One Minute Reflection – 24 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” and the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19, John 19:31-37.
“And to have Christ dwelling, through faith, in your hearts, so that, being rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know Christ’s Love, which surpasses knowledge,” – Ephesians 3:17-19
REFLECTION – “When once I shall be united to You with my whole being, I shall at last be free of sorrow and toil. Then my life will be alive, filled entirely with You. When You fill someone, You relieve him of his burdens but because, I am not yet filled with You, I am a burden to myself. My joy when I should be weeping, struggles with my sorrows, when I should be rejoicing. I know not where victory lies.
Woe is me! Lord, have mercy on me! My evil sorrows and good joys are at war with one another. I know not where victory lies. Woe is me! Lord, have mercy! Woe is me! I make no effort to conceal my wounds. You are my Physician, I Your Patient. You are merciful; I stand in need of mercy.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (An excerpt from: The Confessions Book 10).
PRAYER – O God, Who in the Heart of Thy Son, wounded by our sins, mercifully lavish upon us the infinite riches of Love, grant, we beseech Thee, that as we offer Him the faithful service of our devotion, we may also show forth fitting reparation. 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). SACRED Heart of JESUS, Thy Kingdom come! – Indulgence 300 Days – Every time – Raccolta 179 St Pius X, 6 November 1906.
One Minute Reflection – 23 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Octave Day of Corpus Christi –1 Corinthians 11:23-29, John 6:56-59.
“For as often as you shall eat this Bread and drink the Cup, you proclaim the Death of the Lord, until He comes.” – 1 Corinthians 11:26
REFLECTION – “In our offering of the Holy Sacrifice we fulfil the Command of our Saviour, as recorded by the Apostle Paul: The Lord Jesus, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread and after He had given thanks, broke it and said: This is My Body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. The same way, after the supper, He took the Cup saying: This Cup is the New Covenant in My Blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup, you shall proclaim the Death of the Lord until He comes.
This Sacrifice is offered, then, to proclaim the Lord’s Death; it is offered in remembrance of Him Who laid down His Life for our sake. As He says: Greater love than this no man has, that he lay down his life for his friends. Because Christ died for us out of love, we ask, when we make remembrance of His Death, at the time of Sacrifice, that we too may be granted love through the coming of the Holy Spirit. We pray, that by the Love which Christ had for us when He braved the Cross, we may receive the grace of the Spirit and be crucified to the world and the world to us. The Death Christ died, He died to sin, once for all but the Life He lives, He lives to God. Let us imitate our Lord’s Death and also live a new life. Strengthened with the gift of His Love, let us die to sin and live for God.
For God’s Love has been poured out in our hearts, through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us. Indeed our sharing in the Lord’s Body and Blood, when we eat His Bread and drink His Cup, teaches us, that we should die to the world and that we should keep our life hidden with Christ in God, crucifying our flesh with its vices and evil desires.
That is why all the faithful who love God and their neighbour, truly drink the Cup of the Lord’s Love even though, they may not drink the cup of His Bodily Suffering. And becoming inebriated from it, they put to death, whatever in their nature is rooted in earth. They clothe themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not indulge fleshly desires. They do not fix their gaze on visible things but contemplate things, which the eye cannot see. Thus they drink the Lord’s Cup by preserving the holy bond of love; without it, even if a man should deliver his body to be burned, he gains nothing. But the gift of love enables us to become, in reality, what we celebrate as Mystery in the Sacrifice.” – St Fulgentius of Ruspe (c 462 – 533) Bishop, Father (An excerpt from Against Fabianus).
PRAYER – Grant, O Lord, that we may always fear and love Thy Holy Name, for Thou never fails to guide those whom Thou firmly establish in Thy love. 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). MAY the Heart of JESUS in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. – Indulgence 100 Days, Once a Day. Raccolta 161 Pius IX, 29 February 1868.
One Minute Reflection – 22 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Within the Octave of Corpus Christi and the Memorial of St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431) Bishop, Confessor – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“ … For he who eats and drinks unworthily, … eats and drinks judgement upon himself.”- 1 Corinthians 29
REFLECTION – “Christ has hidden enemies. All those who live unjust and irreligious lives are Christ’s enemies, even if they are signed with His Name and are called ‘Christians’ I mean the ones to whom he is going to say, “I do not know you” and they say to him, “Lord, in your name we ate and drank. In your name, we performed many deeds of power. What did we eat and drink in your name?”
You see that they did not value their food very highly and yet, it was with reference to It, that they said they belonged to Christ. Christ is the Food that is eaten and drunk. Even Christ’s enemies eat and drink Him! The faithful know the Lamb without spot on which they feed, if only they fed on It in such a way that they are not liable to punishment! The Apostle says, “Whoever eats and drinks unworthily is eating and drinking judgment upon himself.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (Sermon 308).
PRAYER – O God, Who promised to those who forsake all things in this world for Thee, a hundred-fold reward in the world to come and life everlasting, mercifully grant that, following closely in the footsteps of the holy Bishop, Paulinus, we may look upon earthly things as nought and long only for those of Heaven. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect). SWEET HEART of my JESUS, Make me love Thee ever more and more! – Indulgence 300 Days Everytime – Plenary Once a Month – Raccolta 162 – Pope Pius IX 26 November 1876.
One Minute Reflection – 21 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Tuesday within the Octave of Corpus Christi and the Memorial of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591) – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“This is the Bread that has come down from Heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this Bread shall live forever.” – John 6:59
REFLECTION – Christ is “the bread of life” for those who believe in Him: to believe in Christ is to eat the bread of life, to possess Christ within one, is to possess eternal life… “I am the bread of life,” He says; “your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they are dead” (Jn 6,48f). By this is to be understood ,spiritual death. Why are they dead? Because they believed in what they saw and did not understand what they could not see… Moses ate manna, Aaron ate it and many others, too, who pleased God and are not dead. Why are they not dead? Because they understood, in a spiritual fashion, they were spiritually hungry, they tasted the manna spiritually, so that they might be spiritually satisfied. “This is the bread that came down from heaven: whoever eats it will never die” (v.50). This manna – that is to say, Christ, who Himself spoke like this…, was prefigured by the manna but was able to do more than manna could. For manna could not, of itself, prevent dying spiritually… But the righteous saw Christ in the manna, they believed in His coming and Christ, of whom manna was the symbol, grants to all who believe in Him that they should not spiritually die. Hence He says: “This is the bread come down from heaven; whoever eats it will never see death.” Here on earth, here now, before your eyes, your eyes of flesh: here is to be found the “bread from heaven” (v.51). The “bread of life” we spoke of a moment ago is now called “living bread.” Living bread because it contains, within itself, the life that abides and can deliver from spiritual death and bestow life. First He said: “Whoever eats it will never die” now he speaks clearly, concerning the life He gives: “Whoever eats this bread will live for ever” (v.58). Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury (c 1125-1190) Cistercian – The Sacrament of the Altar II
PRAYER – O God, bestower of heavenly gifts, Who in the angelic youth Aloysius joined wondrous innocence of life to an equally wondrous love of penance; grant, by his merits and prayers, that we who have not followed him in his innocence may imitate him in his penance. 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). SACRED Heart of JESUS, Thy Kingdom come! Indulgence 300 Days. Everytime Raccolta 178 St Pius X, 4 May 1906.
