Thought for the Day – 14 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The First Glorious Mystery The Resurrection of Our Lord
“The Resurrection of Christ demands a resurrection on our part too. If, we are in sin, we must rise again. Or, it maybe, that we must rise from a state of torpor to one of fervour, or from a life of worldly pleasure to an interior life nourished by grace, or from a life of selfishness, to one of sacrifice.
In which state do we find ourselves? In the presence of the risen Christ and of His Blessed Mother, happy in the contemplation of His glory, let us resolve to rise from sin and from spiritual tepidity, in order to set out on the way of Christ and of perfect sanctity.”
Jesus Christ is Risen! He is truly Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Wishing you all a most Blessed and Holy Easter! Alleluia!
“This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 117:24
I am taking a few days off to rest a while and to rest your inboxes.
My deepest gratitude to the benefactors of “Breathing Catholic.”Your faithfulness and love are in my heart and my prayers. May the Risen Lord fill your hearts with His infinite love, may He protect your faith and your families..
Our Morning Offering – 17 April – Easter Sunday – The Lord is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!
He is Risen, Tell the Story By Father Willard F Janusch (1930-2018)
He is risen, tell the story to the nations of the night; from their sin and from their blindness, let them walk in Easter light. Now begins a new creation, now has come our true salvation. Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
Mary goes to tell the others of the wonders she has seen; John and Peter come a’running what can all this truly mean? O Rabboni, Master holy, to appear to one so lowly! Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
He has cut down death and evil, He has conquered all despair; He has lifted from our shoulders, all the weight of anxious care. Risen Brother, now before you, we will worship and adore You. Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
Now get busy, bring the message, so that all may come to know there is hope for saint and sinner, for our God has loved us so. Ev’ry church bell is a’ringing, ev’ry Christian now is singing. Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
A Parish Priest, Seminary Professor and prolific Musician and Hymnist, Fr Willard wa Ordained in 1956 and died at the age of 88 in 2018.
One Minute Reflection – 16 April – Holy Saturday (Vigil Mass of Easter) – Matthew 28,1-7.
“And the Angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you, for I know that you seek Jesus Who was Crucified, He is not here, for He is risen, as He said.” – Matthew 28:5-6
REFLECTION – “When the third day dawned of the Lord’s sacred repose in the tomb (…) Christ, the “power and Wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24), with the author of death lying prostrate, conquered even death itself and opened to us access to eternity, when He raised Himself from the dead by His divine power in order to make known to us the paths of life.
Then there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, with raiment like snow and his countenance like lightening. He appeared attractive to the devout and severe to the wicked – for he terrified the soldiers and comforted the timid women, to whom the Lord Himself first appeared after rising, because their intense devotion so merited. Then He was seen by Peter, then by the disciples going to Emmaus, then by all the apostles except Thomas. Later He presented Himself to be touched by Thomas, who proclaimed his faith: “My Lord and my God.” And thus, during forty days, He appeared in many ways to His disciples, both eating and drinking with them.
He enlightened our faith with proofs and lifted up our hope with promises, so as finally to enkindle our love with gifts from heaven.” … St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – O God, Who dost illuminate this most holy night by the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, preserve in the new children of Thy family, the spirit of adoption which Thou hast given, that renewed in body and mind, they may render to Thee a pure service. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
One Minute Reflection – 8 April – Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows – Friday of Passion Week, the Fifth Week in Lent – Jeremiah 17:13-18, John 11:47-54
“ … It is expedient for us, that one man die for the people, instead of the whole nation perishing.” – John 11:50
REFLECTION – “God, the Word of the all-good Father, did not disregard the human race, His own creation, when it was sinking back into corruption but rather, by the offering of His own Body, He destroyed the death men had incurred and by His teaching, He corrected their negligence. So, He restored by His power, all that belongs to man’s estate.
Anyone can find confirmation of this from the Saviour’s own disciples who spoke of Him, for in their writings one reads: The charity of Christ constrains us as we judge that if one died on behalf of all, then all died and He died for all, in order that we may live, no longer for ourselves but for Him Who died for us and rose from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ. And again: We see Jesus, Who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honour because He suffered death, that by God’s grace He might taste death for everyone. Then the writer goes onto show why it had to be God, the Word and no other Who became Man: Indeed it was fitting that in bringing many sons to glory, God, for Whom and through Whom all things exist, should make perfect the One Who leads them to salvation. By this He means, that the task of bringing men back from the corruption into which they had fallen, belonged to no other save God the Word, Who had made them in the beginning. Further, Scripture shows, that the Word assumed a Body for the purpose of offering It in sacrifice on behalf of other bodies like His own, for the writer continues: Since the children have blood and flesh in common, He likewise, shared in them Himself ,so that, by His own Death, He might destroy the one who had power over death, that is, the devil and might deliver those, who all their life long, were enslaved by fear of death.
For by the sacrifice of His own Body, He both put an end to the law that stood against us and made a new beginning of life for us, by giving us the hope of resurrection. Hence Paul, the Christbearer, declares: As through a man came death, so through a Man has come the Resurrection of the dead. For as all died in Adam, so also in Christ all shall be made to live.
No longer, then, do we die as men condemned but as men being raised even now, we await the general resurrection of all, which God, Whose work and gift it is, will reveal at the appointed time. – St Athanasius (297-373) Archbishop of Alexandria, Great Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his “On the Incarnation of the Word” 10).
