Thought for the Day – 14 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Christian Joy
“In his letters, St Paul frequently exhorts the early Christians to be joyful. “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice” (Phil 4:4). “The fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindliness” (Cf Gal 5:22). But we are to remember that “The Kingdom of God does not consist in food and drink but, in justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17).
St Paul emphasises that this joy need not be lost in times of tribulation. “I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy in all our troubles” (2 Cor 7:4). In the life of a Christian, joy andsorrow are not mutually exclusive but, complement and perfect one another.
This does not mean that Christianity essentially transforms human nature and banishes the pangs of suffering. It means simply that everything in human nature, is purified and elevated, so that, it may be deserving of Heaven, where true and lasting happiness is to be found. “Be fervent in spirit,” says St Paul, “serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope,” (Rom 12:12)“and as sorrowful, always rejoicing” (2 Cor 6:10.”
Quote/s of the Day – 14 August – The 10th Sunday after Pentecost – 1 Cor.inthians 12:2-11, Luke 18:9-14
“… For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”
Luke 18:14
“Let him who is greatest among you, become as the youngest and he who is the leader, as the servant.”
Luke 22:25
“As “pride, is the beginning of all sin,” (Eccl. 10:15) so humility, is the foundation of all virtue. Learn to be really humble and not, as the hypocrite, humble merely in appearance.”
St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Seraphic Doctor of the Church
“Once humility is acquired, charity will come to life like a burning flame devouring the corruption of vice and filling the heart so full, that there is no place for vanity.”
St Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419)
“True humility scarcely ever utters words of humility.”
One Minute Reflection – 14 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – The 10th Sunday after Pentecost – 1 Cor.inthians 12:2-11, Luke 18:9-14
“I tell you, this man went back to his home, justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled but he who humbles himself, will be exalted” – Luke 18:14
REFLECTION – “The stern Pharisee, who in his overweening pride, not only boasted of himself but also discredited the tax collector, in the Presence of God, made his justice void by being guilty of pride. Instead of the Pharisee, the tax collector went down justified because he had given glory to God, the Holy One. He did not dare lift his eyes but sought only to plead for mercy. He accused himself by his posture, by striking his breast and by entertaining no other motive, except propitiation.
Be on your guard, therefore and bear in min, this example of severe loss, sustained through arrogance. The one guilty of insolent behaviour suffered the loss of his justice and forfeited his reward, by his bold self-reliance. He was judged inferior to a humble man and a sinner because, in his self-exaltation, he did not await the judgement of God but pronounced it himself.
Never place yourself above anyone, not even great sinners. Humility often saves a sinner, who has committed many terrible transgressions!” – St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop of Caesarea, Father and Doctor of the Church (On Humility)
PRAYER – O God, Thou manifest Thy power, particularly in forbearance and pity, show us Thy mercy again and again, so that hastening toward Thy promises, we may become partakers of the blessings of Heaven. 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 – 13 August – Anticipated Vigil of the Assumption and the Feast of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners – Ecclesiasticus 24:23-31, Luke 11:27-28
“Blessed is the womb that bore you ’” – Luke 11:27
REFLECTION – “By the Spirit, from the womb of the Virgin, was born our Head, the Son of Man and, by the same Spirit, in the waters of Baptism, we are reborn as His Body and as sons of God. And just as He was born without any sin, so we are reborn in the forgiveness of all our sins. As on the Cross, He bore the sum total of the whole Body’s sins in His own physical Body, so He gave His members the grace of rebirth, in order that no sin might be imputed to His Mystical Body. It is written: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no sin. The blessed man of this text is undoubtedly Christ, Who forgives sins, insofar as God, is His Head. Insofar as this Man is the Head of the Body, no sin is forgiven Him. But, insofar as the Body that belongs to this Head, consists of many members, sin is not imputed to it.
Just as in Himself, it is He Who justifies Himself. He alone is both Saviour and saved. In His own Body on the Cross, He bore what He had washed from His Body by the waters of Baptism. Bringing salvation through wood and through water, He is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world which He took upon Himself. Himself a Priest, He offers Himself as sacrifice to God and He Himself, is God. Thus, through His own self, the Son is reconciled to Himself as God, as well as to the Father and to the Holy Spirit.” – Blessed Isaac of Stella O.Cist. (c 1100 – c 1170) Cistercian Monk, Abbot, Theologian, Philosopher (An excerpt from his Sermon 42),
PRAYER – O God, Who chose for Thy dwelling the virginal womb of the blessed Mary, grant, we beseech Thee, that, with the help of her protection, we may with joym take part in her festival. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
One Minute Reflection – 12 August – St Clare of Assisi (1194-1253) Virgin – 2 Cor inthians 10:17-18; 11:1-2 , Matthew 25:1-13
“But the wise took oil in their vessels” – Matthew 25:4
REFLECTION – “It is some great thing, some exceedingly great thing, that this oil signifies. Do you think it might be charity? If we try out this hypothesis, we hazard no precipitate judgement. I will tell you why charity seems to be signified by the oil. The Apostle says, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” “If I speak with the tongue of mortals and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” This is charity. It is “that way above the rest,” which is, with good reason, signified by the oil. For oil swims above all liquids. Pour in water and pour in oil upon it, the oil will swim above. If you keep the usual order, it will be uppermost, if you change the order, it will be uppermost. “Charity never fails!” … St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor (Sermon 93).
