Thought for the Day – 6 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
OBEDIENCE
“It is easier to practice the virtue of obedience when we remember, that all power omes from God, Then we can see Him in those who have authority over us. This will prevent us obeying orders from secondary motives, such as the desire to please men or to avoid punishment. We shall be able to obey solely for the purpose of doing our duty and pleasing God.
Many think that it is easier to command than to obey. They are mistaken. Anyone in authority has grave responsibility before God and men and can sin seriously, as well!
The man who is obedient to his lawful superiors in the name of God, however, can never go wrong. Reflect on the following exhortation from St Paul, which still holds good in our times:
“Servants, be obedient to them that are your lords according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as to Christ. [6] Not serving to the eye, as it were pleasing men but, as the servants of Christ doing the will of God, from the heart, [7] With a good will serving, as to the Lord and not to men. [8] Knowing that, whatsoever good thing any man shall do, the same shall he receive from the Lord, whether he be bond or free. [9] And you, masters, do the same things to them, forbearing threatenings, knowing that the Lord, both of them and you, is in heaven and there is no respect of persons with him.” [Ephesians 6:5-9]”
Wednesday of Passion Week, the Fifth Week of Lent – 6 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25, John 10:22-38
“O Lord, deal with us not according to our sins, nor requite us according to our crimes.” – Psalm 102:10
“My sheep hear My Voice; I know them and they follow Me.”
John 10:27
“THE MARK OF CHRIST’S SHEEPis their willingness to hear and obey, just as the sign of those who are not His, is their disobedience. We take the word “Hear” to imply obedience to what has been said. People who hear God are known by Him. No-one is entirely unknown by God but to be known in this way, is to become His Kin. Thus, when Christ says, “I know mine,” He means, “I will receive them and give them permanent Mystical Kinship with Myself.” It might be said, that inasmuch as He has become man, He has made all human beings His Kin, since all are members of the same race; we are all united to Christ in a Mystical relationship because of His Incarnation. Yet, those who do not preserve the likeness of His holiness are alienated from Him… .
“MY SHEEP FOLLOW ME,” says Christ. By a certain God-given grace, believers follow in the footsteps of Christ. No longer subject to the shadows of the Law, they obey the commands of Christ and, guided by His Words rise, through grace, to His own dignity, for they are called children of God. When Christ ascends into Heaven, they also follow Him.” – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Bishop, Father & Doctor of the Church (Commentary on Saint John’s Gospel, 7, 10, 26).
Quote/s of the Day – 6 April – Wednesday of Passion Week, the Fifth Week of Lent Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25, John 10:22-38
“My sheep hear My Voice; I know them and they follow Me.”
John 10:27
“The mark of Christ’s sheep is their willingness to hear and obey, just as disobedience is the mark of those who are not His. We take the word ‘hear’ to imply obedience to what has been said.”
“My sheep follow me,” says Christ. By a certain God-given grace, believers follow in the footsteps of Christ. No longer subject to the shadows of the Law , they obey the commands of Christ, and guided by His words, rise through grace, to His own dignity, for they are called children of God. When Christ ascends into heaven, they also follow Him.”
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
“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.”
St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)
“Peace in us is the result of two kinds of necessary obedience, the obedience to right reason of the lower faculties and the obedience of right reason to God, our Creator. “This is the peace which God gives on earth to men of goodwill; this is the most perfect wisdom,” St Augustine.”
One Minute Reflection – 6 April – Wednesday of Passion Week, the Fifth Week of Lent – Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25, John 10:22-38
“And I give them everlasting life and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My Hand.” – John 10:28
REFLECTION – “For “no-one snatches us away from His Hands,” according to what was said in the Gospel according to John. Yet, it is not written, that just as no-one snatches us away, no-one also falls from His Hands. For one who is self-determined is free. And, I say, no-one will snatch us away from the Hand of God, no-one can take us. But, we are able to fall from His Hands, if we are negligent!” – Origen (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father (Homilies on Jeremiah, 18).
PRAYER – In Your mercy, O Lord, may this hallowing fast enlighten the hearts of Your faithful people and since You have given them the desire to serve You, lend a gracious ear to their prayers. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 6 April – Wednesday of Passion Week, the Fifth Week of Lent
I Will Love and Follow You By Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)
Oh my Lord, Let my heart expand in Your love. Let me learn to know how sweet it is, to serve You, how joyful it is, to praise You and to be absorbed in Your love. Oh, I am possessed by love and rise above myself because of the great fervour I feel, through Your infinite goodness. I will sing the canticle of love to You and I will follow You, my Beloved, wherever You go and may my soul never weary of praising You, rejoicing in Your love. I will love You more than myself and myself, only for Your sake. I will love all others in You and for You, as Your law of love commands. Amen
Saints of the Day – 6 April – A Hundred and Twenty Martyrs of Hadiab (Died 345) (or Hadiabena) in Persia. These one hundred and twenty Martyrs suffered at Seleucia, in the year of Christ 345.