PRAYER – O God, in Whose Passion the sword, according to the prophecy of blessed Simeon, pierced through the soul of Mary, the glorious Virgin and Mother, mercifully grant that we, who reverently commemorate her piercing through and her suffering, may, by the interceding glorious merits of all the saints faithfully standing by the Cross, obtain the abundant fruit of Your Passion. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
One Minute Reflection – 5 April – Tuesday in Passion Week – Daniel 14:27-42, John 7:1-13 and the Memorial of St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)
“The Jews sought to kill Him.” – John 7:1
REFLECTION – “I am the true vine,” Jesus says (Jn 15,1)… People dig trenches around this vine; that is to say, cunningly dig traps. When they plot to make someone fall into a snare. it is as if they dug a pit in front of Him. That is why He mourns about it, saying: “They have dug a pit before me” (Ps 56[57],7)…
However, they discovered that these traps caused no harm to the vine. To the contrary, in digging these pits they themselves fell into them (Ps 56[57],7)… Then they kept on digging: not just His Hands and His Feet (Ps 21[22],17) but they pierced His side with a lance (Jn 19,34) and uncovered the interior of that Sacred Heart, which had already been wounded by the spear of love. The Bridegroom says in the song of His love that: “You have wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse” (Sg 4,9 Vg.). O Lord Jesus, Your Heart has been wounded with love by Your spouse, Your friend, Your sister. Why, then, was it necessary for your enemies to wound you again? O you enemies, what are You doing?… Do You not know that this Heart of our Lord Jesus’,already pierced, is already dead, already open and cannot be touched by any other suffering? The Heart of the Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus, has already received the wound of love, the death of love. What other death could touch Him?… The martyrs also laugh when they are threatened, rejoice when they are struck, triumph, when they are killed. Why? Because they have already died through love in their hearts, “dead to sin” (Rm 6,2) and to the world!
Thus Jesus’ Heart has been wounded and put to death for our sake… Physical death triumphed for a moment but only to be conquered forever. It was blotted out when Christ rose from the dead because “death has no power over Him anymore” (Rm 6,9). – St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Doctor of the Church (The Mystical Vine, ch. 3, § 5-10).
PRAYER – O God, Who graciously enlightened Your Church by the virtues and preaching of blessed Vincent, Your Confessor, grant that we, Your servants, may be taught by his example and delivered from all harm by his intercession. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
One Minute Reflection – 3 April – Passion Sunday – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59.
“Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it and was glad.” – John 8:56
REFLECTION – “God put Abraham to the test and said to him: ‘Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love and offer him up as a sacrifice on a height that I will show to you’ ” (Gn 22,2). Notice how that same son, on whom great and wonderful promises rested… Abraham received the command to offer, in holocaust on a mountain to the Lord!
What do you feel about this command, Abraham?… The Apostle Paul, to whom, I think, the Spirit had revealed Abraham’s thoughts and feelings, said: “Abraham did not doubt God’s promises in unbelief, when he offered up his only son Isaac, on whom rested the promises for he reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead” (Rm 4,20; Heb 11,17.19)… This, then, was the first time when faith in the resurrection was shown. Yes, Abraham hoped Isaac would rise again and believed in the realisation of something that had never happened before… Abraham knew, that in him, the prefiguration of a coming reality was already taking shape; he knew the Messiah, the true Victim offered on behalf of the whole world, Who was to triumph over death, through His Resurrection, would be born from his descendants.
“So early the next morning Abraham rose and… on the third day… came to the place of which God had told him.” The third day is always associated with mystery and… the Lord’s Resurrection, in particular, took place on the third day… “Abraham got sight of the place from afar. Then he said to his servants: ‘Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go over yonder. We will worship and then come back to you.’”… Now tell me, Abraham, were you speaking the truth to your servants when you stated you were going to worship and then return with the boy; or did you want to deceive them?… “I am telling the truth,” Abraham answers. “I am offering the boy in sacrifice , which is why I am bringing the wood with me. Then I am coming back to you with the boy. Truly, I believe with all my heart that ‘God is sufficiently powerful to raise the dead.’” – Origen (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Father (Homilies on the book of Genesis no 8).
PRAYER – Look graciously upon Your household, Almighty God, we beseech You, that by Your grace we may be governed in body and by Your protection safeguarded in mind. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.Amen (Collect).
“I am the Resurrection and the Life, he who believes in Me, although he be dead, shall live.”
John 11:25
“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
The Month of April is dedicated both to devotion to the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Holy Eucharist – the proof of the promise of the love of God and of ETERNAL LIFE. In the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of Love, Jesus gives us the sustenance needed in this life to help us on our pilgrimage to that Eternal Life with Him in Heaven. This tradition has developed because Easter Sunday often falls in April and when it does fall in March, the Easter Season continues on through all of April.
In essence, April is a Month of Life and, during the Easter celebrations, we celebrate the Eucharistic Sacrifice Christ gave us and the destruction of death by that Sacrifice and by Jesus’ Resurrection. “Christ chose to foreshadow us, who are His Body, by means of His Body, in which He has died, risen and ascended into Heaven, so that the Members of His Body, may hope to follow where their Head has gone before.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father, Doctor of Grace
St Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor
It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind, to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of loving-kindness toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son. Dear Jesus, You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father by Your Blood poured forth in loving-kindness. You cleared away the darkness of sin by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection. You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror. You reconciled Heaven and earth. Our life had no hope of eternal happiness before You redeemed us. Your Resurrection has washed away our sins, restored our innocence and brought us joy. How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love! Amen
“For His Body, has been given to you under the appearance of bread and His Blood, under the appearance of wine, so that, when you have partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ, you might be One Body and One Blood with Him. So shall we become Christ-bearers [“Christophers”]. His Body and Blood are diffused through all our members – see, then, how we become participants in the Divine Nature!”
St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 313-386) Father and Doctor of theChurch
Friday of the Fopurth Week of Lent – 1 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – 3 Kings 17:17-24, John 11:1-45
“O Lord, remember not, against u,s the iniquities of the past, may Your compassion, quickly come to us, for we are brought very low.” – Psalm 78:8-9
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life: he that believes in Me, although he be dead, shall live. ”
John 11:25
“WHEN HE ASKED: “Where have you laid him?” tears came to our Lord’s eyes. His tears were like rain, Lazarus was like seed and the tomb like the earth. He cried out in a Voice like thunder and death trembled at His Voice. Lazarus sprang up like the seed, came out and worshiped the Lord Who had raised him up.
