Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SANCTITY, The DIVINE INFANT, The HEART, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Thought for the Day – 19 December – The Cradle of the Divine Infant Jesus

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Thought for the Day – 19 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Cradle of the Divine Infant Jesus

Enter once more with faith and love into the stable of Bethlehem.
As soon as her Son has been miraculously delivered without any damage to her virginity, Mary adores Him and, with such maternal love as we could never conceive of, she takes Him to her heart.
Joseph, kneeling in ecstasy at the sight, bows reverently and kisses the forehead of the Divine Infant.
In this moment of blis, he is well rewarded for his unshaken faith and for all the sacrifices which he has made from his youth until the time of his alliance with Mary.

Now Mary and Joseph look around and, since they can find no better cradel for the Baby Jesus, they place Him upon some straw in a manger and cover Him with a rough linen coth.
They have nothing else to give the Son of God, King of Kings and Lord of the Universe, Who wishes, at this early stage, to present us with this wonderful example of humility and voluntary poverty.
But each of them has once treasure to offer, for they offer and dedicate their hearts to Jesus.
Mary’s heart is only less beautiful and pure than that of our Divine Redeemer and St Joseph’s is similar to hers.

Jesus did not come to look for human wealth or greatness but, He came in search of men’s hearts, so that He might make them holy.
Throughout the centuries there have been many generous-hearted people who joined with Mary and Joseph in loving Jesus and in dedicating themselves entirely to Him.
Does your heart belong completely to Jesus?

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SILENCE, QUOTES on WATCHING, The HEART, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Quote of the Day – Saturday of Advent – 19 December – Prepare

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Quote of the Day – Saturday of Advent – 19 December

“I speak out in order to lead Him
into your hearts
but He does not choose to come
where I lead Him,
unless you prepare the way for Him.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Unreasoning and stupid
that you look for God where He is not!
Listen and be filled with awe –
God is in our hearts, I know it.
God lives in the human heart
when this heart lives withdrawn
from all that is not Him,
when this heart heeds God’s knock
at it’s door (Rv 3,20) and,
sweeping and cleaning all its rooms,
makes itself ready to welcome Him
who alone truly satisfies.”

Saint Raphael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938)

Spanish Trappist monk (Spiritual writings)

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES for CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The INCARNATION, The O ANTIPHONS

Advent Reflection – Saturday of Advent – 19 December – O Radix Jesse/O Root of Jesse – ‘a voice pointing to the Word’

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Advent Reflection – Saturday of Advent – 19 December – O Radix Jesse/O ROOT OF JESSE – Readings: Judges 13:2-7, 24-25, Psalms 71:3-4, 5-6, 16-17, Luke 1:5-25

The Lord is at hand, come let us adore Him.

O ROOT OF JESSE,
that stands for an ensign of the people,
before whom the kings keep silence
and unto whom the Gentiles
shall make supplication,
come, to deliver us and tarry not.

“And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak, until the day that these things take place because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” – Luke 1:20

REFLECTION – “You will be speechless… until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words.” Voice and word are not the same thing where we are concerned, since a voice can be heard without it conveying any meaning, without words and the word can likewise be communicated to our minds without a voice, as in the wandering of our thoughts. In the same way, since the Saviour is Word…, John differs from Him in being voice, by comparison with Christ, who is Word. This is what John himself answered to those who asked him who he was: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths’” (Lk 3:4; Jn 1:23).
Perhaps this is the reason – because he doubted the birth of the voice that would reveal the Word of God – why Zachariah lost his voice but recovered it again, when that voice was born, who is the Word’s forerunner (Lk 1:64). Since, for the mind to be able to grasp the word intended by the voice, we must hear the voice. It is also why, according to the time of his birth, John is slightly older than Christ – for we perceive the voice before the word. Thus John points to Christ since it is with the voice that the Word is made known. Likewise, Christ was baptised by John, who admitted his need of being baptised by Him (Mt 3:14)… In brief, when John pointed to Christ it was as a man pointing to God, the incorporeal Saviour, as a voice pointing to the Word…”… Origen (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Father

PRAYER – Deepen our faith Lord, as we celebrate the great mystery of the Incarnation, by which You revealed to the world the splendour of Your glory, through the most pure Virgin Mary when she gave birth to Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever, amen.

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The WORD

Our Morning Offering – The Weekdays of Advent – 19 December – The Benedictus, Luke 1:68-79

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Our Morning Offering – The Weekdays of Advent – 19 December

The Benedictus
Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79

The Messiah and His forerunner

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
He has visited His people and redeemed them.

He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,
in the house of David, His servant,
as He promised by the lips of holy men,
those who were His prophets of old.

A Saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who us.
So His love for our fathers is fulfilled
and His holy covenant remembered.

He swore to Abraham, our father, to grant us,
that free from fear and saved from the hands of our foes.
we might worship Him in justice and holiness
all the days of our lives, in His Presence.

As for you, little child,
you shall be called the prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare His ways before Him,

to make known to His people their salvation,
through forgiveness of all their sins,
the loving kindness of the heart of our God,
who visits us like the dawn from on high.

He will give light to those in darkness,
those who dwell in the shadow of death
and to guide us into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever.
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 19 December – Blessed William of Fenoli O.Cart. (1065-1120)

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Saint of the Day – 19 December – Blessed William of Fenoli O.Cart. (1065-1120) Carthusian Monk, Hermit, miracle-worker – born in 1965 in Garessio-Borgoratto, Diocese of Mondovi, Italy and died in 1120 in Casotto, Italy of natural causes. He is also known as Guglielmo, Gulielmus and is venerated by the Carthusians on 16 December but by the universal Church today, 19 December.

