Our Lady of Expectation – Isaias 7:10-15; Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “The degeneration caused by sin had obscured the beauty of our original nobility. But when the mother of supreme Beauty is born, our nature finds its purity once more and sees itself moulded according to the perfect model, worthy of God (Gn 1:26)… We had all preferred the world below, to that above. There no longer remained any hope of salvation. The state of our nature cried aloud to Heaven to come to the rescue … Then, at last, in His good pleasure, the world’s Divine Artificer determined to make a new world appear, a different world full of harmony and youth.

Now was it not fitting, that a most pure virgin without stain, should place herself at the service of this mysterious plan, first of all?… And where was this virgin to be found, if not in this woman, alone of her kind, chosen by the world’s Creator before all generations? Yes, she indeed, is Mother of God, divinely named Mary, whose womb gave birth to God Incarnate and whom, He Himself had supernaturally prepared, as His Temple…

In this way, then, the design of the Redeemer of our race was to bring about a birth and, as it were, a new creation to replace the one which went before. Therefore, just as in Paradise, He had taken a little clay out of the pure and spotless earth, to fashion the first Adam (Gn 2:7), so, at the moment of bringing about His Own Incarnation, He made use of another earth, so to speak, namely, this Pure and Immaculate Virgin, chosen from among all other beings He had created. It is in her that He, Adam’s Creator, has remade us in our very substance and become a new Adam (1 Cor 15:45), that the old might be saved by the New and Eternal!” – St Andrew of Crete (660-740) Bishop (Sermon 1 for the Nativity of the Mother of God ; PG 97, 812).

PRAYER – O God, Who, by the message of an Angel, willed to take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly, the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CHRIST the HIGH PRIEST, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on PURITY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION

One Minute Reflection – 14 December – ‘… Mary is the new tree of life …’

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One Minute Reflection – 14 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave – Proverbs 8:22-35; Luke 1:26-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “Son of God, grant me your own admirable Gift that I may celebrate the wondrous beauty of Thy beloved Mother! The Virgin gave birth to a Son while preserving her virginity; she suckled Him Who gives nourishment to the peoples; in her immaculate breast, she bore Him Who carries the whole world in His Hands. She is Virgin and Mother, what will she not be hereafter? Holy in body, all beautiful in soul, pure of mind, upright in intelligence, perfect in feeling, chaste and faithful, pure of heart and filled with virtue.

May the hearts of virgins rejoice in Mary, since of her was born the One Who set humankind free from dreadful slavery. May the old Adam, wounded by the serpent, rejoice in Mary; it is Mary who gives Adam a posterity which allows Him to crush the accursed serpent and Who cures him of his mortal wound (Gen 3:15). Let Priests rejoice in the blessed Virgin; she has brought the High Priest into the world, Who gave Himself as a Victim, putting an end to the sacrifices of the Old Covenant. … Let the Prophets rejoice in Mary, since in her were fulfilled their visions, in her were realised their prophecies, in her were confirmed their oracles. Let all the Patriarchs rejoice in Mary, since she received the blessing promised to them, she, who, in her Son, has brought them to completion. …

Mary is the new tree of life who, instead of the bitter fruit picked by Eve, gives to mankind that sweet fruit on which the whole world is fed!” – St Ephrem (306-373) Deacon in Syria, Father and Doctor of the Church (Marian Hymn).

PRAYER – Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Thy only-begotten Son, so that through His coming we may be able to serve Thee with purified minds. Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 12 December – ‘ … We pray thee, tell us what feelings moved thee …’

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One Minute Reflection – 12 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave – Our Lady of Gaudulupe – Proverbs 8:22-35; Luke 1:26-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace …” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “The Holy Spirit will come upon thee.” He will arise within thee, Mary. In some Saints He has come; in others He will come but in thou, He will arise… He will arise by means of the fertility, the abundance, the fullness of His outpouring in thy being. Even when He has filled thee, He will yet be upon thee; He will sweep over thy waters, to create in thee, a work greater and more admirable, than when, hovering over the waters at the beginning, He brought created substance into being in all its various forms (Gn 1:2). “And the power of the Most High will overshadow thee.” Christ, the Power and Wisdom of God, will overshadow thee. Then, He will take human nature from thee while keeping the fullness of God which thou art unable to bear, even as He assumes our flesh. He will take thee beneath His shadow because, the humanity to be taken by the Word, is to be a screen for the inaccessible Light of God. This Light, filtered by Its screen, will penetrate thine most chaste womb…