JESUS… RESTORED LIFE to Lazarus and died in his place, for, when He drew him out of the tomb and sat down at his table, He Himself was symbolically buried by the oil Mary poured over His head (Mt 26,7). The power of the death, which had overcome Him for four days, was wiped out… that death might know, how easy it was for the Lord to overcome it, on the Third Day… His Promise is truthful – He had promised that He Himself would come to life again, on the Third Day (Mt 16,21)… Therefore the Lord restored their joy to Mary and Martha by treading down death, to demonstrate, that He Himself would not be held by death forever… From now on, every time someone says that rising on the third day is impossible, let the,m consider him who was raised on the fourth day…
“GO AND TAKE AWAY THE STONE” What is this? He who raised a dead man and restored him to life, couldn’t he have opened the tomb and overturned the stone? He who said to his disciples: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain: ‘Move from here to there’” (Mt 17,20), could He not move aside the stone, shutting the entrance to the tomb, with one word? Certainly He could! He whose Voice, when He hung on the cross, split rocks and sepulchers, could have taken away the stone with His Word (Mt 27,51-52). But because He was Lazarus’ friend, He said: “Open it that the smell of decay may hit you and you who wrapped him in his winding sheet, unbind him, that you may surely recognise the one you buried.” – St Ephrem (306-373) Deacon in Syria, Great Father & Doctor of the Church (Commentary on the Diatessaron, 17, 7-10 ; SC 121).
Quote/s of the Day – 1 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent – 3 Kings 17:17-24, John 11:1-45
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”
John 11:25
“We have had Your treasure hidden within us, ever since we received baptismal grace, it grows ever richer at Your sacramental table.”
St Ephrem (306-373) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Love Him, then, keep Him as a friend. He will not leave you as others do, or let you suffer lasting death. Sometime, whether you will or not, you will have to part with everything. Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death, trust yourself to the glory of Him, Who alone can help you when all others fail.“
Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
“This death … has already levelled his bow to strike me. Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke, by dying now to the world, that at my death, I may live to God?”
One Minute Reflection – 28 March – Monday of the |Fourth Week of Lent – 3 Kings 3:16-28, John 2:13-25 and The Memorial of St John of Capistrano OFM (1386-1456)
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” – John 2:19
REFLECTION – “… In my view, both the temple and Jesus’ Body are a symbol of the Church… The temple will be rebuilt and the Body will rise on the third day… For the third day will rise in a new heaven and a new earth (2 Pet 3,13) when the dry bones, that is to say, the whole house of Israel (Ezek 37,11), will stand up on the great Day of the Lord and death will be vanquished…
Just as the Body of Jesus, subject to our vulnerable human condition, was fastened to the Cross and buried and then raised up, so the whole Body of Christ’s faithful was “fastened to the cross with him” and “now no longer lives” (Gal 2,19). For, like Paul, not one of them glories in anything any longer but in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which made of Him, One Crucified for the world and made of the world, one crucified for Him (Gal 6,14)… “For we were buried with Christ,” Paul says and adds, as if he had received some pledge of the resurrection: “And have been raised to life again with Him” (Rom 6:4-9) Everyone is walking in a new life, therefore but this new life is not yet the happy and perfect resurrection… If anyone is now placed in the tomb, one day he will rise again.” – Origen (c 185-253) Priest and Theologian, Father (Commentary on St John 10,20).
PRAYER – O God, Who, through blessed John, made Your faithful people conquer the enemies of the Cross by the power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, grant, we beseech You, that by his intercession we may avoid the snares of our spiritual enemies and may be found worthy to receive from You the crown of justice. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 12 March – Saturday of Ember Week in Lent and the Memorial of St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) – Father & Doctor
Prayer of Praise By St Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor “Father of the Fathers”
It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind, to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of loving-kindness toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son. Dear Jesus, You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father by Your Blood poured forth in loving-kindness. You cleared away the darkness of sin by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection. You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror. You reconciled Heaven and earth. Our life had no hope of eternal happiness before You redeemed us. Your Resurrection has washed away our sins, restored our innocence and brought us joy. How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love! Amen
One Minute Reflection – 12 January – Seventh day in the Octave of Epiphany, Readings: Romans 12:1-5; Luke 2:42-52 and the Memorial of St Benedict Biscop OSB (c 628-690)
“When Jesus was twelve years old …” – Luke 2:42
REFLECTION – “The public teaching of the Lord, had as we read, its beginnings from His twelfth year, for herein should be foreshadowed the number of those announcing the faith that was to be preached. Nor was it that He was heedlessly unmindful of His parents according to the flesh, who in the flesh was filled with grace and wisdom, that He was found in the temple after three days but ,for a sign that was believed dead, would present Himself to our faith, risen in heavenly glory and divine honour, after the three days of that triumphal passion.
“How is it that you sought me. Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business.” (Lk 2:49) There are two generations in Christ: the one is Paternal, the other Maternal; that which is Paternal is more Divine, the Maternal, that whereby He has stooped to our need and benefit. And, therefore, what was accomplished in the manner above nature, above age, above what was usual, must not be ascribed to His human excellence but must be referred to the power of His Divinity. Elsewhere, His Mother pleads with Him for a miracle, here she requires of Him a reason, since she still looks to the things that are human. But while here, He is described as being but twelve years old, there, He is spoken of as having disciples. See how the Mother has learnt to know her Son, so that she seeks a miracle from Him now, in His full strength, Who was astonished at this wonder in His Boyhood.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Great Latin Father and Doctor of the Church (Writings Octave of the Epiphany).
PRAYER – King of heaven and earth, Lord God, rule over our hearts and bodies this day. Sanctify us and guide our every thought, word and deed, according to the commandments of Your law, so that now and forever, Your grace may free and save us. Sanctify our hearts, minds and actions with Your power, that all we are, may speak of Your Light. May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin our Mother and the ever-zealous St Benedict Biscop, bring us to peace and confidence. We make our prayer through Your Son, our Lord Jesus, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 3 January – “Month and Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus” – Readings: John 3: 22 – 4: 6; Psalm 2: 7bc-8, 10-11; Matthew 4: 12-17, 23-25
“The people who sat in darkness, have seen a great light“
Matthew 4:16
“Our Lord Jesus Christ Has appeared to us from the bosom of the Father. He has come and drawn us out of the shadows And enlightened us with His joyful Light.
Day has dawned for humankind, Cast out the power of darkness. For us, a Light from His Light has arisen That has enlightened our darkened eyes.
Over the world He has made his glory arise And has lit up the deepest depths. Death is no more, darkness has ended, The gates of hell are shattered.
