Our Morning Offering – 7 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus” and “Friday Devotion The Passion”
Your Blood, The Fire of Love! By St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
O sweet Jesus, my Love, to strengthen my soul and to rescue it from the weakness into which it has fallen, You have built a wall around it and have mixed the mortar with Your Blood, confirming my soul and uniting it to the sweet will and charity of God! Just as lime mixed with water is placed between stones, to cement them together, so You, O God, have placed between Your creature and Yourself, the Blood of Your Only-begotten Son, cemented with the Divine lime of the fire of ardent charity, in such a way that there is no Blood without fire, nor fire without Blood. Your Blood was shed, O Christ, by the fire of love! Amen
Our Morning Offering – 6 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus”
Excerpt from the Prayer to the Five Wounds of Jesus By St Clare of Assisi (1194-1253)
I pray Thee, O most gentle Jesus, that having redeemed me by Baptism from original sin, so now, by Thy Precious Blood, which is offered and received, throughout the world, deliver me from all evils, past, present and to come. And by Thy most bitter Death, give me a lively faith, a firm hope and perfect charity, so that I may love Thee with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength. Make me firm and steadfast in good works and grant me perseverance in Thy service, so that I may be able to please Thee always. Amen.
Our Morning Offering – 4 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus”
Constant Prayer to the Precious Blood of Jesus By St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
Precious Blood, Ocean of Divine Mercy, Flow upon us! Precious Blood, Most Pure Offering, Procure us every grace! Precious Blood, Hope and Refuge of sinners, Atone for us! Precious Blood, Delight of holy souls, Draw us! Amen
Our Morning Offering – 3 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus”
July Morning Offering
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus, in satisfaction for my sins and for the wants of Holy Church. Blessed be the Precious Blood of Jesus, which renders bearable the thorns of earth, redeems our souls, purifies them from their iniquities and prepares for them, an eternal crown. Amen.
Jesus shed His Precious Blood Seven times and the price of these Seven Sheddings of Blood is found in the Seven Sacraments, by which we are cleansed from sin and sanctified.
These Seven Sheddings of Blood remind us too, of the Three Theological and the Four Cardinal Virtues; of the Seven virtues – infused into us at Baptism (opposed to the Seven Deadly or Capital sins); of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost, which we receive in Confirmation and finally, of the Seven days of the week which we should dedicate to the service of God.
The Covenant between God and the Israelites was sealed with blood. The New Covenant was sealed with the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. The Covenant between God and men, is sealed again, as many times as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered to God. Assist, whenever you can, at the tremendous Sacrifice of the Mass, and frequently receive Holy Communion, the promise of our resurrection..
Quote/s of the Day – 1 July – “The Feast and Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus”
“Embrace, then, Jesus Crucified, raising to Him the eyes of your desire! Consider His burning love for you which made Jesus pour out His Blood from every part of His body! Embrace Jesus Crucified, loving and beloved and in Him, you will find true life because He is God made Man. Let your heart and your soul burn with the fire of love drawn from Jesus on the Cross! … You will have no other desire than to follow Jesus! Run, … do not stay asleep because time flies and does not wait one moment! Dwell in God’s sweet love!”
St Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
“If a man finds it very difficult to forgive injuries, let him look at a Crucifix and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him and not only forgave His enemies but, even prayed His Heavenly Father, to forgive them too. Let him remember, that when he says the Pater Noster, everyday, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down VENGEANCE UPON HIMSELF!”
St Philip Neri (1515-1595)
“The Saviour has instituted the most glorious Sacrament of the Eucharist, which truly contains His Body and His Blood, so that, whoever eats it will live forever. Therefore, those who receive it frequently, with devotion, strengthen their spiritual life and well-being, to such an extent, that it is almost impossible for them to be poisoned by any kind of evil attachment.”
(Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Chapter 20)
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 1 July – “The Feast and Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus” – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 19:30-35 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“But one of the soldiers opened His side with a lance and immediately there came forth, Blood and water.” – John 19:34
REFLECTION – “Take thought now, redeemed man and consider how great and worthy is He, Who hangs on the Cross for you… Arise, then, beloved of Christ! Imitate the dove ‘that nests in a hole in the cliff’ (Jr 48:28), keeping watch at the entrance ‘like the sparrow that finds a home’(Ps 84:4). There, like the turtledove, hide your little ones, the fruit of your chaste love. Press your lips to the Fountain, draw water from the wells of your Saviour; for this is the spring flowing out of the middle of paradise, dividing into four rivers, inundating devout hearts, watering the whole earth and making it fertile.
Run with eager desire to this Source of Life and Light, all you who are vowed to God’s service. Come, whoever you may be and cry out to Him, with all the strength of your heart. O indescribable Beauty of the most high God and purest Radiance of Eternal Light! Life that gives all life, Light that is the Source of every other light, preserving, in everlasting splendour, the myriad flames that have shone before the throne of Your Divinity from the dawn of time!