We, therefore, pray thee, Sovereign Lady, most worthy Mother of God, do not despise today those who ask, with fear, who seek, with devotion, who knock, with love. We pray thee, tell us what feelings moved thee, what love seized thee … when this was accomplished in thee, when the Word took Flesh from thee? In what state was thy soul, thy heart, thy spirit, thy senses, thy mind? Thou burst into flame like the bush which was shown to Moses long ago and thou did not burn, (Ex 3:2). Thou dissolved away in God but were not consumed. Burning, thou melted beneath the Fire from on high, yet regained strength from that Fire Divine, to burn again and dissolve once more in Him … Thou became more Virgin still – and more than Virgin because, both Virgin and Mother. Therefore, we greet thee, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Thou art blessed among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb.” – St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159) Cistercian Bishop of Lausanne (Marian Sermons).

PRAYER – O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, prepared a worthy dwelling for Thy Son and Who, by Thy Son’s death, foreseen by Thee, preserved her from all taint, grant, we beseech Thee, through her intercession that we too may come to Thee unstained by sin.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 ADVENT, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST the LIGHT, Meditations for ADVENT, The INCARNATION

Thought for the Day – 4 December – The Long Darkness .

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Thought for the Day – 4 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Long Darkness .

+1. “The Light extinguished at the Fall, was rekindled in the hearts of our first parents, when the promise was given them, of a Redeemer, Who should undo the fatal mischief which had been done.
But, in their children, Adam and Eve had to lament the fatal effects of that deadly evil they had introduced into the world. As generation followed generation, thicker and thicker grew the darkness, farther and farther did men wander away from the Light which, gave to each, the power of guiding his feet aright from earth to Heaven. Thus, it is, each ill deed goes on bearing its deadly fruit, often long after the doer is dead and gone.

+2. Yet every man had Light and Grace sufficient and more than sufficient, to enable him to walk in the ways of God and, to find his way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
But none, save a very few availed themselves of it. They loved darkness more than the Light!
The world gradually lost all regard for virtue and for God.
How grateful should I be to God that I love Him and co-operate with His Light and Grace!

+3. If I had lived then what should I have been? Even with all my countless graces and advantages , what a poor specimen I am of one made by God, for God and in the Image of God!
In heathen days should I not have been among the most depraved? Should I not have recklessly indulged my own inclinations, irrespective of the Voice of God warning and reproaching me What chance should I have had of saving my soul in those days of dark corruption and depravity?”

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HUMAN DIGNITY, QUOTES on The SOUL, The DIVINE INFANT, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The INCARNATION, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 4 December – Saint “Golden Words”

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Quote/s of the Day – 4 December – St Peter Chrysologus (c400-450) “Golden Words” Confessor, Father & Doctor of the Church

“Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
Matthew 22:20

“The Creator seeks out what else
He can add to your dignity –
He sets His image within you (Gen 1:27)
so that your visible image, might make present,
upon earth, the invisible Creator and, to you,
He entrusts the care of earthly goods, so that,
as vast a domain as this, should not be lacking
a representative from the Lord. …
And what God accomplished in you by His power,
He graciously assumed into Himself –
He wanted to be truly manifested in the man
in whom, hitherto, He had only appeared in image.
He enabled us to become, in reality,
what had only been a mere likeness before. …
And so, Christ is born, to restore
all its integrity, to fallen nature! ”

“Why does your Master
eat with publicans and sinners? ”
Matthew 9:11

“But Christ, my brethren, came to this meal –
Life came amongst these guests that those
who were going to die, might live with Him,
the same Life as He.
The Resurrection reclined at this table
that those who lay in death, might rise from their tombs;
Grace stooped down to raise sinners up, to forgiveness;
God came to man that man might attain to God;
the Judge came to the meal of the guilty,
to release humankind from the sentence of condemnation;
the Doctor came to the sick, to restore their depleted strength
by eating with them; the Good Shepherd bent down
to carry the lost sheep back to salvation’s fold (Lk 15:l3).”