PRAYER – Hear us, O God, our Saviour that as we are gladdened by the festival of blessed Clare Thy virgin, so we may learn from it piety and devotion. ThroughJesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Quote/s of the Day – 11 August – Saint Susanna of Rome (Died c 295) Virgin Martyr and and St Philomena (Died 304) Virgin Martyr – Hebrews 11:33-39, Luke 21:9-19
“But others were racked, not accepting deliverance that they might find a better resurrection.”
Hebrews 11:35
The Passion of Andrew: Hail, O Cross, yes, hail indeed!
“Hail, O Cross, inaugurated by the Body of Christ and adorned with His limbs as though they were precious pearls. Before the Lord mounted you, you inspired an earthly fear. Now, instead, endowed with heavenly love, you are accepted as a gift.
Believers know of the great joy that you possess and of the multitude of gifts you have prepared. I come to you, therefore, confident and joyful, so that you too may receive me, exultant as a disciple of the One Who was hung upon you….
O blessed Cross, clothed in the majesty and beauty of the Lord’s limbs!…
Take me, carry me far from men and restore me to my Teacher, so that, through you, the One who redeemed me by you, may receive me.
Hail, O Cross, yes, hail indeed!”
“Without the Cup of the Lord preserving the holy bond of love, even if a man should deliver his body to be burned, he gains nothing!”
St Fulgentus of Ruspe (c 462 – 533)
“We should not forget, that the devil has his martyrs and that he infuses into them a false constancy. It is not the punishment but the cause, that makes the Martyr; that is – the confession of the True Faith.”
St Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 11 August – Saint Susanna of Rome (Died c 295) Virgin Martyr – Hebrews 11:33-39, Luke 21:9-19
“Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons and they will have you led, before kings and governors because of my name …” – Luke 21:12
REFLECTION – “Jesus gives them clear and evident signs of the time when the consummation of the world draws near. He says that there will be wars, turmoil, famines and epidemics everywhere. There will be terrors from heaven and great signs. As another Evangelist says, “All the stars shall fall and the heaven be rolled up like a scroll and its powers will be shaken.”
In the middle of this, the Saviour places what refers to the capture of Jerusalem. He mixes the accounts together in both parts of the narrative. Before all these things, He says, “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and to prisons and bringing you before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. This will be a witness to you.” Before the times of consummation, the land of the Jews was taken captive and the Roman armies overran it. They burned the temple, overthrew their national government and stopped the means for legal worship. They no longer had sacrifices, now that the temple was destroyed. The country of the Jews together with Jerusalem itself was totally laid waste. Before these things happened, they persecuted the blessed disciples. They imprisoned them and had a part in unendurable trials. They brought the disciples before judges and sent them to kings. Paul was sent to Rome to Caesar.
Christ promises, however, that He will deliver them certainly and completely. He says that a hair of your head will not perish!” – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Bishop of Alexandria, Father and Doctor of the Incarnation the Church (Commentary on Luke, Homily 139).
PRAYER – May the constant protection of Thy holy Martyrs, Tiburtius and Susanna, support us, O Lord, for Thou never fails to look mercifully upon those ,whom Thy have given the help of such 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).
Quote/s of the Day – 10 August – St Lawrence (Died 258) Martyr “Keeper of the Treasures of he Church” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-10, John 12:24-26
“If it dies, it produces much fruit”
John 12:24
“Through the glorious achievements of the holy Martyrs with which the Church blossoms everywhere, we are ourselves, proving to our own eyes, how true are the words we have been singing that: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Ps 116[115]:15). For it is precious both in our sight and in the sight of Him, in Whose Name. the death took place.”
“And all who wish to live piously in Christ Jesus, will suffer persecution.”
2 Timothy 3:12
“Do not love your life in this world! If you truly love yourselves, do not thus love your life and then, you will save your life!”…
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church
“In conformity with the philosophy of Christ, let us make of our life, a training for death.”
St Maximus the Confessor (c 580-662) Father of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 10 August – St Lawrence (Died 258) Martyr “Keeper of the Treasures of he Church” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-10, John 12:24-26
“He who loves his life, loses it and he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life everlasting. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me and where I Am ,there also shall My servant be.” – John 12:25-26
REFLECTION – “… We are being towed along by a world that passes away, forgetting the world to come. We are greedy for present things but do not take into account the coming judgement. We will not run to meet the Lord as He comes…
Let us turn back, brethren, let us turn back… By the very fact of His delay, of His still waiting, our Lord proves His desire to see us come back to Him, His desire that we should not perish. In His great goodness, He continues addressing these words to us: “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked but would rather he would change his ways and live ”(Ez 33,11). So let us turn back to Him, brethren, not fearing that time is running short. The time that belongs to time’s Author cannot be shortened. The proof of it lies in the criminal in the Gospel, who, at the moment of dying on the cross, got away with his pardon, grabbed hold of life and, breaking into paradise like a burglar, managed to make his way into the Kingdom (cf. Lk 23,43)!” – St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father and “Doctor of Sermons” of the Church (Excerpt from Sermon 167).
PRAYER – Grant us, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, to extinguish the flames of our sins, as Thou granted St Lawrence to overcome the fires of his tortures. 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 – 9 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and The Memorial of St John Marie Vianney (1786-1859) Confessor – Sirach 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40
“You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” – Luke 12:40
REFLECTION – “The Lord was looking to our days when He said, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8) We see that what He foretold has come to pass. There is no faith in the fear of God, in the law of righteousness, in love, in good works …. That which our conscience would fear if it believed, it does not fear because it does not believe at all. If it believed, it would also take heed and if it took heed, it would be saved.