MASTER of the Lyversberg Passion Lyversberg Passion (detail)
From their genuine Acts in Syriac:
“In the fifth year of our persecution, say the Acts, Sapor being at Seleucia, caused to be apprehended, in the neighbouring places, one hundred and twenty Christians, of which nine were Virgins, consecrated to God; the others were Priests, Deacons, or of the inferior Clergy.
They lay six months in filthy stinking dungeons, till the end of winter: during all which space Jazdundocta, a very rich virtuous lady of Arbela, the Capital City of Hadiab supported them by her charities, not admitting of a partner in that good work. During this interval, they were often tortured but always courageously answered the president that they would never adore the sun, a mere creature for God and begged He would finish speedily their triumph by death, which would free them from dangers and insults.
Jazdundocta, hearing from the Court one day, that they were to suffer the next morning, flew to the prison, gave to everyone of them, a fine white long robe, as to chosen spouses of the Heavenly Bridegroom; prepared for them a sumptuous supper, served and waited on them herself at table, gave them wholesome exhortations and read the Holy Scriptures to them. They were surprised at her behaviour but could not prevail on her to tell them the reason. The next morning, she returned to the prison and told them she had been informed ,that that was the happy morning in which they were to receive their crown and be joined to the blessed spirits. She earnestly recommended herself to their prayers for the pardon of her sins and that she might meet them at the last day and live eternally with them.
Soon after, the King’s order for their immediate execution was brought to the prison. As they went out of it Jazdundocta met them at the door, fell at their feet, took hold of their hands and kissed them. The guards hastened them on, with great precipitation, to the place of execution;,where the Judge who presided at their tortures ,asked them again if any of them would adore the sun and receive a pardon. They answered ,that their countenance must show him they met death with joy and regarded this world with contempt and being perfectly assured of receiving an immortal crown in the Kingdom of Heaven. He then dictated the sentence of death, whereupon, their heads were struck off.
Jazdundocta, in the dusk of the evening, brought out of the City two undertakers, or embalmers for each body, caused them to wrap the bodies in fine linen,and carry them in coffins, for fear of the Magians, to a place at a considerable distance from the Town, where she buried them in deep graves, with monuments, five and five in a grave. They were of the Province called Hadiab, which contained the greatest part of the ancient Assyria and was in a manner, peopled by Christians.
Helena, Queen of the Hadiabenians, seems to have embraced Christianity in the second Century. Her son Izates and his successors, promoted the Faith, so that Sozomen say, the Country was almost entirely Christian.
These one hundred and twenty Martyrs suffered at Seleucia, in the year of Christ 345, of King Sapor the thirty-sixth, and the sixth of his great persecution, on the 6th day of the moon of April, which was the 21st of that month. They are mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on the 6th.” – From Lives of the Saints by Father Alben Butler.
A Hundred and Twenty Martyrs of Hadiab, or Hadiabena, in Persia
St Agrarius the Martyr St Amand of Grisalba St Berthanc of Kirkwall St Brychan of Brycheiniog Bl Catherine of Pallanza St Diogenes of Philippi St Elstan of Abingdon St Galla of Rome St Gennard St Irenaeus of Sirmium Bl Jan Franciszek Czartoryski St Marcellinus the Martyr
St Phaolô Lê Bao Tinh St Philaret of Calabria Bl Pierina Morosini St Platonides of Ashkelon St Prudentius of Troyes St Pope Sixtus I St Timothy of Philippi St Ulched St Urban of Peñalba St William of Eskilsoe St Winebald
Martyrs of Sirmium : 7 Saints – A group of fourth century Martyrs at Sirmium, Pannonia (modern Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia). We know little more than seven of their names – Florentius, Geminianus, Moderata, Romana, Rufina, Saturus and Secundus.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Bl Enric Gispert Domenech Bl Josep Gomis Martorell
Thought for the Day – 5 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
PRIDE “I will not serve.”
“Pride is the sin of Satan. Being a pure spirit, he could not commit sins which have material things as their object, such as sins of impurity or of avarice. The one sin of which a spirit is capable, is pride. Satan had been created by God and had been endowed with the loftiest gifts but, he was obliged to undergo a trial, in order that he could merit the reward reserved for him by God, namely, the everlasting happiness of the Beatific Vision. It is generally held, that God revealed to Satan and to all the legions of Angels, the Eternal Word made man, Jesus Christ and commanded them to adore Him. But when Satan and the other rebellious Angels saw in Jesus Christ, a nature far inferior to their own, they were indignant, because, the Divine Word had not been united to the angelic, instead of the human nature. They refused to bow their haughty heads and flung back at God, the arrogant and blasphemous ultimatum:“I will not serve.”