William was born in the early twelfth century, in the township of Monferrato, in the Diocese of Alba, in Northern Italy. His family was, no doubt, an ordinary but very devout family. He was drawn to solitude and did in fact become a hermit. We may think that his life of prayer as a hermit deeply united him to God. However, a woman of ill repute came to disturb him in his hermitage. He was able to resist her temptations but, afterwards, he realised that he needed the protection of a cloister.

So he took the road to the nearby Charterhouse of our Lady of Cazotto, Asti and asked to be admitted as a brother. As Brother William, he became an outstanding member of the community. He faithfully followed the observance of the Rule. He looked upon his superiors only with the eyes of faith and was always disposed to obey them immediately. The virtue by which he shone the most, was that of simplicity. “If the eminent practice of virtue is admirable when joined to the splendour of doctrine, better still is its charm when it has for its company the ingenuity, the candour, the simplicity of soul. This simplicity must serve as the supreme wisdom especially for those called to live in the obscurity of the cloister” (Statement of the Postulator). How well Saint Bruno’s words to the lay brothers of the Grande Chartreuse apply to William:

“As regards you lay monks, brothers so close to my heart, I have only this to say – My soul glorifies the Lord, since I can perceive the glories of His mercy toward you, from the account of your beloved Father and Prior, who boasts a great deal about you and rejoices over you. I share in this joy, since God in His power, never ceases to inscribe on your hearts, however little education you may have, not only love but understanding, of His holy law. For you show by your lives, what it is you really love and what you know. That is to say, when you are careful and zealous to observe a genuine obedience, conceived not only as the carrying out of God’s commands but as the original key to the spiritual life and its final stamp of authenticity, demanding as it does deep humility and outstanding patience, as well as sincere love for the Lord and our brothers, then it is clear, that you are gathering with relish, no less than the most delectable and life-giving fruits of Holy Scripture.”

His simplicity of heart was a great preparation for contemplation. His piety focused on Christ crucified and he could not think of the Passion of our Lord without becoming deeply afflicted. And so, freed from all fear and earthly plans, his only desire was for Eternity, preparing himself for it with constancy until his death, which occurred around the year 1120.

Bl William is widely known for the following miracle:
One day, when he was returning from his field work, he was set upon by robbers and defended himself by tearing the leg off his donkey, using this as a cudgel to drive off his attackers. Afterwards, he miraculously healed the donkey, restoring it’s leg. Blessed William is, therefore, often depicted in iconography with his donkey, brandishing the donkey’s leg.

He was buried in the cloister cemetery of the Charterhouse but God let it emphatically be known that He wanted him to be buried at the gatehouse, outside the enclosure, so that the faithful could come to pilgrimage to his tomb. It is this popular veneration century after century, with accompanying miracles, which are the proof of the sanctity of this humble brother of whom we know so little. Pope Saint Pius V authorised the transfer of his relics in 1568 and Pope Blessed Pius IX authorised, in 1862, the veneration of Brother William, whose body was still incorrupt.

Rejoice, because you have escaped the various dangers and shipwrecks of the stormy world. Rejoice, because you have reached the quiet and safe anchorage of a secret harbour. <> Saint Bruno’s letter to his sons the Carthusians

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 19 December

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Day Four – Christmas Novena to the Christ Child:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/19/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-four-19-december-2/

St Pope Anastasius I (Died 401)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/19/saint-of-the-day-19-december-st-pope-anastasius-i-died-401/
St Augustine Moi Van Nguyen
St Avitus of Micy
Bl Berengar of Banares
St Berardo Valeara OSB (c 1050-1122) Bishop
His life:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/19/saint-of-the-day-st-berardo-valeara-of-teramo-osb-c-1050-1122/
Bl Bogumila Noiszewska
St Boniface of Cilicia
Bl Cecilia of Ferrara
St Dominic Uy Van Bui
St Fausta of Sirmium
St Gregory of Auxerre
St Jaume Boguñá Casanovas
St Johannes Gogniat
St Jordi Sampé Tarragó
St Josep Albareda Ramoneda
Bl Kazimiera Wolowska
Bl Konrad Liechtenau
St Manirus of Scotland
St Meuris of Alexandria
St Nemesius of Alexandria
St Phanxicô Xaviê Hà Trong Mau
St René Dubroux
Ribert of Saint-Oyend
St Stêphanô Nguyen Van Vinh
St Thea of Alexandria
St Timothy the Deacon
St Tôma Nguyen Van Ðe
Blessed Pope Urban V (1310-1370)
About Blessed Pope Urban:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/saint-of-the-day-19-december-blessed-pope-urban-v-1310-1370/
Blessed William of Fenoli O.Cart. (1065-1120) Carthusian Monk

Blessed Mercedarian Fathers – (6 beati): A group of Mercedarian monks noted for their dedication to the Order’s rule, for their continuous prayer life and their personal piety.
• Blessed Bartolomeo of Podio
• Blessed Giovanni of Verdera
• Blessed Guglielmo de Gallinaris
• Blessed Guglielmo of Prunera
• Blessed Pietro of Benevento
• Blessed Pietro of Gualba

Martyrs of Nicaea – (4 saints): A group of Christians martyred together. The only surviving details are four of their names – Darius, Paul, Secundus and Zosimus. They were martyred at Nicaea, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey).

