Category: The INCARNATION

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CATECHESIS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, Quotes on SALVATION, The HEART, The INCARNATION, The PASSION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 3 March – Christ’s Miracles are symbols of the different events of our eternal salvation, …

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One Minute Reflection – 3 March – “The Month of the St Joseph” – Ember Friday, First Week of 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 that 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 healing, 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 that 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 CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MARIAN Antiphons, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

Saint of the Day – 3 March – Blessed Benedetto Sinigardi da Arezzo OFM (c1190-1282) The Author of the Angelus!

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Saint of the Day – 3 March – Blessed Benedetto Sinigardi da Arezzo OFM (c1190-1282) Friar of the Order of Friars Minor, one of the first companions of St Francis and who received the Habit directly from his handi, Provincial of the Marches in Italy and later of the Holy Land, Missionary. Born in c1190 in Arezzo, Italy and died in 1282 in the Franciscan Convent of Poggio del Sole in Arezzo, Italy of natural causes. Although rarely mentioned, Blessed Benedetto is the Author of the Angelus! Additional Memorial – 13 August on some calendars. Also known as – Benedetto Sinigardi du Arezzo, Benedict of Arezzo.

The call of the Lord to Benedetto Sinigardi occurred during a sermon which St Francis of Assisi gave in 1211 in Arezzo. The poor man’s fame attracted huge crowds everywhere and that day Piazza Grande was packed to capacity. Among the listeners there was also the twenty-year-old Benedetto, son of Tommaso Sinigardo de’ Sinigardi and Countess Elisabetta Tarlati di Pietramala. He was, therefore, a member of two of the most important families in the City but Francis’ words penetrated his heart, to such an extent that, moved, he decided to change his life.

He had received a good education and was a good Christian, he attended Sacred worship and devotions, fasting three times a week. His soul wa,s therefore, ready to accept the words of the Seraphic Father and his choice was radical, as he left the comforts and riches to joyfully embrace Sister Poverty. He received the Habit directly from the hands of St Francis himself.

Good-natured, he had excellent qualities which immediately made him loved and esteemed by his brothers and by the people. At the age of only 27, he was appointed Provincial Minister of the Marches, a region that had such importance for the Franciscan Order.

The ardour to pronounce the Gospel made him ask later, to go as a Missionary to distant lands, even among the infidels and at the risk of his life. He went to Greece, to Romania and Turkey and experienced first-hand the realities caused by the schism between the Church of the East and that of the West. The final stage of his mission was the places where the Son of God was Incarnated and lived. He was elected Provincial Minister for the Holy Land and, in the sixteen years of his stay in those lands, he built the first Franciscan Convent in Constantinople, having cordial relations also with the Emperor.

According to tradition, John of Brienne, Emperor of Constantinople, following the example of St Louis of the French and St Elizabeth of Hungary, wanted to receive the Franciscan Habit from Benedetto’s hands.

After this intense apostolic activity, now an old man, he was called back to his native City. In Arezzo, in the Convent of the Friars Minor Benedetto died at a very old age, surrounded by a reputation for holiness. Miracles were immediately attributed to him and he was proclaimed Blessed by the people before the Ecclesiastical authority.

None of his writings have survived but we have two testimonies of his deep piety and devotion to the Passion of Jesus and to he Holy Virgin. In the last years of his life, he commissioned the Crucifix called “Of Beato Benedetto” which today stands on the High Altar of the Basilica of St Francis in the centre of Arezzo, where his body was also transported after the demolition of the Convent in which he died and was laid. Below is a glimpse of the right wall of the Church of San Francesco with a view of five Chapels which alternate between the classical and Gothic styles.
The first of these, on the left in the classical style, is the Gozzari Chapel. Here is the Sarcophagus containing the remains of Blessed Benedetto Sinigardi.

It was he who indicated to the painter, the so-called Master of St Francis, all the details with which it had to be created. In the same Basilica, in the main Chapel, there is also the cycle of frescoes of the Legend of the Cross, painted by Piero della Francesca two centuries later.

Furthermore, the beautiful custom of reciting the Marian Antiphon “The Angelus Domini” is attributed to Blessed Benedetto, meditating on the saving Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God in Mary’s virginal womb. The Angelus Domini became a pious practice firstly to the entire Franciscan Order, then to the whole Church, as it still is today.

In his visit to the City of Arezzo on 23 May 1993, after having stopped in prayer before the Tomb of Blessed Benedetto, John Paul II said in his speech: “We stop in the middle of the day for a moment of Marian prayer. It is so today in a singular way because we find ourselves in the place where, … the custom of reciting the Angelus Domini was born.”

Posted in AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, CHRIST the LIGHT, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN PRAYERS, MOTHER of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION

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 – 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.

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

Adapted from a sermon preached by St Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria (444), 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.”

Posted in "Follow Me", BAPTISM, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on POVERTY, QUOTES on The HUMAN SOUL, The BAPTISM of the LORD, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The INCARNATION, The LAST THINGS

Quote/s of the Day – 13 January – ‘… Putting off the old man!’

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Quote/s of the Day – 13 January – Octave Day of Epiphany – Isaias 60:1-6, John 1:29-34 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Make ready then the vessel of your soul
that you may become a son of God
and an heir of God
and joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17);
if, indeed, you are preparing yourself
that you may receive;
if you are drawing near in faith
that you may be made faithful;
if of set purpose,
you are putting off the old man!”