Therefore ,beloved brothers, let us arouse ourselves as much as we can and break the slumber of our listlessness. Let us be watchful to observe and to do the Lord’s precepts. Let us be like He Himself, has bidden us to be, saying, “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately, when He comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants, whom the Master finds vigilant on His arrival“.
We ought to be dressed for work, lest, when the day of setting forth comes, it should find us burdened and entangled. Let our light shine, in good works and glow, in such a way, as to lead us from the night of this world, to the daylight of eternal brightness. Let us always wait with solicitude and caution for the sudden coming of the Lord, so that when he knocks, our faith may be on the watch and receive from the Lord, the reward of our vigilance. If these commands be observed, if these warnings and precepts be kept, we will not be overtaken in slumber, by the deceit of the devil. But we shall reign with Christ in His Kingdom, as servants on the watch.” – St Cyprian (c 200-258) Bishop of Carthage and Martyr, Father of the Church (Treatise on the unity of the Church, 26-27).
PRAYER – Almighty and merciful God, Who made St John Marie glorious by priestly zeal and untiring fervoru in prayer and penance, grantP we beseech Thee that by his example and intercession, we may have strength to win for Christ, the souls of our brethren and, with them, attain everlasting glory. 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 – 8 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – The Memorial of the Holy Martyrs Saints Cyriacus, Largus and Smaragdus – 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16, Mark 16:15-18
“He who believes and is baptised, shall be saved ...” – Mark 16:16
REFLECTION – “When He says, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me,” He touches on their unbelief, showing, that whoever does not believe in Him transgresses the Will of the Father. He covertly shows, that unbelievers are not only at variance with Him but also, with the Father. For if this is [the Son’s] Will and if this is the reason He came, that is, that He might save the entire world, then those who do not believe transgress His Will.
When, therefore, He says, the Father guides someone, there is nothing that hinders that person from coming to [Jesus]. And Paul says, that [the Son] delivers them up to the Father. Now, just as the Father, when He gives, does not take from Himself, so neither does the Son take from Himself when He gives up. The Son is said to give up to the Father because we are brought to the Father by Him. And at the same time, we read that it was the Father “by whom you were called to the fellowship of His Son,” that is, by the Will of the Father.
Faith in Me, He intimates here, is no ordinary thing or one that comes from human reason but [it] needs a revelation from above. And this He establishes throughout His discourses, showing, that this faith requires a noble sort of soul and one drawn on by God. The expression “that the Father gives Me” shows, that it is no accident whether a person believes or not. It shows, that belief is not the work of human reasoning but requires a revelation from on high and a mind devout enough to receive the revelation. “Whoever then,” our Lord says, “comes to Me, shall be saved,” meaning they shall be greatly cared for. For to save such as these, I took up flesh and the form of a servant.” – St John Chrysostom (347-407) Archbishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor of the Church (Homilies on the Gospel of John 45)
PRAYER – O God, Who gladden us with the annual festival of Thy holy Martyrs, Cyriacus, Largus and Smaragdus, mercifully grant, that we, who celebrate the anniversary of their death, may also strive to equal the courage of their Martyrdom. 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 – 7 August – The Memorial of St Cajetan (1480-1547) Confessor – 1 Corinthians 10:6-13, Luke 19:41-47
“And He entered the temple and began to cast out those who were selling and buying in it, saying to them, it is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer’ but you have made it a den of thieves.” – Luke 19:45-46
REFLECTION – “God does not want His temple to be a trader’s lodge but the home of sanctity. He does not preserve the practice of the Priestly service by the dishonest duty of religion but by voluntary obedience. Consider what the Lord’s actions impose on you, as an example of living. He taught in general that worldly transactions must be absent from the temple but He drove out the moneychangers in particular. Who are the moneychangers, if not those, who seek profit from the Lord’s money and cannot distinguish between good and evil? Sacred Scripture is the Lord’s money!” – St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 9).
PRAYER – O God, Who bestowed upon St Cajetan, Thy Confessor, the grace to follow the apostolic way of life; grant us by his intercession and example, ever to trust in Thee and to long only for the things of Heaven.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).
Quote/s of the Day – 6 August – The Transfiguration of Our Lord
“And a cloud overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
Mark 9:7
“By His loving foresight, He allowed them to taste for a short time, the contemplation of eternal joy, so that they might bear persecution bravely.”
The Venerable St Bede (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church
“At His Transfiguration Christ showed His disciples, the splendour of His Beauty, to which He will shape and colour, those who are His : ‘He will reform our lowness configured to the Body of His Glory.’”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274) Angelic Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 6 August – The Transfiguration of Our Lord – 2 Peter 1:16-19, Matthew 17:1-9..
“His face shone like the sunand His garments became white as snow.” – Matthew 17:2
REFLECTION – “The Lord displays His glory before chosen witnesses and makes illustrious that bodily shape which He shared with others, with such splendour that His countenance shone like the sun and His garments were as white as snow. In this Transfiguration, the chief object was to remove the scandal of the Cross from the hearts of the disciples and, to prevent their faith being disturbed, at the humiliation of His voluntary Passion, by revealing the excellence of His hidden dignity. But with no less foresight, the foundation was laid of the hope of holy Church that the whole Body of Christ, might realise, with what a change it was to be endowed and that the members, might promise themselves, a share in that honour which had shone forth in their Head.
