Quote of the Day – 30 January – Wednesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 4:1-20
“When we go to Confession,
we are not telling God something
He doesn’t already know
and we’re not showing Him something
He doesn’t already see.
We are giving Him something
He doesn’t already have –
Your broken heart.”
One Minute Reflection – 30 January – Wednesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 4:1-20 and the Memorial of the Salesian Priest Blessed Bronislaw Markiewicz SDB (1842-1912)
“The sower sows the word. … And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word but the cares of the world and the delight in riches and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word and it proves unfruitful.”…Mark 4:14,18-19
REFLECTION – “Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus invites us today to look inside ourselves – to give thanks for our good soil and to tend the soil that is not yet good. Let us ask ourselves, if our heart is open to welcome the seed of the Word of God with faith. Let us ask ourselves, if our rocks of laziness are still numerous and large;, let us identify our thorns of vice and call them by name.,, Let us find the courage to reclaim the soil, to effect a new conversion of our heart, bringing to the Lord in Confession and in prayer our rocks and our thorns. In doing this, Jesus, the Good Sower will be glad to carry out an additional task – to purify our hearts, by removing the rocks and the thorns which choke His Word…Pope Francis – Angelus, 16 July 2017
PRAYER – Lord God, in Your wisdom You created us, by Your providence You rule us, You have planted us, penetrate our inmost being Your holy Light, so that our way of life may always be one of faithful service to You. May we never hesitate to run to Your all-forgiving arms of mercy, when we allow the rocks and thorns of this life to prevent our growth and our steps as we return home to You. May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, our Mother, all the angels and saints and of Blessed Bronislaw Markiewicz be unfailing assistance to us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 29 January – Tuesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 3:31–35
31 And his mother and his brethren came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting about him and they said to him, “Your mother and your brethren are outside, asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brethren?” 34 And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brethren! 35 Whoever does the will of God, is my brother and sister and mother.”
Whoever does the will of God,
is my brother and sister and mother.
Our determination to follow God’s will in all things without exception is contained in the Lord’s prayer, in the words we say each day: “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” In heaven there is no resistance to the divine will, everything is submitted to Him and obeys Him, we promise to do the same for Our Lord, never offering any resistance but always remaining very subject to this divine will in every circumstance. Now, the will of God can be understood in two ways: there is the will of God that is clearly stated and the will that is His good pleasure.
The will that is stated consists of four parts: His commandments, His counsels, the counsels of the Church and His inspirations. As regards the commandments of God and His Church, each of us must bow the neck and submit to obedience because in this, the will of God is absolute, willing that we should obey if we wish to be saved.
He wants us to observe the counsels by desire but not in an absolute manner, since some are so opposed to each other, that it would be altogether impossible to take on the practice of one of them, without taking away the means of practising the other. For example, it is a counsel to leave all one has in order to follow our Lord, stripped of everything and it is a counsel to lend and give alms. But how can someone lend who all at once has left all that he has, or how can he give alms, tell me, when he has nothing? So we have to follow the counsels God wants us to follow and not think He has given them all to us, so that we should embrace them all.
In addition there is the will of God’s good pleasure which we are to consider in every eventuality, I mean in all those things that happen to us – in sickness, death, affliction, consolation, in things that are adverse and things that are profitable, in brief in everything unforeseen. And to this will of God we should always be ready to submit in all that happens, in the agreeable as in the disagreeable, in affliction as in consolation, in death as in life and in all that is not clearly against the stated will of God, for that always comes first.
One Minute Reflection – 29 January – Tuesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 3:31–35
“Here are my mother and my brethren! Whoever does the will of God, is my brother, and sister and mother.”…Mark 34-35
REFLECTION – “Jesus formed a new family, no longer based on natural ties but on faith in Him, on His love which welcomes us and unites us to each other, in the Holy Spirit. All those who welcome Jesus’ word are children of God and brothers and sisters among themselves. Welcoming the word of Jesus makes us brothers and sisters, makes us Jesus’ family. Speaking ill of others, destroying others’ reputations, makes us the devil’s family. Jesus’ response was not a lack of respect for His mother and His brethren. Rather, for Mary it is the greatest recognition, precisely because she herself is the perfect disciple who completely obeyed God’s will. May the Virgin Mother help us to live always in communion with Jesus, recognising the work of the Holy Spirit who acts in him and in the Church, regenerating the world to new life.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 10 June 2018
PRAYER – Loving Father, You gave us Your only-begotten Son to teach us, to make us Your adopted children by His adoption of ourselves as His siblings. What grace, what mercy, what love, is this! We give You our gratitude and our love. Mary, holy and blessed Virgin, Mother of God, pray for us. Through Jesus, our brother and our Saviour, who gave us His mother to guide and protect us, we pray, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 29 January – Monday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 3:22-30 and The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”...Mark 3:22
REFLECTION – “It is characteristic of evildoers, stirred by envy, to shut their eyes as much as they can, to other people’s merits and when, overcome by the evidence, they cannot do so any longer, to depreciate or undervalue it. Thus, when the crowd rejoiced in devotion and marvelled at the sight of Christ’s works, the scribes and Pharisees either closed their eyes to what they knew to be true, or minimised what is great, or undervalued what is good. Once, for example, feigning ignorance, they said to Him who had worked so many wonderful signs: “What sign can you do that we may believe in you?” (Jn 6:30). In this case, unable to blatantly deny the facts, they wickedly depreciate them… and they devalue them by saying: “It is by Beelzebub, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.”