Martyrs of Nicomedia – (5 saints): A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than the names of five – Anastasius, Cyriacus, Paulillus, Secundus and Syndimius. They were martyred in 303 at Nicomedia, Asia Minor.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. Virtually each day of the year a Group are celebrated, usually individually but sometimes an entire Monastery or Convent or Lay Movement were martyred together. Today we remember:
• Blessed Jaume Boguñá Casanovas
• Blessed Jordi Sampé Tarragó
• Blessed Josep Albareda Ramoneda

Posted in "Follow Me", ADVENT REFLECTIONS, GOD is LOVE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Thought for the Day – 18 December – Preparation for the Nativity

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Thought for the Day – 18 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Preparation for the Nativity

“The Birth of Our Lord is the most wonderful and most moving mystery of divine omnipotence and goodness.
At first thought, the idea of the infinite God becoming man, would seem impossible.
Between God and man, there is a vast abyss.
Why should God have bridged this gap and assumed our poor mortal nature, becoming like us in everything but sin, while still remaining God?
It is a hard question for the human mind to answer.
There is only one reply, however.
The immensity of God’s power and justice is equalled, by the immensity of His love.
It was simply because God loved us infinitely that He took pity on us, lost as we were in sin.
He assumed a human body and became man and, He suffered and died for us, so that we might love and obey Him more easily and follow in the way of goodness.

To our poor intellects, God seems not only immense and infinite but also, very remote.
For this reason, God determined to come closer to us, so that He became as one of us.
He was a tiny infant, crying in a manger; then, He was a lovable young boy Who spoke words of eternal wisdom among the doctors in the Temple; then, He was a prophet Who traversed the countryside of Palestine, teaching and working miracles; finally, He died a martyr’s death on the Cross in the cause of truth and goodness.
Reflecting on this mystery of infinite love, let us adore and love Him.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Quote/s of the Day – The Weekdays of Advent, 18 December – Blessed be the Most Holy Name of Jesus without end!

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Quote/s of the Day – The Weekdays of Advent, 18 December O Adonai/O Lord
Jeremiah 23:5-8, Psalm 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19, Matthew 1:18-24

“Only let it be in the name of Jesus Christ,
that I may suffer together with Him!
I endure everything
because He Himself,
Who is perfect man, empowers me.”

St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35 – 107)
Father of the Church, Martyr

“And you shall call His name Jesus,
because in His Name we adore
the entire majesty of the Godhead.
All who dwell in the heavens,
those who abide upon the earth
and everyone of those
who are held in the depths of hell,
bow down prostate to this Name.
This is the Name which gave sight to the blind,
hearing to the deaf,
agility to the lame,
speech to the mute
and life to the dead,
The power of this Name
forced the mastery of the devil entirely,
from the bodies of the possessed.”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“The Name of Jesus
is the purest and holiest,
the noblest and most indulgent of names,
the Name of all blessings
and of all virtues,
it is the Name of the God-Man,
of sanctity itself.”

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

Jesus, Name Full of Glory
By St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)

Jesus,
Name full of glory,
grace, love and strength!
You are the refuge of those who repent,
our banner of warfare in this life,
the medicine of souls,
the comfort of those who morn,
the delight of those who believe,
the light of those
who preach the true faith,
the wages of those who toil,
the healing of the sick.
To You our devotion aspires,
by You our prayers are received;
we delight in contemplating You.
O Name of Jesus,
You are the glory of all the saints for eternity.
Amen

“The Holy Name of Jesus is,
first of all,
an all-powerful prayer.
Our Lord, Himself, solemnly promises,
that whatever we ask the Father in His Name,
we shall receive.
God never fails to keep His word.
Each time we say “Jesus,”
it is an act of perfect love,
for, we offer to God,
the infinite love of Jesus”

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church

“There is just one Name in the whole world that lives –
it is the Name of One who passed His years in obscurity
and who died a malefactor’s death.
(Two thousand yeas) have gone by since that time
but still It has It’s hold upon the human mind.
It has possessed the world and It maintains possession.
Amid the most various nations,
under the most diversified circumstances,
in the most cultivated, in the rudest races and intellects,
in all classes of society,
the Owner of that great Name reigns.
High and low, rich and poor, acknowledge Him.
Millions of souls are conversing with Him,
are venturing at His word,
are looking for His presence.
Palaces, sumptuous, innumerable,
are raised to His honour.
His image, in it’s deepest humiliations,
is triumphantly displayed in the proud city,
in the open country,
at the corners of streets, on the tops of mountains.
It sanctifies the ancestral hall, the closet and the bedchamber,
it is the subject for the exercise
of the highest genius in the imitative arts.
It is worn next to the heart in life,
it is held before the failing eyes in death.”

St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Blessed be the Most Holy Name of Jesus without end!

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, DOCTORS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The DIVINE INFANT, The HOLY NAME, The O ANTIPHONS, The WORD

Advent Reflection – The Weekdays of Advent, 18 December – “She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus” – Matthew 1:21

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Advent Reflection – The Weekdays of Advent, 18 December O Adonai/O Lord
Jeremiah 23:5-8, Psalm 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19, Matthew 1:18-24

The Lord is at hand, come let us adore Him.

O LORD AND RULER
of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the flame
of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai,
Come and redeem us with outstretched arms.