But to confirm the Apostles and to lead them onto all knowledge, still further, instruction was conveyed by this miracle. For Moses and Elias, that is, the law and the prophets, appeared talking with the Lord, so that, in the presence of these five men, might most truly be fulfilled, what was said – In two or three witnesses every word stands. What more stable, what more steadfast, than the word, in the proclamation of which, the trumpet of the old and of the new TestamentS, sounds forth and the records of ancient witnesses, agree with the teaching of the Gospel? For the pages of both Covenants corroborate each other and He, Whom, under the veil of Mysteries, the types that went before, had promised, is displayed clearly and manifestly by the splendour of His present glory.
The Apostle Peter, therefore, being stirred by the revelation of these Mysteries, despising things worldly and scorning things earthly, was carried away by a certain excess of mind, to the desire of things eternal and, being filled with rapture at the whole vision, longed to make his abode with Jesus, in the place where he was gladdened by the sight of His glory. And so also he says: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us set up here, three tents, one for Thee and one for Moses and one for Elias. But to this proposal the Lord made no reply, signifying that what he asked was not indeed wicked, but irregular, since the world could not be saved, except by Christ’s Death and by the Lord’s example in this, the faithful were called upon to believe that, although there ought not to be any doubt about the promises of happiness, yet, we should understand that, amid the trials of this life, we must ask for power to endure, rather than for glory.” – St Leo the Great (400-461) Pope, Father and Doctor (Sermon on the Transfiguration – excerpt).
PRAYER – O God, Who in the glorious Transfiguration of Thy Only-begotten Son strengthened the Mysteries of faith, by the testimony of the fathers and, by the Voice coming down in a shining cloud, miraculously betokened the complete adoption of Thy children, mercifully grant that we, be made co-heirs with that King of glory and sharers in that same glory .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 – 5 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Santa Mariæ ad Nives, Dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows – Sirach 24:14-16, Luke 11:27-28
“Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.” – Luke 11:28
REFLECTION – “If you say, “Show me your God,” I will say to you, “Show me what kind of person you are and I will show you my God.” Show me then whether the eyes of your mind, can see and the ears of your heart, hear.
It is like this. Those who can see with the eyes of their bodies, are aware of what is happening in this life on earth. They get to know things that are different from each other. They distinguish light and darkness, black and white, ugliness and beauty, elegance and inelegance, proportion and lack of proportion, excess and defect. The same is true of the sounds we hear: high or low or pleasant. So it is with the ears of our heart and the eyes of our mind, in their capacity to hear or see God.
God is seen by those who have the capacity to see Him, provided that they keep the eyes of their mind open. All have eyes but some have eyes that are shrouded in darkness, unable to see the Light of the Sun. Because the blind cannot see it, it does not follow that the sun does not shine. The blind must trace the cause back to themselves and their eyes . In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds. …
But if you will, you can be healed. Hand yourself over to the Doctor, and He will open the eyes and ears of your mind and heart. Who is to be the Doctor? It is God, Who heals and gives life through His Word and Wisdom. … ” – St Theophilus of Antioch (Died c 185) Bishop of Antioch, Confessor, Apologist, Father (An excerpt from: A Book addressed to Autolycus).
PRAYER – Grant us, Thy servants, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, to enjoy lasting health of mind and body and by the intercession of glorious and Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may be delivered from present sorrow and partake of the fullness of eternal happiness. 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 – 4 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – The Memorial of St Dominic de Guzman OP (1170-1221) – 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Luke 12:35-40
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.” – Luke 12:35-36
REFLECTION – “God, the Word, stirs up the lazy and arouses the sleeper. For indeed, someone who comes knocking at the door is always wanting to come in. But it depends on us, if He does not always enter or always remain.,, May your door be open to Him who comes; open your soul, enlarge your spiritual capacities, that you may discover the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace and sweetness of grace. Expand your heart; run to meet the Sun of that Eternal Light that “enlightens everyone” (Jn 1,9). It is certain, that this true Light shines for all but, if anyone shuts their windows, then they themselves, shut themselves off from this Eternal Light.