This, is the essence of pride – the creature attributes to himself, the gifts which he has received from his Creator and believes, that he can do without God. Pride is opposed to truth, which requires us to acknowledge, that we have received everything from God. We should not grow proud, therefore but should gratefully refer all that we are and all that we have, to Our Lord and Creator. We should remember, that one day, we shall have to render to God, a strict account of all these gifts.”
Tuesday in Passion Week – 5 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Daniel 14:27-42, John 7:1-13
“Fight my fight, O Lord; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me Send forth Your light and Your fidelity; they shall lead me on and bring me to Your holy mountain.” – Psalm 42:1,3
“The world … hates Me because I bear witness concerning it, that its works are evil.”
John 7:7
“ … THE WORLD HATES Christians, so why give your love to it, instead of following Christ, Who loves you and has redeemed you? John is most urgent in his epistle when he tells us, not to love the world by yielding to sensual desires. Never give your love to the world, he warns, or to anything in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. All that the world offers is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and earthly ambition. The world and its allurements will pass away but the man who has done the will of God shall live forever. Our part, my dear brothers, is to be single-minded, firm in faith and steadfast in courage, ready for God’s will, whatever it may be. Banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life which follows it. That will show people that we really live our faith.
WE OUGHT NEVER TO FORGET, beloved, that we have renounced the world. We are living here now, as aliens and only for a time. When the day of our homecoming puts an end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world and restores us to paradise and to the Kingdom, we should welcome it. What man, stationed in a foreign land, would not want to return to his own country, as soon as possible? Well, we look upon paradise as our country and a great crowd of our loved ones awaits us there, a countless throng of parents, brothers and children, longs for us to join them. Assured though they are of their own salvation, they are still concerned about ours. What joy both for them and for us, to see one another and embrace! O the delight of that Heavenly Kingdom where there is no fear of death! O the supreme and endless bliss of everlasting life!
MY DEAR BROTHERS, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may. May God see our desire, may Christ see this resolve, that springs from faith, for He will give the rewards of His love, more abundantly, to those who have longed for Him more fervently.” – St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop of Carthage, Father of the Church and Martyr (An excerpt from On Man’s Mortality).
Quote/s of the Day – 5 April – Tuesday in Passion Week – and the Memorial of St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)
“Whatever you do, think NOT of yourself but OF God.”
“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.”…
“A vain question deserves nothing but silence. So learn to be silent for a time; you will edify your brethren and silence will teach you, to speak when the hour is come.”
One Minute Reflection – 5 April – Tuesday in Passion Week – Daniel 14:27-42, John 7:1-13 and the Memorial of St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)
“The Jews sought to kill Him.” – John 7:1
REFLECTION – “I am the true vine,” Jesus says (Jn 15,1)… People dig trenches around this vine; that is to say, cunningly dig traps. When they plot to make someone fall into a snare. it is as if they dug a pit in front of Him. That is why He mourns about it, saying: “They have dug a pit before me” (Ps 56[57],7)…
However, they discovered that these traps caused no harm to the vine. To the contrary, in digging these pits they themselves fell into them (Ps 56[57],7)… Then they kept on digging: not just His Hands and His Feet (Ps 21[22],17) but they pierced His side with a lance (Jn 19,34) and uncovered the interior of that Sacred Heart, which had already been wounded by the spear of love. The Bridegroom says in the song of His love that: “You have wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse” (Sg 4,9 Vg.). O Lord Jesus, Your Heart has been wounded with love by Your spouse, Your friend, Your sister. Why, then, was it necessary for your enemies to wound you again? O you enemies, what are You doing?… Do You not know that this Heart of our Lord Jesus’,already pierced, is already dead, already open and cannot be touched by any other suffering? The Heart of the Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus, has already received the wound of love, the death of love. What other death could touch Him?… The martyrs also laugh when they are threatened, rejoice when they are struck, triumph, when they are killed. Why? Because they have already died through love in their hearts, “dead to sin” (Rm 6,2) and to the world!
Thus Jesus’ Heart has been wounded and put to death for our sake… Physical death triumphed for a moment but only to be conquered forever. It was blotted out when Christ rose from the dead because “death has no power over Him anymore” (Rm 6,9). – St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Doctor of the Church (The Mystical Vine, ch. 3, § 5-10).