One Minute Reflection – 20 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Monday within the Octave of Corpus Christi and the Memorial of St Pope Silverius (Died 538) Martyr – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“He who eats this Bread shall live forever.” – John 6:59
REFLECTION – “Since it was the Will of God’s Only-Begotten Son, that men should share in His Divinity, He assumed our nature in order that, by becoming Man. He might make men gods . Moreover, when He took our flesh. He dedicated the whole of its substance to our salvation. He offered His Body to God the Father, on the Altar of the Cross, as a sacrifice for our reconciliation. He shed His Blood for our ransom and purification, so that we might be redeemed, from our wretched state of bondage and cleansed from all sin. But to ensure that the memory of so great a gift would abide with us forever, He left His Body as food and His Blood as drink, for the faithful to consume in the form of bread and wine.
O precious and wonderful banquet which brings us salvation and contains all sweetness! Could anything be of more intrinsic value? Under the old law, it was the flesh of calves and goats, which was offered but here, Christ Himself, the True God, is set before us as our food! What could be more wonderful than this? No other Sacrament has greater healing power; through it, sins are purged away, virtues are increased and the soul is enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift. It is offered in the Church for the living and the dead, so that what was instituted for the salvation of all, may be for the benefit of all. Yet, in the end, no-one can fully express the sweetness of this Sacrament, in which spiritual delight is tasted at its very source, and in which, we renew the memory, of that surpassing love for us, which Christ revealed in His Passion.
It was to impress the vastness of this love, more firmly upon the hearts of the faithful, that our Lord instituted this Sacrament at the Last Supper. As He was on the point of leaving the world to go to the Father, after celebrating the Passover with His disciples, He left it as a perpetual memorial of His Passion. It was the fulfilment of ancient figures and the greatest of all His Miracles, while, for those who were to experience the sorrow of His departure, it was destined to be a unique and abiding consolation.” – St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Dominican Priest and Theologian, Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from On the Feast of the Body of Christ).
PRAYER – Look forgivingly on Thy flock, Eternal Shepherd and keep it in Thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Sylvester thy Martyr and Sovereign Pontiff, whom Thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church. 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). O HEART of love, I place all my trust in Thee; for though I fear all things from my weakness, I hope all things from Thy mercies. – Ejaculation of Saint Margaret Mary – Indulgence 300 Days, Everytime – Raccolta 180St Pius X, 3 June 1908.
One Minute Reflection – 19 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Solemnity of Corpus Christ. Sunday within the Octave – 1 John 3:13-18. Luke 14:16-24.
“The servant went and reported this to his Master. Then the Master of the house was angry and commanded His servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and bring in here, the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame…” – Luke 14:21
REFLECTION – “He turned to the Gentiles from the careless scorn of the rich. He invites both good and evil to enter, in order to strengthen the good and change the disposition of the wicked for the better. The saying that was read today is fulfilled, “Then wolves and lambs will feed together.” He summons the poor, the maimed and the blind. By this, He shows us, either that handicaps do not exclude us from the Kingdom of Heaven that the Lord’s mercy forgives the weakness of sinners. Whoever glories in the Lord, glories as one redeemed from reproach, not by works but by faith.
He sends them into the highways because Wisdom sings aloud in passages. He sends them to the streets because He sent them to sinners, so that they should come from the broad paths, to the narrow way which leads to life. He sends them to the highways and hedges . They, who are not busied with any desires for present things, hurry to the future on the path of goodwill. Like a hedge, which separates the wild from the cultivated and wards off the attacks of wild beasts, they can distinguish between good and evil and extend a rampart of faith against the temptations of spiritual wickedness.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church (Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 7).
PRAYER – O God, Who miraculously fortified blessed Juliana, Thy Virgin, in her last illness with the precious Body of Thy Son, grant, we beseech Thee, that with her merits pleading for us, we also, refreshed and strengthened by the same Sacrament in our dying agony, may be brought to our heavenly home. 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). MAY the Heart of JESUS in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen. Indulgence 100 Days, Once a day. Raccolta 161 Pope Pius IX, 29 February 1868.
Quote/s of the Day – 18 June – the Memorial of St Ephrem of Syria (306-373) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
“Our Lord chose Matthew, the tax collector, to encourage his fellows to join him. He looked on sinners, called them and brought them to sit beside Him. What a wonderful sight! Angels stand trembling, while publicans, seated, rejoice!”
“But the bread of Moses was not perfect, it was only given to the Israelites. Because He wanted to show, that His gift is superior to that of Moses and the call to the nations still more perfect, our Lord said: “If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever,” for the bread from God “has come down from heaven” and is given to the whole world (Jn 6:51).”
O Lord and Master of My Life By Saint Ephrem (306-373) Father & Doctor of the Church
O Lord and Master of my life, give me not a spirit of sloth, vain curiosity, lust for power and idle talk. But give to me, Thy servant, a spirit of soberness, humility, patience and love. O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to condemn my brother. For blessed art Thou to the ages of ages. Amen O God, be merciful to me a sinner. O God, cleanse me, a sinner. O God, my Creator, save me and for my many sins forgive me!
