Quote of the Day – 21 March – Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
“You must be reconciled with your enemies,
speak to them as if they had never done you anything but good all your life,
keeping nothing in your heart but the charity,
which the good Christian should have for everyone,
so that we can all appear with confidence before the tribunal of God.”
Thought for the Day – 20 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“We can distinguish five courts of justice, each of which, passes sentence on us.
(1) The first, is the tribunal of public opinion, of which some people are so afraid.
(2) Then, there is our own conscience, which shows, us what we are and what we ought to be.
(3) The third, is the tribunal of Penance, and
(4) the fourth is the civil court.
(5) Lastly, there is the judgement seat of God, before which, we shall have to appear one day with all our sins and our few merits.
Public opinion can be deceived by subterfuge and hyprocisy.
Conscience can be ignored, or, it can become warped or deadened.
The tribunal of Penance, can be misused and we can remain obdurate in our sins.
Civil authority can sometimes be evaded, it is also open to deception and corruption.
But, the tribunal of God is different.
We shall be alone before Him – fraud and deceit will be useless.
There will be no excuses, no defence.
Everything will be clear and His judgement, will be just and unchangeable.
Let us reflect on this while we have time.
Let us adopt the necessary remedies, for soon, there will be no more time!”
Quote/s of the Day – 18 February – The Memorial of Saint Francis Regis Clet CM (1748-1820) Priest and Martyr
“What a great treasure is a good Missionary
and how few people in this world, are willing
to serve God and His Church in purity of faith,
detachment from creatures and self-abnegation.”
“My brother, you judge me now,
in a short time my Lord Himself will judge you.”
Thought for the Day – 5 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“We are entitled to set aside time for lawful repose and for meditation and prayer.
But real idleness is always a sin.
It can easily be the cause of graver faults and of our spiritual ruin.
God gave us material and spiritual powers, as our talents, which we must employ for profit and not bury uselessly in the earth.
The servant who received five talents from God and increased the sum by another five, was rewarded by the praise of his Lord and admission into the kingdom of Heaven.
He dealt in a similar manner with the other servant, who had received two talents and doubled them by his industry.
But the lazy servant, who buried the talent he had received and met his master with empty hands, was condemned and flung into the darkness of Hell (Cf Mt 25:15-30).
This is a frightening lesson which the Gospel teaches us.
It should make us think about the fact that one day we shall have to render an account to God of all the gifts which He has bestowed on us.
Has He given us a great deal?
If so, we shall have to account for it all.
Has He given us only a small amount?
Even so, we shall have to account for every bit of it!
Consider the immense responsibility which becomes ours, along with the gifts of God.
Let us resolve to employ these to the best of our ability, so that when we appear before Him, our hands will not be empty but filled with gains.“
Quote/s of the Day – 30 January – The Memorial of Blessed Sebastian Valfrè CO (1629-1710)
Some of his advice, given to the novices, suffice for us all:
“Live at peace with everyone and to live thus, at peace, it is necessary to make war against yourself, for annoyance with your neighbour invariably proceeds from attachment to yourself.”
“Give yourself to prayer and try by it, to procure, first the amendment of your fault then the practice of Christian virtues and finally a great love of God.”
“Keep careful guard over your tongue, for remember, that much talking is a sign of little spirituality…”
“He who is wise, holds his tongue in his heart and he, who is foolish, carries his heart on his tongue. He who can keep silence is near to God.”
He was much in demand as a spiritual father and would advise the Fathers of his Congregation:
“A confessor should above all, give a good example to his penitents, especially by practising the virtues he wishes to impress upon them. If he exhorts them to humility, let him first be humble; if to devotion, let him be devout himself; if he is to do this he will more readily be believed and obeyed. Woe to confessors and preachers who teach virtue without practising it. Woe to him who counsels, instructs and directs others, if he be not virtuous himself! Let such a man dread the Judgement!”
Blessed Sebastian speaking of the Shroud of Turin to which he had a great devotion:
“The Cross received the living Jesus and gave Him back to us dead,
the Shroud received the dead Jesus and restored Him to us alive.”
“When it is all over,
you will not regret having suffered,
rather, you will regret, having suffered so little
and suffered that little so badly.”
Thought for the Day – 16 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971) – Thursday of the First week in Ordinary Time, Year A
“Faith teaches us, that the soul which is in the state of grace and has expiated all the temporal punishments due to it’s sins, goes immediately to Heaven when it is separated from the body.
There, the soul enjoys eternal happiness. It sees God, face-to-face. It sees Him without any intervention of created things but, as He is, in Himself, in the Unity and Trinity of His infinte perfections.
In this beatific vision, the intellect remains completely satisfied, because, in God, there is every truth, beauty and goodness.
The will abandons itself entirely to the will of God, desiring nothing else and loving nothing else but God alone.
There springs from this abandonment, a love which satisfies every desire, an inexpressible joy and a boundless peace.
The happy soul will see the Blessed Virgin, too and she will smile upon it with maternal tenderness.