He has illumined every creature, All the shades from times long past. He has brought about salvation and given us life; Next He will come in glory.
Our King is coming in His great glory: Let us light our lamps and go out to meet him (Mt 25,6); Let us be glad in Him as He has been glad in us And gives us gladness with His glorious Light.
My friends, arise! make yourselves ready To give thanks to our Saviour King, Who will come in His glory and make us joyful With His joyous Light in the Kingdom.
St Ephrem (306-373) Father and Doctor of the Church
Thought for the Day – 14 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The First Glorious Mystery The Resurrection of Our Lord
“Do we wish to share also in the joy of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ? Let us imitate Mary. First of all, we must participate as she did in the sufferings of Christ. By meditating frequently on the Passion and Death of Christ, we can nourish in our hearts, an intense love for Him Who suffered so much for our salvation. Let us learn to carry our cross, as He carried His, with resignation and with conformity to God’s Will. Spiritual joy is always the fruit of renunciation and love.
We cannot be happy with Jesus triumphant ,if we have not first imitated Jesus suffering. We cannot rise gloriously into Heaven, if we have not first walked patiently with Mary along the Way of Calvary!”
One Minute Reflection – 8 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Readings: First Kings 19: 4-8; Psalm 34: 2-9 (9a); Ephesians 4: 30 – 5: 2; John 6: 41-51
“The bread that I will give, is my flesh for the life of the world.” – John 6:51
REFLECTION – “They are wholly mistaken who reject God’s plan for His creation, deny the salvation of the flesh and scoff at the idea of its regeneration, asserting that it cannot put on an imperishable nature. If the flesh is not saved, then the Lord did not redeem us with His Blood, the Chalice of the Eucharist is not a share in His Blood and the Bread which we break is not a share in His Body (1Cor 10,16). For… the human substance, which the Word of God truly became, redeems us with His Blood…
Since we are His members (1Cor 6,15) and are nourished by His creation… He declared, that the Chalice of His creation is His own Blood, from which He augments our own blood and He affirmed, that the Bread of His creation is His own Body from which He gives growth to our being.
So, when the mixed chalice and the baked loaf receive the word of God and when the Eucharistic elements become the Body and Blood of Christ, which brings growth and sustenance to our bodily frame, how can it be maintained that our flesh is incapable of receiving God’s gift of eternal life?
For our flesh feeds on the Lord’s Body and Blood and is His member. So Saint Paul writes: “We are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones” (Eph 5,30; Gn 2,23). He is not speaking about some spiritual and invisible man…: he is speaking of the anatomy of a real man, consisting of flesh, nerves and bones. It is this that is nourished by His Chalice, the Chalice of His Blood and gains growth from the Bread which is His Body… In the same way, our bodies are nourished by the after being buried in the earth and… rise again in due season, when the word of God confers resurrection upon them “for the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2,11).” – St Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202) Bishop, Theologian and Martyr Against the heresies, V, 2, 2
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, in Your Word, You shed the light of Your glory on the peoples who are living in the shadow of death. By Your Word, You teach us all things and ‘draw’ us in the way of hope and love. For Your Word is Truth and Your Word became flesh and filled our world with the Sun of Justice, Your Son, He who is the Sun and the Truth. May our steps be guided by His Mother, Our Blessed Lady, as we follow in the footsteps of Your Word and be a protection in our trials by the Bread of Life. Through Christ, our Lord Jesus, with You in union with the Holy Spirit, now and forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 27 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 33: 7-11; 34: 5b-9, 28; Psalms 103:6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13; Matthew 13: 36-43
“The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all causers of sin and all law-breakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:41-43
“You do not know when your last day may come. You are an ingrate! Why not use the day, today, that God has given you to repent?”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“Ah Jesus, Sun of Justice, make me clothe myself with You, so that I may be able to live according to Your will. Make me, under Your guidance, preserve my robe of baptismal innocence, white, holy and spotless and present it undefiled, before Your tribunal, so that I may wear it, for eternal life.”
St Gertrude the Great of Helfta (1256-1301)
“This then is to watch – to be detached from what is present and to live in what is unseen, to live in the thought of Christ as He came once and as He will come again, to desire His second coming, from our affectionate and grateful remembrance, of His first. ”
Sabbatum Sanctum
I look at You, my Lord Jesus and think of Your most holy Body and I keep it before me, as a pledge of my own resurrection. Though I die, as die I certainly shall, nevertheless, I shall not forever die, for I shall rise again. O You, who are the Truth, I know and believe with my whole heart, that this very flesh of mine will rise again. I know, base and odious as it is at present, that it will one day, if I be worthy, be raised incorruptible and altogether beautiful and glorious. This I know, this by Your grace, I will ever keep before me. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 5 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Genesis 28: 10-22a, Psalms 91: 1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab, Matthew 9: 18-26 and the Memorial of St Anthony Mary Zaccaria CRSP (1502-1539)
“The girl is not dead but sleeping” – Matthew 9:24
REFLECTION – “Let us consider, dear friends, how the Master is continually proving to us, that there is to be a resurrection, of which He made the Lord Jesus Christ the first fruits, when He raised Him from the dead.
Let us observe, dear friends, the resurrection that is regularly taking place. Day and night show us a resurrection – night falls asleep, day arises; day departs, night comes on. Let us take the crops – how and in what way does the sowing take place? The sower goes out and sows each seed in the ground. They fall into the ground dry and bare, and decay; – then from their decay, the greatness of the Master’s providence raises them up, and from a single grain, many spring up and bear fruit…
Do we, then, regard it as a great and marvellous thing, for the Creator of all things, to bring about the resurrection of those who have served Him with holiness in the assurance of a good faith?… With this hope, then, let our souls be bound to Him, that is faithful, to His promises and upright in His judgements. He, Who has commanded us not to lie will much more not lie Himself. For nothing is impossible to God except lying (Jr 32,17; Lk 1,37; 6,18).
