Quote/s of the Day – 22 July
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine”
Isaiah 43:1
“Just as a woman had announced the words of death
to the first man, so also a woman was the first
to announce to the Apostles the words of life.”
….St Thomas Aquinas (Super Ioannem, ed. Cai, 2519)
One Minute Reflection – 22 July
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” …….John 20: 13-15
REFLECTION – “When Mary Magdalen came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: “The disciples went back home,” and it adds: “but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.” We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for Him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see Him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tell us: “Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved….Jesus says to her: Mary. Jesus is not recognised when He calls her “woman”; so He calls her by name, as though He were saying: ‘Recognise me as I recognise you; for I do not know you as I know others; I know you as yourself.’ And so Mary, once addressed by name, recognises who is speaking. She immediately calls Him ‘Rabboni’, that is to say, teacher, because the one whom she sought outwardly was the one who inwardly taught her to keep on searching.” – from a homily by St Pope Gregory the Great
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ made Mary of Magdala the first herald of Easter joy. Grant that, following her example and helped by her prayers, we may, in this life, proclaimn he living Christ and come to se Him reigning with You in glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 21 July
“The word of God is replete with manifold blessings, since it is, so to speak, a treasure of all goods. It is the source of faith, hope, charity, all virtue, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, all the beatitudes of the Gospel, all good works, all the rewards of life, all the glory of paradise…For the word of God is a light to the mind and a fire to the will. It enables man to know God and to love Him. And for the interior man who lives by the Spirit of God through grace, it is bread and water, but a bread sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, a water better than wine and milk. For the soul it is a spiritual treasure of merits yielding an abundance of gold and precious stones. Against the hardness of a heart that persists in wrongdoing, it acts like a hammer. Against the world, the flesh and the devil it serves as a sword that destroys all sin.”
“The Holy Spirit sweetens the yoke
of the divine law and lightens its weight,
so that we may observe God’s commandments
with the greatest of ease and even with pleasure”
One Minute Reflection – 21 July
“I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.”………..Matthew 12:6
REFLECTION – “My dear souls, let us recognize, I pray you, Christ’s infinite charity towards us in the institution of this Sacrament of the Eucharist. In order that our love be a spiritual love, He wills a new heart, a new love, a new spirit for us. It is not with a carnal heart but with a spiritual one, that Christ has loved us with a gratuitous love, a supreme and most ardent love, by way of pure grace and charity. Ah! One needs to love Him back with one’s whole, whole, whole, living, living, living and true, true, true heart!!” …… St Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619) Apostolic Doctor
PRAYER – Lord God, You bestowed on St Lawrence of Brindisi the spirit of counsel and fortitude, so that Your name might be glorified and souls be saved. At the intercession of St Lawrence, grant that we may see what we have to do and, in Your mercy give us the strength to do it and the courage, love and charity to persevere. Grant above all, that by his prayers we may love You above all and with all we are. St Lawrence pray for us, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 20 July
“Let sleep find you holding your Bible
and when you head nods let it be resting
on the sacred page.”
St Jerome (343-420) One of the Original 4 Doctors
“The Holy Bible is like a mirror before our mind’s eye.
In it we see our inner face.
From the Scriptures we can learn
our spiritual deformities and beauties.
And there too we discover the progress
we are making and how far we are from perfection.”
St Gregory the Great (540-604) One of the Original 4 Doctors
“The Old Testament is like a radio
with its hidden voice
announcing the One to come.
The New Testament is like a television
because the Word became both audible and visible.”
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen
One Minute Reflection – 20 July
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction and for training in righteousness,so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work……..2 Timothy 3:16-17
REFLECTION – “We therefore grossly deceive ourselves in not allotting more time to the study of divine truths. It is not enough barely to believe them and let our thoughts now and then glance upon them: that knowledge which shows us heaven, will not bring us to the possession of it and will deserve punishments, not rewards, if it remain slight, weak and superficial. By serious and frequent meditation it must be concocted, digested, and turned into the nourishment of our affections, before it can be powerful and operative enough to change them, and produce the necessary fruit in our lives. For this all the saints affected solitude and retreats from the noise and hurry of the world, as much as their circumstances allowed them.” – St. Apollinaris
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, St Apollinaris fought unto death for the law of his God. He was not afraid of the words of evil men, for he was like a house that is founded on rock. Grant that we too, may be founded on rock and be planted in good saoil to yield many fruits. St Apollinaris, please pray for us, amen.