Now this, dear brethren, is the blasphemy against the Spirit that binds all those he has seized with the bonds of an eternal sin. This is not to say that it would be impossible for the repentant to gain forgiveness for it all if they “produce fruit as evidence of their repentance” (Lk 3:8). The only thing is that, crushed beneath such a weight of malice, they lack the strength to aspire to that praiseworthy repentance worthy of forgiveness… Those who, perceiving the proofs of grace and the Holy Spirit at work in a brother…, are not afraid to undermine and calumniate and brashly ascribe to the evil spirit what they clearly know to be of the Holy Spirit, such as these have been so forsaken by this Spirit of grace, that they no longer even desire the repentance that would obtain pardon. They are completely in the dark, blinded by their own malice. Indeed, what could be more serious than to dare, out of envy for a brother one had been commanded to love as oneself (Mt 19:19), to blaspheme God’s goodness… and insult his majesty by wanting to discredit another?”...Isaac of Stella (c 1100-c.1171) O.Cist. Cistercian monk
PRAYER – Lord, our God, keep us free from envy of others, for this is a poison that can destroy all community and love. Help us to know that to each You have given gifts and all are Your wonder and made to honour You alone. Help us to appreciate our neighbour’s talents and understand that we are all one in the Mystical Body of Your Son. And since it was by Your gift that St Thomas became so great a saint and theologian, give us grace to understand his teaching and follow his way of life. May his great love for Jesus Crucified and his pure adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, be our guide to follow in Your Son’s footsteps and take up our cross and follow Him. Grant that by the prayers of St Thomas, we may grow in love and sanctity. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 27 January – The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Luke 4:14–21
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed…”...Luke 4:18
REFLECTION – “Now let us imagine that we too enter the synagogue of Nazareth, the village where Jesus has grown up, until He is about 30 years old. Then, after a moment of silence filled with expectation on the part of everyone, He says, in the midst of their general amazement: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”.
Evangelising the poor – this is Jesus’ mission. According to what He says, this is also the mission of the Church and of every person baptised in the Church. Being a Christian is the same thing as being a missionary. Proclaiming the Gospel with one’s word and even before, with one’s life, is the primary aim of the Christian community and of each of its members.
It is noted here that Jesus addresses the Good News to all, excluding no one, indeed favouring those who are distant, suffering sick, cast out by society. Let us ask ourselves: what does it mean to evangelise the poor? It means first of all drawing close to them, it means having the joy of serving them, of freeing them from their oppression, and all of this in the name of and with the Spirit of Christ, because He is the Gospel of God, He is the Mercy of God, He is the liberation of God, He is the One who became poor so as to enrich us with His poverty.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 24 January 2016
PRAYER – All-powerful, ever-living God, direct our steps in the way of Your love, so that our whole life may be fragrant with all we do in our daily lives as missionaries of Your beloved Son, who sent us forth to proclaim the Good News. Lord God, let St Angela Merici ever commend us to Your love and care. May her charity and wisdom inspire us to treasure Your teaching and express it in our lives. Through our Lord Jesus, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote of the Day – 26 January – The Memorial of Sts Timothy and Titus, Disciples and Companions of the Apostle Paul and Bishops of the Catholic Church
“Bear your share of hardship
along with me, like a good soldier
of Christ Jesus.”
One Minute Reflection – 26 January – The Memorial of Sts Timothy and Titus, Disciples and Companions of the Apostle Paul and Bishops of the Catholic Church
“And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few, pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go your way, behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”...Luke 10:2-3
REFLECTION – 1562 “Christ, whom the Father hallowed and sent into the world, has, through His apostles, made their successors, the bishops namely, sharers in His consecration and mission and these, in their turn, duly entrusted in varying degrees various members of the Church with the office of their ministry.” 43 “The function of the bishops’ ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree to priests so that they might be appointed in the order of the priesthood and be co-workers of the episcopal order for the proper fulfilment of the apostolic mission that had been entrusted to it by Christ.”...CCC 1562 The ordination of priests – co-workers of the bishops
Another observation concerns the willingness of these collaborators. The sources concerning Timothy and Titus highlight their readiness to take on various offices that also often consisted in representing Paul in circumstances far from easy. In a word, they teach us to serve the Gospel with generosity, realising that this also entails a service to the Church herself.”…Pope Benedict XVI 13 December 2006
PRAYER – Almighty God, You endowed Saints Timothy and Titus with power to preach Your Word. Grant that, living a life of integrity and holiness in this world, reaching out to teach the Gospel both by our lives and our words, we may, through their prayers, come to our true home in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 25 January – Feast of the Conversion of St Paul the Apostle
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread,
or drinks the cup, of the Lord,
in an unworthy manner,
will be guilty of profaning
the body and blood of the Lord.