It will see the Angels and Saints gathered around the King of Kings and the Queen of Heaven, singing their praises.
St Paul, who was taken up to the third Heaven, tells us, that it is impossible to imagine or to describe, the unknown joys which are experienced there.
In comparison with the eternal happiness of Heaven, the poor pleasures of this world are empty shadows.
We cannot imagine the happiness of those, who have gained Heaven, by their good lives upon earth.
The concept of Heaven is so beautiful and immense, that it caused the Saints to desire death as a means of going there.
They welcomed suffering, too, because it brought them nearer to their goal.”
Thought for the Day – 15 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“The greatest punishment, however, will be that of LOSS.
This is the knowledge that we have lost forever, our one, true and highest good.
God Himself!
The soul will now understand, fully, what it means to have lost God forever.
It will feel irresistibly, the need to be united with Him and to see, enjoy and love Him.
But, at the same time, it will KNOW that God has cast it away from Himself for all eternity, “Go, accursed soul, into everlasting fire!”
Then, the irresistible need for God, will turn to hate and eternal malediction.
The terrifying reality of hell, should not leave us amazed, as if it were an act of implacable severity.
Rather, it should be a warning to us.
God should not seem to us to be a pitiless judge but a judge who is infinitely just and infinitely good.
Rather than send us to hell, God gave us His only-begotten Son, Who died on the Cross for our sins.
Just as the Redemption is a work of infinite love and goodness, so hell is a work of infinite justice.
If we reflect on the mystery of the Incarnation, on the Redemption and on the death of the Son of God, it will appear that, omnipotent though He is, He could not have done more to save us.
The divine work of the Redemption explains the mystery of the eternity of hell.
It is not God Who is relentless.
It is the damned soul which was relentlessly ungrateful towards the infinitely good and merciful God.”
Thought for the Day – 14 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971) – Tuesday of the First week in Ordinary Time, Year A
“In that place of never-ending suffering, there will be three punishments to torture us.
There will be the worm of conscience which does not die – “Their worm dies not” (Mk 9:43).
This is the awful realisation that we could have saved ourselves but are lost for all eternity, that God gave us so many graces and we damned ourselves, by abusing them.
Now there is no longer any remedy, because the mercy of God has been succeeded once and for all, by His justice.
In the second place, there is fire!
This is a real fire but altogether different from the material fire we know in this world, which was created by God for our benefit and service.
The fire of hell, on the other hand, was created by Divine Justice, purely to punish us.
It is a special kind of fire which tortures body and soul and the rebel angels, as well as damned human beings.
It could be called discerning, insofar, as it torments, more or less mercilessly, according to the gravity of the sin.
These flames embrace every evil and exclude every good.
They are flames which will never be extinguished, flames which burn but do not consume, flames without light – dark and accompanied by the shrieking of eternal despair.
The very thought of this horrible dungeon of torments should spur us onto begin immediately, a life of virtue and Christian perfection.”
Thought for the Day – 13 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971) – Monday of the First week in Ordinary Time, Year A
“In whatever you do, remember your last days and you will never sin.” (Eccl 7:36)
“The meditation considered, by the masters of the spiritual life, to be the most useful for rousing the soul from sin, or from a state of torpor, is that on the last things, in other words, on what will happen to us at the end of life.
Amongst these last things, hell is the most terrifying.
Yet, if the mercy of God did not sustain us, we could fall into hell at any moment.
St John Chrysostom meditated on hell everyday.
All the Saints have found in this meditation, the first steps on the way to perfection.
Remember, that a single mortal sin, would merit hell for us.
In that moment, the sinner could have been already hurled into the abyss of torments.
Let us imagine, that we are there …. and, that the goodness and mercy of God has released us from those everlasting, all-devouring flames. If this should happen, all the sacrifices, which virtue demands, would seem so easy and pleasant.
How ready we should be to do anything, sooner than return to that chasm of eternal sorrow!”
Thought for the Day – 11 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971) – Saturday after Epiphany
“The Sinner must also die.
For him death is really terrible.
Imagine him lying on his deathbed, instinctively aware, that his life is over.
The past will rise up to reproach him, a past full of sin and of ingratitude towards his Creator and Redeemer.
The plans which he has centred around profit, ambition and honour, will have vanished like smoke.
His friends, will have either deserted him, or will be at hand, to utter useless words, which will have no power to comfort him.
Now he must stand alone, alone before God!
What will happen, at that moment?
Perhaps, despair will overcome his soul, as it overcame the soul of Judas?
Perhaps, the innumerable graces which he has despised, will tip the balance of Divine Justice towards the abyss of damnation?
Or, will a final ray of mercy pierce his tired mind, burning with remorse, so that, with it’s last throb, his poor heart will torn towards God and implore His pardon?
Who can say?
It is certain, however, that of the two thieves dying beside the Cross of our Redeemer, only one heard Him say:
“This day, you will be with me in Paradise!”