So let faith in Him be rekindled in us and let us understand, that all things are possible to Him. With His majestic Word He constituted all things and with a Word, He can overturn them…when He pleases and as He pleases, He will do everything and none of the things He has decreed will pass away. All things are in His sight and nothing has escaped His Providence.” – St Pope Clement I (c 35-c 99) Pope from about 90 to 99 – Letter to the Corinthians, §24-28 ; SC 167
PRAYER – Almighty Lord and God, protect and strengthen us by Your power throughout this day, even as You have enabled us to begin it. By Your grace, may the our faith be our guide and let our every thought, word and deed aim at doing Your will and what is pleasing in Your sight. Grant that by the prayers of Saint Anthony Zaccaria, we may ever turn our eyes and hearts to our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, Your divine Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 27 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Memorial of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Church ) – “The Pillar of Faith” & “Seal of all the Fathers” – Doctor Incarnationis (Doctor of the Incarnation)
“Christ has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped but His, by essence and by nature.”
“Our lives are all controlled by the Spirit now and are not confined to this physical world that is subject to corruption. The light of the Only-begotten has shone on us and we have been transformed into the Word, the source of all life.”
“We must note, therefore, that he that does things pleasing to God, serves Christ but he that follows his own wishes, is a follower, rather of himself and not of God.”
“My sheep follow me,” says Christ. By a certain God-given grace, believers follow in the footsteps of Christ. No longer subject to the shadows of the Law , they obey the commands of Christ, and guided by His words, rise through grace, to His own dignity, for they are called children of God. When Christ ascends into heaven, they also follow Him.”
“The mark of Christ’s sheep is their willingness to hear and obey, just as disobedience is the mark of those who are not His. We take the word ‘hear’ to imply obedience to what has been said.”
“…[The Kingdom of God] … is within you. That is, it depends on your own wills and is in your own power, whether or not you receive it. Everyone, that has attained to justification, by means of faith in Christ and decorated by every virtue, is counted worthy, of the kingdom of heaven.”
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God By St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Virgin and Mother! Morning Star, perfect vessel. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Holy Temple in which God Himself was conceived. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Chaste and pure dove. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, who enclosed the One Who cannot be encompassed in your sacred womb. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, From you flowed the true light, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Through you the Conqueror and triumphant Vanquisher of hell, came to us. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Through you, the glory of the Resurrection blossoms. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, You have saved every faithful Christian. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 3 June – Solemnity of Corpus Christi, The Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, Readings: First: Exodus 24: 3-8, Psalm: Psalms 116: 12-13, 15-16, 17-18 (13), Second: Hebrews 9: 11-15, Gospel: John 6:44-51
“The bread that I will give, is my flesh for the life of the world.” – John 6:51
REFLECTION – “They are wholly mistaken who reject God’s plan for His creation, deny the salvation of the flesh and scoff at the idea of its regeneration, asserting that it cannot put on an imperishable nature. If the flesh is not saved, then the Lord did not redeem us with His Blood, the Chalice of the Eucharist is not a share in His Blood and the Bread which we break is not a share in His Body (1Cor 10,16). For… the human substance, which the Word of God truly became, redeems us with His Blood…
Since we are His members (1Cor 6,15) and are nourished by His creation… He declared, that the Chalice of His creation is His own Blood, from which He augments our own blood and He affirmed, that the Bread of His creation is His own Body from which He gives growth to our being.
So, when the mixed chalice and the baked loaf receive the word of God and when the Eucharistic elements become the Body and Blood of Christ, which brings growth and sustenance to our bodily frame, how can it be maintained that our flesh is incapable of receiving God’s gift of eternal life?
For our flesh feeds on the Lord’s Body and Blood and is His member. So Saint Paul writes: “We are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones” (Eph 5,30; Gn 2,23). He is not speaking about some spiritual and invisible man…: he is speaking of the anatomy of a real man, consisting of flesh, nerves and bones. It is this that is nourished by His Chalice, the Chalice of His Blood and gains growth from the Bread which is His Body… In the same way, our bodies are nourished by the after being buried in the earth and… rise again in due season, when the word of God confers resurrection upon them “for the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2,11).” – St Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202) Bishop, Theologian and Martyr
PRAYER – Lord Jesus Christ, You gave Your Church an admirable Sacrament, as the abiding memorial of Your Passion. Teach us so to worship the sacred mystery of Your Body and Blood, that ts redeeming power may sanctify us always. Who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 2 June – “Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Readings: First: Tobit 3: 1-11a, 16-17a, Psalm: Psalms 25: 2-3, 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9, Gospel: Mark 12: 18-27
“He is not God of the dead but of the living. ”
Mark 12:27
“If anyone serves me, he must follow me and where I am, there will my servant be also.”
John 12:26
“O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen and you are overthrown. Christ is risen and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen and life reigns. Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
“He died, but He vanquished death. In Himself, He put an end to what we feared; He took it upon Himself and He vanquished it, as a mighty hunter, He captured and slew the lion.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“How precious the gift of the Cross, how splendid to contemplate! In the Cross there is no mingling of good and evil, as in the tree of paradise; it is wholly beautiful to behold and good to taste. The fruit of this tree is not death but life, not darkness but light. This tree does not cast us out of paradise but opens the way for our return.”
St Theodore the Studite (750–826) Father, Abbot, Theologian, Writer
One Minute Reflection – 2 June – “Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Readings: First: Tobit 3: 1-11a, 16-17a, Psalm: Psalms 25: 2-3, 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9, Gospel: Mark 12: 18-27
“He is not God of the dead but of the living. You, therefore, do greatly err ” – Mark 12:27
REFLECTION – “Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living,” (Rom 14,9); “He is not God of the dead but of the living.” Since He, the Lord of the dead, is living, the dead are no longer dead, but living. Life reigns in them so that they might live and never more fear death, just as “Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more,” (Rom 6,9). Raised and set free from corruption, they will never more see death; they will have a share in the resurrection of Christ just as He also shared their death. Indeed, if He came on earth, which up till then had been an everlasting prison-house, it was to “shatter bronze doors and snap iron bars,” (Is 45,2), to draw our life out of corruption, by drawing it to Himself and to give us freedom, instead of slavery.