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

“Let us become like Christ,
since Christ became like us.
He assumed the worse,
that He might give us the better;
He became poor,
that we through His poverty,
might be rich.”

St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Ah Jesus, Sun of Justice,
make me clothe myself with You,
so that I may be able to live
according to Your will.
Make me, under Your guidance,
preserve my robe of Baptismal innocence,
white, holy and spotless
and present it undefiled,
before Your tribunal,
so that I may wear it,
for eternal life.”

St Gertrude the Great of Helfta (1256-1301)

“If we wish to make any progress
in the service of God,
we must begin everyday of our life,
with new eagerness.
We must keep ourselves,
in the presence of God,
as much as possible
and have no other view or end,
in all our actions
but the divine honour.”

St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)

“Anyone who takes life seriously
in the Christian sense,
will regard it as a difficult journey
towards perfection and towards God.
This journey will be, at the same time,
painful and joyful.
… It is our own loss if we sit down lazily
on the side of the road,
which should lead us to Heaven.
It is even more disastrous,
if we acknowledge defeat
and lay down the spiritual weapons
of prayer and renunciation,
in order to surrender ourselves to sin or to indifference.
Everyday we should say to ourselves,
in the presence of God –
A new life is beginning …
in You, by Your grac and for You!
Amen”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in BLESSED TRINITY PRAYERS, FATHERS of the Church, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), HYMNS, POETRY, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Our Morning Offering – 8 January – Of the Father’s Love Begotten

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Our Morning Offering – 8 January – Within the Octave of Epiphany

Of the Father’s Love Begotten
(Excerpt)
By Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens (c 348-c 413)
Trans. J M Neale (1818-1866)

Of the Father’s love begotten
Ere the world began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending he,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore.

Blessed was the day forever,
When the Virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bore the Saviour of our race
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His Sacred Face
Evermore and evermore.

Glory be to God the Father,
Glory be to God the Son
Glory be the Holy Ghost,
Persons Three, yet Godhead One,
Glory be from all creation
While eternal ages run,
Evermore and evermore.

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, Hail MARY!, MARIAN QUOTES, MARY, MATER ECCLESIAE, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on WISDOM, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The REDEMPTION

Quote/s of the Day – 9 December – ‘ … Through a woman, [Mary] there returned to the earth,a blessing!’

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Quote/s of the Day – 9 December – Within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception

“Mary, having merited to give flesh
to the Divine Word
and thus, supply the price
of our redemption
that we might be delivered
from eternal death, therefore,
she is more powerful
than all others,
to help us gain eternal life.”

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

“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)
Doctor of the Church

“O daughter of King David
and Mother of God,
the universal King.
O Divine and living object
whose beauty has charmed God the Creator;
your whole soul is completely open
to God’s action and attentive to God alone.
… Your womb will be the abode
of the one whom no place can contain.
Your milk will provide nourishment for God,
in the little Infant Jesus.
Your hands will carry God
and your knees will serve
as a throne for Him
that is more noble
than the throne of the Cherubim.
… You are the temple of the Holy Spirit,
the city of the living God,
made joyous by abundant flowers,
the sacred flowers of Divine grace.
You are all-beautiful
and very close to God,
above the Cherubim
and higher than the Seraphim,
right near God Himself!
Amen”

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

The Purity and Holiness of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

“The One Who is the Wisdom of the Father,
put His arms around her neck,
the One Who is the strength,
which gives movement to everything,
sat in her arms.
He, Who is the rest of souls, (Mt 11:29)
rested on her motherly breast.
… Filled with the Holy Spirit,
she held Him close to her heart …
She never had enough
of seeing Him or of hearing Him …
Thus Mary, grew evermore in love
and her mind was unceasingly attached,
to Divine contemplation.”

St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159)

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/15/quote-s-of-the-day-15-december-the-immaculate-conception-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/08/quote-s-of-the-day-8-december-on-the-immaculate-conception/

Posted in DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, DOGMA, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

One Minute Reflection – 9 December – Blessed art thou among women … St John Damascene

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One Minute Reflection – 9 December – Within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception and “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception” – 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 – “Today the Creator of all things, the Word Who is God, has composed a new work sprung from the Father’s heart, to be written, as by a pen by the Spirit, Who is God’s tongue. … Most holy daughter of Joachim and Anne! you who have evaded the attention of the Principalities and Powers and the “flaming arrows of the Evil One” (Col 1:16; Eph 6:16), you dwelt within the bridal chamber of the Spirit and were preserved undefiled, so that you might become the bride of God and God’s Mother by nature. … God’s beloved daughter, the credit of your parents, generation after generation calls you Blessed, as you yourself so truthfully affirmed (Lk 1:48). Worthy daughter of God, our human nature’s beauty, restoration of Eve our first mother! For with your birth, she who fell was raised. … For if, through the first Eve, “death entered the world” (Wis 2:24; Rom 5:12) because she put herself at the service of the serpent, yet Mary, who made herself servant of the Divine Will, deceived the deceiving serpent and brought immortality into the world.