So even Christ remains outside, if you shut the door of your soul. It is true, that He could enter but He does not want to use force, He doesn’t put those who refuse under pressure. Descended from the Virgin, born from her womb, He shines throughout the universe to give light to all. Those who long to receive the light, that shines with an everlasting brightness, open up to Him. No night comes to intervene. Indeed, the sun we see each day, gives way to night’s darkness but the Sun of Justice (Mal 3,20) knows no setting, for Wisdom is not overcome by evil.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan and Father and Doctor of the Church – 12th Sermon on Psalm 118
PRAYER – O God, Who graciously enlightened Thy Church by the good works and teaching of St Dominic, Thy Confessor, grant by his intercession, that she may never be deprived of temporal helps and may ever advance in spiritual growth.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 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – The Finding of the Relics of St Stephen, Protomartyr – Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-60. Matthew 23:34-39
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them” – Acts 7:60
REFLECTION – “Let us imitate our Lord and pray for our enemies … He was Crucified and yet, at the same time, prayed to His Father for the sake of those who were crucifying Him. But how could I possibly imitate our Lord, one might ask? If you want to, you can. If you weren’t able to do it how could He have said: “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart”? (Mt 11:29) …
If you have difficulty in imitating our Lord, at least imitate him who is also His servant, His Deacon – I would speak of Stephen. Just as Christ, in the midst of those crucifying Him, without considering the Cross, without considering His own predicament, pleaded with the Father, on behalf of His tormentors (Lk 23:34), so His servant, surrounded by those who were stoning him, attacked by all, crushed beneath a hail of stones and, without taking any account of the suffering they were causing him, said: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Do you see how the Son spoke and how His servant prayed? The former said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” and the latter said: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Moreover, to make us realise the fervour with which he was praying, he did not just pray, as he stood beneath the blows of the stones but, he spoke on his knees with sincerity and compassion …
Christ said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Stephen cried out: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Paul, in his turn, said: “I offer up this sacrifice for my brethren, my kin according to race” (cf. Rm 9:3). Moses said: “If you would only forgive their sin! And if you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written!” (Ex 32:32). David said: “May your hand fall on me and my kindred,” (2 Sam 24:17). … What kind of forgiveness do we think we shall get if we ourselves do the opposite of what is asked of us and pray against our enemies, when the Lord Himself and His servants, of both Old and New Testaments, direct us to pray on their behalf?” – St John Chrysostom (345-407) Father and Doctor of the Church – Sermon for Good Friday “The Cross and the bandit”
PRAYER – Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to imitate what we celebrate, so that we may learn to love, even our enemies; because we keep the anniversary of the invention of Him, Who knew how to plead even for His persecutors with our Lord, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with |Thee. lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
One Minute Reflection – 1 August – St Peter’s Chains – Acts 12:1-11, Matthew16:13-19
“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” – Matthew 16:16
REFLECTION – “Peter did not say “Thou are a Christ” or “a son of God” but “the Christ,the Son of God.” For there are many christs by grace, who have attained the rank of adoption [as sons] but [there is] only One Who is by nature the Son of God. Thus, using the definite article, he said, THE Christ, THE Son of God. And in calling Him, Son of the LIVING God, Peter indicates that Christ Himself is Life and that death has no authority over Him. And even if the flesh, for a short while, was weak and died, nevertheless, it rose again, since the Word, Who dwelled in it, could not be held under the bonds of death.” – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Known as “The Pillar of Faith” Archbishop of Alexandria, Father and Doctor Incarnationis (Doctor of the Incarnation) (Fragment 190).
PRAYER – O God, Who didst loose the blessed Apostle, Peter, from his chains and didst make him go forth unharmed, loose, we pray, the chains of our sins and in Thy Merc, ward off from us every evil.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).
Quote/s of the Day – 31 July – The Memorial of St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Confessor
The Dying Words of today’s Saint of the Day, Blessed Everard Hanse (Died 1581) Priest Martyr at the hands of of Queen Elizabeth I in the English persecutions, led me to contemplate and collate some of these scattered around Breathin Catholic. I will collect them as I go on searches everywhere in the Catholic world, adding to them here from time to time, when appropriate. 🙏🧡
“Into Thy hands I commend My spirit.”
Luke 23:46
“Glory to God for all things!”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Thy will be done. Come, Lord Jesus!”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church
“I die the King’s faithful servant but God’s first.”
St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr
“O, my God!”
St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
“Oh happy day!”
The dying words of today’s Saint of the Day as he was being hanged at Tyburn, England Blessed Everard Hanse (Died 1581) Priest Martyr
Prayer for a Holy Death By St Alphonsus de Liguori Most Zealous Doctor
“My beloved Jesus, I will not refuse the cross, as the Cyrenian did; I accept it, I embrace it. I accept, in particular, the death Thou hast destined for me, with all the pains which may accompany it; I unite it to Thy Death, I offer it to You. Thou hast died for love of me; I will die for love of Thee and to please Thee. Help me by Thy grace. I love Thee, Jesus, my love; I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always and then do with me what Thou will.Amen”
One Minute Reflection – 31 July – “The Month of the Precious Blood” – The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost and the Memorial of St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Confessor– Romans 8:12-17, Luke 16:1-9.
“Then to another he said: ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note, write one for eighty.’” – Luke 16:7
REFLECTION – “What the Gospel of “the unjust steward” says, is also an image of this matter. He says to the debtor [of one hundred measures of wheat], “Take your bill, sit down and write eighty” and the other things that are related. You see that he said to each man, “Take your bill.” It is evident from this, that the ‘documents of sin‘ are ours but God writes ‘documents of justice.‘ The Apostle says, “For you are an epistle written, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone but in the fleshly tables of the heart.” You have in yourselves, ‘documents of God’ and ‘documents of the Holy Spirit.’ If you transgress, you yourself write in yourselves, the handwriting of sin. Notice, that at anytime, when you have approached the Cross of Christ and the grace of Baptism, your handwriting is fastened to the Cross and blotted out in the fountain of Baptism. Do not rewrite later, what has been blotted out, or repair what has been destroyed. Preserve only the documents of God in yourself. Let only the scripture of the Holy Spirit remain in you.” – Origen Adamantius (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father (Homilies on Genesis, 13)
PRAYER – O God, Who, to spread abroad the greater glory of Thy Name through St Ignatius, strengthened the Church militant with new power; grant that we ,who are struggling on earth, may, by his help and after his example, be found worthy to be crowned with him in Heaven. 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 – 30 July – Our Lady’s Saturday – Ecclesiasticus 24:14-16, Luke 11:27-28
“Blessed is the womb that bore Thee ” – Luke 11:27
REFLECTION – “Stretching out His Hand over His disciples, the Lord Christ declared: Here are My mother and My brothers; anyone who does the Will of My Father Who sent Me, is mM brother and sister and My mother. I would urge you to ponder these words. Did the Virgin Mary, who believed by faith and conceived by faith, who was the chosen one from whom our Saviour was born among men, who was created by Christ before Christ was created in her—did she not do the Will of the Father? Indeed the blessed Mary certainly did the Father’s Will and so, it was for her a greater thing to have been Christ’s disciple, than to have been His Mother and she was more blessed in her discipleship, than in her Motherhood. Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb Him, Whom she would obey as her Master.