Thought for the Day – 18 July
Commentary Saint Bruno of Segni on Mark 16:17-18
The Lord said to the Eleven: “These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents in their hands and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover”. ..Mark 16:17-18
In the primitive Church all the signs the Lord lists here were fulfilled to the letter, not only by the apostles but many other of the saints. The Gentiles would not have abandoned the worship of idols if the gospel preaching had not been confirmed with so many signs and wonders. Indeed, did not the disciples preach “a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,” according to Saint Paul’s saying? (1Cor 1,23)…
As for us, from now on signs and wonders are no longer needed: it is enough for us to read or hear an account of those that have happened. For we believe in the Gospel, we believe in the Scriptures that relate them. And yet signs still take place daily and, if we would mark them well, we would acknowledge that they have far more worth than the concrete miracles of former times:
Every day priests administer baptism and call to conversion: isn’t this to cast out demons?
Every day they speak a new language when they explain holy Scripture by replacing the old letter with the newness of its spiritual sense.
They put serpents to flight when they free sinners’ hearts from their attachment to evil with gentle exhortation…
They heal the sick when they reconcile weak souls to God with their prayers.
St Bruno of Segni – pray for us!
One Minute Reflection – 18 July
Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age……Matthew 28:20
REFLECTION – “For the most holy Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ Himself, our Passover and living bread. Through His own flesh, now made living and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, He offers life to men………The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice.”…….St John Paul (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 1 &12)
PRAYER – Lord, let me live each day in joy – for You are with us to end of time. We have the joy of receiving Your Body and thus we live in You and You in us. Help us to give thanks and praise for the Holy Mass and Your saving Passion. St Bruno of Segni, your great love of the Holy Sacrament, led you to zealous efforts to spend your life in growing in others, understanding of the great Eucharistic grace we receive, please pray for us, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 17 July
Although you have not seen him, you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of [your] faith, the salvation of your souls…..1 Peter 8-9
REFLECTION – “Let us rejoice, my dear Mother and Sisters, in the joy of the Lord, that we shall die for our holy religion, our faith, our confidence in the Holy Roman Catholic Church.”……Sister Henrietta O.C.D. (one of the 16 Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne)
PRAYER – Holy God and Father, help us to not only love our Holy Faith but to follow Your Divine Son, happily and with complete trust to the Cross. Blessed Martyrs of Compiegne, pray for us that we may be graced with your courage and conviction at every moment of our lives, that we may live and die for Christ our Lord, amen.
Do you attend Eucharistic Adoration? Do you visit Jesus and allow Him to help you with all your burdens?
Thank you Fr Rolly!
One Minute Reflection – 16 July
I was (the Lord’s) delight day by day………….Proverbs 8:30
REFLECTION – “So pleasing to God was Mary’s humility that He was constrained by His goodness to entrust to her the Word, His only Son.
And it was that dearest Mother who gave Him to us.”……………St Catherine of Siena
PRAYER – Almighty Lord and God, let the gracious intercession of our Lady of Mount Carmel help us. Under her protection, may we come to the mountain of God, Christ the Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 15 July
With knowledge and understanding he filled them……….Sirach 17:7
REFLECTION – “Do all your actions in accord with the right light of your reason.