O Pure and Immaculate Blessed Virgin By St Ephrem (306-373) Father and Doctor of the Church
O Pure and Immaculate and likewise Blessed Virgin, who art the sinless Mother of thy Son, the mighty Lord of the universe, thou who art inviolate and altogether holy, the hope of the hopeless and sinful, we sing thy praises. We bless thee, as full of every grace, thou who didst bear the God-Man: we bow low before thee; we invoke thee and implore thine aid. Rescue us, O holy and inviolate Virgin, from every necessity that presses upon us and from all the temptations of the devil. Be our intercessor and advocate at the hour of death and judgement, deliver us from the fire that is not extinguished and from the outer darkness; make us worthy of the glory of thy Son, O dearest and most clement Virgin Mother. Thou indeed art our only hope most sure and sacred in God’s sight, to Whom be honour and glory and majesty and dominion forever and ever, world without end. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 18 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Saturday within the Octave of Cprpus Chris and the Memorial of St Ephrem of Syria (306-373) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“As the living Father has sent Me and as I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.” – John 6:58
REFLECTION – “We believe that the Word became Flesh and that we receive His Flesh in the Lord’s Supper. How then can we fail to believe, that He really dwells within us? When He became Man, He actually clothed Himself in our flesh, uniting it to Himself forever. In the Sacrament of His Body, He actually gives us His own Flesh, which He has united to His Divinity. This is why we are all one because the Father is in Christ and Christ is in us. He is in us through His Flesh and we are in Him. With Him, we form a Unity, which is in God.
The manner of our indwelling in Him through the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, is evident from the Lord’s own Words: This world will see Me no longer but you shall see Me. Because I live ,you shall live also, for I am in My Father, you are in Me and I am in you. If it had been a question of mere unity of will, why should He have given us this explanation of the steps, by which it is achieved? He is in the Father by reason of His Divine Nature, we are in Him by reason of His Human Birth and He is in us, through the Mystery of the Sacraments. This, surely, is what He wished us to believe; this is how He wanted us to understand the perfect Unity that is achieved through our Mediator, Who lives in the Father, while we live in Him and Who,, while living in the Father, lives also in us. This is how we attain to Unity with the Father. Christ is in very truth in the Father by His Eternal Generation; we are in very truth, in Christ and He likewise is in us.
Christ Himself bore witness to the reality of His Unity, when He said: He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, lives in Me and I in him. No-one will be in Christ, unless Christ Himself has been in him; Christ will take to Himself only the Flesh of those who have received His Flesh.
He had already explained the Mystery of this perfect Unity, when He said: As the living Father sent Me and I draw life from the Father, so he who eats My Flesh will draw life from Me. We draw life from His Flesh, just as He draws life from the Father. Such comparisons aid our understanding, since we can grasp a point more easily, when we have an analogy. And the point is that Christ is the well-spring of our life. Since we, who are in the flesh, have Christ dwelling in us through His Flesh, we shall draw life from Him in the same way, in which He draws life from the Father.” – St Hilary of Poitiers (315-368) Bishop of Poitiers , Father and Doctor of the Divinity of Christ (An excerpt from his On the Trinity).
PRAYERS – O God, Who willed to enlighten Thy Church by the wondrous learning and glorious merits of the life of blessed Ephrem, Thy Confessor and Doctor, we humbly pray Thee that, by his pleading, Thou will shield her with Thy lasting power, against the snares of error and 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). HEART of JESUS burning with love of us, inflame our hearts with love of Thee. – 100 Days, once a day. (See Instructions. – Unless otherwise stated, e.g., “once a day,” a partial Indulgence may be gained any number of times in succession.) [169 Raccolta or Collection of Indulgences, 1910] Pope Leo XIII, 16 July 1893.
One Minute Reflection – 17 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Friday within the Octave of Corpus Christi – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“This is the Bread that has come down from Heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this Bread shall live forever.”- John 6:59
REFLECTION – “It is wonderful that God rained manna on our fathers and they were fed with daily food from Heaven. And so it is written: Man ate the bread of angels. Yet, those who ate that bread all died in the desert. But the food that you receive, that living Bread which came down from Heaven, supplies the very substance of eternal life, and whoever will eat it, will never die, for it is the Body of Christ!
Consider now which is the more excellent – the bread of Angels or the Flesh of Christ, which is indeed the Body that gives Life. The first was manna from Heaven, the second is above the Heavens. One was of Heaven, the other is of the Lord of the Heavens; one subject to corruption if it was kept till the morrow, the other free from all corruption, for if anyone tastes of it with reverence, he will be incapable of corruption. For our fathers, water flowed from the rock; for you, Blood flows from Christ. Water satisfied their thirst for a time; Blood cleanses you forever. The Jew drinks and still thirsts but when you drink, you will be incapable of thirst. What happened in symbol is now fulfilled in reality.
If what you marvel at is a shadow, how great is the reality, whose very shadow you marvel at. Listen to this, which shows, that what happened in the time of our fathers was but a shadow. They drank, it is written, from the rock that followed them and the Rock was Christ! All this took place as a symbol for us. You know now what is more excellent – Light is preferable to its shadow, reality to its symbol, the Body of the Giver, to the manna He gave from Heaven.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from On the Mysteries).
PRAYER – O God, Thou Who in this wondrous Sacrament have left us a memorial of Thy Passion, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the Sacred Mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, that we may ever experience, within us, the effect of Thy Redemption. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect). MAY the HEART of JESUS be loved everywhere.100 Days, Indulgence Once a day – Pope Pius IX 23 September 1860.
Quote/s of the Day – 16 June – Corpus Christi, The Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“But when our kind and loving Father rained down the Word, He Himself, became spiritual nourishment to the good. … And then, we are to throw out the old and carnal corruption, our old diet, receiving in exchange a totally new diet — Christ Himself, as we ingest Him for Him to remain hidden there. Then, with our Saviour enshrined in our souls, as it were, we can correct the affections of our flesh.”
St Clement of Alexandria (150-215) Father of the Church
“He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, abides in Me and I in him.”
John 6:57
“This bread you see on the Altar, consecrated by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. This cup consecrated by the word of God, or rather its contents, is the Blood of Christ. In these two elements our Lord desired to hand over, for our veneration and love, His Body and Blood, shed for the remission of our sins. If you have received them with a good disposition, then you are what you have received. As the apostle Paul declares: “We are, all of us, one bread, one body” (1 Cor 10,17)…”
St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Father, Doctor of Grace
Source of all we have or know, feed and lead us here below. Grant that with Your saints above, Sitting at the feast of love, We may see You face to face.
Amen Alleluia!
Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we Adore and Love You!
( The last Verse of the Lauda Sion, the Eucharistic Hymn/Sequence By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
“Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace, as though we had already received Him.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
“It is enough for us to love Him and to be ready to keep His commandments. Such an act of sincere and effective love for Jesus, will cause Him to enter and to remain in our hearts, even after the sacramental species has been consumed. This is Spiritual Communion, which consists mainly in the yearning for Jesus. “I have come to cast fire upon the earth and what will I but, that it be kindled” (Lk 12:49).”
Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Act of Spiritual Communion By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
I desire, good Jesus, to receive Thee in Holy Communion and since I cannot now receive Thee in the Blessed Sacrament, I beseech Thee to come to me spiritually and to refresh my soul with Thy sweetness. Come, my Lord, my God and my All! Come to me and never let me ever again be separated from Thee by sin. Teach me Thy blessed ways, help me with Thy grace to imitate Thy example, to practise meekness, humility, charity and all the virtues of Thy Sacred Heart. My divine Master, my one desire is to do Thy will and to love Thee, more and more. Help me, that I may be faithful to the end, in Thy service. Bless me in life and in death, that I may praise Thee, forever in heaven, Amen
One Minute Reflection – 16 June – Corpus Christi, The Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, abides in Me and I in him..” – John 6:57
REFLECTION – “Or think of it this way: Whereas people desire meat and drink to satisfy hunger and thirst, real satisfaction is produced, only by that meat and drink that make the receivers of it, immortal and incorruptible. He’s talking here about the fellowship of the saints where there is peace and unity, full and perfect. Therefore, our Lord has chosen, for the types of His Body and Blood, things that become one out of many.
Bread is a quantity of grains united into one mass, wine a quantity of grapes squeezed together. Then He explains what it is to eat His Body and drink His Blood: “He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him.” So then, to partake of that Meat and that Drink, is to dwell in Christ and Christ in you. Whoever does not dwell in Christ and in whom, Christ does not dwell, neither eats His Flesh nor drinks His Blood; rather, he eats and drinks the Sacrament of it, to his own damnation!” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (Tractates on the Gospel of John, 26).
PRAYER – O God, Thou Who in this wondrous sacrament have left us a memorial of Thy Passion, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the Sacred Mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, that we may ever experience, within us, the effect of Thy Redemption. Through 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). EUCHARISTIC Heart of JESUS, model of the priestly heart, have mercy on us. COR JESU Eucharisticum, cordis sacerdotalis exemplar, miserere nobis. – Indulgence 300 Days, Everytime – Raccolta 177 St Pius X, 11 September 1907.
Quote/s of the Day – 15 June – The Memorial of St Vitus (c 290-c 303) and Companions, Martyrs – Wisdom 3:1-8, Luke 10:16-20
“But yet rejoice not in this, that spirits are subject unto you but rejoice in this, that your names are written in Heaven.”
Luke 10:20
“So also, you now indeed have sorrow but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice. And your joy, no man shall take from you.”
John 16:22
“…We must all rejoice exceedingly, to be even the last, in the Kingdom of God!”
St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Confessor, Father and Doctor “Father of the Fathers”
“From now on, then, if God has no need of your goods, neither does He have to give you this great thing, if you refuse to love Him, all He requires is love, without which nothing constrains His giving. Love, then and you will receive the Kingdom, love and you will possess it… Love God more than yourself and already, you begin to have what it is your desire to possess fully, in Heaven.”
St Anselm (1033-1109) Doctor magnificus Doctor Marianus
One Minute Reflection – 15 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Memorial of St Vitus (c 290-c 303) and Companions, Martyrs – Wisdom 3:1-8, Luke 10:16-20
“He who hears you, hears Me and he who rejects you, rejects Me and he who rejects Me, rejects Him Who sent Me.”…Luke 10:16
REFLECTION – “Someone, having listened to the verse: “Offer to God a sacrifice of praise” (Ps 50[49].14), said to himself: “I will go to Church every day when I get up and sing a morning hymn; then an evening hymn at the end of the day and then, in my own home, a third and fourth hymn. This is how I will make a sacrifice of praise everyday and offer it to my God.” It is good to do this if you do it in truth but beware of placing your confidence in what you do and fear lest, while your tongue is speaking eloquently before God, your life may be speaking badly… Take care you do not live evilly, while speaking well.”…St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Grant O Lord, we pray, that through the intercession of Thy Holy Martyrs Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia, Thy Church be not high-minded but grow in that humility which is pleasing to Thee, so that despising evil, she may practice whatever is good with unbounded charity. 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). “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.” – 300 Days, EVERYTIME. (Unless otherwise stated, e.g., “once a day,” a partial Indulgence may be gained any number of times in succession.) St Pope Pius X, 15 September 1905.
One Minute Reflection – 14 June – The Memorial of St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop of Caesarea, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church – 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Luke 14:26-35
“If anyone comes to Me, without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26
REFLECTION – “On another occasion, the Lord says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children and brothers and sisters and even his own soul, cannot be my disciple.” As a rule, this is more upsetting to the mind of new Christians, who are eager to begin at once, to live in accordance with the precepts of Christ. To those who do not fully grasp its meaning, it would seem contradictory…. He has condescended to call His disciples to the eternal Kingdom. He also called them brothers. In the Kingdom these relationships are transcended because, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female, neither slave nor freeman but Christ, is all things and in all.” The Lord says, “For in the resurrection, they will neither be married nor marry but will be as the Angels of God in Heaven.”
Whoever wishes to prepare himself now, for the life of that Kingdom, must not hate people but those earthly relationships, through which the present life is sustained, the temporary life that begins at birth and ends with death. Whoever does not hate this necessity, does not yet love that other life, in which there will be no condition of birth and death, the condition that makes marriages natural on earth.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Father, Doctor of Grace (Sermon on the Mount,15).
PRAYER – We beseech Thee, O Lord, hear our prayers which we offer on the festival of blessed Basil, Thy Confessor and Bishop and through his intercessory merits, who had the grace to serve Thee worthily, absolve us from all our sins. 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). Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love.300 days ONCE A DAY – (Unless otherwise stated, e.g., “once a day,” a partial Indulgence may be gained any number of times in succession.) Pope Leo XIII 21 May.
One Minute Reflection –13 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – The Memorial of St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor of the Church – 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Matthew 5:13-19
“I have come, not toabolishbut to fulfil.” … Matthew 5:17
REFLECTION – “In Him, the promise made through the shadows of prophecy, stands revealed, along with the full meaning of the precepts of the law. He is the One Who teaches the Truth of prophecy, through His Presence and makes obedience to the commandments possible, through grace. In the preaching of the holy Gospel all should receive a strengthening of their faith. No-one should be ashamed of the Cross of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed. No-one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice, no-one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised. The way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death. Christ has taken on Himself the whole weakness of our lowly human nature. If then, we are steadfast in our faith in Him and in our love for Him, we win the victory that He has won, we receive what He has promised. When it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears – “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.” … St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from Sermo 51).