PRAYER – O God, Who graciously enlightened Your Church by the virtues and preaching of blessed Vincent, Your Confessor, grant that we, Your servants, may be taught by his example and delivered from all harm by his intercession. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 5 April – Tuesday in Passion Week
A Lenten Prayer By St Pope Pius V (1504-1572)
Look with favour, Lord, on Your household. Grant that, though our flesh be humbled, by abstinence from food, our souls, hungering after You, may be resplendent in Your sight. Amen
St Pius V is the Pope of the Council of Trent, the Counter Reformation, the excommunication of Elizabeth I for Heresy and persecution of English Catholics and of the Battle of Lepanto, amongst many other illustrious and holy achievements.
Saint of the Day – 5 April – Saint Derferl Gadarn (c 566-660) Welsh Prince, Solodier, Monk, Abbot, Missionary, Local legend holds, that he was a warrior of King Arthur. Born c 566 in Wales died 6 April 660 at Ynys Enlli, Bardsey, Wales of natural causes. Also known as – Cadarn, “Dervel the Mighty,” Gdarn, Terbillius, Turville.
Derferl was born a Prince, the son of King Hywel Mawr; grandson of Hoel I Mawr the Great. brother of Saint Tudwal and the brother of Saint Arthfael.
Derferl is said to have been a noted warrior in medieval Welsh poetry. Tudur Penllyn wrote:
“Derferl in war, he would work his spear wondrously, steel covering is the garment, brave is the appearance.”
Derferl the soldier, whose skill was celebrated the bards of his day, fought in the Battle of Camlan in 537. After the mighty Battle, Derferl is unanimously held in Welsh tradition, to have been visited by grace and received a conversion experience as mighty as his arms of war had been.
He entered the religious life, initially as a wandering Hermit and then he entered the Monastery at Llantwit in Wales. Later he became the Abbot of Ynys Enlli, Bardsey Island, succeeding his cousin St Cadfan. Derferl evangelised the surrounding areas as a Missionary. The Monastery at Llandderfel in Gwynedd, which is named after him is also said to have been founded and established by Derferl.
He died on 6 April 660 at Ynys Enlli, Bardsey, Wales of natural causes. His relics were interred at Llanderfel, Merionethshire, Wales but were destroyed by order of Oliver Cromwell, by order of Henry VIII.
For centuries Derfel was venerated at the Churches of Llanfihangel Llantarnam, which claimed one of his relics and Llandderfel, which featured a wooden Statue. He was an object of pilgrimage at these sites. Derferl was depicted as a warrior in full armour riding a horse rather than as a Monk. The Llandderfel Statue was removed and dismantled by order of Thomas Cromwell during the English Reformation and used to burn a Catholic Priest, and Martyr, Blessed John Forest, at Smithfield in London. This was held to be a fulfilment of a prophecy that the image would burn down a forest. Part of the Statue survives to the present day at Llandderfel.
St Pausilippus Bl Peter Cerdan St Theodore the Martyr
Martyrs of Lesbos: 5 Saints: Five young Christian women Martyred together for their faith. We don’t even know their names. island of Lesbos, Greece.
Martyrs of North-West Africa: Large group of Christians murdered while celebrating Easter Mass during the persecutions of Genseric, the Arian king of the Vandals. They were Martyred in 459 at Arbal (in modern Algeria).
Martyrs of Seleucia: 120 Saints :One-hundred and eleven (111) men and nine (9) women who, because they were Christians, were dragged to Seleucia and Martyred for refusing to worship the sun or fire or other pagan idols during the persecutions of King Shapur II. They were burned alive in 344 in Seleucia, Persia.
Thought for the Day – 4 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Putting Christianity into Practice
“Imagine what the world would be like, if the Gospel of Christ, were practised in it’s entirety, everywhere and by everybody. It would not, of course, become another earthly Paradise, because suffering and death are the legacy of sin and Our Lord, did not remove these when He redeemed us but made them a necessary element, in our purification and spiritual elevation. Nevertheless, the full practice of Christianity would transform the world. A little reflection will convince us of this. Men would love God above all things and their neighbours as themselves. The sincere and ardent love of God, would cause wickedness, brutality and every kind of immorality to disappear. Love of their neighbour, would make men brothers in reality, so that there would be no more wars nor threats of conflict. The enormous wealth which is squandered on weapons of destruction, could then be diverted to good works. There would be no more poverty, because, if men loved one another, those who had more than enough, would give to those in want. There would be no more prisons, because, there would be no more criminals. There would be no need for a police force, because, everyone would do his duty of his own accord. The reign of love, which is the reign of Jesus Christ, would triumph upon earth. Excessive wealth and the selfish love of ease and pleasure, would disappear on one hand, while, on the other, the extreme need of those who can never be sure of a meal, nor of a roof over their heads, would be palliated, until they had been raised to a standard of living, consistent with the laws of God and with the dignity of men. The love of our neighbour as ourselves, would solve every individual and social problem in this life. Men would grow into a vast community of brothers devoid of all barriers of hate, selfishness and greed. This is not a Utopian dream, because it is the clear teaching of the Gospel. Jesus did not preach the impossible. He taught us the standards of the perfect life, which we are all obliged to try and lead.”