“She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus” – Matthew 1:21

REFLECTION – “The Name of Jesus is a divine Name that the Lord made known to Mary through the voice of the Archangel Gabriel: “You will give him the name Jesus” (Lk 1:31). A name that, for this reason, is called “above all names,” “the only name by which we can be saved” (Phil 2:9; Acts 4:12). This great Name is compared to oil by the Holy Spirit: “Your name is oil poured out” (Sg 1:3). Why? Because, as Saint Bernard explains, just as oil is both light, food and medicine, so the Name of Jesus is light for our minds, food for our hearts, medicine for our souls.
Light for our minds – it was the brilliance of this Name that enabled the world to pass from the shadows of idolatry to the light of faith. We were born in a land whose inhabitants were all pagans before the coming of the Lord. We should have been as they were if He had not come to enlighten us. So how should we not give thanks to Jesus Christ for the gift of faith! (…)
Food for our hearts – this, too, is what the Name of Jesus is. For it calls to our minds all the painful work Jesus accomplished to save us. This is how He comforts us in tribulation, strengthens us to walk along the way of salvation, revives our hope and inflames us with love for our God.
And medicine for our souls – Jesus’ Name makes them strong in the face of temptation and our enemies’ attacks. Do they hear this holy Name? The powers of hell tremble and take to flight. This is what Saint Paul says: “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld” (Phil 2:10). No-one who is tempted will fall if he calls on Jesus and so long as he calls, he will persevere and be saved.” – St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop and named The Most Zealous Doctor of the Church – Meditations for the Octave of Christmas, no 8

PRAYER – Write Your Blessed Name, Upon My Heart
By Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Write Your blessed name,
O Lord,
upon my heart,
there to remain so indelibly engraved,
that no prosperity,
no adversity shall ever move me
from Your love.
Be to me a strong tower of defence,
a comforter in tribulation,
a deliverer in distress,
a very present help in trouble
and a guide to heaven
through the many temptations
and dangers of this life.
Amen

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, DANTE ALIGHIERI!, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, HYMNS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN TITLES, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The O ANTIPHONS

Our Morning Offering – 18 December – “O Virgo Virginum” and Maiden yet a Mother

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Our Morning Offering – 18 December and also the Feast of Our Lady of Expectation

O Virgo Virginum

O Virgin of Virgins,
how shall this be?
For neither before thee was any like thee,
nor shall there be after.
Daughters of Jerusalem,
why marvel ye at me?
That which ye behold,
is a divine mystery.

Maiden yet a Mother
By Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
Tr Msgr Ronald A Knox (1888-1957)

Maiden yet a mother,
daughter of thy Son,
high beyond all other,
lowlier is none;
thou the consummation
planned by God’s decree,
when our lost creation
nobler rose in thee!

Thus His place prepared,
he who all things made
‘mid his creatures tarried,
in thy bosom laid;
there His love He nourished,
warmth that gave increase
to the root whence flourished
our eternal peace.

Nor alone thou hearest
When thy name we hail;
Often thou art nearest
When our voices fail;
Mirrored in thy fashion
All creation’s gird,
Mercy, might compassion
Grace thy womanhood.

Lady, let our vision
Striving heavenward, fail,
Still let thy petition
With thy Son prevail,
Unto whom all merit,
prayer and majesty,
With the Holy Spirit
And the Father be.

Most authors agree that there were seven original ‘O Antiphons’ and that they are a very ancient expression of Christian Prayer. While their author is unknown, they are cited in at least two works as early as the eighth century. Both Cynewulf, an Anglo-Saxon author and Amalarius, a liturgist and the Archbishop of Trier (died 850), who was a student of the teacher St Alcuin, cite the existence of the ‘O Antiphons’ as early as the seventh/eighth century.

The ‘O Antiphons’ get their name from the fact that they all begin with the interjection ‘O’: O Sapientia (Wisdom); O Adonai (Lord); O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse); O Clavis David (Key of David); O Oriens (Dawn of the East); O Rex Gentium (King of Gentiles); O Emmanuel.

While the original ‘O Antiphons’ numbered seven, over time a number of others were added to the liturgy of particular regions and sometimes for particular religious feast days which fell during Advent, or even in the liturgy of some medieval religious orders. Some medieval religious churches had as many as twelve O Antiphons which were sung in the Advent Liturgy leading up to Christmas Eve.

Among these, there was an important Marian ‘O Antiphon’ which appears in both the Gallican (France) and Sarum (England) liturgies. Although it is difficult to establish just when this antiphon was first introduced, it was certainly known in the Middle Ages.

This Marian Antiphon is still used today in the liturgy of the Norbertine Order. While the Latin Liturgy begins the O Antiphons on 17 December with ‘O Sapientia,’ and ends on 23 December with ‘O Emmanuel,’ the Liturgy of the Norbertine Order begins their O Antiphons on 16 December with ‘O Sapientia,’ and ends on 23 December with the beautiful Marian Antiphon ‘O Virgo Virginum.’

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 18 December – Saint Winebald OSB (c 701-761)

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Saint of the Day – 18 December – Saint Winebald OSB (c 701-761) Priest, Abbot, Confessor, Missionary, Founder of many Monasteries, disciple of St Boniface – born in c 701 at Wessex, England and died on 18 December 761 at Heidenheim, Germany of natural causes. St Wieibald was the son of St Richard, Prince of Wessex, brother of St Willibald and St Walburga. Also known as – Winebaldus, Winnibald, Wunebald, Wunibald, Wynbald, Wynnebald, Vunibaldo, Vinebaldo. Patronages – construction workers, engaged couples.

God blessed St Richard with three saintly children, St Winebald, the eldest, St Willibald, who died Bishop of Eichstätt and St Walburga, Abbess. St Richard leaving his native country, took with him his two sons and landed on the coast of Normandy. They visited all the places of devotion on their way and then travelled into Italy, intending to go to Rome but at Lucca, St Richard fell sick and died about the year 722.

Winebald and Willibald accomplished their pilgrimage to Rome. After some stay there to perform their devotions, St Willibald undertook another pilgrimage to the holy places in Palestine but Winebald, who was from his childhood of a weak constitution, remained at Rome, where he pursued his studies for seven years, took the tonsure and devoted himself with his whole heart to the divine service. Then returning to England, he engaged several amongst his kindred and friends to accompany him in his journey back to Rome and there to dedicate themselves to God in a religious state.