PRAYER – May the solemn feast of blessed Anthony, Thy Confessor and Doctor, make Thy Church rejoice, O God, so that, ever sustained by spiritual help, she may deserve to reap everlasting joy. 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). MAY the Heart of JESUS in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.Indulgence 100 Days, Once a day. Raccolta 161 Pius IX, 29 February 1868.
One Minute Reflection – 12 June – Trinity Sunday and “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 28:18-20
“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19-20
REFLECTION – “And so, dearly-beloved, let us rejoice with spiritual joy and let us with gladness pay God worthy thanks and raise our hearts’ eyes, unimpeded, to those heights where Christ is. Minds that have heard the call to be uplifted must not be pressed down by earthly affections, they that are fore-ordained to things eternal, must not be taken up with the things that perish; they that have entered on the way of Truth, must not be entangled in treacherous snares and, the faithful, must so take their course through these temporal things, as to remember that they are sojourning in the vale of this world, in which, even though they meet with some attractions, they must not sinfully embrace them but bravely pass through them.
For to this devotion, the blessed Apostle Peter arouses us and entreating us, with that loving eagerness which he conceived, for feeding Christ’s sheep, by the threefold profession of love for the Lord, says, dearly-beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul 1 Peter 2:11 . But for whom do fleshly pleasures wage war, if not for the devil, whose delight it is to fetter souls that strive after things above, with the enticements of corruptible good things, and to draw them away from those abodes, from which he himself has been banished? Against his plots every believer must keep careful watch, that he may crush his foe on the side whence the attack is made. And there is no more powerful weapon, dearly beloved, against the devil’s wiles than kindly mercy and bounteous charity, by which every sin is either escaped or vanquished. But this lofty power is not attained, until that which is opposed to it be overthrown. And what so hostile to mercy and works of charity as avarice, from the root of which spring all evils? And unless it be destroyed by lack of nourishment, there must needs grow, in the ground of that heart, in which this evil weed has taken root, the thorns and briars of vices rather than any seed of true goodness.
Let us then, dearly-beloved, resist this pestilential evil and follow after charity, without which no virtue can flourish, that by this path of love, whereby Christ came down to us, we too may mount up to Him, to Whom with God the Father and the Holy Spirit is honour and glory forever and ever.” – St Leo the Great, Pope (400-461) Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon 74).
PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, Thou Who have given Thy servants, in the confession of the true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of that Majesty, to adore its unity, grant, we beseech Thee, that in the firmness of this faith, we may ever be protected from all harm. 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). MAY the HEART of JESUS be loved everywhere. 100 Days, Indulgence Once a day – Bl Pope Pius IX 23 September 1860
Quote/s of the Day – 11 June – Ember Saturday of Pentecost – Romans 5:1-5, Luke 4:38-44.
“Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a great fever and they besought Him for her.”
Luke 4:38
“May Christ come to our house and enter in and by His command, cure the fever of our sins. Each one of us is sick with a fever. Whenever I give way to anger, I have a fever. There are as many fevers, as there are faults and vices.”
St Jerome (343-420) Father & Doctor of the Church
“We implore You, O All-Holy, Long-Suffering Life and Restoration, Source of goodness, look down from Heaven and visit all those who ever trust in You; rescue our life, Lord, from all constraint and affliction, and, in the faith of truth, guide us all. At the prayers of the Immaculate Mother of God and Virgin, Save your world and those in the world and spare us all, You who, for us, became man without change, only Lover of mankind.”
St Romanos the Melodios (c 490-c 556)
“If thou art bound down by sickness, if sorrows weary thee, if thou art trembling with fear, invoke the name of Jesus.”
St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1456)
Behold Me, O Sweet Lord, Behold Me! By St Aelred of Rievaulx O.Cist. (1110-1167)
Behold me, O Sweet Lord, behold me! For I hope. that in Your Loving Kindness, O Most Merciful One, You will behold me, either as a loving Physician to heal, a kind Teacher to correct, or an indulgent Father to pardon… confident in Your Sweet Powerful Mercy and most Merciful Power, I ask, in virtue of Your Sweet Name and of the Mystery of Your Sacred Humanity that, mindful of Your Kindness and unmindful of my ingratitude, You forgive me my sins and heal the languors of my soul. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 11 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Ember Saturday of Pentecost and the Feast of St Barnabas, Apostle and Martyr – Romans 5:1-5, Luke 4:38-44.
“At that time, Jesus rose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a great fever and they besought Him for her.” – Luke 4:38
REFLECTION – “Jesus laid His Hands upon the sick, one by one and freed them from their malady. He demonstrated that the Holy Flesh, which He had made His Own and endowed with Godlike power, possessed the active presence of the Might of the Word. He intended us to learn, that, although the Only-begotten Word of God became like us, yet He is, nonetheless, God. He wants us to know, that He is easily able, even by His Own Flesh, to accomplish all things. His Body was the instrument by which He performed miracles.
Jesus, then, entered Peter’s house, where a woman was lying stretched upon a bed, exhausted with a violent fever . As God, He might have said, “Put away the disease, arise” but He adopted a different course of action. As a proof that His Own Flesh possessed the power of healing because it is the Flesh of God, He touched her hand. “Immediately,” it says, “the fever left her.” Let us, therefore, also receive Jesus. When He has entered into us and we have received Him into mind and heart, then, He will quench the fever of unbefitting pleasures. He will raise us up and make us strong, even in spiritual things, so that we might serve Him by performing those things which please Him. But observe again, I ask, how great is the usefulness of the touch of His Holy Flesh . For it both drives away diseases of various kinds and a crowd of demons,and overthrows the power of the devil. It heals a very great multitude of people in one moment of time. Although He was able to perform these miracles by a word and the preference of His Will, yet, to teach us something useful, He also lays His Hands upon the sick. For it was necessary, most necessary, for us to learn that the Holy Flesh which He had made His Own, was endowed with the activity of the Power of the Word, by His having implanted in it, a Godlike Might. Let it then take hold of us, or rather let us take hold of it by the mystical “giving of thanks.” May we do this, so that it might free us also, from the sicknesses of the soul and from the assault and violence of demons. ” – St Gregory the Great (540-604) Popr, Father, Doctor of the Church (Commentary on Luke, Homily 12)
PRAYER – O God, Who gladden us by the merits and intercession of blessed Barnabas, Thy Apostle, mercifully grant that we, who ask Thee favours through him, may obtain them by the gift of Thy grace. 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). All praise, honour and glory to the divine Heart of JESUS.50 Days Indulgence, Once a day, Raccolta, 168 Pope Leo XIII, 13 June 1901.