Monday in Passion Week – 4 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Jonas 3:1-10, John 7:32-39
“O God, by Your Name save me and by your might deliver me.” – Psalm 53:3
“If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, ‘From within Him there shall flow rivers of living waters.’ ”
John 7:37-38
“AS THE DEER LONGSfor running water, so my soul longs for You, my God.Just as the deer longs for running water, so do our newly baptised members, our young deer, so to speak, also yearn for God. By leaving Egypt and the world, they have put Pharaoh and his entire army to death in the waters of Baptism. After slaying the devil, their hearts long for the springs of running water in the Church. These springs, are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah testifies, that the Father is like a Fountain when He says: They have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living water, to dig for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. In another passage we read about the Son: They have forsaken the Fountain of Wisdom. And again, John says of the Holy Spirit: Whoever drinks the water I will give him, that water shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life. The Evangelist explains that the Saviour said this of the Holy Spirit. The testimony of these texts, establishes beyond doubt, the Three Fountains of the Church constitute the mystery of the Trinity.
THESE ARE THE WATERS that the heart of the believer longs for, these are the waters that the heart of the newly baptised yearns for when he says: My heart thirsts for God, the living Fountain. This is not a weak, faint desire to see God, rather the newly baptised actually burn with desire and thirst for God. Before they received Baptism, they used to ask one another: When shall I go and see the face of God? Now their quest has been answered. they have come forward and they stand in the presence of God. They have come before the Altar and have looked upon the Mystery of the Saviour.
HAVING RECEIVED the Body of Christ and being reborn in the life-giving waters, they speak up boldly and say: I shall go into God’s marvellous dwelling place, His house. The house of God is the Church, his marveLlous dwelling place ….
… BY THE WORD OF GOD you have been lifted out of the dangerous waters of this world, like so many little fish. In us, the nature of things has been changed. Fish taken out of the sea die but the Apostles have fished for us and have taken us out of the sea of this world, so we could be brought from death to life. As long as we were in the world, our eyes looked down into the abyss and we lived in filth. After we were rescued from the waves, we began to look upon the Sun and look up at the True Light. Confused in the presence of so much joy, we say: Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, in the presence of my Saviour and my God.” – St Jerome (343-420) Bishop and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Sermon on Psalm 41 addressed to the Newly Baptised).
Quote/s of the Day – 4 April – The Memorial of St Isidore of Seville (c 560-636) Father & Doctor of the Church
“… Every excess brings, not health but danger.”
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
“War with vices but peace, with individuals.”
“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
One Minute Reflection – 4 April – Monday in Passion Week – Jonas 3:1-10, John 7:32-39 and the Memorial of St Isidore of Seville (c 560-636) Father & Doctor of the Church
“You shall seek me and shall not find me …” – John 7:34
REFLECTION – “To seek Jesus is often something good, for it is the same as to seek the Word, the Truth and Wisdom. But you will say, that the words “to seek Jesus” are sometimes said about those who want to harm Him. For example: “They tried to seize Him but no-one laid a finger on Him because His hour had not yet come.” … He knows from whom He distances Himself and with whom He remains, without being found yet, so that if someone seeks Him, that person will find Him at the favourable time. The Apostle Paul said to those, who did not yet possess Jesus in this way and, who did not contemplate Him: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who shall go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who shall go down into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). What is it He does say? ‘The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.” (Rom 6:6-8)
When in His love for humankind, the Saviour said: “You will look for me,” (Jn 8:21) He let us glimpse the things pertaining to the reign of God, so that those, who look for Him, do not do so outside of themselves saying: “’Here, He is here’, or ‘He is there.’ The Gospel tells them: “The reign of God is already in your midst.” (Lk 17:21) As long as we keep the seed of Truth that has been placed in our soul and His commandments, the Word will not distance Himself from us. But if evil spreads in us to corrupt us, Jesus will tell us: “I am going away. You will look for me but you will die in your sins.” – Origen (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Father (Commentary on Saint John, 19,12).