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 “in the final time” (1 Pt 1:20; Heb 1:2) …

So let wise Solomon shut his mouth and say no more: “Nothing is new under the sun” (Eccl 1:9).” – St John Damascene (675-749) Father and Doctor of the Church (Homily for the Nativity of the Virgin, 7, 10 – “See, I make all things new” (Apoc 21:5).

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 DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, The ANNUNCIATION, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 8 December – The Immaculate Conception

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Quote/s of the Day – 8 December – Feast of the Immaculate Conception and “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception”

“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)
Father and Doctor of the Church

(Marian hymn)

“The very fact
that God has elected her,
proves, that none was ever
holier than Mary;
if any stain had disfigured her soul,
if any other virgin
had been purer and holier,
God would have selected her
and rejected Mary.”

St Jacob of Sarug (c 451-521)
Bishop, Theologian, Poet, Writer

“Today humanity, in all the radiance
of her Immaculate nobility,
receives its ancient beauty.
The shame of sin
had darkened the splendour
and attraction of human nature
but when the Mother
of the Fair One par excellence,
is born, this nature again,
regains in her person,
its ancient privileges
and is fashioned according to a perfect model,
truly worthy of God….
The reform of our nature begins today
and the aged world,
subjected to a wholly divine transformation,
receives the first fruits of the second creation.”

St Andrew of Crete (c 650-c 740)
Bishop, Theologian, Hymnist

“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)
Father and Doctor of the Church

(Homily on the Nativity of the Virgin, # 9 ; SC 80

Posted in DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, The ANNUNCIATION, The HOLY NAME of MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

One Minute Reflection – 8 December ‘ … Pure and Immaculate Virgin, chosen from among all other beings … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 8 December on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception” – Proverbs 8:22-35, Luke 1:26-28 – 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 that 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 – 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 PRAYERS, BREVIARY Prayers, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The DIVINE INFANT, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The REDEMPTION

Our Morning Offering – 7 December – St Ambrose’ Veni Redemptor Gentium / Saviour of the Nations, Come!

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Our Morning Offering – 7 December – “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception” – St Ambrose (340-397) – Confessor, Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

Veni Redemptor Gentium
Saviour of the Nations, Come!
St Ambrose’s Advent Hymn

Saviour of the nations, come!
Virgin’s Son, here make Thy home!
Marvel now, O Heaven and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by human flesh and blood;
By the Spirit of our God
Was the Word of God made flesh,
Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.

Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child
Of the Virgin undefiled!
Though by all the world disowned,
Still to be in Heaven enthroned.

From the Father forth He came
And returneth to the same,
Captive leading death and hell
High the song of triumph swell!

Thou, the Father’s only Son,
Hast over sin the victory won.
Boundless shall Thy kingdom be;
When shall we its glories see?

Brightly doth Thy manger shine,
Glorious is its light divine.
Let not sin o’ercloud this Light;
Ever be our faith thus bright.

Praise to God the Father sing,
Praise to God the Son, our King,
Praise to God the Spirit be
Ever and eternally.
Amen!

Posted in ADVENT, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 December – The root of Jesse – Roman 15:12

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One Minute Reflection – 5 December – The Second Week of Advent – Romans 15:4-13, Matthew 11:2-10 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And again Isaias says, There shall be the root of Jesse and He Who shall arise to rule the Gentiles… in Him the Gentiles shall hope.” – Roman 15:12

REFLECTION – “Until the beginning of the vision, or the burden of Babylon, which Isaias the son of Amos saw, his entire prophecy was about Christ, a prophecy which we want to explain piecemeal, lest the ideas and discussions thereof together, confuse the reader’s memory.

The Jews interpreted the branch and the flower from the root of Jesse, to be the Lord Himself because, the power of His governance, is demonstrated in the branch and His beauty, in the flower. But we understand the branch from the root of Jesse, to be the holy Virgin Mary, who had no shoot connatural to herself. About her we read …: “Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son.” And the flower is the Lord our Saviour, Who said, in the Song of Songs, “I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys.” In place of “root,” which only the Septuagint translated, the Hebrew text has geza, which Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotus, interpret as kormon, that is, “stem.” And they translated “flower,” which the Hebrew text calls nēṣer, as “bud,” to show that after a long time in Babylonian captivity, no longer possessing any glory from the sprout of the old kingdom of David, Christ would rise from Mary, as though from her stem. The educated of the Hebrews believe that what all the ecclesiastics sought in the Gospel of Matthew but could not find, where it was written “Because he will be called a Nazarene,” was taken from this place. But it should be noted that nēṣer was written here with the [Hebrew] letter ṣade [צ], the peculiar sound of which—somewhere between z and s—the Latin language does not express.” – St Jerome (343-420) Father and Doctor of the Church (Commentary on Isaias 4.)