Eternal and inaccessible Fountain, clear and sweet stream, flowing from a hidden spring, unseen by mortal eye! None can fathom Your depths nor survey Your boundaries, none can measure Your breadth, nothing can sully Your purity. From You flows ‘the river which gladdens the city of God’ (Ps 46:5) and makes us cry out with joy and thanksgiving, in hymns of praise to You, for we know, by our own experience, that ‘with You is the Source of Life and in Your Light we see light’ (Ps 36:10).” – St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Doctor of the Church (The Tree of Life, 29-30, 47, – Breviary)
PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, Who made Thine Only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world and, willed to be reconciled by His Blood, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to worship in this Sacred rite the price of our salvation and to be so protected, by its power against the evils of the present life on earth, that we may enjoy its everlasting fruit in Heaven. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Aspiration:Precious Blood, ocean of Divine Mercy, Flow upon us.
Our Morning Offering – 1 July – “The Feast and Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus”
Salvete Christi vulnera Hail, Holy Wounds of Jesus, Hail! Anonymous Latin Hymn, 17th Century
Hail, holy Wounds of Jesus, hail, Sweet pledges of the saving Rood, Whence flow the streams that never fail, The purple streams of His dear Blood.
Brighter than brightest stars ye show, Than sweetest rose your scent more rare, No Indian gem may match Your glow, No honeys taste with Yours compare.
Portals ye are to that dear home Wherein our wearied souls may hide, Whereto no angry foe can come, The Heart of Jesus crucified.
What countless stripes our Jesus bore, All naked left in Pilates hall! From His torn flesh flow red a shower Did round His sacred person fall!
His beauteous brow, oh, shame and grief, By the sharp thorny crown is riven; Through hands and feet, without relief, The cruel nails are rudely driven.
But when for our poor sakes He died, A willing Priest by love subdued, The soldiers lance transfixed His side, Forth flowed the Water and the Blood.
In full atonement of our guilt, Careless of self, the Saviour trod Een till His Hearts best Blood was spilt The wine-press of the wrath of God.
Come, bathe you in the healing flood, All ye who mourn, by sin opprest; Your only hope is Jesus Blood, His Sacred Heart your only rest.
All praise to Him, the Eternal Son, At Gods right hand enthroned above, Whose Blood our full redemption won, Whose Spirit seals the gift of love.
Office Hymn at Lauds on the Feast of the Most Precious Blood. (The Hymn is also used for Lauds on the Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent, for the Office of the Instruments of the Passion.) Translated by – Henry Nutcombe Oxenham (1829-1888) for whom I find little information.
Quote/s of the Day – 11 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – The Solemnity of Corpus Christi – 1 John 3:13-18, Luke 14:16-24. – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“… This Body which He took from us, He gave wholly for our salvation. For, He offered His own Body to God the Father, upon the Altar of the Cross, as a Victim for our reconciliation and, He shed, His own Blood, both to redeem and cleanse us that we, being bought back from a wretched slavery, might be washed from all our sins. And then, that the memory of such a great benefit might abide in us, He left His Body to be our food and His Blood to be our drink that the faithful might receive them under the species of Bread and Wine.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus/Doctor Communis
“I adore Thee at every moment, O Living Bread of Heaven, great Sacrament! Jesus, heart of Mary, I pray Thee, bless my soul. Holiest Jesus, my Saviour, I give Thee my heart.”
(Indulgence of Two Hundred Days; Pope Pius VII, 1915)
The Divine Praises
Blessed be God. Blessed be His Holy Name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Blessed be the Name of Jesus. Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart. Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy. Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception. Blessed be her glorious Assumption. Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother. Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.
May the Heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 10 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Within the Octave of Corpus Christi – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, abides in Me and I in him.”
John 6:57
“This bread you see on the Altar, consecrated by the Word of God, is the Body of Christ. This cup consecrated by the Word of God, or rather its contents, is the Blood of Christ. In these two elements our Lord desired to hand over, for our veneration and love, His Body and Blood, shed for the remission of our sins. If you have received them with a good disposition, then you are what you have received. As the Apostle Paul declares: “We are, all of us, one bread, one body” (1 Cor 10,17)…”
St Augustine (354-430) Father, Doctor of Grace
“Enrich your soul in the great goodness of God – The Father is your Table, the Son is your Food and the Holy Spirit waits on you and then makes His Dwelling in you.”
St Catherine of Siena OP (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
“The soul must be nourished, as well as the body, for it has its own life which is worn away by the daily conflict against sinful inclinations and by the constant struggle to achieve sanctity. It needs to be nourished by the word of God, by His grace and especially, by receiving the Author of grace frequently in Holy Communion. … “Whoever eats this Bread shall live forever.” Let us ask for the life-giving Bread, for ourselves and for our unfortunate brothers who are living apart from Jesus, in a state of spiritual death.”
Quote/s of the Day – 8 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” and the Feast of Corpus Christi – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“I Am the Living Bread Who came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this Bread, he shall live forever and the Bread that I will give, is My Flesh, for the Life of the world.”
John 6:51-52
Source of all we have or know, feed and lead us here below. Grant that with Your saints above, Sitting at the feast of love, We may see You face to face.
Amen Alleluia!
Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we Adore and Love You!