Now listen and see if the words of Scripture do not agree with what I have said. The Lord was passing by and crowds were following Him. His miracles gave proof of Divine power and a woman cried out – Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, blessed is that womb! But the Lord, not wishing people to seek happiness in a purely physical relationship, replied: – More blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Mary heard God’s Word and kept it and so, she is blessed. She kept God’s Truth in her mind, a nobler thing than carrying His Body in her womb. The Truth and the Body were both Christ, He was kept in Mary’s mind insofar as He is Truth, He was carried in her womb, insofar as He is Man but what is kept in the mind is of a higher order, than what is carried in the womb.
The Virgin Mary is both holy and blessed and yet,the Church is greater than she. Mary is a part of the Church, a member of the Church, a holy, an eminent—the most eminent—member but still, only a member of the entire body. The body undoubtedly is greater than she, one of its members. This body has the Lord for its Head and Head and body together, make up the whole Christ. In other words, our Head is Divine—our Head is God!
Now, beloved, give me your whole attention, for you also are members of Christ, you also are the body of Christ. Consider how you, yourselves, can be among those of whom the Lord said: Here are my mother and my brothers. Do you wonder how you can be the mother of Christ? He Himself said: Whoever hears and fulfills the will of My Father in Heaven is my brother and my sister and my mother. As for our being the brothers and sisters of Christ, we can understand this because,, although there is only one inheritance and Christ is the Only Son, His Mercy would not allow Him to remain alone. It was His wish that we too should be heirs of the Father and co-heirs with Himself.
Now having said that all of you are brothers of Christ, shall I not dare to call you His mother? Much less would I dare to deny His own Words. Tell me how Mary became the Mother of Christ, if it was not by giving birth to the members of Christ? You, to whom I am speaking, are the members of Christ. Of whom were you born? “Of Mother Church,” I hear the reply of your hearts. You became sons of this mother at your Baptism, you came to birth then as members of Christ. Now you, in your turn, must draw to the Font of Baptism, as many as you possibly can. You became sons when you were born there yourselves and now, by bringing others to birth in the same way, you have it in your power to become the Mothers of Christ!” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Father and Doctor of Grace (An excerpt from Sermon 25).
PRAYER – Grant us, Thy servants, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, to enjoy lasting health of mind and body; and by the intercession of glorious and blessed Mary, ever virgin, may we be delivered from present sorrow and partake of the fullness of eternal happiness.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).
Quote/s of the Day – 29 July – St Martha, Sister of Saint Lazarus and Saint Mary of Bethany – 2 Corinthians 10:17-18; 11:1-2, Luke 10:38-42
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things and yet, only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the best part and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41-42
“And as for that in the good ground they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bring forth fruit with patience.”
Luke 8:15
“… Scripture, as a whole, is God’s one perfect and complete instrument, giving forth, to those who wish to learn … It is one Saving Music…”
Origen (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Father of the Church
“Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”
Luke 11:28
“But if you will, you can be healed. Hand yourself over to the Doctor, and He will open the eyes and ears of your mind and heart. Who is to be the Doctor? It is God, Who heals and gives life through His Word and Wisdom. … ”
St Theophilus of Antioch (Died c 185) Bishop of Antioch, Confessor, Apologist, Father
“The more you devote yourself, to study of the Sacred utterances, the richer will be your understanding of them, just as the more the soil is tilled,, the richer is the harvest.”
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
St Isidore of Seville (c 560-636) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Cultivate your vineyard together with Jesus. To you the task of removing stones and pulling up brambles. To Jesus, that of sowing, planting, cultivating and watering. But even in your work, it is still He who acts. Because, without Christ, you could do nothing at all.”
One Minute Reflection – 29 July – “The Month of the Precious Blood” – St Martha, Sister of Saint Lazarus and Saint Mary of Bethany – 2 Corinthians 10:17-18; 11:1-2, Luke 10:38-42
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things and yet ,only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the best part and it will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:41-42
REFLECTION – “Virtue does not have a single form. In the example of Martha and Mary, there is added the busy devotion of the one and the pious attention of the other, to the Word of God, which, if it agrees with faith, is preferred, even to the very works, as it is written: “Mary has chosen the best portion, which shall not be taken away from her.”