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 ADVENT, ADVENT PRAYERS, CHRISTMASTIDE!, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, HYMNS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The DIVINE INFANT, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Our Morning Offering – 5 December – A Great and Mighty Wonder By St Germanus

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Our Morning Offering – 5 December – “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception”

A Great and Mighty Wonder
By St Germanus (c 640-c 733)

A great and mighty wonder,
a glorious mystery,
a Virgin bears an Infant
who veils His Deity.
Refrain:
Proclaim the Saviour’s birth,
“To God on high be glory
and peace to all the earth!”
The Word becomes incarnate
and yet remains on high,
and Cherubim sing anthems
to shepherds from the sky. … [Refrain]
While thus they sing your monarch,
those bright angelic bands,
rejoice, O vales and mountains
and oceans, clap your hands. [Refrain]
Since all, He comes to ransom,
by all, be He adored,
the Infant born in Bethl’em,
the Saviour and the Lord. [Refrain]
All idols then shall perish
and Satan’s lying cease,
and Christ shall raise His sceptre,
decreeing endless peace. [Refrain]

St Germanus was one of the Greek hymnwriters and one of the grandest among the defenders of the Icons. He was born at Constantinople of a patrician family, was Ordained there and became subsequently, Bishop of Cyzicus. He was present at the Synod of Constantinople in 712, which restored the Monothelite heresy but, in after years, he condemned it.
He was made Archbishop of Constantinople in 715. In 730 he was driven from the See, not without blows, for refusing to yield to the Iconoclastic Emperor, Leo the Isaurian. He died shortly afterwards in exile at a good old age.
His Life below:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/12/saint-of-the-day-12-may-saint-germanus-of-constantinople-c-640-733/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, FRANCISCAN OFM, Hail MARY!, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION

Quote/s of the Day – 21 November – The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Quote/s of the Day – 21 November – The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

“In her, God spun a garment
with which to save us.”

Saint Ephrem (306-373)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“Hail, holy throne of God,
divine sanctuary, house of glory,
jewel most fair, chosen treasure house
and mercy seat for the whole world,
heaven showing forth the glory of God.

Purest Virgin, worthy of all praise, sanctuary dedicated to God
and raised above all human condition,
virgin soil, unploughed field, flourishing vine,
fountain pouring out waters, virgin bearing a child,
mother without knowing man,
hidden treasure of innocence, ornament of sanctity,
by your most acceptable prayers,
strong with the authority of motherhood,
to our Lord and God, Creator of all,
your Son, Who was born of you without a father,
steer the ship of the Church
and bring it to a quiet harbour.”

St Germanus (378-448)

“This fair olive-tree,
led to the temple
and, thenceforward planted
in the House of God
and cultivated by the Spirit,
she, as a fruitful olive-tree,
became the abode of all virtues.”

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

“God Himself, with the whole heavenly court,
made great rejoicings on that day,
beholding His spouse,
coming to the temple.”

St Bernardine of Siena OFM (1380-1444)

“Give thanks to Almighty God
Who resists the proud
and gives grace to the humble
and offer Him all the glory
that this Maiden accorded to His majesty
by her practice of the richest humility
during her childhood
and throughout the rest of her life.”

St John Eudes CO (1601-1680)

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The ANNUNCIATION, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION, The WORD

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

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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 ; SC 80) [ ( Biblical references : Ps 44[45],13; 71[72],11.10; Mt 2,11; Lk 1,42; Is 62,5; Ps 51[52],10; 1,3; cf Gn 2,9, Rv 22,2; cf Ez 44,2; Ps 79[80],2; cf Sg 1,4; Ps 45[46],5; Sg 4,7]. Link to searchable Sacred Scripture here: https://www.drbo.org/

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 CREEDS, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, SAINT of the DAY, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

Quote/s of the Day – 17 November – St Gregory Thaumaturgus

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Quote/s of the Day – 17 November – St Gregory Thaumaturgus (c 213-c 270) “the Wonder-Worker,” Bishop, Confessor

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

“The Creed”
of Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus

There is one God, the Father of the Living Word,
Who is His subsistent Wisdom and Power and Eternal Image,
perfect Begetter of the perfect Begotten,
Father of the Only-begotten Son.
There is one Lord, Only of the Only, God of God,
Image and Likeness of Deity, Efficient Word,
Wisdom comprehensive of the constitution of all things
and Power formative of the whole creation,
true Son of true Father, Invisible of Invisible
and Incorruptible of Incorruptible
and Immortal of Immortal
and Eternal of Eternal.
And there is One Holy Spirit,
having His subsistence from God
and being made manifest by the Son, to wit to men,
Image of the Son,
Perfect Image of the Perfect,
Life, the Cause of the living, Holy Fount,
Sanctity, the Supplier, or Leader, of Sanctification,
in Whom is manifested God the Father,
Who is above all and in all
and God the Son, Who is through all.
There is a perfect Trinity, in glory
and eternity and sovereignty,
neither divided nor estranged.
Wherefore, there is nothing,
either created or in servitude in the Trinity,
nor anything superinduced,
as if at some former period, it was non-existent
and at some later period, it was introduced.
And thus neither was the Son
ever wanting to the Father,
nor the Spirit to the Son
but, without variation and without change,
the same Trinity abideth ever.

St Gregory Thaumaturgus (c 213-c 270)
“the Wonder-Worker,” Bishop, Confessor

Posted in DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN Antiphons, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, QUOTES on GRACE, The ANNUNCIATION, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Feast of the Purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – 16 October

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Saint of the Day – 16 October – Feast of the Purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Feast Day is kept by various Orders and Calendars..