Let a man examine himself
and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For any one who eats and drinks,
without discerning the body eats
and drinks judgement upon himself.”
“Let love be genuine,
hate what is evil,
hold fast to what is good,
love one another with brotherly affection,
outdo one another in showing honour.
Never flag in zeal,
be aglow with the Spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in your hope,
be patient in tribulation,
be constant in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints,
practice hospitality.”
“….but we rejoice in our sufferings
because we know,
that suffering produces perseverance,
perseverance, character
and character, hope.”
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Pope Benedict XVI reflects on the significance of Paul’s conversion for the whole Christian people:
“Paul’s conversion matured in his encounter with the Risen Christ, it was this encounter that radically changed his life. What happened to him on the road to Damascus is what Jesus asks in today’s Gospel, Saul is converted because, thanks to the divine light, “he has believed in the Gospel.” In this consists his and our conversion – in believing in Jesus dead and risen and in opening to the illumination of His divine grace. In that moment Saul understood, that his salvation, did not depend on good works fulfilled according to the law but, on the fact, that Jesus died also for him the persecutor and has risen. This truth by which every Christian life is enlightened thanks to Baptism completely overturns our way of life.
To be converted means, also for each one of us, to believe that Jesus “has given himself for me”, dying on the Cross (cf. Galatians 2: 20) and, risen, lives with me and in me.
Entrusting myself to the power of His forgiveness, letting myself be taken by His hand, I can come out of the quicksands of pride and sin, of deceit and sadness, of selfishness and of every false security, to know and live the richness of His love.”
(25 January 25, 2009)
One Minute Reflection – 25 January – Feast of the Conversion of St Paul – Acts 9:1-22
And all who heard him were amazed, and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called on this name?”…Acts 9:21
REFLECTION – “We preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor 4:5). Who then is this? The former persecutor. O mighty wonder! The former persecutor himself preaches Christ. But why? Was he bribed? No, there was no one who could have persuaded him in that way. Was it the sight of Christ on earth that blinded him? But Jesus had already been taken up into heaven. Saul set out from Jerusalem to persecute Christ’s church and after three days the persecutor had become a preacher in Damascus. By what power? Other people call on friends as witnesses for their friends but I have presented to you as a witness the former enemy.
Do you still doubt? The testimony of Peter and John is weighty… but they were istcyrilofjerusalemndeed His friends. But of the testimony of one who was formerly His enemy and afterwards died for His sake, who can any longer doubt the truth? I am amazed at the wise dispensation of the Holy Spirit;… to Paul, the former persecutor, He gave the privilege of writing fourteen letters… In order that his teaching might be beyond question, He granted the former enemy and persecutor the privilege of writing more letters than Peter and John so that we might all be thus made believers. For “all were amazed at Paul and said: ‘Isn’t this the man who was formerly a persecutor? Didn’t he come here to take us away bound to Jerusalem?’” (Acts 9:21) “Do not be not amazed,” said Paul, I know how “it is hard for me to kick against the pricks” (Acts 26:14); I know that “I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God” (1 Cor 15:9); yet “mercy was shown to me because I did it in ignorance”… “the grace of God was exceedingly abundant in me” (1 Tm 1:13-14).”…St Cyril of Jerusalem (313-350) Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Today Lord, we celebrate the conversion of St Paul, Your chosen vessel for carrying Your name to the whole world. Help us to make our way towards You by following in his footsteps and by being Your disciples before the men and women of our day. Grant that by the prayers of St Paul, we too may say, “Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 24 January – Thursday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Gospel Mark 3:7–12 and The Memorial of St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church: Doctor Caritatis (Doctor of Charity) ‘The Gentle Christ of Geneva’
“…a great multitude, hearing all that he did, came to him.”…Mark 3:8
REFLECTION – “Why did the multitude come? What did they need? Whether this multitude went to Jesus out of “need” or because “some were curious”, the true reason is seen in the fact that this crowd was drawn by the Father, it was the Father that drew the crowd to Jesus. We read in the Gospel that ‘Jesus was moved, because He saw these people as sheep without a shepherd’. Therefore, the Father, through the Holy Spirit, draws people to Jesus.