So let us also strive to have what no-one can take away from us, so that not careless but diligent hearing, may be granted to us. For even the seeds of the heavenly Word itself, are likely to be taken away, if they are sowed by the wayside. Let the desire for wisdom lead you, as it did Mary . It is a greater and more perfect work. Do not let service divert the knowledge of the heavenly Word. Nor is Martha rebuked in her good serving but Mary is preferred because she has chosen the better part for herself, for Jesus abounds with many blessings and bestows many gifts. And, therefore, the wiser chooses what she perceives as foremost.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Archbishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7).
PRAYER – Graciously hear us, God our Saviour, that as we rejoice in the festival of blessed Martha, Thy Virgin, so may we be nourished by the food of her heavenly teaching as to be enlightened by the fervour of her dedicated holiness.Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Quote/s of the Day – 28 July – Wisdom 10:17-20, Luke 21:9-19
“And you shall be hated by all men,
for My Name’s sake …”
Luke 21:17
“In that day, you will ask in My Name”
John 16:26
“Wake up then, believer and note what is stated here: “In my Name.” That [Name] is Christ Jesus. Christ signifies King, Jesus signifies Saviour. Therefore, whatever we ask for that would hinder our salvation, we do not ask in our Saviour’s Name and yet, He is our Saviour, not only when He does what we ask but also, when He does not. When He sees us ask anything to the disadvantage of our salvation, He shows Himself our Saviour by not doing it. The physician knows whether what the sick person asks for, is to the advantage or disadvantage of his health. And [the physician] does not allow what would be harmful to him, although the sick person himself, desires it. But the physician looks to his final cure.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace of the Church
“The Name of Jesus is the purest and holiest, the noblest and most indulgent of names, the Name of all blessings and of all virtues, it is the Name of the God-Man, of sanctity itself.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Father and Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
“The eternal God asks a favour of His bride: “Hold Me close to your heart, close as locket or bracelet fits.” No matter whether we walk or stand still, eat or drink, we should at all times wear the golden locket “Jesus” upon our heart.”
One Minute Reflection – 28 July – “The Month of the Precious Blood” – St Pope Innocent I (Died 417) Confessor – Wisdom 10:17-20, Luke 21:9-19
“But you will be delivered up by your parents and brothers and relatives and friends and some of you, they will put to death. And you will be hated by all, for My Name’s sake …” – Luke 21:16-17
REFLECTION – “I must give thanks to my God continuously. He has helped me to keep my faith, through difficult times, so that I can fearlessly offer myself as a kind of living sacrifice to Christ. The Lord has rescued me from so many dangers that sometimes I just have to ask: “God, who am I?… “From where did I get such wisdom?” It certainly wasn’t from inside myself. “I didn not know my future” and I had no great knowledge of God. And later on, Who was it, Who gave me such a wonderful and life-giving gift, the gift to know and love God? But to receive such things, I had to leave behind my home and family… I came to Ireland to preach the good news and to suffer abuse from unbelievers and… to have my mission shamefully criticised. I have had many hard times, even to the point of being enslaved again but I traded in my free birth for the good of others.
If I am worthy, I am even ready to lay down my life willingly and without hesitation for His Name. Here, in Ireland, is where I wish to live out my final days, if God will permit me. I owe so much to God, Who allowed so many people to find a new life in Him through me. I confirmed them in our Faith and Ordained Clergy for them everywhere, for a people just coming to a belief in God. The Master chose them from the ends of the earth, just as He said He would through the prophets: “The gentiles will come to you from the ends of the earth” and… “I will place you like a lamp among the nations so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” – St Patrick (c 380-461) Bishop. Missionary Monk (Confession, 34-38).
PRAYER – May the Martyrdom of Your Saints Nazarius, Celsus, Victor and Innocent, give us courage, O Lord and may it give us a help to counter- our weakness.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).
Quote/s of the Day – 27 July – The Memorial of St Pantaleon (Died c 305) Martyr, Lay Physician, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers – 2 Tim. 2:8-10; 3:10-12, Matthew 10:26-32
“And all who wish to live piously in Christ Jesus, will suffer persecution.”
2 Timothy 3:12
“The very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Matthew 10:30
“What is the surest kind of witness? “Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus Christ came among us in the flesh” (cf. 1Jn 4,2) and who keeps the commands of the Gospel… How many there are, each day, of these hidden martyrs of Christ who confess the Lord Jesus! … So be faithful and courageous in interior persecutions, so that you may also win the victory in exterior persecutions.”
St Ambrose (340-397) Father & Doctor of the Church
“When he has begun to follow Me, according to My teaching and precepts, he will find many people contradicting him and standing in his way, many who not only deride but even persecute him. Moreover, this is true, not only of pagans who are outside the Church but also of those, who seem to be in it visibly but are outside of it because of the perversity of their deeds. Although these glory, in merely the title of Christian, they continually persecute faithful Christians.”
St Caesarius of Arles (470-543)
“Rejoice and be happy! Persevere to the end and prefer to die rather than abandon the post, to which God has called you!”
St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
“Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labours.”
One Minute Reflection – 27 July – “The Month of the Precious Blood” – The Memorial of St Pantaleon (Died c 305) Martyr, Lay Physician, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers – 2 Tim. 2:8-10; 3:10-12, Matthew 10:26-32
“And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather, be afraid of him, who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matthew 10:28
REFLECTION – “The Gospel is life. Impiety and infidelity are the death of the soul. So then, if the soul can die, how then is it yet immortal? Because, there is always a dimension of life in the soul which can never be extinguished. And how does it die? Not in ceasing to be life but by losing its proper life. For the soul is both life to something else and it has it own proper life. Consider the order of the creatures. The soul is the life of the body. God is the life of the soul. As the life that is the soul, is present with the body, that the body may not die, so the life of the soul (God), ought to be with the soul that it may not die.