In all things, seek your salvation, the edification of others and the praise and glory of God.”…..St Bonaventure
PRAYER – God of goodness and reason, grant me the gift of right reasoning and Christian understanding. Let me act always in accord with the dictates of that reason and so be pleasing to You. St Bonaventure , pray for us that we may always be graced with the gifts of Holy Spirit, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 13 July
Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him………1 Cor 2:9
REFLECTION – “The happiness to which I aspire is greater than anything on earth. Therefore, I regard with extreme joy whatever pains and sufferings may befall me here.”………St Camillus de Lellis
PRAYER – Heavenly Father. keep my mind fixed on the surpassing joys stored up for me in heaven. And let me be willing to put up with all sufferings and pains that may come upon me. St Camillus de Lellis, pray for us, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 13 July
Not on bread alone is man to live but on every utterance that comes from the mouth of God………….Matthew 4:4
REFLECTION – “These are fountains of salvation that they who thirst may be satisfied with the living words they contain. In these is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take out from these.”…….St Athanasius of Alexandria
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, inspire me to meditate on Your holy words every day and fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I might not only understand them but be filled with the desire to follow and live their instructions. May they be a consolation, a strength and an assistance on my journey to You. St Henry – you were inspired and strove to live by the Holy Scriptures, please pray for us all, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 12 July
You have said, “Seek my face”. My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek”. Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Cast me not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation………Psalm 27:8-9
REFLECTION – “Veronica- ‘Bernice’ in the Greek tradition, embodies the universal yearning of the devout men and women of the Old Testament, the yearning of all believers to see the Face of God. On Jesus’ Way of the Cross, though, she at first did nothing more than perform an act of womanly kindness: she held out a facecloth to Jesus. She did not let herself be deterred by the brutality of the soldiers or the fear which gripped the disciples. She is the image of that good woman, who, amid turmoil and dismay, shows the courage born of goodness and does not allow her heart to be bewildered. “Blessed are the pure in heart”, the Lord had said in his Sermon on the Mount, “for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). At first, Veronica saw only a buffeted and pain-filled Face. Yet her act of love impressed the true image of Jesus on her heart: on His human Face, bloodied and bruised, she saw the Face of God and His goodness, which accompanies us even in our deepest sorrows. Only with the heart can we see Jesus. Only love purifies us and gives us the ability to see. Only love enables us to recognize the God who is love itself.”…………..Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (24 March 2005)
PRAYER – Lord God, grant us restless hearts, hearts which seek Your Face. Keep us from the blindness of heart which sees only the surface of things. Give us the simplicity and purity which allow us to recognise Your presence in the world. When we are not able to accomplish great things, grant us the courage which is born of humility and goodness. Impress Your Face on our hearts. May we encounter You along the way and show Your image to the world. St Veronica, Pray for us! Amen.
One Minute Reflection – 11 July
Do not grow slack but be fervent in spirit; he whom you serve is the Lord…….Romans 12:11
REFLECTION – “There exists an evil fervour, a bitter spirit, which divides us from God and leads us to hell.
Similarly, there is a good fervour, which sets us apart from evil inclinations and leads us toward God and eternal life.”
PRAYER – Loving Father, grant me to have a true fervour in Your service. Let me never tire of following Your Son’s example and avoiding evil. St Benedict, pray for us! Amen
Thought for the Day – 10 July
In today’s gospel reading, (Mt 9:18-26) we read of two different miracles performed by Jesus. We read of the cure of the woman with a hemorrhage and we read of the raising back to life of the official’s daughter. While both of these miracles leave us in awe and amazement of God’s power, what is also amazing is the faith of the official and the woman. Both of them demonstrated an unshakable faith. Unshakable faith, both the official and the woman had it and because of it they found miraculous cures for insurmountable problems. May we always remember to look to God for comfort, answers and restoration; not only when things are good but especially when they seem their worst. As Christians we are called to have a faith that is unshakable, one that is built upon solid rock, not shifting sand.
“We believe an honourable man on his word. Why should we put less faith in that of Our Lord? When a friend desires to prove to his friend that he loves him, he tells him so and he presses his hand affectionately. When Our Lord wants to show His love for us, He does so in person, discarding the intervention of any third person, whether angelic or human. Love suffers no intermediate agents. He remains in the Holy Eucharist that He may repeat to us incessantly: I love you! You must see that I love you!”