The impure spirits try to impede; they wage war on us. Someone might object – Father, I am very Catholic, I always go to Mass…. But I never have these temptations, thank God! “No! Pray, because you are on the wrong path! because a Christian life without temptations is not Christian – it is ideological, it is gnostic but it is not Christian. When the Father draws people to Jesus, there is another who draws in the opposite way and wages war within you! Thus Saint Paul speaks of Christian life as a struggle – a struggle every day to win.
Therefore, all Christians must make this examination of conscience and ask themselves: “Do I feel this struggle in my heart?” This conflict between comfort or service to others, between having a little fun or praying and adoring the Father, between one thing and the other? Do I feel the will to do good, or is there something that stops me, turns me into an ascetic? And also, do I believe that my life moves Jesus’ heart? If I don’t believe this, I must pray a lot to believe it, so that He may grant me this grace. And we ask the Lord to make us Christians who know how to discern what is happening in our hearts and to choose well the path, through which the Father draws us to Jesus.”..Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 19 January 2017
PRAYER – Lord God, true light and creator of light, grant us the grace to see clearly by the light who is Light, Your only Son. Lead us in His path and send us Your Spirit. Grant us the strength to grow in holiness so that our struggle against the powers of darkness may we a victory over temptation. May the intercession of the master of spirituality, St Francis de Sales, help us and protect us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 23 January –Wednesday of the Second week in Ordinary Time – First Reading: Hebrews 7:1–3 – and The Memorial of Blessed Henry Suso OP (1295-1366)
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him…Hebrews 7:1
REFLECTION – “An ancient priest of the Mosaic order could only be selected from the tribe of Levi. It was obligatory without exception that he should be of the family descending from Aaron and do service to God in outward worship with the sacrifices and blood of irrational animals. But he that is named Melchizedek, which in Greek is translated “king of righteousness,” who was king of Salem, which would mean “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without line of descent, not having, according to the account, “beginning of years or end of life,” had no characteristics shared by the Aaronic priesthood.
For he was not chosen by humans, he was not anointed with prepared oil, he was not of the tribe of those who had not yet been born and, strangest of all, he was not even circumcised in his flesh and yet he blesses Abraham, as if he were far better than he. He did not act as priest to the Most High God with sacrifices and libations, nor did he minister at the temple in Jerusalem. How could he? It did not yet exist. And he was such, of course, because there was going to be no similarity between our Saviour Christ and Aaron, for He was neither to be designated priest after a period when he was not priest, nor was He to become priest but be it. For we should notice carefully in the words, “You are a priest forever,” he does not say, “You shall be what you were not before,” any more than, “You were that before which you are not now” — but by Him who said, “I am who I am,”1 it is said, “You are, and remain, a priest forever.”
And the fulfilment of the oracle is truly wondrous to one who recognises how our Saviour Jesus, the Christ of God, now performs through His ministers even today, sacrifices after the manner of Melchizedek’s. For just as He, who was priest of the Gentiles, is not represented as offering outward sacrifices but as blessing, Abraham only with wine and bread, so in exactly the same way our Lord and Saviour Himself first and then all His priests among all nations, perform the spiritual sacrifice according to the customs of the church and with wine and bread darkly express the mysteries of His body and saving blood. This, by the Holy Spirit, Melchizedek foresaw and used the figures of what was to come, as the Scripture of Moses witnesses, when it says, “And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abraham.” And thus it followed that to Him only was the addition of an oath, “The Lord God has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’”.…Eusebius of Caesarea (c 260-339) Bishop “Father of Church History”
PRAYER – Loving Father, grant me to have a true fervour in Your service. Help me to become a zealous worker for Your honour and glory, in imitation of your Son and of your holy saints. Grant that by the prayers of Blessed Henry Suso, we may grow in love, by Your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever.
“In the history of early Christianity there is a fundamental distinction between the first three centuries and those that followed the Council of Nicaea in 325, the first Ecumenical Council. Like a “hinge” between the two periods are the so-called “conversion of Constantine” and the peace of the Church, as well as the figure of Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. He was the most highly qualified exponent of the Christian culture of his time in very varied contexts, from theology to exegesis, from history to erudition. Eusebius is known above all as the first historian of Christianity but he was also the greatest philologist of the ancient Church.”…Pope Benedict XVI, 13 June 2007
One Minute Reflection – 22 January – Tuesday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Gospel: Mark 2:23–28 and the Memorial of St Vncent of Saragossa (Died 304) Martyr
“…so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath.”...Mark 2:28
REFLECTION – “From the first, the law of the Sabbath conferred many and great benefits; for instance, it made the Jews gentle and humane towards those of their own household, it taught them God the Creator’s providence and wisdom… hen God gave the law for the Sabbath He said… that He would have them refrain from evil works only when he said: “You must do no work, except for what is necessary for life” (Ex 12:16 LXX). And in the temple, too, everything continued with more diligence than ever. Thus even by means of the very shadow, He was secretly opening the full light of truth (cf. Col 2:17).