Around 737, St Boniface, who was Uncle of St Winebald, visited Rome. By this time Willibald had returned from his travels and had become a Monk at Monte Cassino. Boniface recruited both nephews for the German mission. Willibald was Ordained and based in Eichstätt. Boniface received a promise that Winebald would go to Germany. Winebald arrived in Thuringia on 30 November, 740 and was Ordained Priest by his Uncle who, thereafter, placed him in charge of seven Churches.

Winebald established a Monastery in Schwanfeld but in 742 transferred it to Heidenheim, where the brothers founded a double Monastery for the training of Priests and as a centre of learning. Winibald became the first Abbot.

Winebald took part in the Concilium Germanicum, (the first major Synod of the German Church which was presided over by St Boniface) in 742, and subscribed Pepin’s donation to Fulda in 753. In 762, he joined the League of Attigny, a confraternity of prayer established by Chrodegang, Archbishop of Metz. All this the saint accomplished in spite of continual illness, which prevented him from ending his life at Monte Cassino as he had hoped. Wieibald died at Heidenheim on 18 December 761.

The Vita of St Winebald assures us of several miraculous cures which were performed at his tomb. St Ludger also writes in the life of St Gregory of Utrecht, “Winebald was very dear to my master Gregory and shows, by great miracles since his death what he did whilst living.”

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Feast of Our Lady of the Expectation and Memorials of the Saints – 18 December

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Our Lady of the Expectation – This Feast originated in Spain. When the feast of the Annunciation (25 March) was transferred to 18 December because of the regulation forbidding feasts in Lent, it remained on this date after the Annunciation was again celebrated on its original date. It impressed on the faithful, the sentiments of the Blessed Virgin as the time of her delivery approached.

More about the Feast here:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/18/the-feast-of-our-lady-of-expectation-18-december/

Our Lady of Expectation, Valencia, Spain

St Auxentius of Mopsuetia
St Basilian of Laodicea
St Bodagisil of Aquitaine
St Desiderius of Fontenelle
Bl Eugenio Cernuda Febrero
St Flannán of Killaloe
St Gatian of Tours (c 251-301)
About St Gatian:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/18/saint-of-the-day-18-december-saint-gatian-of-tours-c-251-301/
Blessed Giulia Valle (1847-1916)
About Blessed Giulia: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/saint-of-the-day-18-december-bl-giulia-nemesia-valle-1847-1916/

St Malachi the Prophet
St Mawnan of Cornwall
Bl Miguel San Román Fernández
St Phaolô Nguyen Van My
St Phêrô Truong Van Ðuong
St Phêrô Vu Van Truat
Bl Philip of Ratzeburg
St Rufus of Philippi
St Samthann of Clonbroney
St Theotimus of Laodicea
St Winebald OSB (c 701-761) Priest, Abbot
St Zosimus of Philippi

Martyrs of Northwest Africa – 42 saints:
Mercedarian Redeemers – 6 beati – These are a group of Mercedarian friars who worked together, under the leadership of Saint Peter de Amer, to ransom (e.g., redeem) prisoners and minister to them after.

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, DOCTORS of the Church, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Quote/s of the Day 17 December – He came from heaven …

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Quote/s of the Day 17 December – O Wisdom …….

“He came from heaven
to suffer and die for us,
so that we might love Him.
How can we remain ungrateful?”

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“A soul united to Jesus,
is a living smile
that radiates Him
and,
gives Him.”

St Elizabeth of the Trinity (1880-1906)

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRISTMASTIDE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Thought for the Day – 17 December – The Cave of Bethlehem

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Thought for the Day – 17 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Cave of Bethlehem

“Why, asked Bossuet, should the Eternal Word of God, infinitely and everlastingly happy, have deigned to assume in time, the fallen state of humanity?
Why should He have chosen, as the scene of His miraculous life of love, this insignificant world, a planet almost imperceptible among the myriads of gigantic heavenly bodies?
It was for the very same reason, Bossuet replied, that propmpted Him, once He had become man, to choose as His birthplace, the tiny and unknown village of Nazareth in Galilee rather than Rome, the centre of power, or Athens, the centre of learning, or Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel.
Our world is the Nazareth of creation, one of the smallest planets in the firmament.

God did not even choose, moreover, to be born in the poor but comparatively comfortable house at Nazareth.
He preferred to be born in the strange town of Bethlehem.
It was the cradle of His ancestral line but it gave Him no welcome and compelled Him to be born in a cold and squalid barn on the straw of a manger.
God had no need of human grandeur.
His power and majesty shone more brightly through the insignificance of the objects and means which He employed in order to fulfil His purpose.
It would be ridiculous to imagine, even for a moment, that He had any need of human aid in order to accomplish His designs.
God chooses the weak things of the world in order to confound the strong!” (Missale Romanum, Miss. Virg et Mart).

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The O ANTIPHONS, The WORD

Advent Reflection – 17 December – O Wisdom / O Sapientia …….

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Advent Reflection – 17 December – O Wisdom ……. – Readings: Genesis 49:2, 8-10, Psalms 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 17, Matthew 1:1-17

The Lord is at hand, come let us adore Him.

O Wisdom
O Sapientia

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia-
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom, coming forth from the Mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things-
Come and teach us the way of prudence.