The other, remained obdurate in his sin.
It is the height of stupidity, to wait to be converted, at the hour of death!”
Antonio Cardinal Bacci
Thought for the Day – 8 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971) – Third Day after Epiphany
In theory, everybody believes in death.
In practice, many live as if they did not believe in it.
So, it is necessary and helpful, for us to meditate on death.
We begin to die on the day when we were born.
People say: “I have lived twenty, thirty or forty years.” But, if they said, “I have used up twenty or thirty or forty years of my life,” how many would then be left? We do not know, we only know that death will come at the very moment when we least expect it.
Let us always be prepared.
“You also must be ready, because at an hour that you do not expect, the Son of Man is coming.” (Lk 12:40)
We must always be ready.
Let our faith be lively and active and our minds turned towards God, Who is waiting for us.
There is no need to be afraid.
He is good and merciful.
He desires our salvation.
This is a wonderfully consoling thought. God desires my salvation!
Let us surrender ourselves to Him, therefore, as if we had to die this very moment!
Antonio Cardinal Bacci
Thought for the Day – 1 December – The First Sunday of Advent, Year A
An excerpt from Catechetical Instruction, Catechesis 15
We do not preach only one coming of Christ but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience, the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.
In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before the ages and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece and a coming before all eyes, still in the future.
At the first coming He was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At His second coming He will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming He endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming He will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels. We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the first coming we said – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. At the second we shall say it again, we shall go out with the angels to meet the Lord and cry out in adoration – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
The Savior will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by whom he was judged. At His own judgement He was silent, then He will address those who committed the outrages against Him when they crucified Him and will remind them – You did these things and I was silent.
His first coming was to fulfil His plan of love, to teach men by gentle persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of His kingdom by necessity. Malachi the prophet speaks of the two comings. And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to His temple – that is one coming.
Again he says of another coming – Look, the Lord almighty will come and who will endure the day of His entry, or who will stand in His sight? Because he comes like a refiner’s fire, a fuller’s herb and He will sit refining and cleansing.
These two comings are also referred to by Paul in writing to Titus – The grace of God the Saviour has appeared to all men, instructing us to put aside impiety and worldly desires and live temperately, uprightly and religiously in this present age, waiting for the joyful hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Notice how he speaks of a first coming for which he gives thanks and a second, the one we still await.
That is why the faith we profess has been handed on to you in these words: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father and He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and His kingdom will have no end.
Our Lord Jesus Christ will therefore come from heaven. He will come at the end of the world, in glory, at the last day. For there will be an end to this world and the created world will be made new.
Grant, almighty Father,
that when Christ comes again,
we may go out to meet Him,
bearing the harvest of good works,
achieved by Your Grace.
We pray, that He will receive us
into the company of the saints
and call us into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through Christ, our Lord,
with the Holy Spirit,
God for all eternity,
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 29 November – Friday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:29–33
“The issue is now clear.
It is between light and darkness
and every one must choose his side.”
“Each and everyone of us,
at the end of the
journey of life,
will come,
face to face
with either one
or the other
of two faces…
And one of them,
either, the
merciful face of Christ
or the
miserable face of Satan,
will say,
“Mine, mine.”
May we be Christ’s!”
“Many who plan
to seek God
at the eleventh hour
die at 10:30.”
Lord Jesus, May we Seek Your Face
By Pope Benedict XVI
Lord Jesus,
grant us restless hearts,
hearts which seek Your Face.
Keep us from the blindness of heart
which sees only the surface of things.
Give us the simplicity and purity
which allows us to recognise
Your Presence in the world.
When we are not able
to accomplish great things,
grant us the courage
which is born of humility and goodness.
Impress Your Face on our hearts.
May we encounter You along the way
and show forth Your image to the world.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 28 November – Thursday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:20–28
“Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”…Luke 21:28
REFLECTION – “When we think of the end of time, with all of our sins, with our history, let us think of the banquet which will be freely offered us and let us lift up our heads. Do not give way to depression. Hope! Reality is ugly. There are many, many people, cities and people, so many people who are suffering; many wars, so much hatred, so much envy, so much spiritual worldliness and so much corruption. Yes, it’s true! All of this will fall!
Let us ask the Lord for the grace to be prepared for the banquet that awaits us, always with our heads held high.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 27 November 2014
PRAYER – Lord God, creator of all Light and creator of all good, grant that we may look up to You always and know that by Your Light and your goodness we are safe in this world of corruption. May the Light of our Lord Jesus, make the path He has set out bright and clear and may the prayers of St James of the Marches be a help in our struggle. Lead us, Lord, in Your kindness and mercy to the banquet which awaits us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 24 November – The Solemnity of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year C, Gospel: Luke 23:35–43
These words are brought to mind by a line from the Eucharistic hymn “Adoro te devoto,” by St Thomas Aquinas – “I ask for what the repentant thief asked” (Peto quod opetivit latro paentitens). – “Jesus, remember me.”