Did Christ then do away with so highly profitable a thing? Far from it; He greatly enhanced it. For it was unnecessary… that we should learn from it, that God made all things or that we should be made kind by it, who are called to imitate God’s own love. For He says: “Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful”(Lk 6:36). It was no longer necessary to fix a day of festival for those who are commanded to keep a feast all their life long. For: “Let us keep the feast,” Saint Paul writes, “not with old leaven, neither with leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1Cor 5:8)… So now, why is any sabbath required for Christians who are always keeping the feast and whose conversation is in heaven? Yes, my brethren, let us celebrate that continual, heavenly sabbath.”…St John Chrysostom (c 345-407) Father & Doctor
PRAYER – True Light of the world, Lord Jesus Christ, as You enlighten all men for their salvation, give us the grace, we pray, to herald Your coming by preparing the ways of justice and of peace. We walk in faith and by Your Light as St Vincent, fearless of men to the end and trusting only in Your grace, inspires us to follow. Grant that his prayers may assist us on our path. Who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 21 January – The Memorial of St Agnes (c 291- c 304) Virgin and Martyr
“For me to live
is Christ
and to die,
is gain.”
“Christ made my soul beautiful
with the jewels of grace and virtue.
I belong to Him whom the angels serve.”
“She is too young to know of death,
yet is ready to face it.”
“One victim but a twin martyrdom,
to modesty and religion.
Agnes preserved her virginity
and gained a martyr’s crown. “
From an essay ‘On Virgins’ by
“…As we are under great obligations to Jesus,
for His Passion endured for our love,
so also are we under great obligations to Mary,
for the martyrdom which she voluntarily suffered,
for our salvation, in the death of her Son”.
“Nothing can happen to me
that God doesn’t want.
And all that He wants,
no matter how bad
it may appear to us,
is really for the best.”
“I do not much dread the tortures,
as I look forward to the crown.”
“The tyrant dies and his rule is over,
the martyr dies and his rule begins.”
One Minute Reflection – 21 January – Monday of the Second week in Ordinary Time – Today’s Gospel: Mark 2:18–22 and The Memorial of St Agnes (c 291- c 304) Virgin and Martyr
“As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.”…Mark 2: 19b
REFLECTION – “Lord, I invite you to a wedding banquet in songs. In Cana, there was not enough wine to express our praise. You, the guest who filled the jars with good wine, fill my mouth with your praise!
The wine at Cana is symbol of our praise because those who drank of it marvelled. At that wedding banquet which was not your own, You, the truly righteous, filled six jars to overflowing with delicious wine. So at the banquet to which I am inviting You, You can fill the ears of a multitude with Your sweetness.
In times past You were invited to the wedding feasts of others. Here now is Your own banquet; it is chaste and beautiful. May it give joy to Your people! May your songs delight Your guests, may my zither accompany Your song!
Our soul is Your betrothed, our body is Your bridal chamber, our senses and our thoughts are the guests. If for You, one single person is a wedding banquet, how great will be the banquet, for the whole Church!”…St Ephrem (c 306-373) Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Almighty Lord, God and Father, protect us by Your power throughout the course of this day, even as You have enabled us to begin it. Let our every thought, word and deed rejoice and strive always to please the love of our souls. For we, Your people, are the bride of Your Son, who came to betroth us to Himself. Grant that by the prayers of one so young, who lived each moment for Him, we may be brought to perfection with You in our final home. St Agnes, pray for us! We make our prayer through Jesus, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 21 January – Monday of the Second week in Ordinary Time – Today’s Gospel: Mark 2:18–22
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.”…Mark 2:22
Complete Us, O Lord Jesus Christ
By St Anselm (1033-1109) Doctor of the Church
O Lord Jesus Christ,
our redemption and our salvation,
we praise You and give You thanks.
Though we are unworthy
of Your benefits,
and cannot offer to You
the devotion You deserve,
let Your loving-kindness
complete whatever our weakness tries to do.
Before You, O Lord,
we lay all our desires,
and whatever our heart rightly wishes,
it is because of Your gift.
Help us love You as You command.
Do not let Your gift be unfruitful in us.
Complete what You have begun,
give what You have made us desire,
convert our lukewarmness
into fervent love of You;
for the glory of Your holy name.
Amen
Sunday Reflection – 20 January – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
And so, dearly beloved brethren, let us each examine his conscience and when he sees that he has been wounded by some sin, let him first strive to cleanse his conscience by prayer, fasting, almsgiving and so dare to approach the Eucharist. If he recognises his guilt and is reluctant to approach the holy altar, he will be quickly pardoned by the Divine Mercy, “for whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt 23:12). If then, as I have said, a man conscious of his sins, humbly decides to stay away from the altar until he reforms his life, he will not be afraid of being completely excluded from the eternal banquet of heaven.