“O my brethren, if only we wanted to,
if only we all wanted to perceive our soul’s paralysis
in all its depth! Then we would see
that it is lying on a stretcher of sins, deprived of strength. Christ’s action within us, would be a source of light
and we would understand that each day
He sees our lack of faith, harmful as it is,
that He draws us towards healing remedies
and sharply presses our rebellious wills.
“My son” He says, “your sins are forgiven you.”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/12/04/quote-s-of-the-day-4-december-st-peter-chrysologus/

St Peter Chrysologus (c400-450)
“Golden Words”
Father & Doctor of the Church

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CATECHESIS, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, Meditations for ADVENT, The INCARNATION, The LAMB of GOD, The SECOND COMING

Thought for the Day – 2 December – The Divine Decree .

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Thought for the Day – 2 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Divine Decree .

“+1. What brought Christ down from Heaven?
It was man’s sin.
From all eternity the Blessed Trinity, looking forward to the fall of man, had decreed that the Eternal Word should clothe Himself with human flesh and should be born into the world, in order to repair the evil which man had wrought. Thus God, in His Mercy provides a remedy for all the sins and follies of men, even before they are committed. We do the harm and God undoes it.
Has He not often thus averted from me, the consequences due to
my evil deeds?

+2. In what garb was the Son of God to clothe Himself when He became Man?
In one which should give us some idea of the evil He came to undo. He, the Eternal Son, co-equal with the Father, took the form of a servant, was born of a despised race, of humble parents, in poverty and humility and contempt.
All this should impress on us how sin has deserved all these and every other evil imaginable besides. If these were the results of sin on the spotless Lamb of God, what must they be on sinful, feeble man?

+3. The Divine Decree did not stop at this First Coming of the Son of God. There is to be a Second Advent , one in which He will appear in human form indeed, yet now, no longer in lowliness and humiliation but clothed with all the brightness and glory which His Divine Nature can impart to His Sacred Humanity.
In this Second Coming, He is to come and receive the reward which He has earned for His Human Nature and, for all those who had faithfully served Him. He is to come and reign. He is to crush all His enemies under His feet.
Look forward to that glorious day and pray that you may share the glory of the Son of God!”

Posted in CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, GOD ALONE!, Hail MARY!, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 21 November – ‘This woman will be the Mother of God, the door to Light, source of Life … ‘

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 21 November – The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Sir ach24:14-1, Luke 11:27-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Blessed is the womb that bore you” – Luke 11:27

REFLECTION – “This woman will be the Mother of God, the door to Light, source of Life; she will reduce to oblivion the judgement that weighed on Eve. “The rich among the people seek the face” of this woman, “the kings of the nations shall pay her homage” they shall “ offer gifts”…, yet the glory of the Mother of God is an interior glory: the fruit of her womb.

O woman, so worthy of love, thrice happy, “blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Daughter of David the king and Mother of God, King of the universe, masterpiece in whom the Creator rejoices… you are to be nature’s full achievement. For you, life is not yours; you were not born for yourself alone but your life is to be God’s. You came into the world for Him, you will serve for the salvation of all people, fulfilling God’s design established from the beginning: the Incarnation of the Word and our own divinisation. Your whole desire is to feed on the words of God, to be strengthened by their sap, like “a green olive tree in the house of God,” “like a tree planted by running water,” you are the “tree of life” who “yielded its fruit in due season”…

He Who is Infinite, Limitless, came to dwell in your womb; God, the Child Jesus, was nourished by your milk. You are the ever virginal Doorway of God; your hands hold your God; your lap is a throne raised up above the Cherubim… You are the wedding chamber of the Spirit, the “city of the living God, gladdened by the runlets of the stream”, that is to say, the waves of the Spirit’s gifts. You are “all fair, the Beloved” of God.” – St John Damascene (675-749) Monk, Theologian, Father and Doctor of the Church (Homily on the Nativity of the Virgin # 9).