( The last Verse of the Lauda Sion, the Eucharistic Hymn/Sequence By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
“The Saviour has instituted the most glorious Sacrament of the Eucharist, which truly contains His Body and His Blood, so that, whoever eats it will live forever. Therefore, those who receive it frequently, with devotion, strengthen their spiritual life and well-being, to such an extent, that it is almost impossible for them to be poisoned by any kind of evil attachment.”
(Introduction to the Devout Life, Part II, Chapter 20)
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
Act of Spiritual Communion By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
I desire, good Jesus, to receive Thee in Holy Communion and since I cannot now receive Thee in the Blessed Sacrament, I beseech Thee to come to me spiritually and to refresh my soul with Thy sweetness. Come, my Lord, my God and my All! Come to me and never let me ever again be separated from Thee by sin. Teach me Thy blessed ways, help me with Thy grace to imitate Thy example, to practise meekness, humility, charity and all the virtues of Thy Sacred Heart. My divine Master, my one desire is to do Thy will and to love Thee, more and more. Help me, that I may be faithful to the end, in Thy service. Bless me in life and in death, that I may praise Thee, forever in heaven, Amen
“It is enough for us to love Him and to be ready to keep His commandments. Such an act of sincere and effective love for Jesus, will cause Him to enter and to remain in our hearts, even after the Sacramental Species has been consumed. This is Spiritual Communion, which consists mainly in the yearning for Jesus. “I have come to cast fire upon the earth and what will I but, that it be kindled” (Lk 12:49).”
One Minute Reflection – 8 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Feast of Corpus Christi – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, abides in Me and I in him. ” – John 6:57
REFLECTION – “The heavenly sacrifice which Christ instituted is indeed the inheritance bequeathed to us through His new covenant. He left it to us on the night He was delivered up to be Crucified, as a token of His Presence. It is viaticum for our journey, food on our life’s path, until we come to it upon leaving this world. That is why our Lord said: “Unless you eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you do not have life within you.” He wished His deeds of kindness to remain among us and the souls He redeemed, by His Precious Blood, always to be made holy in the image of His own Passion. This is why He commanded His faithful disciples, instituted as the first Priests of His Church, to celebrate these mysteries of eternal life, in perpetuity… Thus all the faithful would have before their eyes, day-by-day, a representation of Christ’s Passion. Taking Him in our hands, receiving Him in our mouths and hearts, we will hold fast to an indelible remembrance of our Redemption.
The bread should be made with the flour of innumerable grains of wheat mixed with water and finished off in the fire. Thus we shall find a close likeness of the Body of Christ in it for, as we know, He forms a single body with the multitude of humankind, brought to completion, by the fire of the Holy Spirit… In the same way, the wine of His Blood, is taken from many grapes – that is to say, the fruit of the vine he planted – is crushed beneath the press of His Cross, poured into the hearts of the faithful and ferments within them, by means of His own power. This is the Passover Sacrifice bringing salvation to all those set free from the bondage of Egypt and Pharaoh which is to say, the devil. Receive it in union with us, with all the eagerness of a pious heart.” – St Gaudentius of Brescia (Died 410) Bishop , Father, renowned Preacher, Theologian, Diplomatic Mediator (An Excerpt from a Paschal Homily no 68:30).
PRAYER – O God, Thou Who in this wondrous Sacrament have left us a memorial of Thy Passion, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the Sacred Mysteries of Thy Body and Blood that we may ever experience, within us, the effect of Thy Redemption.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). All praise, honour and glory to the divine HEART of JESUS. – Indulgence 50 Days, Once a day. Raccolta 168 Pope Leo XIII, 14 June 1901.
Thought for the Day – 3 June – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Revealed in the Gospel
“If we meditate on the pages of the Gospel, we shall find that they are vibrant with the infinite love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Let us, in imagination, enter the cave of Bethlehem and kneel before the crib where the Divine Infant is lying. Darkness is all around, darkness over the earth, darkness in the minds and hearts of the majority of men. But, now, the heavens open and from the brightness the voices of angels ring out, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among men of goodwill.” Who is this infant? He is the Eternal Word, the substantial image of God, Who, for love of us, has been made man. He is the Infinite One Who has willed to unite Himself with the finite, in order to lift us towards Himself. This little heart is throbbing like that of any baby but, in this throb, is expressed the love of the God-Man. It is a profound mystery, that God should have loved man so much, that He became a tiny infant. Yet, He did this so that we might love Him more easily and in order to show us His own immeasurable love. There is about this Infant, a fascination, at once human and divine, which compels us to love Him, even as Mary, Joseph and the simple shepherds loved Him. He is asking us for love, adoration and complete surrender. Can we refuse Him?
Now let us take ourselves in imagination to Calvary and kneel at the foot of the Cross. The heart which began to beat with the sacred love in the manger at Bethlehem, has given everything for us, has poured forth it’s precious blood for our salvation and, has bestowed on us, as a final gift, the Blessed Mother of God. Now, this heart is consumed with love for us and ceases to beat only when it has give us everything. “It is consummated” (Jn 19:30). At Bethlehem we have experienced a joyful ecstasy of love. Here, at the foot of the Cross, we should experience a deep sorrow, which will cause us to weep for our sins and to transform our lives after the model of Jesus Christ.”