“You, Judah, shall your brothers praise your hand on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father shall bow down to you.” – Genesis 49:8

REFLECTION – “This text appears to be directed to the Patriarch Judah, indeed but more so that later Judah is meant, the true Confessor who was born of that tribe and who alone is praised by His brothers; of them He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers.”
He is the Lord by nature but a brother by grace; His hands, which He stretched out to an unbelieving people, are on the back of His enemies.
For with those same hands and by that same passion, Christ protected His own, subjugated hostile powers and made subject to Himself, all people who were without faith and devotion.
Of these the Father says to His Son, “And you will rule in the midst of your enemies.”
It was their own wickedness that made them enemies, not Christ’s will. In this there is a great gift of the Lord. Previously, spiritual wickedness generally used to make our neck bend to the yoke of captivity. Thus even David wrote that he felt, in some way, the hands of those who triumphed over him, for he said, “Upon my back sinners have wrought.”
But now spiritual wickedness is subject to the triumph of Christ and to His hands, as it were; that is, wickedness undergoes the affliction of captivity, being subject forever in deeds and in works.
And, it is He indeed, to whom the sons of His Father bow down, when we bow down to Him; for he has permitted us to call upon the Father and, to be subject to the Father, is to be subject to virtue.” – St Ambrose (340-397) One of the original four Doctors of the Latin Church – (The Patriarchs, 4)

PRAYER – Collect:
O God,
Creator and Redeemer of human nature,
Who willed
that Your Word should take flesh
in an ever-virgin womb,
look with favour on our prayers,
that Your only Begotten Son,
having taken to Himself our humanity,
may be pleased to grant us
a share in his divinity.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, HYMNS, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Our Morning Offering – 17 December – Awaiting Baby Jesus

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Our Morning Offering – 17 December – O Wisdom/O Sapientia

Awaiting Baby Jesus
Traditional Catholic Advent Prayer

My heart is beating,
filled with joy,
awaiting Mary’s baby boy.
For with this child, we embrace
the birth of God’s
most precious grace.
Baby Jesus, soon to come!
For us comes the Promised One.
Baby Jesus, God’s own Son,
you will be the Chosen One
to lead our flock into salvation.
Our eternal life awaits.
The birth of Jesus brings us nearer
Heaven’s holy gates.
Sing with joy
and count the days,
for soon to come,
the Lord we’ll praise.
Rejoice that Jesus
will soon arrive,
the Messiah and our faith alive.
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 17 December – Saint Sturmi of Fulda (c 705-779)

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Saint of the Day – 17 December – Saint Sturmi of Fulda (c 705-779) Priest, Monk and Abbot, Missionary, disciple of Saint Boniface and Founder and first Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery and Abbey of Fulda. Sturmi’s tenure as Abbot lasted from 747 until 779. Also known as Apostle of the Saxons, Apostle of Germany, Sturm, Sturmius.

St Sturmi (kneeling) with St Boniface

Sturmi was born c 705 in Lorch, Austria and was most likely related to the Agilolfing Dukes of Bavaria. He met Saint Boniface when the latter was carrying out the church reorganisation in Bavaria and Austria (founding the Bishoprics of Salzburg, Regensburg and Würzburg). He joined Boniface and was educated in the Benedictine monastery of Fritzlar by Abbot Saint Wigbert. He was then active as a Missionary in northern Hesse, where in 736 he established a monastic settlement in Haerulfisfeld (Hersfeld).

Sturmi was Ordained in 740 as Priest in Fritzlar. In 744 he was instructed by St Boniface in 744 to establish a Monastery in the region of Eichloha, which had been granted to Boniface by the Frankish Mayor of the Palace Carloman. He established the Monastery in the ruins of a 6th-century Merovingian royal camp, destroyed 50 years earlier by the Saxons, at a ford on the Fulda River.

Following studies at St Benedict’s Monastery in Monte Cassino in 747–748, Sturmi was named first Abbot of the Fulda Monastery by St Boniface. In 751, St Boniface and his disciple and successor Lullus, obtained an exemption for Fulda, having it placed directly under the Papal See and making it independent of interference by Bishops or worldly princes.

This is St Sturmi, I don’t know why he wears a Bishop’s Mitre

After the death of St Boniface, this exemption led to serious conflicts between Lullus, then Archbishop of Mainz and Abbot Sturmi. Nevertheless, Sturmi prevailed over the Bishops of Mainz and Utrecht in having Boniface, buried in Fulda after his Martyrdom in 754. This made Fulda a major place of pilgrimage for many peoples, including Anglo-Saxons and brought much prestige and a stream of gifts and donations to Fulda.

Building on this success, Sturmi was able to fend off efforts by the Bishops of Mainz and Würzburg to invalidate the Abbey’s exemption. He was sent into exile from 763 to 765 at Jumièges (Normandy) but was rehabilitated in 765 by Pippin the Younger. In 774, the Abbey of Fulda received Royal protection from Charlemagne. In the same year, Fulda was assigned missionary territories in heathen Saxony. Sturmi later established the Abbey of St Boniface at Hamelin. In 779, he accompanied Charlemagne into Saxony but fell ill and died soon after returning to Fulda on 17 December 779, where he was buried in the Cathedral.

Fulda Abbey Cathedral

Sturmi was recognised as a Saint prior to the East–West Schism in 1054, hence the Orthodox Church continues to honour him. He was formally Canonised in 1139 by Pope Innocent II. His life was recorded in the Vita Sturmi by the fourth Abbot of Fulda, Eigil of Fulda (died 822[1]), a relative of his, who had been a Monk in Fulda for over 20 years under Abbot Sturmi.