What a beautiful aspiration!
Each day and throughout the day, we can ask Jesus for the many things we need, summing up our prayers of petition, by asking Jesus to remember us, according to His mercy, remembering not our sins (Ps 25:7).
And, like the good thief, let us ask at the moment of our death:
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)
“Angels, saints and nations sing
‘Praised be Jesus Christ, our King.
Lord of life, earth, sky and sea,
King of love on Calvary.”
One Minute Reflection – 15 November – Friday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 17:26–37 and the Memorial of St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church and of Bl Bl Mary of the Passion FMM (1839-1904)
“Whoever seeks to gain his life, will lose it but whoever loses his life, will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed, one will be taken and the other left.”…Luke 17:33-34
REFLECTION – “Today the Church, the Lord, with His goodness, tells each one of us, ‘Stop, stop, not every day will be so. Do not get used to this as if it were eternity. There will be one day that you will be taken, while the other one will remain, you will be taken, you will be removed.’ It means going with the Lord, thinking that our life will end.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 17 November 2017
“It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8) … 
“We will not be proclaimed blessed on the altars in all probability but if we are faithful, in Heaven we will be proclaimed ‘blessed’ and that is enough for us. Let us try to merit this hour of eternal delights.” … Bl Mary of the Passion (1839-1904)
PRAYER – Lord God, You made St Albert great by his gift for reconciling human wisdom with divine faith. Help us so to follow his teaching that every advance in science may lead us to a deeper knowledge and love of You. May his prayers on our behalf be a succour to us all. We ask too for the intercession of the blessed Mary of the Passion that her zeal and perseverance may be the driving force of our lives. Through our Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – The Memorial of St Guido Maria Conforti (1865-1931)
“Work always with the same spirit of Christ.
Keep Jesus before your eyes.
He is the model of all called to glory.”
The First Circular Letter
“Don’t be discouraged,
the Lord measures,
not so much the results of your labour,
as the right intention
with which you work.”
“Persevere always with a simple spirit,
humility, mortification, good intention,
cleanliness of heart, fraternal charity
and you will constitute a formidable army,
for the Lord will be by your side.”
The Second Circular Letter
“On the last day, we will not be asked
if we accomplished great deeds,
or been acclaimed by men,
rather we will be asked
if we followed His will,
in the state and condition,
to which we were called.”
The Eighth Circular Letter
One Minute Reflection – 1 November – The Solemnity of All the Saints, Gospel: Matthew 5:1–12
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”…Matthew 5:12
REFLECTION – “But in the last day of the judgement of God, after we shall have risen again with our glorified bodies through the power of the Lord, these same shall be white and gleaming as snow shining clear in the sun, transparent as crystal… And Christ our cantor and precentor, shall sing with His glorious sweet voice, an endless canticle of the praise and honour of His heavenly Father and we shall all sing the same, with glad heart and clear voice, eternally and without end. The joy and glory of our souls, shall flow into our senses and through all our members and we shall look upon ourselves with eyes of glory, hearing and declaring and singing the praise of the Lord with unfailing voices.
Christ shall minister to us and show us His radiant Face and His glorious Body with all the marks of faithfulness and love therein impressed. And we shall see all the glorious bodies clothed with all the many tokens of love won in the service of God since the beginning of the world… And our living hearts shall flame with burning love for God and all His saints…
Christ in His human nature, shall rule the right-hand choir, for He is the loftiest and noblest being of all that has been made by God and to this choir belong all in whom He lives and who live in Him. The other choir is that of the angels, for although they are of a more excellent nature, we have a higher gift in Jesus Christ, with Whom we are one. And on that account, Christ Jesus will be the High Priest between the choirs of angels and of men before the throne of the sovereign majesty of God. And before His heavenly Father, God Almighty, He will offer and renew all sacrifices which have ever been offered by angels and by men and these same, shall be ceaselessly renewed and remain established in the glory of God.” … Blessed Jan van Ruusbroec (1293-1381) Canon Regular, “Doctor Divinus Ecstaticus” , Mystic, Spiritual Writer – The seven steps of the ladder of spiritual love
PRAYER – Father, All-Powerful and ever-living God, today we rejoice in the holy men and women of every time and place. May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love. Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, our trusted guide and loving mother and all you holy Saints of the Church Triumphant, pray for us! We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 21 October – Monday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 12:13-21 and the Memorial of Blessed Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi (1937-1993) Priest, Martyr
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ … Luke 12:20
REFLECTION – “Take heed, watch – for you do not know when the time will come» (Mk 13:33)… Let us then consider this most serious question, which concerns everyone of us so nearly—What it is to watch for Christ. He says, “Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning, lest coming suddenly, He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch!” (v.35 f.)…