I ask you then, brethren, to pay careful attention. If no-one dares approach an influential man’s table in tattered, soiled garments, how much more should one refrain in reverance and humility from the banquet of the Eternal King, that is, from the altar of the Lord, if one is smitten with poisonous envy, or anger, or is full of rage and fury? For it is written, “Go first and be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5:24). And again, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” And when he kept silent, that man said to the attendants, ‘bind his hands and feet and cast him forth into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” (Mt 22:12,13). The same sentence awaits the man who dares present himself at the wedding feast, that is at the Lord’s table, if he is guilty of drunkenness, or adultery, or retains hatred in his heart.
St Caesarius of Arles (470-542) Bishop of Arles, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Merovingian Gaul. Caesarius is considered to be of the last generation of church leaders of Gaul that worked to promote large-scale ascetic elements into the Western Christian tradition. Caesarius was a “popular preacher of great fervour and enduring influence”. Among those who exercised the greatest influence on Caesarius were Augustine of Hippo, Julianus Pomerius and John Cassian.
Quote/s of the Day – 20 January – The Memorial of St Pope Fabian (c 200 – c 250) and St Sebastian (Died c 288) – Martyrs for Christ
What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? …No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“Long live Christ the King!”
“Viva Cristo Rey!”
“From the very beginning of the life of the Church, Christians have always believed that the blood of martyrs is a seed for Christians, as Tertullian said. Today too, in a dramatic way, the blood of a great number of Christian martyrs continues to be shed on the field of the world,with the certain hope that will bear fruit in a rich harvest of holiness, justice, reconciliation and love of God. But we must remember that one is not born a martyr.
Archbishop Romero remarked, ‘We must be willing to die for our faith, even if the Lord does not grant us this honour. … Giving life does not only mean being assassinated; giving life, having the spirit of martyrdom, means offering it in silence, in prayer, in the honest fulfilment of one’s duty; in this silence of everyday life, giving life a little at a time.’”
One Minute Reflection – 20 January – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – The first sign of Mercy: Cana – John 2:1–11
This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him....John 2:11
REFLECTION – “The miracle by which our Lord Jesus Christ changed water into wine is not at all astonishing to those who know that God is its author. Indeed, it is exactly the same thing which produced wine in those six jars on that wedding day … and which renews this transformation in the vines each year. That which the servants poured into the jars was changed into wine by the action of the Lord; in the same way the rain that falls from the clouds is changed into wine through the same action of the Lord. And yet we do not wonder at it because it is repeated every year; custom has caused astonishment to disappear. Yet it is far more worthy of our attention than what took place in the jars filled with water.
Indeed, who is there who dreams of considering the work of God who directs and governs the whole world? Isn’t that person then seized with astonishment and as it were crushed beneath the weight of these miracles? If they consider the power enclosed within a single seed of the first species to come, they will discover a great reality there that astounds the observer. But people, otherwise occupied, have become insensible to the works of God, which would daily provide motives for praising the Creator. This is why God reserves to Himself the work of certain unusual wonders, so as to awaken them from their sleepiness and lead them to praise Him.”…St Augustine (354-430)
PRAYER – Almighty God, ruler and creator of all things in heaven and on earth, listen favourably to the prayer of Your people. Open our eyes that we may see, open our ears that we may hear, open our hearts that we may love Your glory, manifest around us in all the great deeds of Your Word. Grant us love and peace in our day and may the prayers of Your Saints and Martyrs, lead us home to You. St Pope Fabian and St Sebastian pray for us! We make our prayer through Your Son Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 19 January – Saturday of the First week in Ordinary Time – Gospel: Mark 2:13–17
And as he passed on, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him...Mark 2:14
REFLECTION – “In His goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will (Eph 1:9) by which, through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature (Eph 2:18; 2 Pt 1:4). Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God (Col 1:15; 1 Tm 1:17) out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (Ex 33:11; Jn 15:14-15) and lives among them (Bar 3:38), so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself.” …Vatican Council II – Dogmatic Constitution on revelation « Dei Verbum », § 1-2
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, You offer the covenant of reconciliation to mankind through Your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. 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, through Him who saves them. Grant that by the assistance of Mary, His mother and theirs, they may look forward gladly to the certain hope of resurrection. Through Christ, the Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 18 January – Friday of the First week in Ordinary Time: Gospel Mark 2:1-12 and the The Memorial of St Margaret of Hungary (1242-1270)
“I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.” …Mark 2:11