PRAYER – O God, Who granted to Your people blessed Isidore, as a minister of salvation, grant, we beseech You, that we who cherished him on earth as a teacher of life, may be found worthy to have him as an intercessor 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).
Our Morning Offering – 4 April – Monday in Passion Week
Lord Jesus, Think on Me By St Synesius of Cyrene (375-430) Bishop of Ptolemais
Lord Jesus, think on me and purge away my sin, from earth-born passions set me free, and make me pure within. Lord Jesus, think on me, With care and woe oppressed, let me Thy loving servant be and taste Thy promised rest. Lord Jesus, think on me, nor let me go astray, through darkness and perplexity point Thou the heav’nly way. Lord Jesus, think on me, that, when the flood is past, I may eternal brightness see, and share Thy joy at last. Amen
Saint of the Day – 4 April – Saint Peter of Poitiers (c 1130-1215) Bishop, Scholastic Theologian, Writer, Peacemaker. Born at Poitiers or in its neighbourhood about 1130 and died in Paris in 1215.
The Roman Martyrology reads: “In Poitiers in Aquitaine, France, St Peter, Bishop, who favoured the birth of the Order of Fontevrault.”
Peter studied at the University of Paris, where he became Professor of Theology and lectured for thirty-eight years. In 1169 he succeeded Peter Comestor in the Chair of Scholastic Theology. His lectures were so brilliant as to inspire the enmity of Gauthier de St-Victor, one of the bitterest opponents of Scholasticism, who ranked him with Gilbert de la Porrée, Abelard and Peter Lombard in the pamphlet wherein he tries to throw ridicule on the four doctors, under the name of the “Four Labyrinths of France.”
Appointed as Chancellor of the Church of Paris ,Peter displayed great zeal on behalf of poor students and to supply their want of text-books, which were very expensive, he had a kind of synopsis engraved on the walls of the classrooms for their assistance.
In 1182, Peter was appointed Bishop of Poitiers, where he remained until his death in 1215. In 1191 he was appointed by Pope Celestine III to settle a dispute between the Abbeys of St-Eloi and St-Victor. He was a constant correspondent of Pope Celestine III and Pope Innocent III. Peter publicly denounced the sacrilegious tyranny and license of Philip I and William VI, Count of Poitiers and Duke of Aquitaine. and supported Bl Robert d’Arbriselle fin the foundation of the Fontrevault Abbey. In 1193 he succeeded Hilduin as Chancellor of Notre Dame.
He wrote commentaries, still unedited, on Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and the Psalms. A chronological and genealogical abridgment of the Bible is also attributed to him. In his magnum opus, Sententiarum libri quinque, published before 1170, he applied the dialectical method to theology.
St Theodulus of Thessalonica St Theonas of Egypt St Tigernach of Clogher St Zosimus of Palestine
Martyred in Cairo François de la Terre de Labour Nicolas of Montecorpino
Martyrs of Thessalonica – 14 Saints: Fourteen Christians who were Martyred together, date unknown. No other information, except the names of 12 of them, has survived – Ingenuus, Julianus, Julius, Matutinus, Orbanus, Palatinus, Paulus, Publius, Quinilianus, Saturninus, Successus, Victor and two whose names have not come down to us. Agathopus the Deacon, Theodulus the Lector.
Thought for the Day – 3 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
THE CRUCIFIX
“Let us weep for our sins and increase in love for our Divine Redeemer. When we are oppressed by the weight of our own cross, we shall look at the Crucifix and find comfort. When we are tempted, we shall grasp the Crucifix and turn away with horror from thoughts of sin and ingratitude.
The Crucifix will teach us, as it taught the Saints, the lesson of charity towards God and towards our neighbour. It will teach us to hate sin and to love virtue. If we cherish it during life, it will be our consolation to kiss the Crucifix at the moment of death.”
Passion Sunday – 3 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59.
“Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord; teach me to do Your will.” – Psalm 142:9-10
“Amen, amen, I say to you, if anyone keep My word, he will never see death.”
John 8:51
WE SEE THAT DEATH is gain, life is loss. Paul says: For me life is Christ and death a gain. What does “Christ” mean but to die in the body and receive the Breath of Life? Let us then die with Christ, to live with Christ. We should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death. By this kind of detachment our soul must learn to free itself from the desires of the body. It must soar above earthly lusts to a place where they cannot come near, to hold it fast. It must take on the likeness of death, to avoid the punishment of death. The law of our fallen nature is at war with the law of our reason and subjects the law of reason, to the law of error. What is the remedy? Who will set me free from this body of death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
WE HAVE A DOCTOR to heal us; let us use the remedy He prescribes. The remedy is the grace of Christ, the dead body, our own. Let us then be exiles from our body, so as not to be exiles from Christ. Although we are still in the body, let us not give ourselves to the things of the body. We must not reject the natural rights of the body but, we must desire, before all else, the gifts of grace.