Many men indeed are open revilers of religion, or at least openly disobey its laws but let us consider those who are of a more sober and conscientious cast of mind. They have a number of good qualities and are in a certain sense and up to a certain point religious but they do not watch… They do not understand that they are called to be strangers and pilgrims upon the earth (Heb 11:13) and, that their worldly lot and worldly goods, are a sort of accident of their existence and that they really have no property… Now, it cannot surely be doubted, that multitudes in the Church, are such as I have been describing and that they would not, could not, at once welcome our Lord on His coming…
It is a most affecting and solemn thought, that He has actually called our attention to this very danger… He warns His disciples of the danger of having their minds drawn off from the thought of Him, by whatever cause, He warns them against all excitements, all allurements of this world, He solemnly warns them, that the world will not be prepared for His coming and tenderly entreats of them, not to take their portion with the world. He warns them by the instance of the rich man whose soul was required, of the servant who ate and drank (Lk 12:45) and of the foolish virgins (Mt 25:2)… The bridal train is sweeping by—Angels are there—the just made perfect are there—little children and holy teachers and white-robed saints and martyrs washed in blood… His Bride hath made herself ready (Rv 19:7). She has already attired herself, while we have been sleeping.” … St John Henry Newman (1801-1890) – Cardinal, Founder of the Oratory in England, Theologian – Sermon: “Watching” (PPS, vol. 4, no. 22, passim)
“I’ve been expecting you.” – Blessed Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi (1937-1993) Priest, Martyr – HIS LAST WORDS TO HIS MURDERERS
PRAYER – Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to Yours and serve Your majesty in sincerity of heart. Teach us to lay up riches in heaven and may the prayers of Blessed Pino Puglisi, who bravely fought against the worldly evils of the Mafia, assist us in our daily struggles against the idols of the world. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever, amen.
Journeying with Newman
The Thanksgiving Novena for, with and to
the beloved and blessed John Henry Newman
Day Five – 8 October
“We can believe what we choose.
We are answerable
for what we choose
to believe.”
From his writings
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Prayer
Please pray one decade of the Rosary (any you choose) for this Intention and add the following Prayer:
O God our heavenly Father,
we offer You heartfelt thanks
for the life and holiness of John Henry Newman.
In him You give us,
an inspiring example of priest and teacher,
heroic and humble, in his labour
for the salvation of souls
and the pursuit of holiness.
Through his intercession,
we ask You to lead us,
by the kindly light of the Holy Spirit
and so grant us peace and joy,
in the one fold of the Redeemer.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 31 August – Saturday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 25:14–30
“And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness,
there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’” ... Matthew 25:30
Benedictine nun
Exercises VII, SC 127
Behold, I become passionately alarmed by what I have committed, I blush very much at what I have omitted, I become exceedingly frightened at the wastefulness of my life. I fear, that future investigation, at which Christ, a noble man, will impose a reckoning on me.
If He wanted to exact a deposit from me for my time and interest from the talent of understanding He conferred on me, I would, in short, not find any worthy answer for Your charity. What will I do? Where will I turn? I lack the strength to dig, I should blush to beg. (Lk 16:3) O Loving-kindness. Loving-kindnes,. speak up now, may Your dulcet counsel, I entreat You, warm my spirit back to life. Ah, answer me – what does it seem to You I should do in this [situation), for according to Your name You have a truly loving and kind heart and You know best what may be expedient for me in all this. Ah, pardon me and bring me help and in this tribulation, do not be detached from me. Let the poverty of my spirit move You and, touched by the compassion of Your heart, say to me with loving-kindness: “May there be one purse for me and You.” (Prv 1:14)
O Loving-kindness, Loving-kindness, You have stored up with Yourself riches so immeasurable, that heaven and earth do not suffice to contain them. You have driven my Jesus to give His soul for my soul, His life for mine, so that You might make everything that was His, mine and thus, out of your abundance, this pauper’s substance might increase. Ah, call my starved soul to Your food supply, so that in this life, I may live from Your riches and, reared by You and nourished by You, may not grow faint under the discipline of the Lord until at length, under Your guidance, I turn back to my God and give my spirit back to Him who gave it. (Eccl 12:7)
Quote/s of the Day – 31 August – Saturday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 25:14–30 and the Memorial of Blessed Pere (Peter) Tarrés i Claret (1905-1950)
“His master said to him,
‘Well done, good and faithful servant,
you have been faithful over a little,
I will set you over much,
enter into the joy of your master.’ ”
“Give me grace to amend my life
and to have an eye to mine end,
without grudge of death,
which to them that die in You,
good Lord,
is the gate of a wealthy life.”
“A single resolution, Lord, cost what it may”
(on the eve of his Ordination)
One Minute Reflection – 30 July – Tuesday of the Seventeenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 13:36–43 and the Memorial of St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” … Matthew 13:43
REFLECTION – Christians of the first centuries said, “The world was created for the sake of the Church” (Hermas). God created the world for the sake of communion with His divine life, a communion brought about by the “convocation” of men in Christ and this “convocation” (ecclesia) is the Church. The Church is the goal of all things and God permitted such painful upheavals as the angels’ fall and man’s sin only as occasions and means for displaying all the power of His arm and the whole measure of the love He wanted to give the world: “Just as God’s will is creation and is called “the world,” so His intention is the salvation of men and it is called “the Church” (St Clement of Alexandria).