One Minute Reflection – 10 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Ember Friday – Joel 2:23-24; 26-27, Luke 5:17-26 and the Memorial of St Margaret of Scotland (1045-1093
“But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins – He said to the paralytic – I say to you, arise! – Luke 5:24
REFLECTION – “The Word of God has come to dwell in man; He became “Son of Man” in order to accustom man to receive God and God to dwell in man, as it has pleased the Father. See now why the sign of our salvation, Emmanuel born of a Virgin, has been given by the Saviour Himself (Is 7:14). Indeed, it is the Saviour Himself Who saves men, since of themselves they cannot save themselves. … The prophet Isaiah has said: “Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak! Take courage, frightened hearts, be strong, fear not! Here is your God who comes with vindication; He Himself comes, He comes to save us,” (Is 35:3-4). For it is only by God’s help and not of ourselves, that we can stand up to our salvation.
And here is another text where Isaiah predicted that the One who saves us is neither simply a man, nor an incorporeal being: “It was not a messenger or an angel but the Lord Himself Who saved His people. Because of His love and pity, He forgave them; He redeemed them Himself,” (Is 63:9). Yet this Saviour is also truly Man, truly visible: “City of Zion, behold, your eyes shall see our Saviour” … And another prophet has said: “He will again have compassion on us and cast into the depths of the sea all our sins,” (Mi 7:19) … From the land of Judah, from Bethlehem (Mi 5:1) will come the Son of God, He Who is also God, to pour out His praise on all the earth … Thus God has become Man indeed and the Lord Himself has saved us, by giving us the sign of the Virgin.” – St Irenaeus (c 130-c 202) Bishop, Church Father, Theologian and Martyr (Against the heresies III),
PRAYER – O God, Who made blessed Queen Margaret glorious by her remarkable charity toward the poor; grant, by her intercession and example, that Thy charity may continually increase in our hearts. 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). SACRED Heart of JESUS, I trust in Thee. 300 Days Indulgence Once a Day – Plenary, Once a month. Raccolta 175 – St Pius X, 19 August 1905; 27 June 1906.
Quote/s of the Day – 9 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Pentecost Thursday – Acts 8:5-8, Luke 9:1-6
“Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; neither have two tunics.”
Luke 9:3
“You are the salt of the earth.”
Matthew 5:13
“It is as a matter of absolute necessity that He commands all this. Why must you be salt? Jesus says in effect: “You are accountable, not only for your own life but also, for that of the entire world. I am sending you not to one or two cities, nor to ten or twenty, nor even to one nation, as I sent the Prophets. Rather, I am sending you to the entire earth, across the seas, to the whole world, to a world fallen into an evil state.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
“What is reprehensible, is that while leading good lives themselves and abhorring those of wicked men, some, fearing to offend, shut their eyes to evil deeds instead of condemning them and pointing out their malice.”
St Augustine (354-407) Father and Doctor of Grace
“The love of Jesus is noble and generous, it spurs us on to do great things and excites us to desire always, that which is most perfect. Love will tend upwards and is not to be detained by things beneath. Love will be at liberty and free from all worldly affections… for love proceeds from God and cannot rest but in God, above all things created. The lover flies, runs and rejoices, he is free and not held. He gives all for all and has all in all, because he rests in One Sovereign Good above all, from Whom all good flows and proceeds.”
Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)
(Book III, Chapter V, 3-4)
“Entrust yourself entirely to God. He is a Father and a most loving Father at that, Who would rather let Heaven and earth collapse, than abandon anyone who trusted in Him.”
St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775)
“God alone!”
“Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you? The means of holiness and salvation, are known to everybody, since they are found in the Gospel, the masters of the spiritual life have explained them, the Saints have practised them… These means are – sincere Humility, unceasing Prayer, complete Self-denial, abandonment to Divine Providence and obedience to the Will of God.”
One Minute Reflection – 9 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Pentecost Thursday – Acts 8:5-8, Luke 9:1-6
“Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor sack, nor bread, nor money; neither have two tunics.” – Luke 9:3
REFLECTION – “This is a great vision. But if you wish to see it, remove the sandals from your feet. Remove every chain of sin. Remove the chains of the world. Leave behind earthly sandals. Jesus sent the Apostles without sandals, without money, gold and silver, so that they would not carry earthly things with them. The one who seeks to do good is praised, not for his sandals but for the swiftness and grace of his feet. The Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” Therefore, remove the sandals from your feet, that they may be beautiful for preaching the Gospel!” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church (Flight From the World 5).
PRAYER – O God, Thou Who on this day have taught the hearts of the faithful, by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us by that Holy Spirit Himself, to know what is right and ever to rejoice in His help. 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). Sweet Heart of my JESUS, Make me love Thee ever more and more! – 300 Days Indulgence Once a day, Plenary Once a month – Blessed Pope Pius IX – 26 November 1876
Quote’s of the Day – 8 June – Ember Wednesday within the Octave of Pentecost – Acts 2:14-21, John 6:44-52.
“I Am the Living Bread Who came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this Bread, he shall live forever and the Bread that I will give, is My Flesh, for the Life of the world.”
John 6:51-52
“I Am the Bread of Life”
John 6:35
“For His Body, has been given to you under the appearance of bread and His Blood, under the appearance of wine, so that, when you have partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ, you might be One Body and One Blood with Him. So shall we become Christ-bearers [“Christophers”]. His Body and Blood are diffused through all our members – see, then, how we become participants in the Divine Nature!”
St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 313-386) Father and Doctor of theChurch
“Enrich your soul in the great goodness of God – The Father is your Table, the Son is your Food and the Holy Spirit waits on you and then makes His Dwelling in you.”
St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
“What graces, gifts and virtues the Holy Mass calls down!”
St Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751)
O Lord, My God, I Am Not Worthy Prayer Before Holy Communion By St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
O Lord, my God, I am not worthy that You should come into my soul but I rejoice that You have come to me because, in Your loving kindness You desire to dwell in me. You ask me to open the door of my soul, which You alone have created, so that You may enter into it with Your loving kindness and dispel the darkness of my mind. I believe that You will do this, for You did not turn away Mary Magdalene when she approached You in tears. Neither did You withhold forgiveness from the tax collector who repented of his sins or from the good thief who asked to be received into Your kingdom. Indeed, You numbered as Your friends, all who came to You with repentant hearts. O God, You alone are blessed always, now and forever. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 8 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart”– Ember Wednesday within the Octave of Pentecost – Acts 2:14-21, John 6:44-52.Ember Wednesday within the Octave of Pentecost – Acts 2:14-21, John 6:44-52.
“The Bread which I shall give,,is My Flesh for the life of the world” – John 6:52
REFLECTION – “One Man has died for all and now, in every Church, in the Mystery of Bread and Wine, He heals those for whom He is offered in sacrifice, giving life to those who believe and holiness to those, who Consecrate the offering. This is the Flesh of the Lamb; this is His Blood. The Bread that came down from Heaven declared – The Bread that I will give, is My Flesh for the life of the world. It is significant, too, that His Blood should be given to us in the form of wine, for His own Words in the Gospel, I Am the true vine, imply clearly enough, that whenever wine is offered as a representation of Christ’s Passion, it is offered as His Blood. T his means, that it was of Christ, Whom the blessed patriarch Jacob prophesied when he said – He will wash His tunic in wine and His cloak in the blood of the grape. The tunic was our flesh, which Christ was to put on like a garment and which He was to wash in His own Blood.
Creator and Lord of all things, whatever their nature, He brought forth bread from the earth and changed it into His own Body. Not only had He the power to do this but He had promised it and, as He had changed water into wine, He also changed wine into His own Blood. It is the Lord’s Passover, Scripture tells us, that is, the Lord’s Passing. We are no longer to look upon the bread and wine as earthly substances. They have become heavenly because Christ has passed into them and changed them, into His Body and Blood. What you receive, is the Body of Him, Who is the Heavenly Bread and the Blood of Him, Who is the Sacred Vine; for when He offered His disciples the Consecrated Bread and Wine, He said: This is My Body, this is My Blood. We have put our trust in Him. I urge you to have faith in Him, for Truth can never deceive!
When Christ told the crowds that they must eat His Flesh and Drink His Blood, they were horrified and began to murmur among themselves: This teaching is too hard; who can be expected to listen to it? As I have already told you, thoughts such as these must be banished. The Lord Himself used heavenly fire to drive them away by going onto declare – It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you, are Spirit and Life!” – St Gaudentius of Brescia (Died 410) Bishop , renowned Preacher, Theologian, Diplomatic Mediator (An Excerpt from Tractate 2).
PRAYER – May the Paraclete Who proceeds from Thee, enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, O Lord and guide us to all truth, as Thy Son has promised. 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).
All praise, honour and glory to the divine HEART of JESUS. – Indulgence 50 Days, Once a day. Raccolta 168 Pope Leo XIII, 14 June 1901.
Quote/s of the Day – 7 June – Pentecost Tuesday – Acts 8:14-17, John 10:1-10.
“… He goes before them and the sheep follow Him because they know His Voice.”
John 10:4
“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) Theologian, Father of the Church
“If you believe what you like in the Gospels and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe but yourself.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“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.”
St Isidore of Seville (c 560-636) Father & Doctor of the Church
“He is the origin of all wisdom. The Word of God in the heights, is the source of wisdom. Christ is the source of all true knowledge, for He is “the way, the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6). … As way, Christ is the teacher and origin of knowledge … Without this Light, which is Christ, no-one can penetrate the secrets of faith.”
One Minute Reflection – 7 June – Pentecost Tuesday – Acts 8:14-17, John 10:1-10.
“I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10
REFLECTION – “Thus says the Lord: “I Myself will come’”… This is what He has undoubtedly done and what He will yet do: “I Myself am coming: I will seek out My sheep, I will tend them as a shepherd tends His flock.” The wicked shepherds took no care of them because they did not redeem their sheep, with their blood… “My sheep hear My Voice. I will seek out My sheep from the midst of the scattered sheep and will bring them out from all the places they were scattered, on the day of clouds and darkness. No matter how difficult it is to find them, I will find them… I will rescue My sheep from foreign lands, I will gather them and lead them back to their own homes; I will lead them to pasture on the mountains of Israel.”
These “mountains of Israel” are the writers of Sacred Scripture. They are the pastures where you are to feed, if you wish to do so safely. Savour everything you learn from them and reject everything outside. Do not go astray in the mists, listen to the Shepherd’s Voice. Gather on the mountains of Sacred Scripture. There, you will find true delight for your heart. There, is nothing poisonous there, nothing dangerous; they are rich pastures… “I will lead them beside rivers, in the best places.” From those mountains we were just talking about, rivers of Gospel preaching pour down since “the voice [of the Apostles] resounds to the ends of the earth” and all the ends of the earth provide pleasant and fertile pastures for the sheep.
“I will cause them to feed in good pasture… and their sheepfold will be there,” that is to say, there, they will rest, there, they will be able to say: “It is good to be here; true enough, it is perfectly clear, we have found the truth.” They will take their rest in the glory of God as in a sheepfold.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (Sermon 46, On the shepherds; CCL 41, 529).
PRAYER – Let the power of the Holy Spirit be present within us, O Lord, graciously to cleanse our hearts, as well as to guard us from all harm. 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).
SACRED Heart of JESUS, Thy Kingdom come! – Indulgence 300 Days – Every time – Raccolta 179 St Pius X, 6 November 1906.
One Minute Reflection – 6 June – Pentecost Monday – Acts 10:34, 42-48, John 3:16-21
“Light came into the world” – John 3:19
REFLECTION – “The commandment of the Lord shines clearly, enlightening the eyes” (Ps 18 [19].9). Receive Christ, receive power to see, receive your light, that you may plainly recognise both God and man… Let us open ourselves to the light then and so to God. Let us open ourselves to the light and become disciples of the Lord… Let us, then, shake off forgetfulness of truth, shake off the mist of ignorance and darkness that dims our eyes and contemplate the true God… For upon us, buried in darkness, imprisoned in the shadow of death, a heavenly light has shone, a light of a clarity, surpassing the sun’s and of a sweetness, exceeding any this earthly life can offer. That light is eternal life and those who receive it live. Night, on the other hand, is afraid of the light and melting away in terror gives place to the day of the Lord. Unfailing light has penetrated everywhere and sunset has turned into dawn.