REFLECTION – “None can forgive sins except God alone, and so He who healed them is God… And so that people might understand that He had taken flesh for the remission of their sins and to gain resurrection for their bodies, He said: “That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins on earth” – He then said to the paralytic: “Rise, pick up your stretcher”. It would have been enough to have said: “Rise”, but… He added: “Pick up your stretcher and go home.” First He granted remission of sins, then He manifested the power of the resurrection and then, by making him take up his stretcher, He taught that weakness and pain will no longer afflict the body. Finally, by sending this man home healed, He showed that believers must rediscover the road to paradise, the same road that Adam, the father of all, abandoned when he was spoiled by the stain of sin.”…St Hilary (c.315-367) Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER– Living God, You have given me the Eucharist as my food for heavenly life. Help me to partake of it often and so be strengthened on my pilgrim journey on earth. Grant that St Margaret of Hungary, may add us all to her prayers, that by her intercession, we too may learn the true way home. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 17 January – Thursday of the First week in Ordinary Time – Gospel Mark 1:40–45 and the Memorial of St Anthony Abbot (251-356)
And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”…Mark 1:40
REFLECTION – “It is possible to see leprosy as a symbol of sin, which is the true impurity of heart that can distance us from God. It is not in fact the physical disease of leprosy that separates us from God, as the ancient norms supposed but sin, spiritual and moral evil. The sins that we commit distance us from God and, if we do not humbly confess them, trusting in divine mercy, they will finally bring about the death of the soul. This miracle thus has a strong symbolic value. Jesus, as Isaiah had prophesied, is the Servant of the Lord who “has borne our griefs / and carried our sorrows” (Is 53: 4). In His Passion He will become as a leper, made impure by our sins, separated from God, He will do all this out of love, to obtain for us reconciliation, forgiveness and salvation. In the Sacrament of Penance, the Crucified and Risen Christ purifies us through His ministers with His infinite mercy, restores us to communion with the heavenly Father and with our brothers and makes us a gift of His love, His joy and His peace.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us invoke the Virgin Mary whom God preserved from every stain of sin so that she may help us to avoid sin and to have frequent recourse to the Sacrament of Confession, the sacrament of forgiveness, whose value and importance for our Christian life must be rediscovered today.”…Pope Benedict XVI – Angelus 15 February 2009 
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, we make our prayer to You at morning, noon and evening. Dispel from our hearts, the darkness of sin and bring us to the true light, Christ Your Son. Grant that through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Anthony Abbot, we may deny ourselves and love You above all things. Through Jesus, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 17 January – Thursday of the First week in Ordinary Time – Gospel Mark 1:40–45
And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”...Mark 1:40
I Return to You
(Act of Supplication and Contrition to the Holy Trinity)
Father of mercy,
like the prodigal son,
I return to You and say:
“I have sinned against You
and am no longer worthy
to be called Your Son.”
Christ Jesus,
Saviour of the World,
I pray with the repentant thief
to whom You promised paradise –
“Lord, remember me in Your Kingdom.”
Holy Spirit, fountain of love,
I call on You with trust,
“Purify my heart
and help me to walk
as a child of light.”
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 16 January – Wednesday of the First week in Ordinary Time – Gospel: Mark 1:29–39
And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up and the fever left her and she served them...Mark 1:31
REFLECTION – ““And he helped her up.” As she couldn’t stand up by herself, it was the Lord who helped her. “He grasped her hand and helped her up.” When Peter was in danger on the sea, just as he was going to drown, he too was grasped by the hand and raised up… What a beautiful sign of friendship and love towards this sick woman! He helped her up by taking her hand, His hand healed the sick woman’s hand. He grasped that hand as a doctor would have done, He who was both doctor and remedy took her pulse and assessed the gravity of the fever. Jesus touched it and the fever vanished.
Let us want Him to touch our hand so that in this way what we do may be made pure. Should He enter our house, let us get off our bed at last and not remain lying down. Jesus stands at our bedside and will we remain lying down? Come on! To your feet!… “There is one among you whom you do not recognise” (Jn 1:26); “the kingdom of God is among you” (Lk 17:21). Let us have faith and we shall see Jesus among us.”...St Jerome (347-420) Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – God our Saviour, through the grace of Baptism, You made us children of light. You lead us by the hand and guide and protect us by Your commandments. Fill us with joy at Your nearness and the light of Your Son, by whose beam we see You and follow. Blessed Giuseppe Tovini and St Joseph Vaz, were shining examples to us all, grant, we pray, that their prayers may aid us. Through Jesus our Lord and Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 15 January – Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time – Today’s Gospel: Mark 1:21-28 and The Feast of Our Lady of Banneux & Memorial of Bl Nikolaus Gross (1898-1945) Martyr
And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” …Mark 1:27
REFLECTION – “The power of Jesus confirms the authority of His teaching. He does not just speak with words but He takes action. In this way, He manifests God’s plan with words and with the power of His deeds. A teacher and a friend, who shows us the path and takes care of us, especially when we are in need.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 28 January 2018
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 our Mother of Banneux and Blessed Nikolaus Gross, who so diligently followed You in the darkness around him, 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 – 14 January – Monday of the First week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 1:14–20
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me
and I will make you become fishers of men.”