The gathering together of the People of God, began, at the moment when sin destroyed the communion of men with God and that of men among themselves. the gathering together of the Church is, as it were, God’s reaction to the chaos provoked by sin. This re-unification is achieved secretly in the heart of all peoples: “In every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable” to God (Acts 10,35). The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when He calls Abraham and promises that He will become the father of a great people (Gn 12,2). Its immediate preparation begins with Israel’s election as the People of God (Ex 19,5). By this election, Israel is to be the sign of the future gathering of all nations (Is 2,2)….
It was the Son’s task to accomplish the Father’s plan of salvation in the fullness of time. It’s accomplishment was the reason for His being sent… To fulfil the Father’s will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth, the Church “is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery” (Vatican II, LG 3)… “The Church . . . will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven,” (LG 48) at the time of Christ’s glorious return… Until that day, “the Church… longs for the full coming of the Kingdom… The Church and through her, the world, will not be perfected in glory without great trials. Only then will “all the just from the time of Adam, ‘from Abel, the just one, to the last of the elect,’ be gathered together in the universal Church in the Father’s presence” (LG 2). … CCC #760-769
“This week, let’s ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom of time, the wisdom regarding the end, the wisdom of the resurrection, the wisdom of the eternal encounter with Jesus, that we are able to understand that this wisdom is in our faith. It will be a day of joyful encounter with Jesus. Let us pray that the Lord prepare us for this. Let each one of us end this week thinking about the end – “I will come to an end. I will not remain forever. How would I like to come to an end?”… Pope Francis (Santa Marta, 27 November 2018)
PRAYER – Almighty Father, send forth Your Spirit, that we may be created and Thou shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen. St Peter Chrysologus, pray for us! 
One Minute Reflection – 27 July – Saturday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: 13:24-30
“Let both grow together until the harvest and at harvest time, I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned but gather the wheat into my barn.’”… Matthew 13:30
REFLECTION – “It is not only sheep who abide in the Church, nor do only clean birds fly there to and fro. But amongst the grain other seed is sown, for “amidst the neat grain-fields, burrs and weeds and barren oats lord it in the land” (Virgil’s Georgics). What is the farmhand to do? Root up the darnel? In that case the whole harvest is destroyed along with it!
Every day the farmer diligently drives away the birds by making a noise or by frightening them with scarecrows (…) Nevertheless he suffers from the raids of nimble roes or the wantonness of wild asses, on the one hand, voles convey the grain to their underground barns, on the other, ants in a moving column ravage the crop. This is how things are! No-one who has land is free from care.
While the householder slept, the enemy sowed tares, when the servants hastened to go and root them up, the Master prevented them, reserving for Himself the separation of wheat and chaff. (…) No-one, before the Day of Judgement, can take Christ’s winnowing fan in hand, no-one can pass judgement on another, whoever they might be.”… St Jerome (347-420) Priest, translator of the Bible, Father and Doctor of the Church – The dialogue against the Luciferians (SC 473, p 179-180)
PRAYER – All-powerful and ever-living God, splendour of true light and never-ending day, chase away the night of sin and fill our minds with the glory of Your coming. Take away our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, help us in our battle with sin and the devil. By our prayers, Your holy sacraments and the strength of the Holy Spirit, may we be ever vigilant of the evil one. Grant we pray, that the Blessed Virgin’s prayers, may protect us from all dangers. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 16 July – Tuesday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, C – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 11:20–24 and the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
“But I tell you that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgement for the land of Sodom than for you.”…Matthew 11:24
REFLECTION – “The final judgement is already in progress, it begins now over the course of our lives. Thus judgement is pronounced at every moment of life, as it sums up our faith in the salvation which is present and active in Christ, or of our unbelief, whereby we close in upon ourselves. But if we close ourselves to the love of Jesus, we condemn ourselves. Salvation is, to open oneself to Jesus, it is He who saves us.”…Pope Francis – General Audience, 11 December 2013
PRAYER – Almighty God, to whom this world with all its goodness and beauty belongs, give us grace joyfully to begin this day in Your name and to fill it, with an active love for You and for our neighbour. Grant us the grace to repent of our sins, to turn to the Cross of Your Son and to beg Him in His great love and suffering to forgive us again! “May the Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Carmel, accompany you on your daily journey towards the Mountain of God.” (Pope Francis) Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your mother! Mary, Holy Mother, intercede for us in our weakness and help us to turn our backs on sin and look only at the face of Christ. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 9 May – Thursday Third Week of Easter, C
An excerpt from a Against Heresies
If our flesh is not saved, then the Lord has not redeemed us with His blood, the Eucharistic chalice does not make us sharers in His blood and the bread we break, does not make us sharers in His body. There can be no blood without veins, flesh and the rest of the human substance and this the Word of God actually became – it was with His own blood that He redeemed us. As the Apostle says – In Him, through His blood, we have been redeemed, our sins have been forgiven.