St Peter Julian Eymard
One Minute Reflection – 10 July
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God……….Psalm 84:3
REFLECTION – “To adore Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament is first of all to acknowledge Him truly, really and substantially present therein by the humble sentiment of a lively and spontaneous faith: humbly surrendering our feeble reason to the divinity of this sublime Mystery; asking neither to see or touch, like the unbelieving Apostle, before accepting the truth of Jesus Hostia; merely waiting, to prostrate ourselves at His feet, for the infallible and gentle word of the Church telling us like Saint John the Baptist: ‘Look, this is the Lamb of God; look, this is He who takes away the sin of the world.’ …………………..St Peter Julian Eymard
PRAYER – Living God, let me desire to see You as often as possible and make use of evey opportunity to visit You and to attend Holy Mass. Grant that I may live in such a way, atoning here on earth for the sins against Your Eucharistic Heart and that I may gain the blessed vision of You in the Holy Eucharist here and now and one day attain the joy of seeing You in Heaven. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 9 July
Because the loaf of (Eucharist) bread is one,
we, many though we are,
are one body,
for we all partake of the one loaf…………1 Cor 10:17
REFLECTION – “In the Eucharist, all is love. Jesus comes to us and dwells in us.
In doing so, He teaches us how we are to love one another.”………….St Augustine (354-430)
PRAYER – Most loving Father, grant that every Eucharistic Celebration may unit me more closely to Your Divine Son. May it also unite me to all Christians and help me to show greater love for them every day. St Veronica Giuliani, you truly experienced total and supreme love in Holy Communion, pray for us that we might come to understand this immense and ineffable love of our Saviour for us all, as He becomes our food of life, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 8 July
I bear with all of this for the sake of those whom God has chosen..2 Timothy 2:10
REFLECTION – “Patience has distinctive qualities that discourses do not possess. All who bear their cross with patience, eloquently proclaim Jesus Christ.”………….St Alphonsus Liguori
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, teach me to be patient under the crosses that come my way. Let my silent example speak vlumes to others and lead them to faith in Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. St Killian, you worked tirelessly and patiently for the glory of the Kingdom, please intercede for us all, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 7 July
Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being. Do it for the Lord………..Colossians 3:23
REFLECTION -“We do not cease praying so long as we continue to do good.
The prayer of the heart and of good deeds has more value than the prayer of the lips.”…………….St Augustine
PRAYER – Dear God, move me to make a morning offering to You with total sincerety each day and then grant that all my deeds may be a devout continuation of that prayer. Open my eyes to those who need me in any way, let me see as You do and do as You do. Blessed Peter To Rot, you never failed to help each and every person in whatever way you could, you defended the Church and the Faith and your neighbour, please pray for us all, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 6 July
Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man, one will dare even to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us………..Romans 5:7-8
REFLECTION – “The new commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12), urges us to pattern our love on the example of Jesus, who dies that we may live.
If our ability to love in a divine way seems unfairly offset by an impossible ideal—in other words, that Jesus can love like God because He is God but we can’t—then we have to reckon with the violent, yet highly avoidable death of an eleven-year-old girl. When you find a mere human being, loving as God loves by dying as God dies and forgiving as God forgives, you encounter someone who understands not only the force of the new commandment – but also of the extent of the self-sacrifice involved in loving like Jesus.”………Fr John Henry Hanson, O. Praem.
PRAYER – Lord God, You alone can give the grace of innocence and love. By Your grace, St Maria Goretti, though as yet but a young child, was able to offer herself in death for Your sake. As You crowned her virginity with martyrdom, grant us, by her intercession, constancy in Your love. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever – St Maria pray for us!, amen.
Thought for the Day – 5 July
Compassion for the sick and the poor led Dr Anthony Mary Zaccaria to see beyond the sick bodies of his patients and recognise the need for a different kind of healing. After becoming “Fr” Zaccaria, he tried to fill that need and dedicated the rest of his life to doing so. …….“the Pauline ardour of his preaching would probably “turn off” many people today. When even some psychiatrists complain at the lack of a sense of sin, it may be time to tell ourselves that not all evil is explained by emotional disorder, subconscious and unconscious drives, parental influence and so on. The old-time “hell and damnation” mission sermons have given way to positive, encouraging, biblical homilies. We do indeed need assurance of forgiveness, relief from existential anxiety and future shock. But we still need prophets to stand up and tell us, “If we say ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). (Fr Don Miller OFM).
St Anthony was such a prophet, he let God step in and lead him to a whole new set of plans. May we too allow God room in our boat to navigate us to a new way of life!
St Anthony Mary Zaccaria, pray for us!