The Altar of St Sturmi in Fulda Cathedral
Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 17 December

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DAY TWO of the CHRISTMAS NOVENA – https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/17/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-two-17-december-3/

St Briarch of Bourbriac
St John of Matha O.SS.T (1160-1213)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/17/saint-of-the-day-17-december-st-john-of-matha-o-ss-t-1160-1213/

St Josep/José Manyanet y Vives (1833-1901)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/17/saint-of-the-day-17-december-st-josep-manyanet-y-vives-1833-1901/

St Judicaël
St Lazarus of Bethany
BL Mariano Alarcón Ruiz
Bl Mathilde Téllez Robles
St Maxentiolus
St Modestus of Jerusalem
St Olympias of Constantinople (c 361-365 – 408)
About St Olympias:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/17/saint-of-the-day-17-december-st-olympias-of-constantinople-c-361-365-408/
Bl Peter of Spain
St Sturmi of Fulda OSB (c 705-779) Priest, Monk
St Tydecho
St Wivina
St Yolanda

Martyrs of Eleutheropolis – (60+ Martyrs-Beati): Approximately 60 Christian soldiers in the imperial Roman army of emperor Heraclius; they were murdered as a group for their faith by invading Saracen Muslims. We know the names of two of them – Calaoicus and Florian. 638 in Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin), Palestine.

Posted in ADVENT, EMBER DAYS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC

Today is an Ember Day – did you remember?

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What Are Ember Days?

On Rogation and Ember Days, the Church is accustomed to entreat the Lord for the various needs of humanity, especially for the fruits of the earth and for human labour and to give thanks to Him publicly.
Four times a year, approximately three months apart, near the beginning of each season of the solar cycle (winter, spring, summer and autumn), the Church sets aside three days (a total of twelve days in a year) to ask for blessings upon mankind and to pray in gratitude for the blessings of nature, particularly those used by the Church in her Liturgy, such as olives, grape, and wheat. This is also a time set apart to thank God for the Sacraments and pray for Priests, particularly those who were being ordained. These days are marked with prayer, fasting and abstinence and stress spiritual renewal.

The word “Ember” actually comes from the Latin phrase, Quatuor Tempora, meaning four times.

This is an ancient tradition of the Church. St Pope Leo the Great, in the 5th century, mentioned the Ember Day Fasts, pointing to these fasts as stemming from Old Testament and Apostolic tradition.

Ember Days are still a vital part of the Church’s tradition.

The traditional dates for the Ember days are the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday:

After St. Lucy’s feast day, 13 December
After the First Sunday of Lent
After Pentecost (this would be during the traditional octave of Pentecost)
After the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 14 September

These times are spent fasting and partially abstaining in penance and prayer, with the intentions of thanking God for the gifts He gives us in nature and beseeching Him for the discipline to use them in moderation. The fasts, known as “Jejunia quatuor temporum,” or “the fast of the four seasons,” are rooted in Old Testament practices of fasting four times a year:

Zacharias 8:19:
Thus saith the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Juda, joy and gladness, and great solemnities: only love ye truth and peace.

This painting is called “Seasons” and is by St Hildegard von Bingen OSB (1098-1179) – Doctor of the Church

Why Wednesday, Friday and Saturday?

Because Ember Days are of ancient tradition, there are Station Churches attached to the Ember Days, each with a different focus on each day of ember week.

All four Ember Wednesdays were celebrated in the station church St Mary Major. Wednesday was traditionally devoted to our Lady and in imitation of her it was a day of reflection and spiritual orientation.
All four Ember Fridays take place in the stational church of the Basilica of the Apostles. Father Pius Parsch says: “Ember Friday is the liturgy’s ‘Yom Kippur.’” Friday recalls Christ’s passion and death and emphasises conversion and penance.
All the Ember Saturdays take place in the stational church of St Peter in the Vatican. Saturday is a preview of Easter and it marks the renewal of our baptismal covenant.

When Are Ember Days In 2020:

Lenten /Spring Ember Days – March: 4, 6 and 7

Summer Ember Days – June 3, 5 and 6

Autumn Ember Days: September 16, 18 and 19

Advent Ember Days: December 16, 18 and 19

Posted in Uncategorized

I have missed you all.

Posted on by AnaStpaul

A new house often comes with many challenges and trials.
I have missed you all in the last 3 days as we struggled with along with no internet, again!
Fr Jacques (https://jacques172.com/) had wished that in this new home we might be freed from such problems but, sadly this was not to be. As well as no internet, we also were in total darkness for 2+ days! But no trial is without value, our beloved Lord had His good reasons.

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, GOOD FRIDAY, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The LAMB of GOD

Thought for the Day – 16 December – The Lamb of God

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Thought for the Day – 16 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Lamb of God

“Jesus had only one consolation in the midst of His terrible sufferings.
His mother, Mary was beside the Cross along with His beloved Apostle and the holy women who had always followed Him.
Mary loved her Son with a love greater than that of any mother, which is the greatest love possible on earth.
She loved Jesus with the heart of a Mother and of a Virgin – He was her only treasure.
Moreover, she loved Him, not only as her Son but, also as her God.
Precisely because she loved Him as her God, her love was in perfect harmony with the divine will.

She understood the mystery which led Jesus to accept death on the Cross – the mystery of the Redemption.
“He was offered because it was his own will” (Isa 53:7).
He was offered on our behalf, as a voluntary victim to His heavenly Father.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SPEAKING of ....., St JOHN the BAPTIST, The CHRIST CHILD, The DIVINE INFANT, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The HOLY CROSS, The INCARNATION, The LAMB of GOD, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The SIGN of the CROSS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 16 December – The Lamb of God

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 December – Wednesday of the Third week of Advent

The Lamb of God

“Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29

“The language of the cross
is foolishness to those who are perishing
but to us, who are being saved,
it is the power of God”

1 Corinthians 1:18

“Teacher of children
became Himself a child among children,
that He might instruct the unwise.
The Bread of heaven
came down to earth
to feed the hungry.”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Man’s Maker was made man,
that He, Ruler of the stars,
might nurse at His mother’s breast,
that the Bread might hunger,
the Fountain thirst,
the Light sleep,
the Way be tired on its journey,
that the Truth might be accused of false witness,
the Teacher be beaten with whips,
the Foundation be suspended on wood,
that Strength might grow weak,
that the Healer might be wounded,
that Life might die.”