We are His members and we are nourished by creatures, which is His gift to us, for it is He who causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall. He declared that the chalice, which comes from His creation, was His blood and He makes it the nourishment of our blood. He affirmed that the bread, which comes from His creation, was His body and He makes it, the nourishment of our body. When the chalice we mix and the bread we bake, receive the Word of God, the Eucharistic elements become the body and blood of Christ, by which our bodies, live and grow. How then can it be said, that flesh belonging to the Lord’s own body and nourished by His body and blood, is incapable of receiving God’s gift of eternal life? Saint Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians that we are members of His body, of His flesh and bones. He is not speaking of some spiritual and incorporeal kind of man, for spirits do not have flesh and bones. He is speaking of a real human body composed of flesh, sinews and bones, nourished by the chalice of Christ’s blood and receiving growth from the bread which is His body.
The slip of a vine planted in the ground bears fruit at the proper time. The grain of wheat falls into the ground and decays only to be raised up again and multiplied by the Spirit of God who sustains all things. The Wisdom of God places these things at the service of man and when they receive God’s word, they become the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ. In the same way our bodies, which have been nourished by the Eucharist, will be buried in the earth and will decay but they will rise again at the appointed time, for the Word of God will raise them up, to the glory of God the Father. Then the Father will clothe our mortal nature in immortality and freely endow our corruptible nature with incorruptibility, for God’s power is shown most perfectly in weakness.
Lenten Reflection – 10 April – Wednesday of the Fifth week of Lent, Year C
The Readings:
Deuteronomy 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56; John 8:31-42
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do as Abraham did but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God, this is not what Abraham did....John 8:39-40
Looking wholly to God’s promise and setting aside all human ways of looking at things, knowing God to be capable of accomplishments beyond nature to achieve, Abraham put his trust in the words addressed to him, he let no shadow of doubt cross his mind and did not waver as to the meaning he should give God’s words. For, it is in the nature of faith to put its trust in the power of the one who promises… God had promised Abraham that a posterity without number would be born of him. This promise exceeded the possibilities of nature and all purely human forms of perception and that is why his faith towards God “was credited him as righteousness” (Gn 15:6; Gal 3:6).
Well then, if we are on the watch, yet more wonderful promises have been made to us and we will be satisfied to an even greater extent, than human thought can dream. And for this we have only to put our trust in the power of Him who has made these promises to us, so as to merit the righteousness, that comes from faith and obtain the promised reward. For all those good things we are hoping for, far exceed all human conception and thought, so exceedingly wonderful is what we have been promised!
Indeed, these promises do not concern only the present, the flourishing of our lives and the enjoyment of visible goods but they are even more, about the time, when we have left this earth, when our bodies have become subject to corruption, when our remains have been reduced to dust. God promises us, that He will then raise them up and establish them in glorious splendour, “for that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility,” Saint Paul assures us (1Cor 15:53). More than this, after the resurrection of our bodies, we have received the promise, of enjoying the Kingdom and of obtaining, throughout endless ages, in the company of the saints, those ineffable goods that “eye has not seen and ear has not heard nor has it not entered the human heart” (1Cor 2:9). Do you grasp the superabundance of the promises? Do you grasp the greatness of these gifts?
Daily Meditation:
Enlighten our minds and sanctify our hearts.
In our reflection, Jesus is about to face a fiery furnace,
which represents the full rejection of all our sins,
and the crushing defeat of death itself.
Praying the Stations again,
might help us grow in a sense that this is all “for me,” for my freedom.
We grow in a sense of repentance and deep sorrow.
We grow in a desire to celebrate
the glorious Light in the midst of all darkness.
Rid yourself of all your sins
and make a new heart and a new spirit.
Gospel antiphon, based upon Ezekiel 18:31
Closing Prayer:
Loving Creator,
I know in Your great love for me,
You see the deep sorrow in my heart.
Hear my prayers which are offered with such trust in You.
Be with me in both mind and heart
as I renew my life in Your spirit.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen
Lenten Reflection – 3 April – Wednesday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C
The Readings:
Isaiah 49:8-15; Psalms 145:8-9, 13CD-14, 17-18; John 5:17-30
Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming, when all who are in the tombs, will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement.…John 5:28-29
Daily Meditation:
Grant us Your forgiveness.
We know that this whole journey is about our reconciliation.
We know that God wants to forgive us.
We know we are preparing to renew our Baptismal promises,
and “refuse to be mastered by sin.”
Today we hear the invitation and ask more earnestly.
In the marvellous discourse that follows His sign of healing,
Jesus says, “I am not seeking my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
I am filled with a sense of sorrow and gratitude,
as I see what He did for me.
I tell you for certain that everyone who hears my message
and has faith in the one who sent me has eternal life
and will never be condemned.
They have already gone from death to life.