Quote/s of the Day –26 May – The Memorial of St Philip Neri (1515-1595) Confessor
When summoned to hear Confessions or to see someone who had called, St Philip came down instantly, with the words:
“We must leave Christ for Christ.”.
“It is an old custom with the servants of God, always to have some little prayers ready and to be darting them up to Heaven frequently during the day, lifting their minds to God out of the filth of this world. He who adopts this plan, will get great fruit, with little pains.”
“Watch me, O Lord, this day – for, abandoned to myself, I shall surely betray Thee!”
“He who wishes for anything but Christ, does not know what he wishes; he who asks for anything but Christ, does not know what he is asking; he who works and not for Christ, does not know what he is doing.”
“If a man finds it very difficult to forgive injuries, let him look at a Crucifix and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him and not only forgave His enemies but, even prayed His Heavenly Father, to forgive them too. Let him remember, that when he says the Pater Noster, everyday, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down VENGEANCE UPON HIMSELF!”
“We are generally, the carpenters of our own crosses.”
Quote/s of the Day –30 April – Prayers by St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
O God of Truth and Love
O omnipotent Father, God of truth, God of love permit me to enter into the cell of self-knowledge. I admit, that of myself, I am nothing but that all being and goodness in me comes solely from You. Show me my faults, that I may detest them, and thus I shall flee from self-love and find myself clothed again in the nuptial robe of divine charity, which I must have, in order to be admitted to the nuptials of life eternal. Amen
Holy Trinity, Holy Love
Holy Spirit, come into my heart; draw it to Thee by Thy power, O my God, and grant me charity with filial fear. Preserve me, O beautiful love, from every evil thought, warm me, inflame me with Thy dear love and every pain will seem light to me. My Father, my sweet Lord, help me in all my actions. Jesus, love, Jesus, love. Amen.
Your Blood, The Fire of Love!
O sweet Jesus, my Love, to strengthen my soul and to rescue it from the weakness into which it has fallen, You have built a wall around it and have mixed the mortar with Your Blood, confirming my soul and uniting it to the sweet will and charity of God! Just as lime mixed with water is placed between stones, to cement them together, so You, O God, have placed between Your creature and Yourself, the Blood of Your Only-begotten Son, cemented with the Divine lime of the fire of ardent charity, in such a way that there is no Blood without fire, nor fire without Blood. Your Blood was shed, O Christ, by the fire of love! Amen
Constant Prayer to the Precious Blood of Jesus
Precious Blood, Ocean of Divine Mercy, Flow upon us! Precious Blood, Most Pure Offering, Procure us every grace! Precious Blood, Hope and Refuge of sinners, Atone for us! Precious Blood, Delight of holy souls, Draw us! Amen
One Minute Reflection – 28 April – St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775) Confessor, Founder – 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, Luke 10:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest that He send labourers into His harvest. ” – Luke 10:2
REFLECTION – “One day I was pondering over what I could do to save souls – a phrase from the Gospel showed me a clear light: Jesus said to His disciples, pointing to the fields of ripe corn, “Look up and see the fields ripe for harvest” (Jn 4:35) and a little later, “The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few; so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers.” How mysterious it is! Is not Jesus all-powerful? Do not creatures belong to Him, Who made them? Why then does Jesus say: “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers …”? Why? …
Ah! Jesus has so incomprehensible a love for us that He wants us to have a share with Him in the salvation of souls. He wants to do nothing without us. The Creator of the Universe waits for the prayers of a poor little soul to save other souls, redeemed like itself at the price of all His Blood.
Our vocation, yours and mine, is not to go harvesting in the fields of ripe corn. Jesus does not say to us: “Lower your eyes, look at the fields and go and reap them,” our mission is still loftier. Here are Jesus’ words: “Lift up your eyes and see…. ” See how, in My Heaven, there are places empty; it is for you to fill them … each one of you is My Moses praying on the mountain (Ex 17:8) ask Me for labourers and I shall send them, I await only a prayer, a sigh from your heart!” – St Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897) Carmelite, (Letter 135).
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. 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).
Quote/s of the Day – 26 April – Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel
This prayer to our Lady of Good Counsel, like many other Marian prayers, asks for Our Blessed Mother’s help in obtaining our salvation. Note the reference to our earthly existence as being a “vale of tears,” an expression we find too in the Salve Regina, the Hail Holy Queen.
Prayer to Our Mother of Good Counsel
Most Glorious Virgin chosen by the Eternal Counsel to be the Mother of the Eternal Word made flesh, thou, who art the Treasurer of Divine Graces and the Advocate of Sinners, I, thy most unworthy servant, have recourse to thee; be thou pleased to be my Guide and Counsellor in this vale of tears. Obtain for me, through the Most Precious Blood of thy Divine Son, the forgiveness of my sins, the salvation of my soul and the means necessary to obtain it. In like manner, obtain for Holy Mother the Church, victory over her enemies and the spread of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ upon the whole earth. Amen
Pope Paul II sent two Bishops to investigate the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel and the numerous miracles that took place, following its appearance at this Church (by one account 171 alone in the period from 27 April to 14 August 1467)!
The fresco is still there to this day, having survived earthquakes over the Centuries and even aerial bombardment during World War II which destroyed much of the Church.