Feast of the Purity Of The Blessed Virgin Mary
By Father Lawrence G Lovasik SVD (1913-1986)

Mary, Mother of God, you are the Virgin most pure because you are the Immaculate Conception. The closer a soul is to God, the farther it is from sin. God is Infinite Good; sin, horrible evil. No-one could have had a closer approach to God than you, for it is impossible for any creature to be closer to God’s Son than His own Mother.

From eternity, before anything was, you were united to your Son in the mind of God, as His most pure Mother. When God decreed the Incarnation of the Word, His very own Son, through you alone, you had a place in the same plan, as Jesus. Since the Conception of the Son of God is all holy, all pure, infinitely removed from every appearance of sin, it was supremely fitting that your own conception should be equally far from sin. For that reason, you were conceived by your mother, Saint Anne, without even the shadow of sin. You are the Virgin most pure.
Because you were to be the Mother of God, Original Sin which, like all Eve’s daughters you should have contracted, could not touch you. Such a stain would have reflected upon your Son, Who is Holiness itself. Then Satan could boast that he had overcome Jesus in you, His Mother. You are pure and sinless. You expressed this to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes when you said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

Mary, My Mother, there is no sin in you; in you there is only God’s grace—His light, His splendour, His love, His unspeakable delight. You are truly His beloved Daughter, the only one in whom there was never a stain. With you all is pure, virginal, immaculate In you, there is no inclination to evil—no impure thoughts or desires. You are God’s purest and holiest creature, the one chosen to conceive and bear the Son of God. Who would not love you and endeavour to imitate you, most beautiful and Immaculate Mother of God?

Mary, Mother of God, you are the Virgin most pure because you are full of grace. You are the most beautiful of creatures, the one in whom there is no spot, God’s masterpiece. You are full of grace, the Lord’s free gift and it overflows in you filling your soul with every virtue and perfection. What marvels of grace possessed your soul! Sanctifying grace made you God’s adopted child and the lawful heir to His Eternal Kingdom, putting you in possession of God’s goods and of God Himself forever. That grace made you holy and most pleasing in God’s eyes, the special object of His love. Sanctifying grace likened you to God as it did no other pure creature. Because you were full of God’s grace and a Virgin most pure, Gabriel could exclaim, “You have found grace with God.” No-one has found or received such grace as you.

But who can describe the matchless purity and beauty of your soul? Jesus is the most beautiful of men; you were His mould, His mirror and He, yours. Your soul contained all the marvels of God’s grace, for which reason, the Church calls you the Singular Vessel of Devotion.
Mary, My Mother, you are all beautiful—beautiful in mind, in body, in soul! In you I behold the charm of the purest of Virgins, the majesty of the noblest of mothers. You are beautiful at your presentation in the temple; in prayer before Gabriel as he awaited your answer, in Nazareth’s hidden life and later as you followed Jesus and listened to Wisdom speak. You were beautiful when you stood as the brave Queen of Martyrs beneath the Cross of your dying Son; in the supper room beneath the fiery tongues of the Divine Spirit; beautiful, above all, in the glory in which you reign with Jesus. If a single soul in the state of grace by far excels in beauty all other earthly beauty, what beauty must you possess, Virgin most pure, who surpassed in holiness all other souls in the state of grace!

Mary, Mother of God, you are the Virgin most pure because you are the holiest of God’s creatures. You are the holiest of God’s creatures because you are the Mother of God. The Prophet tells us that God is “wonderful in His saints” (Ps. 67, 36). How wonderful, then, He must be in the Mother of the Saint of Saints! In you, to an eminent degree, all the privileges of other Saints meet. The Church venerates many holy Virgins, Martyrs and other Saints but not one of them has merited, or obtained, your title of Holy Virgin, Virgin most pure. Whatever of sanctity, of dignity, of merit, of grace and of glory, that we can imagine, all is in you.

Holiness is a complete separation from creatures and perfect union with God through love. No-one ever belonged to Jesus as completely as you, for you are His Mother. Jesus belonged entirely to you, the holiest among women. Your womb was so pure, so immaculate that it became the Holy of Holies, in which Jesus Christ our Lord, the Eternal High Priest, alone found entrance.
Mary, My Mother, God raised you so high in Himself that He never has created and never will create, a holier person more worthy of Himself, of His greatness, of His love, than you, O Virgin most pure. Having carried within you, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, you share, as no-one else does, in your Divine Son’s holiness and purity. You come nearest to the holiness of God.

You are the holiest of women, the Virgin-Mother thrice holy because you are holy of the Father, holy of the Son, holy of the Holy Spirit of Love. Hence, with Holy Church I repeat, “You are all fair, Mary and the stain of original sin is not in you. You are the Glory of Jerusalem, you are the Joy of Israel, you are the Honour of our people.”

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN Antiphons, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The INCARNATION, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The REDEMPTION

Quote/s of the Day – 11 October – Feast of the Divine Maternity

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 October – Feast of the Divine Maternity

“Mary, having merited to give flesh
to the Divine Word
and thus, supply the price
of our redemption
that we might be delivered
from eternal death, therefore,
she is more powerful
than all others,
to help us gain eternal life.”