John 5:24
Our Lord had raised Jairus’s daughter but while the body was still warm and death was only halfway through its work (Mt 9:18f.)… He also raised the widow’s only son but by halting the stretcher and forestalling the tomb… before the dead man had fallen completely under the law of death (Lk 7:11f.). But the whole event that takes place with regard to Lazarus is unique.. Lazarus, in whom all death’s power had been completed and in whom, equally, a complete image of the resurrection shone out… Christ, indeed, returned as Lord on the third day; Lazarus, as servant, was called back to life on the fourth day…
The Lord said and repeated to His disciples: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified” (Mt 20:18f.). And when He said this, He saw them growing uncertain, sad, comfortless. He knew they had to be crushed by the weight of His Passion until nothing of their own life, their own faith, their own light would remain within them but, to the contrary, their hearts would be darkened with the almost total darkness of their lack of faith. That is the reason why He let Lazarus’s death continue for four days… From this follows what our Lord said to His disciples: “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe” (vv.14-15). Therefore Lazarus’s death was necessary so that the disciples’ faith might rise from the tomb along with Lazarus.
“That I was not there.” Now was there anywhere where Christ was not?… My brethren, Christ as God was there but Christ the man was not. Christ God was there when Lazarus was dying but now Christ man was going to the dead man because Christ our Lord was going enter into death: “It is there, in death, in the tomb, in hell, that all the power of death is to be crushed through me and my death.”
Closing Prayer:
Loving and merciful God,
I am so aware of my sins and weaknesses.
But as painfully aware of my faults as I am,
Let me also remember Your tender love,
Your gentle and limitless forgiveness.
I come before You filled with pain and guilt
but look into Your eyes and see the forgiving love of my Father,
I so long for in my life.
Help me to forgive the same way.
Teach me to love as You love.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Lenten Thoughts – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C
An excerpt from his Treatise on John
The Lord tells us – I am the light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. In these few words He gives a command and makes a promise. Let us do what He commands so that we may not blush to covet what He promises and to hear Him say on the day of judgement: “I laid down certain conditions for obtaining my promises. Have you fulfilled them?” If you say: “What did you command, Lord our God?” He will tell you: “I commanded you to follow Me. You asked for advice on how to enter into life. What life, if not the life about which it is written: With you is the fountain of life?”
Let us do now what He commands. Let us follow in the footsteps of the Lord. Let us throw off the chains that prevent us from following Him. Who can throw off these shackles without the aid of the one addressed in these words – You have broken my chains? Another psalm says of Him: -The Lord frees those in chains, the Lord raises up the downcast.
Those who have been freed and raised up follow the light. The light they follow speaks to them – I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness. The Lord gives light to the blind. Brethren, that light shines on us now, for we have had our eyes anointed with the eye-salve of faith. His saliva was mixed with earth to anoint the man born blind. We are of Adam’s stock, blind from our birth, we need Him to give us light. He mixed saliva with earth and so it was prophesied: Truth has sprung up from the earth . He himself has said: I am the way, the truth and the life.
We shall be in possession of the truth when we see Him face to face. This is His promise to us. Who would dare to hope for something that God in His goodness did not choose to promise or bestow?
We shall see face to face. The Apostle says: Now I know in part, now obscurely through a mirror, but then face to face. John the apostle says in one of his letters -Dearly beloved, we are now children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. We know that when He is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. This is a great promise.
If you love me, follow me. “I do love you,” you protest, “but how do I follow you?” If the Lord your God said to you: “I am the truth and the life,” in your desire for truth, in your love for life, you would certainly ask Him to show you the way to reach them. You would say to yourself: “Truth is a great reality, life is a great reality; if only it were possible for my soul to find them!”
Lenten Reflection – 20 March – Wednesday of the Second week of Lent, Year C
Each of us must enter on eternity
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
“Each of us must come to the evening of life. Each of us must enter on eternity. Each of us must come to that quiet, awful time, when we will appear before the Lord of the vineyard and answer for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad. That, my dear brethren, you will have to undergo. … It will be the dread moment of expectation when your fate for eternity is in the balance and when you are about to be sent forth as the companion of either saints or devils, without possibility of change. There can be no change, there can be no reversal. As that judgement decides it, so it will be forever and ever. Such is the particular judgement. … when we find ourselves by ourselves, one by one, in His presence and have brought before us most vividly all the thoughts, words and deeds of this past life. Who will be able to bear the sight of himself?
And yet we shall be obliged steadily to confront ourselves and to see ourselves. In this life we shrink from knowing our real selves. We do not like to know how sinful we are. We love those who prophesy smooth things to us and we are angry with those who tell us of our faults.
But on that day, not one fault only but all the secret, as well as evident, defects of our character will be clearly brought out. We shall see what we feared to see here and much more. And then, when the full sight of ourselves comes to us, who will not wish that he had known more of himself here, rather than leaving it for the inevitable day to reveal it all to him! …………………….We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe.”
AnaStpaul 
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