Many Popes have been great champions of Our Lady of Good Counsel and her image. Pope Paul II first approved devotion to her. Popes Urban VIII and Pius IX made visits to the Church in Genazzano to honour her. In 1753 Pope Benedict XIV established the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel which has included, among its members, the Popes Pius VIII, Pius IX, Leo XIII and Pius XII,the last, who placed his Papacy under her maternal care. He later composed this prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel which can be used as a novena:
O Mother of Good Counsel By Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)
O Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led by our anxious uncertainty in our search for and attainment of, what is true and good, invoking thee by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel, we beseech thee to come to our assistance, when, along the road of this life, the darkness of error and of evil conspire towards our ruin, by leading our minds and our hearts astray. O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the doubtful and the erring that they, be not seduced, by the false appearances of good; render them steadfast in the face of the hostile and corrupting influences, of passion and of sin. O Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from thy Divine Son, a great love of virtue and, in the hour of uncertainty and trial, the strength to embrace the way which leads to our salvation. If thy hand sustains us, we shall walk unmolested, along the path indicated to us, by the Life and Words of Jesus, our Redeemer and, having followed freely and securely, even in the midst of this world’s strife, the Sun of Truth and Justice, under thy maternal Star, we shall come to the enjoyment of full and eternal peace, with thee, in the Haven of Salvation. Amen
It is also worth noting, especially in these uncertain times for the Church as for the world (and in many ways, the two may be said to be linked together!) that Our Blessed Mother is ready, willing and more than able, to help us i“in the midst of this world’s strife.” We need only to approach her for assistance, in drawing closer to Jesus with fervent, humble prayer and devotion.
Keep in mind too, regarding the line in the first of our prayers above about our Church’s “victory over her enemies” that, in 1571, St Pius V credited Our Lady of Good Counsel with having assisted the Holy League of forces from Catholic maritime states, to defeat the Muslim Ottoman Empire in the famous Battle of Lepanto. This was a decisive victory which kept Italy from being overrun by the Muslims. Let us also pray to Mary for help, as Pope Pius V did, in the midst of our own battles! Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 18 April – “The Month of the Resurrection” – Tuesday in the Second Week of Easter – 1 John 5:4-10, John 20. 19-31 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“My Lord and my God.”
John 20:28
“Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?”
Matthew 20:22
“Embrace, then, Jesus Crucified, raising to Him the eyes of your desire! Consider His burning love for you which made Jesus pour out His Blood from every part of His body! Embrace Jesus Crucified, loving and beloved and in Him, you will find true life because He is God made Man. Let your heart and your soul burn with the fire of love drawn from Jesus on the Cross! … You will have no other desire than to follow Jesus! Run, … do not stay asleep because time flies and does not wait one moment! Dwell in God’s sweet love!”
St Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
“Alas, how the faith of Jesus’ Apostles is shaken after His Crucifixion! Assembled in a room with closed doors, they are filled with fear. Then Jesus enters, stands in their midst and greets them: ‘Peace be with you.’ … Without the presence of our Saviour, they felt timid and lacked strength. Such is the case when one is without God. They were afraid. Like a ship tossed in a storm without a pilot, such was this poor boat. Our Lord appears to His disciples to bring relief to their fear.”
Our Morning Offering – 14 April – “The Month of the Resurrection”
Easter Prayer of Praise By St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Father and Doctor of the Church
It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind, to praise Thee Father and Thine Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear Father, by Thy wondrous condescension of Loving-Kindness toward us, Thy servants, Thou gave us Thy Son. Dear Jesus Thou paid the debt of Adam for us, to the Eternal Father by Thy Blood poured forth in Loving-Kindness. Thou cleared away the darkness of sin by Thy magnificent and radiant Resurrection. Thou broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror. Thou reconciled Heaven and earth. Our life had no hope of Eternal Happiness before Thou Redeemed us. Thy Resurrection has washed away our sins, restored our innocence and brought us joy. How inestimable is the tenderness of Thy Love! Amen
Our Morning Offering – 12 April – Easter Wednesday – “The Month of the Resurrection”
O Most Compassionate Jesus! By Pope Pius IX (1792-1878) Indulgence of 100 days, once a day 6 October 1870
O Most compassionate Jesus! Thou alone art our Salvation, our Life and our Resurrection. We implore Thee, therefore, do not forsake us in our needs and afflictions but by the agony of Thy Most Sacred Heart and by the sorrows of Thy Immaculate Mother, succour Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy Most Precious Blood. Amen
Look on thy God, Christ hidden in our flesh. A bitter word, the Cross and bitter sight: Hard rind without, to hold the heart of Heaven. Yet sweet it is, for God upon that tree Did offer up His Life upon that rood My Life hung, that my Life might stand in God. Christ, what am I to give Thee for my life? Unless take from Thy Hands the cup they hold, To cleanse me with the precious draught of death. What shall I do? My body to be burned? Make myself vile? The debt’s not paid out yet. Whate’er I do, it is but I and Thou, And still do I come short, still must Thou pay My debts, O Christ, for debts Thyself hadst none. What love may balance Thine? My Lord was found In fashion like a slave, that so His slave Might find himself in fashion like his Lord. Think you the bargain’s hard, to have exchanged The transient for the eternal, to have sold Earth to buy Heaven? More dearly God bought me!