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

“The One Who is the Wisdom of the Father,
put His arms around her neck,
the One Who is the strength,
which gives movement to everything,
sat in her arms.
He, Who is the rest of souls, (Mt 11:29)
rested on her motherly breast.
… Filled with the Holy Spirit,
she held Him close to her heart …
She never had enough
of seeing Him or of hearing Him …
Thus Mary, grew evermore in love
and her mind was unceasingly attached ,
to Divine contemplation.”

St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159)
Bishop (Homily on the Motherhood of Mary, 4).

“Wherefore, in the same holy bosom
of His most chaste Mother,
Christ took to Himself flesh
and united to Himself,
the spiritual Body formed
by those who were to believe in Him.
Hence Mary, carrying the Saviour
within her, may be said,
to have also carried, all those.
whose life was contained
in the life of the Saviour.
Therefore, all we who are united to Christ
and, as the Apostle says,
are members of His body,
of His flesh and of His bones (Eph 5:30),
have issued from the womb of Mary,
like a body united to it’s head.”

St Pius X (1835-1914)
Pope from 1903 to 1914
Encyclical “Ad diem illum laetissimum” #10-11

Alma Redemptoris Mater
Loving Mother of the Redeemer
By Bl Herman of Reichenau (1013–1054)

Loving Mother of the Redeemer!
Hear thou thy people’s cry,
Star of the deep
and portal of the sky!
Mother of Him
Who thee from nothing made,
Sinking we strive
and call to thee for aid;
Oh, by that joy
which Gabriel brought to thee,
Thou Virgin first and last,
let us thy mercy see.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION

One Minute Reflection – 7 October – ‘…As the human race was subjected to death through the act of a Virgin, so was it saved by a Virgin…’

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One Minute Reflection – 7 October – The Month and Feast of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Proverbs 8:22-24, 32-35, 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 that He Himself bears, He by His obedience on the tree, renewed and reversed what 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, Whose Only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has merited for us the grace of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech Thee, that, meditating on these Mysteries in the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. 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 DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN Saturdays, MARIAN TITLES, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 September – “Blessed is the womb that bore you” – Luke 11:27

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One Minute Reflection – 24 September – “The Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Cross” – Our Lady of Ransom – Sirach 24:14-16, Luke 11:27-28

“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 ; SC 80) [ ( Biblical references : Ps 44[45],13; 71[72],11.10; Mt 2,11; Lk 1,42; Is 62,5; Ps 51[52],10; 1,3; cf Gn 2,9, Rv 22,2; cf Ez 44,2; Ps 79[80],2; cf Sg 1,4; Ps 45[46],5; Sg 4,7]. Link to searchable Sacred Scripture here: https://www.drbo.org/

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).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The ANNUNCIATION, THE ASSUMPTION, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 August – ‘… Masterpiece in whom the Creator rejoices… ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 18 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Within the Octave of the Assumption – Judith 13:22-25; 13:15; 13:10, Luke 1:41-50

“Most blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” – Luke 1:42

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 thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” 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: the Incarnation of the Word and our own divinisation. Thy 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” thou ary the “tree of life” who “yielded its fruit in due season”…

He who is infinite, limitless, came to dwell in thy womb; God, the child Jesus, was nourished by thy milk. Thou art the ever-virginal doorway of God; thou hands hold thy God; thou lap is a throne raised up above the cherubim… Thou art 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. Thou art “all fair, the Beloved” of God.” – St John Damascene (675-749) Monk, Theologian, Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon on the Nativity of the Virgin 9 ).

PRAYER – O Lord, we beseech Thee, forgive the transgressions of Thy servant, and, forasmuch as by our own deeds we cannot please Thee, may we find safety through the prayers of, the Mother of Thy Son and our Lord.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, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN Saturdays, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The INCARNATION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 16 July – Blessed is the womb that bore You … Luke 11:27

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 July – Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Ecclesiasticu, Sirach 24:23-31, Luke 11:27-28

“Blessed is the womb that bore You …”

Luke 11:27

“That anyone could doubt the right
of the holy Virgin
to be called the Mother of God,
fills me with astonishment.
Surely she must be the Mother of God,
if our Lord Jesus Christ is God
and she gave birth to Him!?”

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

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)

“Wherefore, in the same holy bosom
of His most chaste Mother,
Christ took to Himself flesh
and united to Himself,
the spiritual Body formed
by those who were to believe in Him.
Hence Mary, carrying the Saviour
within her, may be said,
to have also carried, all those.
whose life was contained
in the life of the Saviour.
Therefore, all we who are united to Christ
and, as the Apostle says,
are members of His body,
of His flesh and of His bones (Eph 5:30),
have issued from the womb of Mary,
like a body united to it’s head.”

St Pius X (1835-1914)
Pope from 1903 to 1914

Encyclical “Ad diem illum laetissimum” #10-11

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, Hail MARY!, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MOTHER of GOD, QUEENSHIP of MARY, QUOTES on GRACE, Quotes on SALVATION, The HOLY SPIRIT, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 31 May – “Hail, full of grace!”- Luke 1:28

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One Minute Reflection – 31 May – The Queenship of Mary – Eccli 24:5; 14:7; 14:9-11; 24:30-31, Luke 1:26-33

“Hail, full of grace!”– Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “Observe how fitting it was that even before her Assumption, the name of Mary shone forth wondrously throughout the world. Her fame spread everywhere, even before she was raised above the heavens in her magnificence. Because of the honour due her Son, it was indeed fitting, for the Virgin Mother, to have first ruled upon earth and then be raised up to Heaven in glory. It was fitting that her fame be spread in this world below, so that she might enter the heights of Heaven on overwhelming blessedness. Just as she was borne from virtue to virtue, by the Spirit of the Lord, she was transported from earthly renown, to Heavenly brightness.