If this plan of salvation has not yet been fully realised (since men continue to die and their bodies to be destroyed by death), that should not be any reason for unbelief. We have already received the firstfruits of what has been promised to us, in the person of Him, Who is our firstborn… “God has raised us up with him and seated us with him in Christ Jesus,” (Eph 2,6). We shall come to full realisation of this promise, when the time fixed by the Father, has come, when we shall put off our childish state and “attain mature manhood” (Eph 4,13. For the eternal Father has willed, that His gift should stand firm. As the Apostle Paul, who was well aware of this, declared – this will come upon all humankind through Christ, who “will change our lowly body to conform with his glorious body,” (Phil 3,21)… The glorious body of Christ is no different from the body “sown in weakness, dishonourable,” (cf. 1Cor 15,42); it is the same body but changed in glory. And what Christ has accomplished by taking His own humanity, the original pattern for our nature, to the Father, He will do for the whole of humanity, according to His promise – “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself,” (Jn 12,32). – St Anastasius I of Antioch(Died 599) Monk, then Bishop of Antioch from 549-570 and from 593-599 – Homily 5, On the Resurrection
PRAYER – Holy Father, You made us, we belong to You. Grant that by the prayers of all your holy saints, we may attain eternal life with You to praise and worship You for all eternity. May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Holy Mother, assist us our earthly pilgrimage. We make our prayer through our Lord, Jesus, with You and in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen. HEART of JESUS burning with love of us, inflame our hearts with love of Thee. – 100 Days, once a day. (See Instructions. – Unless otherwise stated, e.g., “once a day,” a partial Indulgence may be gained any number of times in succession.) [169 Raccolta or Collection of Indulgences, 1910] Pope Leo XIII, 16 July 1893
One Minute Reflection – 22 April – Thursday of the Third Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 8:26-40, Responsorial Psalm 66(65):8-9.16-17.20, John 6:44-51
“The bread that I will give, is my flesh for the life of the world.” – John 6:51
REFLECTION – “They are wholly mistaken who reject God’s plan for His creation, deny the salvation of the flesh and scoff at the idea of its regeneration, asserting that it cannot put on an imperishable nature. If the flesh is not saved, then the Lord did not redeem us with His Blood, the Chalice of the Eucharist is not a share in His Blood and the Bread which we break is not a share in His Body (1Cor 10,16). For… the human substance, which the Word of God truly became, redeems us with His Blood…
Since we are His members (1Cor 6,15) and are nourished by His creation… He declared, that the Chalice of His creation is His own Blood, from which He augments our own blood and He affirmed, that the Bread of His creation is His own Body from which He gives growth to our being.
So, when the mixed chalice and the baked loaf receive the word of God and when the Eucharistic elements become the Body and Blood of Christ, which brings growth and sustenance to our bodily frame, how can it be maintained that our flesh is incapable of receiving God’s gift of eternal life?
For our flesh feeds on the Lord’s Body and Blood and is His member. So Saint Paul writes: “We are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones” (Eph 5,30; Gn 2,23). He is not speaking about some spiritual and invisible man…: he is speaking of the anatomy of a real man, consisting of flesh, nerves and bones. It is this that is nourished by His Chalice, the Chalice of His Blood and gains growth from the Bread which is His Body… In the same way, our bodies are nourished by the after being buried in the earth and… rise again in due season, when the word of God confers resurrection upon them “for the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2,11).” – St Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202) Bishop, Theologian and Martyr Against the heresies, V, 2, 2
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, in Your Word, You shed the light of Your glory on the peoples who are living in the shadow of death. By Your Word, You teach us all things and ‘draw’ us in the way of hope and love. For Your Word is Truth and Your Word became flesh and filled our world with the Sun of Justice, Your Son, He who is the Sun and the Truth. May our steps be guided by His Mother, Our Blessed Lady, as we follow in the footsteps of Your Word and be a protection in our trials by the Bread of Life. Through Christ, our Lord Jesus, with You in union with the Holy Spirit, now and forever, amen.
Acts 8: 26-40 26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying: Arise, go towards the south, to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza:=, this is desert. 27 And rising up, he went. And behold a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch, of great authority under Candace the Queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge over all her treasures, had come to Jerusalem to adore. 28 And he was returning, sitting in his chariot, and reading Isaias the prophet. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip: Go near and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he said: Thinkest thou that thou understand what thou readest? 31 Who said: And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 And the place of the scripture which he was reading was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb without voice before his shearer, so openeth he not his mouth. 33 In humility his judgEment was taken away. His generation who shall declare, for his life shall be taken from the earth? 34 And the eunuch answering Philip, said: I beseech thee, of whom doth the prophet speak this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip, opening his mouth and beginning at this scripture, preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water and the eunuch said: See, here is water, what doth hinder me from being baptised? 37 And Philip said: If thou believe with all thy heart, thou may. And he answering, said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still; and they went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch:and he baptised him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took away Philip and the eunuch saw him no more. And he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found in Azotus and passing through, he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
Gospel: John 6: 44-51 44 No man can come to me, except the Father, who has sent me, draw him and I will raise him up in the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught of God. Everyone that has heard of the Father and has learned, cometh to me. 46 Not that any man has seen the Father but he who is of God, he has seen the Father. 47 Amen, amen I say unto you: He that believes in me, hath everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the desert and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that if any man eat of it, he may not die. 51 I am the living bread which 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.
One Minute Reflection – 18 April – The Third Suday of Easter, Readings: First: Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19,salm: Psalms 4: 2, 4, 7-8, 9 (7a), Second: First John 2: 1-5a Gospel: Luke 24: 35-48
“It is I, myself. Touch me and see” – Luke 24:39
REFLECTION – “How was the Lord’s body, which could come in to the disciples through closed doors after the Resurrection, a real one? We must be certain that if a divine work is understood by reason it is not wonderful, nor does our faith have any merit, when human reason provides a proof. We have to consider these works of our Redeemer, which can in no way be understood of themselves, in the light of other works of His, so that His more miraculous deeds, may provoke faith in the miraculous. For the Lord’s Body, which made its entrance to the disciples through closed doors, was the same as that, which issued before the eyes of men from the Virgin’s closed womb at his birth. Is it surprising if He who was now going to live forever, made His entrance through closed doors after His Resurrection, Who on His coming in order to die, made His appearance from the unopened womb of the Virgin?