And immediately they left their nets
and followed him…Mark 1:17-18
“Do not follow any road
but that which Christ trod.
This road seems hard
but it is safe.”
“The Christian should be
an alleluia from head to foot.”
“If, then, you seek to know what path to follow,
take Christ because He is the way.”
“Go forth and set the world on fire.”
“Many, many people hereabouts
are not becoming Christians,
for one reason only,
there is nobody to make them Christians.”
“Hear Him. Hear your own name.”
Make both my joy
and your own joy
complete (1Jn 1:4)
“If you follow Jesus,
you’re going to get into some trouble.”
“If not you, then who?
If not now, then when?
“Thy Kingdom come”
means
“My Kingdom go.”
(Lifeteen Int)
One Minute Reflection – 14 January – Monday of the First week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 1:14–20 and the Memorial of St Felix of Nola (Died c 253) & Blessed Petrus Donders C.Ss.R. (1807-1887)
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him…Mark 1:17-18
REFLECTION – “We, today’s Christians, have the joy of proclaiming and witnessing to our faith because there was that first announcement, because there were those humble and courageous men who responded generously to Jesus’ call. On the shores of the lake, in an inconceivable land, the first community of disciples of Christ was born. May the knowledge of these beginnings give rise in us to the desire to bear Jesus’ word, love and tenderness in every context, even the most difficult and resistant. To carry the Word to all the peripheries! All the spaces of human living, are soil on which to cast the seeds of the Gospel, so they may bear the fruit of salvation.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 22 January 2017
PRAYER – Holy Lord God, grant that we may live constantly in Your presence. Grant that we may possess a spirit of joy and gladness because of the firm knowledge that You are always with us and in You and through You and with You, the extraordinary is commonplace! And turn around Lord and call us, for we are behind You. Be with us Lord, always, we pray! Hear the prayers on our behalf, of St Felix of Nola and Blessed Petrus Donders, whom we ask for intercession. Through the Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, God forever for all eternity, amen
Quote/s of the Day – 13 January – The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Memorial of St Hilary of Poitiers (315-368) Father & Doctor of the Church and Blessed Francesco Maria Greco (1857-1931)
“O Lord, wishing to fulfil all things
that You ordained before the ages,
You received the servants of Your mystery,
from among the Angels, Gabriel,
from among Men, the Virgin,
from among the Heavens, the Star
and from among the Waters, the Jordan,
in which You washed away the sin of the world,
O our Saviour, glory to You.”
“God only knows how to be love
and He only knows how to be Father.
And the one who loves is not envious
and one who is Father is so totally.
This name does not permit compromises,
as if God were only father in some aspects
and not in others.”
“The privilege of our Church is such that
it is never stronger
than when it is attacked,
never better known
than when it is accused,
never more powerful
than when it appears forsaken.”
(Treatise on the Trinity)
“The Church is the Ship
outside which
it is impossible to understand
the Divine Word,
for Jesus spoke from the boat
to the people gathered
on the shore.”
“No matter how sinful
one may have been,
if he has devotion to Mary,
it is impossible that he be lost.”
“In solitude,
in the presence
of the Blessed Sacrament,
I learned the love of Jesus
and the power of this love.”
One minute Reflection – 13 January – The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Gospel: Luke 3:15-22 and Memorial of St Hilary of Poitiers (315-368) Father & Doctor of the Church
“…when Jesus also had been baptised and was praying, the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son with thee I am well pleased.”…Luke 3:21-22
REFLECTION – “Jesus rises from the waters; the world rises with Him. The heavens like Paradise with its flaming sword, closed by Adam for himself and his descendants, are rent open. The Spirit comes to Him as to an equal, bearing witness to His Godhead. A voice bears witness to Him from heaven, His place of origin. The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honour to the body that is one with God.
Today, let us do honour to Christ’s baptism and celebrate this feast in holiness. Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. Nothing gives such pleasure to God as the conversion and salvation of men, for whom His every word and every revelation exist. He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of Him who is the light of heaven. You are to enjoy, more and more, the pure and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now you have received—though not in its fullness—a ray of its splendour, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. “…St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390 – Father & Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from Oration 39: On Holy Light)
PRAYER – Father, keep us from vain strife of words.
Grant to us constant profession of the Truth!
Preserve us in a true and undefiled faith
so that we may hold fast to that
which we professed when we were baptised
in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
that we may have You for our Father,
that we may abide in Your Son
and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.
Amen…St Hilary of Poitiers
Quote of the Day – 12 January – 6th day after Epiphany – Today’s Gospel: John 3:22–30
“He must increase
but I must decrease.”
AnaStpaul 
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