So it was, that she began to taste the fruits of her future reign, while still in the flesh. At one moment she withdrew to God in ecstasy; at the next she would bend down to her neighbours with indescribable love. In Heaven Angels served her, while here on earth, she was venerated by the service of men. Gabriel and the Angels waited upon her in Heaven. The virgin John, rejoicing that the Virgin Mother was entrusted to him at the Cross, cared for her with the other Apostles here below. The Angels rejoiced to see their Queen, the Apostles rejoiced to see their lady and both obeyed her, with loving devotion.

… Therefore, when the Virgin of virgins was led forth by God and her Son, the King of kings. amid the company of exulting Angels and rejoicing Archangels, with the Heavens ringing with praise, the prophecy of the psalmist was fulfilled, in which he said to the Lord: At your right hand stands the Queen, clothed in gold of Ophir.” – St Amadeus of Lausanne O.Cist (1108-1159) Bishop (Excerpt from a Sermon on Mary)

PRAYER – Grant we beseech Thee, O Lord, that we who keep the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Queen, safe under her protection, may be worthy to have peace now and glory, in the future. 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, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 28 April – ‘What harvest is this? …’

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One Minute Reflection – 28 April – The Memorial of St Paul of the Cross CP (1604-1775) and St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716 – 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, Luke 10:1-9

And He said to them: “The harvest indeed is great but the labourers are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that He send labourers into His harvest.” – Luke 10:2

REFLECTION – “The Gospel that has just been read to us, invites us to seek out what this harvest might be, of which the Lord says to us, that: “The harvest is great, the labourers are few, so pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.” So it was that, in addition to those twelve disciples whom He called Apostles, (those who have been sent), He sent out seventy-two others. All of them, as His own words reveal, were sent to work at a harvest that had already been prepared. What harvest is this? They were not going to reap a harvest from the Gentiles, where nothing had yet been sown, so we must think of a harvest among the Jews. It was in order to reap this harvest that the Lord of the harvest came. But to the other peoples He sent, not reapers but sowers. Among the Jews, then, there was a harvest but elsewhere, the sowing. And it was particularly while reaping among the Jews, that He chose the Apostles. Harvest time had come, the harvest was ripe, for the prophets had done their sowing among them…

Did not the Lord declare to His disciples: “You say the harvest will be a long time. I tell you, look up and see, the fields ripe for harvest,” (Jn 4,35)? And again, He said: “Others have done the work and you are sharing the fruits of their work,” (ibid v.38). Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the prophets have done the work, they worked hard to sow the seed. At His coming, the Lord found the harvest to be ripe and He sent out the reapers, with the scythe of the Gospel.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon 101).

PRAYER – Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst gift Thine holy servant Paul, with great love that he might preach the Mystery of Thy Cross and hast been pleased, that through him, a new family should grow up in Thy Church, grant unto us at his prayers, that upon earth we may so call Thy sufferings to mind, as worthily to gain the fruit thereof in Heaven. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The HOLY NAME, The INCARNATION, The KINGDOM of GOD, The SEVEN LAST WORDS of CHRIST

One Minute Reflection – 11 April – ‘ … The sweetness and perfume of His Name.’

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One Minute Reflection – 11 April – Monday of Holy Week – Isaias 50:5-10, John 12:1-9

“The house was filled with the odour of the ointment.” – John 12:3

REFLECTION – “When she had anointed the Lord’s feet this woman did not wipe them with a cloth but with her own hair, to show Him greater honour … Like a thirsty person drinking from a fresh waterfall, this holy woman drank in grace full of delights, from the Springs of Holiness, to quench the thirst of her faith.

However, in the allegorical or mystical sense, this woman prefigured the Church, which offered the full and entire devotion of its faith to Christ …There are twelve ounces to a pound and this is the amount of perfume the Church possesses, having received the teaching of the twelve Apostles, as if it were a precious perfume. Indeed, what more precious is there than the Apostles’ teaching, which contains both faith in Christ and the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven? Furthermore, it is related that the whole house was filled with the scent of that perfume because, the whole world has been filled with the Apostles’ teaching. As it is written: “Through all the earth their voice resounds and to the ends of the world, their message” (Ps 19[18]:5).