PRAYER – O God, by Whose will the blessed Mary, ever Virgin, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, was on this day presented in the temple, grant, we beseech Thee, that by her intercession, we may be found worthy to be brought into the temple of Thy glory. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 September – “ … You made open the way of the Tree of Life. ,,, ”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 24 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – Our Lady of Ransom – Ecclesiasticus 24:14-16; Luke 11:27-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Blessed is the womb that bore Thee ” – Luke 11:27

REFLECTION – “Once indeed, God ejected the mortals and first parents of the human race from the paradise of Eden, when they had drunk deeply from the wine of disobedience and had become so affected by the hangover of sin, through the intoxication of that transgression which led to the sleepiness of the mind’s eye. …

Then Adam and Eve, the founders of our race, exclaimed with a loud voice in great rejoicing: “Blessed are you, O daughter, who bore for us the penalties of the commands that had been broken. When you had gained a mortal body from us, you gave birth to a covering of immortality for us. You repaid us ,so that it might be well with us, since you received birth from our loins. From beyond the grave, you have called us back to our ancient seat: we closed paradise for ourselves but you made open the way of the Tree of Life. Through our actions, sadness came forth from happiness; through you, even more joyful things have returned, from sorrow. In what possible way could you be acceptable to death, O Immaculate one? You are the bridge of life and the ladder to Heaven; you are a boat over the sea of death, reaching to immortality.”

But the woman herself, as she did not shrink from the truth, said: “Into Your hands, my Son, I commend my spirit. Receive this soul which is dear to You, which You have preserved free from any sin. I hand over my body, not to the earth but to You. Take me to Yourself, that where You are, You, the Child of my womb, so there I also may be Your companion. I am hastening to You, Who have often come to me on this side of that long distance.”

When she had said this, she heard in reply: “Come to My rest, My blessed Mother: arise, come, My Beloved, most blessed among all women. Behold, the winter is ended. You are all fair, My Beloved and there is no spot of stain found in you: the odour of your ointments are more precious than all other aromas.” – St John Damascene (675-749) Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Homily 9: On the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary).

PRAYER – O God, Who for the deliverance of Christians from the power of the pagans, graciously willed to enrich Thy Church by a new religious offspring through the most glorious Mother of Thy Son; grant, we beseech Thee, that by the merits and intercession of her, whom we piously venerate, as the founder of so great a work, we may be delivered from all our sins and from the captivity of the devil. 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).

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Quote/s of the Day – 23 September – Thou art the Christ, Whom we love above all things …

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Quote/s of the Day – 23 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – 1 Peter 5:1-4; 5:10-11; Matthew 16:13-19– Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God!”

Matthew 16:16

“Truly blessed is he who cleaves,
with his thought, to the Prayer of Jesus,
constantly calling to Him in his heart,
just as air cleaves to our bodies,
or the flame to the candle.”

St Hesychius of Jerusalem (Died c450)
Priest, Exegete, Father

“Taking up the newborn Emmanuel,
Mary beheld a Light incomparably fairer
than the sun and saw a Fire,
which water cannot quench.
She received, in the covering of Flesh
Whom she had borne,
the Light, Who enlightens all things
and she was worthy,,
to carry in her arms,
the Word, Who carries the universe!”

St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159)
Bishop, Cistercian Monk

“Charity is an infused virtue,
by which we love God for His Own Sake
and above all things and our neighbour as ourselves,
for the love of God.
It is the best gift which God Himself can give,
the gift compared to which,
all other gifts are insignificant and worthless.
It is the end and aim, the perfection
and the crown of the Christian life.
If we possess it, we have all things;
if we possess it not, we have nothing;
we are miserable and wretched and poor
and blind and naked before God.
Pray that God may teach you to know
and to love His Divine gift.”

Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

(The Definition of Charity
What is Charity?)