St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431) Father of the Church
Faithful Cross! Above All Other By St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)
Faithful Cross! above all other, one and only noble tree! None in foliage, none in blossom, none in fruit thy peer may be; sweetest wood and sweetest iron, sweetest weight is hung on thee.
Bend thy boughs, O tree of glory! Thy relaxing sinews bend; for awhile the ancient rigour that thy birth bestowed, suspend and the King of heavenly beauty gently on thine arms extend.
Praise and honour to the Father, praise and honour to the Son, praise and honour to the Spirit, ever Three and ever One: One in might and One in glory while eternal ages run.
In Your Hour of Holy Sadness By St Bernard (1090-1153) Father & Doctor of the Church
In Your hour of holy sadness could I share with You, what gladness should Your Cross to me be showing. Gladness past all thought of knowing, bowed beneath Your Cross to die! Blessed Jesus, thanks I render that in bitter death, so tender, You now hear Your supplicant calling, Save me Lord and keep from falling from You, when my hour is nigh. Amen.
“When you are alone in your room, take your Crucifix, kiss Its Five Wounds reverently, tell It to preach you a little sermon and then listen to the words of eternal life that It speaks to your heart. Listen to the pleading of the Thorns, the Nails, the Precious Blood. Oh, what an eloquent sermon!”
A Prayer of the Passion By St Melito of Sardis (Died 180) Bishop of Sardis, Apologist, Father
Lord Jesus Christ, You were bound as a ram, You were shorn like a lamb, You were led to the slaughter like a sheep, You bore the wood of the Cross on Your shoulders, You were led up the hill of Calvary, You were displayed naked on the Cross, You were nailed to the bitter Cross by three spikes, You delivered Your last Seven Words from the Cross You died on the Cross, with a shout of victory, You were buried in noble Joseph’s rock-hewn tomb, By Your boundless suffering on our behalf, fix our eyes unceasingly on Your broken Body and the Blood that poured from Your Hands, Feet and Side. By the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that renews each day Your Sacrifice of the Cross on our Altars, apply the merits of the Cross to all humanity and, especially to those who worship it daily and who offer themselves back to You, our great High Priest and perpetually Intercessor, before the Eternal Throne of God. You live and reign, through all the ages of ages. Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 3 April – Monday in Holy Week – Isaias 50:5-10, John 12:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The house was filled with the odour of the ointment.”
John 12:3
“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, Father
“People who associate the name of Christian with a dishonest life, injure Christ! … If God’s Name, is blasphemed by bad Christians, it is praised and honoured, on the other hand, by the good: “For in every place, we are the aroma of Christ” (2 Cor,14-15). And it is said in the Song of Songs: “Your name is oil poured out” (1,3).”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“Nothing so curbs the onset of anger, so allays the upsurge of pride. It cures the wound of envy, controls unbridled extravagance and quenches the flame of lust. It cools the thirst of covetousness and banishes the itch of unclean desire… For when I Name Jesus, I set before myself, a Man Who is meek and humble of heart, kind, prudent, chaste, merciful, flawlessly upright and holy in the eyes of all and this same Man, is the all-powerful God Whose way of life heals me, Whose support is my strength.”
St Bernard (1090-1153) Father and Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 29 March – Wednesday in Passion Week
“He has become all ours, to make us all His.” St Francis de Sales
WEDNESDAY IN PASSION WEEK St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritas
“Since Our Lord has so much loved us, that He has equally redeemed all, bedewed us with His Divine Blood and called us to Himself, without excluding anyone; since He has become all ours, to make us all His, giving us His Death and His Life to deliver us from eternal death and to procure us the joys of eternal life, that we may belong to Him in this mortal life and yet more perfectly, in the next.
What remains, what conclusion have we to draw, unless that living, we should no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus Christ, Who died for us; that is, we should Consecrate to Him, every moment of our life, referring to His glory our works, our thoughts and our affections?” – (Consoling Thoughts of St Francis de Sales).
Our Morning Offering – 24 March – Feast of the Most Precious Blood for the Friday after Laetare Sunday
By the Merit of the Precious Blood of Jesus By Servant of God Pope Pius VII (1742-1823) Papacy from 1800 to 1823 Indulgenced Act of Oblation to Our Father
Eternal Father! I offer Thee the merit of the Precious Blood of Jesus, Thy well-beloved Son, my Saviour and my God, for all my wants, spiritual and temporal, in aid of the Holy Souls in Purgatory and chiefly for those who most loved this Precious Blood, the price of our redemption and who were most devout to the sorrows and pains of most Holy Mary, our dear Mother.
Glory be to the Blood of Jesus, now and forever and throughout all ages. Amen.
Indulgence of 300 days, each time this prayed is offered 22 September 1817 with a Plenary Indulgence, once a month, under the usual conditions.
Note of Interest:On 15 August 1811 – the Feast of the Assumption – it is recorded that the Pope celebrated Mass and was said to have entered a trance and began to levitate in a manner that drew him to the Altar. This particular episode aroused great wonder and awe among attendants, which included the French soldiers guarding him, who were awestruck at what had occurred and left records of it.
Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent – FAST AND ABSTINENCE
FEAST OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS is a Feast for the Fridays of Lent, which has been in the General Roman Calendar from 1849 to 1969 with the same Office as that of the Solemnity of the Precious Blood in July.. HERE: https://anastpaul.com/2022/07/10/the-solemnity-of-the-most-precious-blood-of-of-our-lord-jesus-christ-and-the-litany/ For many Diocese, there were two days to which the Office of the Precious Blood was assigned, the Office for both being the same. The reason was that the Office was at first granted only to the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood. Later, as one of the Offices of the Fridays of Lent, it was assigned to the Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare Sunday) in some Diocese, including, by decision of the Fourth Provincial Council of Baltimore (1840), those in the United States.
The Solemnity in July is again the same Office and both Feasts (during Lent and in July) are kept in some Diocese. On 10 August of the same year, (1849) Pope Pius IX officially included the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the General Roman Calendar, for celebration on the first Sunday in July, that is the first Sunday after 30 June, which is the anniversary of the liberation of the City of Rome from the insurgents.
In reducing the number of Feasts fixed for Sundays, Pope Pius X assigned the date of 1 July to this Feast. In 1933, Pope Pius XI raised the Feast to the rank of Double of the 1st Class to mark the 1,900th anniversary of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Archangel Saint Gabriel The Feast of Saint Gabriel was included by Pope Benedict XV in the General Roman Calendar in 1921, for celebration on 24 March. The Archangel Saint Gabriel whose name means “the Power of God. ” He appeared to the prophet Daniel (Dan 8:16; 9:21), to the priest Zachary to announce the forthcoming birth of Saint John the Baptist (Luke 1:11, 19) and to the Blessed Virgin Mary to announce the birth of Our Saviour (Luke 1:26.). St Gabriel! https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/24/saint-of-the-day-24-march-the-archangel-saint-gabriel/
St Agapitus of Synnada St Aldemar the Wise OSB (985-c1080) Priest, Abbot St Bernulf of Mondov Bl Bertha de’Alberti of Cavriglia Bl Bertrada of Laon Bl Brian O’Carolan St Caimin of Lough Derg St Cairlon of Cashel
St Latinus of Brescia St Macartan of Clogher St Mark of Rome St Pigmenius of Rome St Romulus of North Africa St Secundus of North Africa St Seleucus of Syria St Severo of Catania St Timothy of Rome
Martyrs of Africa – 9 Saints: A group of Christians murdered for their faith in Africa, date unknown. The only details about their that survive are the names – Aprilis, Autus, Catula, Coliondola, Joseph, Rogatus, Salitor, Saturninus and Victorinus. .
Martyrs of Caesarea – 6 Saints: A group of Christians Martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little else but six of their names – Agapius, Alexander, Dionysius, Pausis, Romulus and Timolaus. They were martyred by beheading in 303 at Caesarea, Palestine.
The Feast of the Five Holy Wounds – 17 March – Celebrated on Friday after the Third Sunday in Lent
The Tudor Banner of the Five Holy Wounds which led the Pilgrimage of Grace against Henry VIII, which took place from October 1536-February 1537
The revival of religious life and the zealous activity of St. Bernard and St. Francis in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, together with the enthusiasm of the Crusaders returning from the Holy Land, gave a wonderful impulse to devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ and, particularly, to practices in honour of the Wounds in His Sacred Hands, Feet and Side. The reason for this devotion was well expressed at a later period in the memorial of the Polish Bishops to Pope Clement XIII:
“Moreover, the Five Wounds of Christ are honoured by a Mass and an Office and, on account of these Wounds, we venerate also the Feet, Hands and Side of the most loving Redeemer, these parts of Our Lord’s Most Holy Body being held more worthy of a special cult than the others, precisely because they suffered special pains for our salvation and because they are decorated with these wounds as with an illustrious mark of love. Therefore, with living faith they cannot be looked upon, without a special feeling of religion and devotion.” (Nilles, “De rat. fest. SS. Cord. Jesu et Mariae” I 126).
Plague Cross featuring the Sacred Heart of our Lord and the Five Holy Wounds
Many beautiful medieval prayers in honour of the Sacred Wounds, including some attributed to St Clare of Assisi (Indulgenced on 21 November 1885), have been preserved. St Mechtilde and St Gertrude the Great of Helfta, were devoted to the Holy Wounds, the latter Saint reciting daily, a prayer in honour of the 5466 Wounds, which, according to tradition, were inflicted on Jesus during His Passion. In the Fourteenth Century, it was customary in southern Germany, to recite fifteen Pater Nosters each day (which thus amounted to 5475 in the course of a year) in memory of the Sacred Wounds.
In his 1761 book, The Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Founder of the Redemptorist Fathers, listed, among various pious exercises, the Little Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus Crucified. St Alphonsus wrote the devotional as a Meditation on the Five Piercing Wounds that Christ suffered during His Crucifixion.