In the Song of Songs we read the following words addressed through Solomon, to the Church: “Your name spoken is a spreading perfume” (1,2). Not without cause, is the Lord’s Name called a “spreading perfume.” As you know, as long as perfume is preserved inside its flask, it keeps its fragrance but, as soon as is poured out or emptied, it spreads out its fragrant scent. Even so, as long as our Lord and Saviour reigned with His Father in Heaven, the world was unaware of Him, He was unknown here below. But when, for our salvation, He deigned to humble Himself, by descending from Heaven, to take on a human body, then He spread abroad in the world, the sweetness and perfume of His Name.“ – St Chromatius of Aquilaea (Died c 407) – Bishop of Aquileia, Italy, Theologian, Exegete (Sermon 11).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God, that we who fail through our weakness, in so many difficulties, may be relieved through the pledging of the Passion of Thy only-begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD is LOVE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The INCARNATION, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 9 April – The Passion of Our Lord

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Thought for the Day – 9 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, that, 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 help.
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 we 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 FRANCISCAN OFM, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY, The INCARNATION

Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent, Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia / Our Lady of the Highest Grace, Higuey, Dominican Republic (1506) and Memorials of the Saints – 2 April

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Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent +2022

Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia / Our Lady of the Highest Grace, Higuey, Dominican Republic (1506) Patron of Dominicans- 2 April:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/02/nuestra-senora-de-la-altagracia-our-lady-of-the-highest-grace-1506-and-memorials-of-the-saints-2-april/

St Francis of Paola O.M. (1416-1507) known as “Saint Francis the Fire Handler” – Monk and Founder, inspired with the Gift of Prophecy and still called the “Miracle-Worker” Apostle of the poor, Peacemaker. He was an Italian mendicant Friar and the Founder of the Order of Minims.   Unlike the majority of founders of men’s religious orders and like his Patron Saint, Francis was never ordained a priest. His Body was Incorrupt until destroyed in the French Revolution. (Memorial)
St Francis’s Life:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/02/saint-of-the-day-2-april-st-francis-of-paola-o-m-1416-1507/

St Abundius of Como
St Agnofleda of Maine
St Appian of Caesarea
St Bronach of Glen-Seichis
St Constantine of Scotland
St Ðaminh Tuoc
Bl Diego Luis de San Vitores-Alonso
St Ebbe the Younger
St Eustace of Luxeuil
St Gregory of Nicomedia
St John Payne
Blessed Leopold of Gaiche OFM Cap (1732-1815) Priest
St Lonochilus of Maine
St Musa of Rome
Bl Mykolai Charnetsky
St Nicetius of Lyon

St Pedro Calungsod (1654–1672) Martyr, Sacristan, Missionary Lay Catechist.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/04/02/saint-of-the-day-2-april-st-pedro-calungsod-1654-1672-martyr/

St Rufus of Glendalough
St Theodora of Tiria

St Urban of Langres (c 327-c 390) Bishop, the sixth Bishop of Autun and Langres, in Burgundy, France from 374 until his death, Confessor.
About St Urban:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/02/saint-of-the-day-2-april-saint-urban-of-langres-c-327-c-390/

St Victor of Capua

Blessed Vilmos Apor (1892–1945) Bishop, Martyr, Chaplain of the Order of Malta.
Blessed Vilnos’ Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/02/saint-of-the-day-2-april-blessed-vilmos-apor-1892-1945-bishop-martyr/

Martyrs of Africa – 10 Saints: A group of ten Christians Martyred together in Africa, date unknown. We have six of their names – Marcellinus, Procula, Quiriacus, Regina, Satullus and Saturnin but no other information has survived.

Martyrs of Thessalonica – 16 Saints: Sixteen Christians who were Martyred together in Thessalonica in Greece, date unknown. We know nothing else about them but 13 of their names – Agapitus, Agatophus, Cyriacus, Dionysius, Gagus, Julianus, Mastisius, Proculus, Publius, Theodoulus, Urbanus, Valerius and Zonisus.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2022, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

Friday of the Third Week of Lent – 25 March – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – ‘ … By Obeying His Word …’

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Friday of the Third Week of Lent – 25 March – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – The Annunciation – Isaias 7:10-15, Luke 1:26-38

“Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” – Luke 1:28,42

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

Luke 1:38

“SO THE LORD NOW manifestly came to His own. Born by His own created order that He Himself bears, He by His obedience on the tree, renewed and reversed what 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)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN QUOTES, Quotes on SALVATION, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 25 March – Blessed Shall be Her Name

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Quote/s of the Day – 25 March – The Annunciation – Isaias 7:10-15, Luke 1:26-38

“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)
Father and Doctor of the Church

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

Luke 1:38

“The price of our salvation
is offered to you.
We shall be set free at once, if you consent.
In the eternal Word of God, we all came to be
and behold, we die.
In your 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 your 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 of the Church

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 CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The ANNUNCIATION, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 March – The Annunciation – ‘ … Chosen from among all other beings …’

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One Minute Reflection – 25 March – The Annunciation – Isaias 7:10-15, Luke 1:26-38

“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 that 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 (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 – The Angelus
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with Thee;
Blessed art thou among women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, etc.
V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, etc.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord.
Amen

Posted in DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

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

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One Minute Reflection – 11 February – Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary at Lourdes – Readings: Apocalypse 11:19; 12:1, 10; Luke 1:26-31.

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

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 ; SC 80) [ ( Biblical references : Ps 44[45],13; 71[72],11.10; Mt 2,11; Lk 1,42; Is 62,5; Ps 51[52],10; 1,3; cf Gn 2,9, Rv 22,2; cf Ez 44,2; Ps 79[80],2; cf Sg 1,4; Ps 45[46],5; Sg 4,7].

PRAYER – O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, prepared a worthy dwelling for Your Son, we humbly beseech You 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).