Posted in APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on GRACE, Quotes on SALVATION, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The INCARNATION, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 21 September – ‘ …The Resurrection reclined at this table …’

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One Minute Reflection – 21 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – The Feast of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, Martyr – Ezekiel 1:10-14; Matthew 9:9-13 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Why does your Master eat with publicans and sinners? ” – Matthew 9:11

REFLECTION – “Why does your Master eat with publicans and sinners?” God is accused of bending down to man, of sitting next to the sinner, of being hungry for his conversion and thirsty for his return; of consenting to eat the food of compassion and drink from the cup of goodness. But Christ, my brethren, came to this meal – Life came amongst these guests that those who were going to die, might live with Him, the same Life as He. The Resurrection reclined at this table that those who lay in death, might rise from their tombs; Grace stooped down to raise sinners up, to forgiveness; God came to man that man might attain to God; the Judge came to the meal of the guilty, to release humankind from the sentence of condemnation; the Doctor came to the sick, to restore their depleted strength by eating with them; the Good Shepherd bent down to carry the lost sheep back to salvation’s fold (Lk 15:l3) …

“Why does your Master eat with publicans and sinners?” But who is the sinner, if not the one who refuses to see himself as sinful? Is it not, to sink in one’s sins and, if the truth be told, identify oneself with sin by not recognising oneself to be a sinner? And who is unrighteous if not the one who thinks himself righteous? … Come along, you Pharisee, confess your sin and you will be able to come to Christ’s Table! Christ will become Bread for your sake, the Bread to be broken for the forgiveness of your sins! Christ will become Drink for your sake, the Drink which will be shed for the remission of your offences!Come along, you Pharisee, share the meal of sinners that you may eat your meal with Christ. Acknowledge yourself a sinner and Christ will eat with you. Go in to the Lord’s Feast along with sinners and you will be able to be a sinner no more. With the forgiveness of Christ, enter into the House of Mercy.” – St Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father & “Doctor of Sermons”of the Church (Sermon 30).

PRAYER – May we be helped, O Lord, by the prayers of the blessed Apostle and Evangelist, Matthew that what we ourselves cannot obtain, maybe granted by his intercession. 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 DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The HOLY NAME of MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 12 September – ‘ … She indeed, is Mother of God, divinely named Mary … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 12 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary – Ecclesiasticus 24:23-31, Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “The degeneration caused by sin had obscured the beauty of our original nobility. But when the mother of supreme Beauty is born, our nature finds its purity once more and sees itself moulded according to the perfect model, worthy of God (Gn 1:26)… We had all preferred the world below, to that above. There no longer remained any hope of salvation. The state of our nature cried aloud to Heaven to come to the rescue… Then at last, in His good pleasure, the world’s Divine Artificer determined to make a new world appear, a different world full of harmony and youth.

Now was it not fitting, that a most pure virgin without stain, should place herself at the service of this mysterious plan, first of all?… And where was this virgin to be found, if not in this woman, alone of her kind, chosen by the world’s Creator before all generations? Yes, she indeed, is Mother of God, divinely named Mary, whose womb gave birth to God Incarnate and whom, He Himself had supernaturally prepared, as His Temple…

In this way, then, the design of the Redeemer of our race was to bring about a birth and, as it were, a new creation to replace the one which went before. Therefore, just as in Paradise, He had taken a little clay out of the pure and spotless earth, to fashion the first Adam (Gn 2:7), so, at the moment of bringing about His Own Incarnation, He made use of another earth, so to speak, namely, this Pure and Immaculate Virgin, chosen from among all other beings He had created. It is in her that He, Adam’s Creator, has remade us in our very substance and become a new Adam (1Cor 15:45), that the old might be saved by the New and Eternal!” – St Andrew of Crete (660-740) Bishop (Sermon 1 for the Nativity of the Mother of God ; PG 97, 812).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, through the protection of the most holy Virgin Mary, Thy faithful people, who delight in her name may, by her loving intercession, be delivered from all evils on earth and be found worthy to attain everlasting happiness in Heaven. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).