One Minute Reflection – 5 July
But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry……2 Timothy 4:5
REFLECTION – “In His mercy God has chosen us, unworthy as we are, out of the world, to serve Him and thus to advance in goodness and to bear the greatest possible fruit of love in patience……We should keep running steadily in the race we have started, not losing sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection.”……….St Anthony Mary Zaccaria (An excerpt from a letter of Saint Anthony to his congregation).
PRAYER – Lord, enable us to grasp in the spirit of Saint Paul, the sublime wisdom of Jesus Christ, the wisdom which inspired Saint Anthony Zaccaria to preach the message of salvation in Your church. Grant this, we pray, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. St Anthony Mary Zaccaria, pray for us amen.
One Minute Reflection – 4 July
If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth…..1 jOHN 3:17-18
REFLECTION – “Every one of you knows, that the foundation of our religion is charity. Without it all our religion would crumble because we would not truly be Catholics, as long as we did not carry out, or rather shape our whole lives by the two commandments in which the essence of the Catholic Faith lies: to love God with all our strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves.”…….Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati
PRAYER – Loving Father, teach me to see the face of Your Divine Son in all those I meet especially those in need. Help me to realise that love is the most powerful force in the world. Blessed Pier Georgio is an inspiration to us all, teaching us by his actions, that it is only in living love in charity that we can be true Catholics. Blessed Pier Georgio pray for us, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 2 July
“No one who prefers father or mother to me is worthy of me….”……..Mathew 10:37
REFLECTION – “To believe in God – for Christians does not mean simply to believe that God exists, nor merely to believe that He is truth. It means to believe by loving, to believe by abandoning oneself to God completely, uniting and conforming oneself to Him.”…………..St Anthony of Padua
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, grant me an operative faith – a faith that will move mountains and is strong enough to know that absolutely nothing and no-one here on earth can compare to You. Let me show that faith by lively love and by loving deeds and by conforming myself to Your will in all things – teach me that only YOU are first in line. This is how you lived your life St Bernardino Realino – turning your back on success, money and power to put only the God who created us first and now you are a Saint. Please pray for us, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 1 July
“I have betrayed innocent blood!”………..Matthew 27:4
REFLECTION – “The Blood of Christ is His sacrifice applied to us; it enters the souls of the redeemed; it is the inextinguishable source of all heroism!”……St John XXIII
PRAYER – Lord Jesus, You became Man in order by your Passion and Death and the draining of your Blood on the Cross, might prove to us how much You, our God, love us. Protect us, dear Jesus, from ever running away from the sight of blood. Strengthen our weak human wills so that we will not only not run away from the cross but welcome every opportunity to shed our blood in spirit in union with your Precious Blood, so that, dying to ourselves in time we might live with You in Eternity. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 30 June
Just as we have a share in Christ’s many sufferings, so also through Christ, we share in his great help……2 Cor 1:4-5
REFLECTION – “Christians celebrate the memory of the martyrs with religious ceremony in order to arouse emulation and in order that they may be associated with their merits and helped by their prayers. But to none of the martyrs do we erect altars as we do to the God of martyrs; we erect altars at their shrines. For what bishop standing at the altars over the bodies of martyrs ever said: We offer to Peter or Paul or Cyprian?
Mass is offered to God who crowned the martyrs, at the shrine of the martyrs, so that the very spot may remind us to arouse in ourselves a more fervent charity toward those whom we imitate and toward Him who gives us the power to do so.”……..St Augustine
PRAYER – Lord God, you consecrated with the blood of the martyrs the fertile beginnings of the Roman Church. Grant us the grace to rejoice at the martyrs’ victory and strengthen us with firm courage as we remember their endurance of such a trial. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Holy Martyrs of the early Church of Rome, Pray for us, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 29 June
“Their sound has gone out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the world” ……….Psalm 19
REFLECTION – “There is one day for the passion of two apostles. But these two also were as one; although they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, Paul followed. We are celebrating a feast day, consecrated for us by the blood of the apostles. Let us love their faith, their lives, their labours, their sufferings, their confession of faith, their preaching.”………St Augustine
PRAYER – Almighty God, whose blessed Apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Sts Peter and Paul, pray for us and for the universal Church, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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