WHAT MORE need be said? It was by the death of One Man that the world was Redeemed. Christ did not need to die, if He did not wish to but He did not look on death as something to be despised, something to be avoided and He could have found no better means to save us, than by dying. Thus His Death is Life for all. We are sealed with the Sign of His Death – when we pray, we preach His Death, when we offer Sacrifice we proclaim His Death. His Death is Victory; His Death is a Sacred Sign; each year His Death is celebrated with solemnity by the whole world.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Great Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his work, On the death of Satyrus [Saint Ambrose’s brother])
Quote/s of the Day – 3 April – Passion Sunday – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, if anyone keep My word, he will never see death.”
John 8:51
“Each and everyone of us, at the end of the journey of life, will come, face to face with either one, or the other of two faces… And one of them, either, the merciful face of Christ or the miserable face of Satan, will say, “Mine, mine.”
One Minute Reflection – 3 April – Passion Sunday – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59.
“Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it and was glad.” – John 8:56
REFLECTION – “God put Abraham to the test and said to him: ‘Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love and offer him up as a sacrifice on a height that I will show to you’ ” (Gn 22,2). Notice how that same son, on whom great and wonderful promises rested… Abraham received the command to offer, in holocaust on a mountain to the Lord!
What do you feel about this command, Abraham?… The Apostle Paul, to whom, I think, the Spirit had revealed Abraham’s thoughts and feelings, said: “Abraham did not doubt God’s promises in unbelief, when he offered up his only son Isaac, on whom rested the promises for he reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead” (Rm 4,20; Heb 11,17.19)… This, then, was the first time when faith in the resurrection was shown. Yes, Abraham hoped Isaac would rise again and believed in the realisation of something that had never happened before… Abraham knew, that in him, the prefiguration of a coming reality was already taking shape; he knew the Messiah, the true Victim offered on behalf of the whole world, Who was to triumph over death, through His Resurrection, would be born from his descendants.
“So early the next morning Abraham rose and… on the third day… came to the place of which God had told him.” The third day is always associated with mystery and… the Lord’s Resurrection, in particular, took place on the third day… “Abraham got sight of the place from afar. Then he said to his servants: ‘Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go over yonder. We will worship and then come back to you.’”… Now tell me, Abraham, were you speaking the truth to your servants when you stated you were going to worship and then return with the boy; or did you want to deceive them?… “I am telling the truth,” Abraham answers. “I am offering the boy in sacrifice , which is why I am bringing the wood with me. Then I am coming back to you with the boy. Truly, I believe with all my heart that ‘God is sufficiently powerful to raise the dead.’” – Origen (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Father (Homilies on the book of Genesis no 8).
PRAYER – Look graciously upon Your household, Almighty God, we beseech You, that by Your grace we may be governed in body and by Your protection safeguarded in mind. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.Amen (Collect).
Saint of the Day – 3 April – Blessed Gandulphus of Binasco OFM (c 1200-1260) Priest and Friar of the Friars Minor of St Francis, renowned Preacher mainly in Sicily, Hermit, Miracle-worker . He was one of those who entered the Order while the Seraphic Father was still alive and the life he led was one of great self-abnegation. Born in c 1200 at Binasco, Lombardy, Italy and died on Holy Saturday 3 April 1260 at the San Nicolò Hospital in Polizzi Generosa, Sicily, Italy of natural causes. Patronage – Polizzi Generosa, Italy (chosen by citizens and confirmed in 1320). Also known as – Gandulphus Sacchi, Gandulphus of Polizzi, Generosa, Gandulphus of Polizzo, Gandolf, Gandolfo, Gandulf. Additional Memorial – relics processed in Polizzi Generosa, Italy on the 3rd Sunday of September.
Gandulphus was born to the nobility, a member of the wealthy and powerful Sacchi family in Binasco (near Milan). He joined the Franciscans while Saint Francis was still alive and made his final vows and was Ordained to the Priesthood in c 1224.
In 1256, he founded the Franciscan convent at Termini Imerese, Italy.
Gandulphus spent the majority of his life in Sicily, preaching the Gospel throughout the region. Many miracles were worked by his intercession. In 1260, a young mute man was cured outside Polizzi Generosa, Italy, which led to his preaching having great effect on the local people, so much so, that after his death, the people requested that he become the Patron Saint of their City, which was granted and confirmed in 1320.