This is the meaning of the new creation (Gal 6,15; Rv 21,1) for the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 3,20), pursuing His course through the universe, visits all alike, in imitation of His Father, “who makes his sun rise upon all” (Mt 5,45) and bedews everyone with His truth… He, it is, Who has changed sunset into dawn and death into life by His Crucifixion, He, it is, Who has snatched the human race from perdition and exalted it to the skies. Transplanting what was corruptible, to make it incorruptible, He has transformed earth into Heaven…
He deifies us by His heavenly teaching, by “instilling His laws into our minds and writing them on our hearts. That all, be they of high estate or low, shall know God. And I will be merciful to them, God says and I will remember their sin no more” (Jr 31,33f.). Let us accept the laws of life, then; let us obey God’s promptings, let us learn to know Him.” – St Clement of Alexandria (150- 215) Theologian, Father of the Church (Exhortation to the Greeks, 11, 113).
PRAYER – O God, Thou Who gave the Holy Spirit to Thy Apostles, grant that the devout prayers of Thy people may be effective and, as Thou have given us faith, also grant us peace. 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). DIVINE Heart of JESUS, convert sinners, save the dying, set free the holy souls in Purgatory. Indulgence 300 Days Everytime – St Pius X, 11 September, 1907
One Minute Reflection – 5 June – Pentecost Sunday, Alleluia! – Acts 2:1-11, John 14:23-31.
“But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things … ” – John 14:26
REFLECTION – “Whoever has the Spirit as their teacher has no need of human knowledge but, enlightened by this Spirit’s Light, beholds the Son, sees the Father and worships the Trinity of Persons, the One God, Who is inexpressibly One by nature.
Stand still, O man! Tremble, you who are mortal by nature, and consider how you have been taken from nothing and how, in coming from your mother’s womb, you saw the world that was made before you were. And if you could have understood the height of Heaven, or show the nature of the sun, the moon and the stars, where they are fixed and how they move… or even the nature of the earth, from which you were taken, its limits and bounds, its size and greatness…, if you had uncovered the end of all things and counted the sand of the sea and if, too, you could have known your own nature… then would you be able to consider your Creator, how, in the Trinity, Unity dwells without confusion and how, in the Unity, there is Trinity without division.
Seek the Spirit!… Perhaps God will comfort you and grant you, as He has already granted you to see the world, the sun and the light of day, yes, He will deign to enlighten you now, in the same way…, to enlighten you with the Light of the Threefold Sun… Then you will learn the Spirit’s grace – that, even when absent, he is present by his power and, when present, He is unseen because of His Divine nature and is everywhere and nowhere.
If you try to see Him with the senses where will you find Him? You will simply say: -Nowhere. But if you have the strength to contemplate Him spiritually, it is He, rather, Who will enlighten your soul and open the eyes of your heart.” – St Simeon the New Theologian (949-1022) Monk, Father (Hymn 21).
PRAYER – O God, Thou, Who on this day have taught the hearts of the faithful by the Light of the Holy Spirit, grant us, by that Holy Spirit Himself, to know what is right and ever to rejoice in His help. 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 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Vigil of Pentecost – Acts 19:1-8, John 14:15-21.
“But you shall know Him because He shall abide with you and shall be in you.” – John 14:17
REFLECTION – “The Holy Spirit is the wheat that comforts us along the road to the Fatherland, the wine that gives us joy in tribulation, the oil that sweetens life’s sorrows. This threefold support was needed by the Apostles, who had to go out to preach through the whole world. This is why Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to them. They are filled with Him – filled, so that no impure spirits might gain entrance into them for when a container is completely full nothing else can be put into it.
The Holy Spirit “will teach you” (Jn 16,13) so that you can know; he will prompt you so that you can will. He gives both knowledge and will add to this our “ability” according to the measure of our strength and we shall be temples of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6,19).” – St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church (Sermons for Sundays and the Feasts of the Saints).
PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that the brightness of Thy glory may shine upon us and may the light of Thy Light may, through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, strengthen the minds of those who are reborn through Thy grace. 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).
Breathe in Me, O Holy Spirit By St Augustine (354-420)
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 3 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Friday after the Octave of Ascension – 1 Pet 4:7-11, John 15:26-27; 16:1-4.
“But when the Paraclete comes, Whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, Who proceeds from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me. ” – John 15:26
REFLECTION – “The Spirit is simple in being. His powers are many. They are entirely present everywhere and in everything. He is distributed but does not change. He is shared, yet remains whole. Consider the analogy of the sunbeam – each person on whom its kindly light falls, rejoices as if the sun existed for him alone, yet, it illumines land and sea and is master of the atmosphere. In the same way, the Spirit is given to each one who receives Him, as if he were the possession of that person alone, yet, He sends forth sufficient grace to fill the entire universe. Everything that partakes of His grace, is filled with joy according to his capacity—the capacity of his nature, not of His power.
The Spirit does not take up His abode in someone’s life, through a physical approach. How could a corporeal being approach the bodiless One? Instead, the Spirit comes to us when we withdraw ourselves from evil passions which have crept into the soul through its friendship with the flesh, alienating us from a close relationship with God. Only when a person has been cleansed from the shame of his evil and has returned to his natural beauty and [only when] the original form of the royal image has been restored in him, is it possible for him to approach the Paraclete. Then, like the sun, He will show you. in Himself, the image of the invisible and with purified eyes, you will see in this blessed image, the unspeakable beauty of its prototype.
Through Him, hearts are lifted up, the infirm are held by the hand and those who progress, are brought to perfection. He shines on those who are cleansed from every spot and makes them spiritual people, through fellowship with Himself. When a sunbeam falls on a transparent substance, the substance itself becomes brilliant and radiates light from itself. So too, the Spirit-bearing souls, illumined by Him, finally become spiritual themselves and their grace is sent forth to others. From this comes knowledge of the future, understanding of mysteries, apprehension of hidden things, distribution of wonderful gifts, heavenly citizenship, a place in the choir of Angels, endless joy in the presence of God, becoming like God and the highest of all desires – becoming God.” – St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop of Caesarea, Father and Doctor of the Church (On the Holy Spirit, 9).
PRAYER – Almighty and eternal God, give us a will ever dedicated to Thee and a true heart to serve Thy majesty. 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). SACRED Heart of JESUS, Thy Kingdom come! Indulgence 300 Days. Everytime Raccolta 178 St Pius X, 4 May 1906.
AnaStpaul 
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