But because the faith of those who beheld it, wavered concerning the Body they could see, He showed them at once, His Hands and His Side, offering them the Body which He brought in through the closed doors to touch. … Now, it cannot be otherwise then, that what is touched is corruptible and what is not corruptible cannot be touched. But, in a wonderful and incomprehensible way, our Redeemer, after His Resurrection, manifested a Body that was incorruptible and touchable. By showing us that it is incorruptible, He would urge us on toward our reward, and by offering it as touchable, He would dispose us towards faith, He manifested Himself as both incorruptible and touchable to truly show us, that His Body after His Resurrection, was of the same nature as ours but of a different sort of glory. Alleluia!” – St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Father, Doctor of the Church – Homilies on the Gospels, no.26
PRAYER – Lord God, grant Your people constant joy in the renewed vigour of their souls. They rejoice because You have restored them to the glory of Your adopted children, let them look forward gladly to the certain hope of the resurrection. May the prayers of our Blessed Mother, be our succour amidst the storms of this mortal life. We make our prayer through our Resurrected Christ, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen, alleluia!
Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19 13 The God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus, whom you indeed delivered up and denied before the face of Pilate, when he judged he should be released. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. 15 But the author of life you killed, whom God hath raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses 17 And now, brethren, I know that you did it through ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God before had shewed by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19 Be penitent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.
First John 2: 1-5a 1 My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for those of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have known him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He who saith that he knoweth him and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him. 5 But he that keepeth his word, in him in very deed the charity of God is perfected.
Gospel: Luke 24: 35-48 35 And they told what things were done in the way and how they knew him in the breaking of the bread. 36 Now whilst they were speaking these things, Jesus stood in the midst of them and saith to them: Peace be to you. it is I, fear not. 37 But they being troubled and frightened, supposed that they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them: Why are you troubled and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and feet, that it is I myself; touch and se -: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me to have. 40 And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and feet. 41 But while they yet believed not and wondered for joy, he said: Have you any thing to eat? 44 And he said to them: These are the words which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. 46 And he said to them: Thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, the third day: 47 And that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 42 And they offered him a piece of a broiled fish and a honeycomb. 43 And when he had eaten before them, taking the remains, he gave to them.
Our Morning Offering – 13 April – Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
He is Risen, Tell the Story By Father Willard F Janusch (1930-2018)
He is risen, tell the story to the nations of the night; from their sin and from their blindness, let them walk in Easter light. Now begins a new creation, now has come our true salvation. Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
Mary goes to tell the others of the wonders she has seen; John and Peter come a’running what can all this truly mean? O Rabboni, Master holy, to appear to one so lowly! Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
He has cut down death and evil, He has conquered all despair; He has lifted from our shoulders, all the weight of anxious care. Risen Brother, now before you, we will worship and adore You. Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
Now get busy, bring the message, so that all may come to know there is hope for saint and sinner, for our God has loved us so. Ev’ry church bell is a’ringing, ev’ry Christian now is singing. Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
A Parish Priest, Seminary Professor and prolific Musician and Hymnist, Fr Willard wa Ordained in 1956 and died at the age of 88 in 2018.
One Minute Reflection – 11 April – The Octave Day of Easter, Readings; First: Acts 4: 32-35,salm: Psalms 118: 2-4, 13-15, 22-24,Second: First John 5: 1-6, Gospel: John 20: 19-31
“… Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands and bring your hand and put it into my side and do not be unbelieving but believe.” – John 20:27
REFLECTION – “After the resurrection, we shall have the same members that we now use, the same flesh and blood and bones, for it is not the nature of these, that is condemned in Holy Scripture but, their works. The true confession of the resurrection declares that the flesh will be glorious but without destroying its reality. And so, when the Apostle says, “This [flesh] is corruptible and mortal,” his words denote this very body, in other words, the flesh that was then seen. But when he further adds, that it “puts on incorruption and immortality,” he is not saying that what was put on [i.e., the clothing] does away with the body that it adorns in glory. Rather, it makes that body glorious that previously lacked glory. When the more worthless robe of mortality and weakness is laid aside, then we can be clothed with the gold of immortality and the blessedness of strength as well as virtue.” – St Jerome (343-420) Father and One of the original four Doctors of the Church- Against John of Jerusalem
PRAYER – God of eternal compassion, each Easter, You rekindle the faith of Your consecated people. Grant still greater grace, so that all may truly understand, the water in which they were cleansed, the Spirit by which they were reborn, the Blood by which they were redeemed. May Mary’s help, Mater Misericordiae, Mother of the Risen Jesus Christ, be always with us. Through Christ, Redeemer and Merciful Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for always and forever, amen.
First Reading: Acts 4: 32-35 32 And the multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul: neither did any one say that aught of the things which he possessed, was his own; but all things were common unto them. 33 And with great power did the apostles give testimony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord; and great grace was in them 34 For neither was there any one needy among them. For as many as were owners of lands or houses, sold them and brought the price of the things they sold 35 And laid it down before the feet of the apostles. And distribution was made to every one, according as he had need.
Second Reading: First John 5: 1-6 1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. And every one that loveth him who begot, loveth him also who is born of him. 2 In this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the charity of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not heavy. 4 For whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world: and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ: not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit which
Gospel: John 20: 19-31 19 Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you. 20 And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. 23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples, therefore, said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut and stood in the midst and said: Peace be to you. 27 Then he saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither and see my hands and bring hither thy hand and put it into my side and be not faithless but believing. 28 Thomas answered and said to him: My Lord, and my God. 29 Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and have believed. 30 Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing, you may have life in his name.
Quote/s of the Day – 8 April – Easter Thursday, Readings: First: Acts 3: 11-26 Psalm: Psalms 8: 2ab and 5, 6-7, 8-9, Gospel: Luke 24: 35-48
“It is I, fear not.”
Luke 24:36
“After His Resurrection, the Lord appeared to His disciples and greeted them, saying: “Peace be with you!” Peace is what this saving salutation truly is, since the word “salutation” derives from the word for “salvation.” What more could one hope for? Man receives greetings of salvation in person, for our salvation is Christ!”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of Grace
“Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labours.”
St Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 7 April – Easter Wednesday, Readings: First: Acts 3: 1-10, Psalm: Psalms 105: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9, Gospel: Luke 24: 13-35
“And they said one to the other: ‘Was not our hearts burning within us, whilst he spoke in this way and opened to us the scriptures?’” – Luke 24:32
REFLECTION – “What is the innermost reason of this fruitfulness of God’s Word? It is that Christ is ever living: He is ever the God who saves and quickens. … All proportion guarded, that which is true of the person of Jesus is true also of His Word and, what was true yesterday, is still true in our days. Christ lives in the soul of the just, under the infallible direction of this inner master, the soul … penetrates into the divine light, Christ gives it His Spirit, the first author of Holy Writ, that it may there “search into the very depths of the infinite” (cf. 1 Cor 2:10). It contemplates God’s marvels with respect to men; it measures, by faith, the divine proportions of the mystery of Jesus and this wonderful spectacle, whereof the splendours enlighten and illuminate it, touches, draws, enraptures, uplifts, transports and transforms the soul. It experiences in its turn, what the disciples of Emmaus felt when Christ Jesus Himself vouchsafed to interpret to them the sacred books: “Was not our heart burning within us whilst he spoke in the way and opened to us the Scriptures.”
What is there astonishing, then, in the fact, that the soul, charmed and won by this living Word, “which penetrates even to the marrow” (Heb 4:12) makes the prayer of these disciples its own – “Stay with us! O Thou the incomparable Master, indefectible Light, infallible Truth, the only true Life of our souls!” Forestalling these holy desires “the Holy Spirit Himself prays for us with unspeakable groanings” which constitute true prayer, these vehement desires to possess God, to live no longer save for the Father’s glory and for that of His Son Jesus. Love becomes great and burning by contact with God, takes possession of all the powers of the soul, renders it strong and generous, to do perfectly, all the Father’s will, to give itself up ,wholly to the divine good pleasure.” – Blessed Columba Marmion (1858-1923) Abbot – Monastic prayer (Christ, the Ideal of the Monk)
PRAYER – God our Father, you give us the joy of celebrating our Lord’s Resurrection. Let the word of the Word, our Resurrected Saviour, lead us to our eternal joy. May the intercession of all your Angels, Saints and the Blessed Mother of the Risen Christ, bring us safely home. Through Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, one God with You, now and for all eternity, amen.
Epistle: Acts 3: 1-10 1 Now Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer. 2 And a certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb, was carried: whom they laid every day at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, that he might ask alms of them that went into the temple. 3 He, when he had seen Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms. 4 But Peter with John fastening his eyes upon him, said: Look upon us. 5 But he looked earnestly upon them, hoping that he should receive something of them. 6 But Peter said: Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, I give thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise, and walk. 7 And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up, and forthwith his feet and soles received strength. 8 And he leaping up, stood, and walked, and went in with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 And they knew him, that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened to him.
Gospel: Luke 24: 13-35 13 And behold, two of them went, the same day, to a town which was sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, named Emmaus. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 And it came to pass, that while they talked and reasoned with themselves, Jesus himself also drawing near, went with them. 16 But their eyes were held, that they should not know him. 17 And he said to them: What are these discourses that you hold one with another as you walk, and are sad? 18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answering, said to him: Art thou only a stranger to Jerusalem, and hast not known the things that have been done there in these days? 19 To whom he said: What things? And they said: Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people; 20 And how our chief priests and princes delivered him to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we hoped, that it was he that should have redeemed Israel: and now besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done. 22 Yea and certain women also of our company affrighted us, who before it was light, were at the sepulchre, 23 And not finding his body, came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who say that he is alive. 24 And some of our people went to the sepulchre, and found it so as the women had said, but him they found not. 25 Then he said to them: O foolish, and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken. 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures, the things that were concerning him. 28 And they drew nigh to the town, whither they were going and he made as though he would go farther. 29 But they constrained him; saying: Stay with us because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in with them. 30 And it came to pass, whilst he was at table with them, he took bread, and blessed, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him: and he vanished out of their sight. 32 And they said one to the other: Was not our heart burning within us, whilst he spoke in this way, and opened to us the scriptures? 33 And rising up, the same hour, they went back to Jerusalem: and they found the eleven gathered together, and those that were staying with them, 34 Saying: The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. 35 And they told what things were done in the way; and how they knew him in the breaking of the bread.
Thought for the Day – 6 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Meaning of Easter
“Today the Church adorns herself in festival array. Gone are the lengthy lamentations of Holy Saturday and the sorrowful recitations of the Passion and in their place, is the glad cry of Alleluia, the hymn of vitory over death and sin. The true joy of Easter, lies, not merely in external celebration, however but in the spiritual gladness of the soul. As Jesus has conquered death and sin, so we must purify ourselves of every trace of guilt by a good confession and must be sure, that it will result in a practical renovation of our lives. We should approach Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist with greater fervour and humility and with greater trust in His goodness and mercy. When we have received Him into our hearts, we should ask Him to renew and transform us in Himself. He is everything and we are nothing without Him. He is strong, we are weak. We are capable only of feeble desires to do good but He can make them effective by His grace. We should not be satisfied with forming general resolutions when we go to confession and receive Holy Communion at Easter. We should examine the depths of our soul and discover the sin which we are most accustomed to commit and the virtue which we are principally lacking. As a result of our investigation, we should form a particular resolution to combat this sin and to practise this virtue. It is only in this way, that our celebration of Easter can inaugurate the beginning of a genuine self-renewal which will gain momentum daily, until it becomes a true spiritual resurrection. It will be a hard battle, which will necessitate a constant vigilance and a readiness to begin again, everytime we realise, that we have fallen. It will require an unfailing spirit of prayer but, the final victory, will bring us such happiness, that worldly pleasures will seem empty and illusory, by comparison.”
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!!! For with thee is the fountain of life and in thy light, we shall see light.
Psalm 36:9
“Now let the heavens be joyful, Let earth her song begin. Let the world keep triumph, And all that is therein, Invisible and visible, Their notes let all things blend, For Christ the Lord is risen Our joy that hath no end!”
St John Damascene (675-749) Father & Doctor of the Church
AnaStpaul 
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