Gandulphus became alarmed at hearing himself highly commended, which induced him to embrace the solitary life, lest he should be tempted to vainglory. With one companion, Brother Pascal, he left the Friary at Palermo and set out for the wild district in which he had determined to settle. Afterwards, from time to time, he would emerge from his retreat to evangelise the people of the neighbouring districts, upon whom his discourses and miracles made a profound impression. Once while he was preaching at Polizzi, the sparrows chattered so loudly that the congregation could not hear the sermon. Gandulphus appealed to the birds to be quiet and we are told that they kept silence until the conclusion of the sermon. On that occasion the holy man told the people that he was addressing them for the last time and in fact, immediately upon his return to the hospital of St Nicholas, where he was staying, he was seized with fever,and died on Holy Saturday as he had foretold, in 1260.
When his body was enshrined, the watchers declared that during the night there had flown into the Church a number of swallows, who had separated into groups and had sung, in alternating choirs, a Te Deum of their own.
Gandulphus’ preaching and miracles ,had such a profound effect on the Sicilians who still, to this day, have a great veneration for him. His relics were re-enshrined in a marble ark in 1482 and then translated in 1549 in a Reliquary covered in silver leaf. On 10 March 1881 Pope Leo XIII confirmed his cultus.
Bl Alexandrina di Letto St Attala of Taormina St Benatius of Kilcooley St Benignus of Tomi St Burgundofara St Chrestus St Comman St Evagrius of Tomi Bl Francisco Solís Pedrajas Blessed Gandulphus of Binasco OFM (c 1200-1260)Priest, Friar of the First Order of St Francis and became a Franciscan during St Francis’ lifetime..
Martyred in England Robert Middleton Thurstan Hunt Martyred in the Mexican Revulution José Luciano Ezequiel Huerta-Gutiérrez José Salvador Huerta-Gutiérrez
Martyr in Thessalonica Agatho Casia Eutychia Philippa
Thought for the Day – 2 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Other Ways of Resisting Temptation
“After prayer, humility is the best weapon in our struggle against temptation.
God wishes us to realise, that we are incapable of a single good thought or action without His assistance. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything, as from ourselves but our sufficiency, is from God” (2 Cor 3:5). “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Is 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). We cannot conquer temptation without the grace of God and God only gives His grace to the humble. He allows us to be troubled by temptation, in order to humble us and if He perceives that we are still proud, He allows us to fall by denying us His grace. Many of our falls, especially sins of impurity, are the result of pride.
Let us be humble, therefore and recognise our own nothingness. At the same time, let us have complete confidence in God. “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). We must be humble, not only in the sight of God but, also in the presence of men. “What hast thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received, why do thou boast as if thou hast not received it?” (1 Cor 4;7),
Pride and ambition are links in a chain which secures us in the bondage of sin! ”
Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent – 2 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Isaias 49:8-15, John 8:12-20
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” – Psalm 22:1
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me does not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life. .”
John 8:12
“… .I KNOW MY OWN—by which I mean, I love them—and My own know Me. In plain words, those who love Me are willing to follow Me, for anyone who does not love the Truth has not yet come to know it.
MY DEAR BRETHREN, you have heard the test we pastors have to undergo. Turn now to consider how these words of our Lord, imply a test for yourselves also. Ask yourselves whether you belong to His flock, whether you know Him, whether the Light of His Truth shines in your minds. I assure you, that it is not by faith that you will come to know Him but by love; not by mere conviction but by action. John the evangelist is my authority for this statement. He tells us that anyone who claims to know God without keeping His commandments is a liar. …
AGAIN HE SAYS: My sheep hear My Voice and I know them; they follow Me and I give them eternal life. Shortly before this He had declared – If anyone enters the sheepfold through Me he shall be saved; he shall go freely in and out and shall find good pasture. He will enter into a life of faith; from faith he will go out to vision, from belief to contemplation and will graze in the good pastures of everlasting life.
SO OUR LORD’S SHEEP, will finally reach their grazing ground where all who follow Him, in simplicity of heart, will feed on the green pastures of eternity. These pastures are the spiritual joys of Heaven. There, the elect look upon the face of God with unclouded vision and feast at the Banquet of Life for evermore.
BELOVED …, let us set out for these pastures where we shall keep joyful festival with so many of our fellow citizens. May the thought of their happiness urge us on! Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith and long eagerly for what Heaven has in store for us. To love thus ,is to be already on our way. No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that Heavenly Feast. Anyone who is determined to reach his destination, is not deterred by the roughness of the road, that leads to it. Nor must we allow the charm of success to seduce us, or we shall be like a foolish traveller who is so distracted by the pleasant meadows through which he is passing, that he forgets where he is going.” St Gregory the Great (540-604) – Pope and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Homily 14).
AnaStpaul 
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