How does the body die? By the departure of the soul. I say, by the departure of the soul, the body dies and it lies there as a mere carcass, what was a little before, a lively, not a contemptible object. There are in it still, its several members, the eyes and ears. But these are merely the windows of the house – its inhabitant is gone. Those who bewail the dead, cry in vain at the windows of the house. There is no-one there within it to hear. Why is the body dead? Because the soul, its life, is gone. But at what point is the soul itself dead? When God, its life, has forsaken it. This then we can know and hold for certain – the body is dead without the soul and the soul is dead without God. Everyone without God has a dead soul. You who bewail the dead rather, should bewail sin! Bewail ungodliness! Bewail disbelief.! – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon 65).
PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that through the intercession of Thy blessed Martyr Pantaleon, we may be delivered from all afflictions of the body and cleansed from all evil thoughts of the 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).
One Minute Reflection – 26 July – St Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Grandmother of Jesus.– Proverbs 31:10-31, Matthew 13:44-52
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again and out of joy, goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” – Matthew 13:44
REFLECTION – “It was Christ who was present to all those to whom, from the beginning, God communicated His Speech and Word. If anyone, therefore, reads the Scriptures with attention, he will find, in them, an expression of Christ and a foreshadowing of this new calling. For Christ is the treasure which was hidden in the field, that is, in this world (Mt 13:38) – a treasure hidden in the Scriptures, since it was alluded to by means of symbols and parables which, humanly speaking, could not be understood prior to the fulfilment of prophecy, that is to say, before the coming of the Lord. That is why it was said to Daniel the prophet: ” Keep secret the message and seal the book until the end of time ” (12:4) … And Jeremiah also says, “In the last days they shall understand these things.” (23:20) …
When read by Christians, the Law is a treasure, hidden beforehand in a field, but brought to light and interpreted by the Cross of Christ. It shows forth the Wisdom of God and makes known His intentions with regard to our salvation; it prefigures the Kingdom of Christ and preaches, by anticipation, the Good News of our inheritance of the holy Jerusalem. It proclaims beforehand, that those who love God shall advance even to hearing and seeing His Word and, that they will be glorified by this Word …
Thus it was, that the Lord explained the Scriptures to His disciples, after His Resurrection from the dead, proving to them, by their means, that “it was necessary the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory” (Lk 24:26). So if anyone should likewise read the Scriptures, that person will become a perfect disciple, “like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom things both new and old.” (Mt 13:52). – St Irenaeus of Lyons ((130-202) Bishop, Martyr, Theologian – Against the Heresies, IV, 26 ; SC 100
PRAYER – O God, Who in Thy kindness gave blessed Anne the grace to be the mother of her, who Mothered Thy Only-begotten Son, graciously grant that we who keep her feast, maybe helped by her intercession with Thee. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
One Minute Reflection – 25 July – “The Month of the Precious Blood” – Saint James the Greater, Apostle and Martyr – 1 Corinthians 4:9-15, Matthew 20:20-23
“You know not what you ask. Can you drink the Chalice that I shall drink?” – Matthew 20:22
REFLECTION – “Through their mother’s mediation, the sons of Zebedee press Christ as follows in the presence of their fellow apostles: “Command that we may sit, one at your right side and one at your left” (cf. Mk 10:35f.)… Christ hastens to free them from their illusions, telling them they must be prepared to suffer insults, persecutions, even death. “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the chalice that I shall drink?”
Let no-one be surprised to see the Apostles displaying such imperfect dispositions. Wait until the Mystery of the Cross has been fulfilled and the strength of the Holy Spirit given to them. If you want to see the strength of their souls, take a look at them later and you will see them to be above all human weakness. Christ does not conceal their pettiness, so that you will be able to see what they become later by the power of the grace which will transform them! …”… St John Chrysostom (c 345-407) Father & Doctor of the Church.
PRAYER – Protect Thy people and make them holy, O Lord, so that, guarded by the help of Thy Apostle James, they may please Thee by their conduct and serve Thee with peace of mind. Through esus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Quote/s of the Day – 24 July – “The Month of the Precious Blood” – St Christina of Bolsena (3rd Century) Virgin Martyr – Romans 6:19-23, Matthew 7:15-21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven but only the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven.”
Matthew 7:21
“We recognise a tree by its fruit and we ought to be able to recognise a Christian by his action. The fruit of faith should be evident in our lives, for being a Christian is more than making sound professions of faith. It should reveal itself in practical and visible ways. Indeed, it is better to keep quiet about our beliefs and live them out, than to talk eloquently about what we believe but fail to live by it!”
St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108) Martyr Apostolic Father of the Church
“God is Good but He is also Just… So do not underestimate God – His love for men should not become a pretext, for negligence on our part.”
St Basil the Great (329-379) Father and Doctor of the Church
“If anyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord, resists the Lord’s Commands by living perversely, it is evident, that the good, which the tongue has spoken, has NOT emanated from the good treasure in his heart. It was not the root of a fig tree but that of a thorn bush, which produced the fruit of such a confession — a conscience, which is, bristling with vices and not one filled, with the sweetness of the love of the Lord!”
St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.