The earliest evidence of a Feast in honour of the Wounds of Christ comes from the Monastery of Fritzlar, Thuringia, where in the Fourteenth Century, a Feast was kept on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi. In the Fifteenth Century it had spread to different countries, to Salisbury (England), Huesca and Jaca (Spain), Vienna, and Tours and was included in the Breviaries of the Carmelites, Franciscans, Dominicans and other orders
The Feast of the Five Wounds, celebrated since the Middle Ages at Evora and elsewhere in Portugal on 6 February (at Lisbon on the Friday after Ash-Wednesday) is of historical interest. It commemorates the founding of the Portuguese kingdom in 1139, when, before the battle on the plains of Ourique, Christ appeared to Alfonso Henriquez, promising victory over the Moors and commanding him to insert into the coat of arms of the new kingdom the emblem of the Five Wounds. This feast is celebrated today in all Portuguese-speaking countries. In parts of France the Feast is celebrated on for the Friday after Ash Wednesday, on which day it is still kept in many dioceses
Since 1831, when the Feasts in honour of the Passion were adopted at Rome by the Passionists and the City, this Feast was assigned to the Friday after the Third Sunday in Lent. The Office is one of those bequeathed to us by the Middle Ages. As this Feast is not celebrated in the entire Church, the Office and Mass are placed in the appendix of the Breviary and the Missal.
COLLECT: O God, Who by the Passion of Thine Only Son and by the pouring out of the Blood of His Five Wounds, hast restored human nature lost by sin, grant unto us, we beseech Thee that by venerating the protective Wounds on earth, we may, thereby, merit the fruits of the same Precious Blood in Heaven. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, One God, world without end. Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 14 March – Tuesday of the Third Week in Lent – 4 Kings 4:1-7, Mattew 18:15-22 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/ – – – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” “Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times but seventy times seven.”
Matthew 18:21-22
“Judge not and you will not be judged; condemn not and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give, will be the measure you get back.”
Luke 6:37-38
“If your brother sins, rebuke him and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.”
Luke 17:3-4
“To the extent that you pray, with all your soul, for the person who slanders you, God will make the truth known to those who have been scandalised by the slander.”
St Maximus the Confessor (c 580–662)
“See to it that you refrain from harsh words. But if you do speak them, do not be ashamed to apply the remedy from the same lips, that inflicted the wounds.”
“The recollection of an injury, is . . . a rusty arrow and poison for the soul.”
St Francis of Paola OM (1416-1507)
“If a man finds it very difficult to forgive injuries, let him look at a Crucifix and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him and not only forgave His enemies but, even prayed His Heavenly Father, to forgive them too. Let him remember, that when he says the Pater Noster, everyday, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down VENGEANCE UPON HIMSELF!”
St Philip Neri (1515-1595)
The Lord’s Prayer Jesus Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 10 March – Friday of the Second Week of Lent
Hail, Sweet Jesus! Prayer to Christ in His Passion and Death By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
Hail, sweet Jesus! Praise, honour and glory be to Thee, O Christ, Who, of Thou own accord, embraced death, and recommending Thyself to Thy heavenly Father, bowing down Thy venerable Head, did yield up Thy Spirit. Truly thus giving up Thy life for Thy sheep, Thou hast shown Thyself, to be the Good Shepherd. Thou died, O Only-begotten Son of God. Thou died, O my beloved Saviour, that I might live forever. O how great hope, how great confidence have I reposed in Thy Death and Thy Blood! I glorify and praise Thy Holy Name, acknowledging my infinite obligations to Thee. O good Jesus, by Thy bitter Death and Passion, give me grace and pardon. Give unto the faithful departed, rest and life everlasting. Amen
Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 5 March – The Second Sunday in Lent – Thessalonians 4:1-7, Matthew 17:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Lord, it is good for us to be here …” Matthew 17:4
“I know a man in Christ— whether he was in or outside the body, I do not know, God knows— who was snatched up to the third heaven. . . and heard secret words, words which it is not granted to man to utter.” 2 Corinthians 12:2-4
ETERNAL HAPPINESS St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritas
“REJOICE AND BE HAPPY! Persevere to the end and prefer to die, rather than abandon the post to which God has called you!
But embrace the Cross with patience and hide in God’s breast, with your troubles; fix your eyes on the Lamb immolated for your sake and always be content with what God gives you and destines for you. We must act like this because we are sure that God is calling us and has chosen for us ,what will make us the most pleasing in His sight . Thus, you will go from Light to Light and the pains endured, for the sake of Jesus Crucified, will be delightful to you, whereas the pleasures and consolations of the world, will become bitter.
You will begin to taste, even in this life, a foretaste of eternal life, for the principal beatitude of the soul in Heaven, is to be confirmed forever in the Will of the Father. Thus, it tastes the divine sweetness. But it will never taste it in Heaven, if it is not clothed with it on earth, where we are pilgrims and travellers. When it is clothed with it, it tastes God by grace in its troubles; its memory will be full of the Blood of the Lamb without blemish; its mind will be opened and contemplate the ineffable love that God has made known in the Wisdom of His Son and the love it finds, in the Holy Spirit’s goodness, casts out self-love and love for created things, to love only God.
So do not be afraid … but suffer with joy, so as to conform yourself to the Will of God.” – (Sermon for the Second Sunday of Lent, 20 February 1622).
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