“He who calls us, came here below,
to give us the means of getting there.
He chose the wood
that would enable us to cross the sea –
indeed, no-one can cross the ocean of this world,
who is not borne by the Cross of Christ.
Even the blind can cling to this Cross.
If you can’t see where you are going very well,
don’t let go of it, it will guide you by itself.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

“He was humbled in the womb of the Virgin,
needy in the manger of the sheep
and homeless on the wood of the Cross.”

St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
Doctor of the Church

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The HOLY CROSS, The LAMB of GOD, The WORD

Advent Reflection – 16 December – “Are you the one who is to come” … Luke 7:19

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Advent Reflection – 16 December – Wednesday of the Third week of Advent, Readings: Isaiah 45:6-8, 18, 21-25, Psalms 85:9 and 10, 11-12, 13-14, Luke 7:18-23

“Are you the one who is to come” … Luke 7:19

REFLECTION – “The Lord, knowing that without the Gospel nobody’s faith may be complete – for the Sacred Scripture begins from the Old Testament but is brought to fulfilment by the New – does not answer questions about Himself, with words but, by acts. “Go, he says and tell John what you have seen and heard – the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” This testimony is complete because, it is of Him they had prophesied: “The Lord sets prisoners free; the Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord raises up those who are bowed down … The Lord shall reign forever, through all generations!” (Ps 145[146]:7f). These are the signs of a power that is not human but divine …
And yet these are only the least examples of the testimony given by Christ. What makes the fullness of faith is the Lord’s cross, His death, His burial. This is why, after giving the answer we have quoted, He also says: “And blessed is the one who takes no offence at me.” In fact, the cross could have indeed provoked the fall of the Chosen ones but, there is no greater testimony of a divine person, nothing that seems to go further beyond human forces, than this offering of one man for the entire world. Through this only, the Lord reveals Himself fully. Furthermore, this is how John had defined Him: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan and Father and Doctor of the Church – Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, 5, 99-102

PRAYER – Almighty God, let the splendour of Your glory dawn in our hearts. May the coming of Your only Son dispel all darkness and reveal that we are children of light. By the care and love of Your Mother and ours, may we be ever strong as we carry our own crosses after You. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Our Morning Offering – 16 December – Hark, a Herald Voice is Calling

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Our Morning Offering – 16 December – Wednesday of the Third week of Advent

Hark, a Herald Voice is Calling
En Clara Vox Redarguit
Trans. Fr E Caswall, 1695

Hark, a herald voice is calling,
“Christ is nigh,” it seems to say;
“Cast away the dreams of darkness,
O ye children of the day.”

Startled at the solemn warning,
Let the earthbound soul arise;
Christ her Sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines up on the morning skies.

Lo, the Lamb so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heav’n;
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all to be forgiv’n.

So when next He comes with glory,
Shrounding all the earth in fear,
May He then as our defender,
On the clouds of heav’n appear.

Translated from En Clara Vox Redarguit, which is a 5th or 6th century hymn whose author is unknown. It was revised in the 1632 Roman Breviary and the English translation found above, is by Fr E Caswall, 1695.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 16 December – Saint Ado of Vienne (Died 875)

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Saint of the Day – 16 December – Saint Ado of Vienne (Died 875) Archbishop of Vienne from 850 until his death, Writer, Reformer – Born in Sens, France and died in 875 in Vienne, France of natural causes. Also known as Adon, Adonis. Several of his letters are extant and reveal their writer as an energetic man of wide sympathies and considerable influence.

Ado was born into a noble family and was sent as a child for his education, first to Sigulfe, Abbot of Ferrières and then to Marcward, Abbot of Prüm near Trier. He had as one of his masters, the Benedictine Abbot Lupus Servatus, one of the most celebrated humanists of those times. By his brilliant talents and assiduous application, Ado gained the esteem of his masters and schoolmates, while his ready obedience, deep humility and sincere piety foreshadowed his future holiness.

Though urged on all sides to enter upon a career in the world, to which his nobility of birth and great intellectual abilities entitled him, he consecrated himself entirely to God by taking the Benedictine habit at Ferrières. When Markward, a Monk of Ferrières, became Abbot of Prüm near Trier, he applied for Ado to teach the sacred sciences there. His request was granted. Soon, however, certain envious Monks of Prüm conceived an implacable hatred against Ado, due to his great intellect, humility and holiness and, upon the death of Markward, turned him out of their Monastery. With the permission of his Abbot, Ado now made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he remained five years. He then went to Ravenna, where he discovered an old Roman Martyrology which served as the basis for his own renowned Martyrology published in 858, which is generally known as the Martyrology of Ado. At Lyons he was received with open arms by the Archbishop, St Remigius, who, with the consent of the Abbot of Ferrières, appointed him pastor of the Church of St Roman near Vienne.

In 860 he became Archbishop of Vienne and a year later received the pallium from Pope Nicholas I. By word and exampl,e he began reforming the laxity of his priests and he gave them strict orders to instruct the laity in the necessary doctrines of Christianity. His own life was a model of humility and austerity. Ado participated in the Council of Tousy, near Toul in Lorraine, on 22 October 860 and held a council at Vienne in 870.

When Lothaire II, King of Lorraine, had unjustly dismissed his wife Theutberga and the papal legates at the Synod of Metz had been bribed to sanction the King’s marriage to his concubine Waldrada, Ado hastened to Rome and reported the crime to the Pope, who, thereupon, annulled the acts of the synod.

Besides the Martyrology mentioned above, Ado wrote a chronicle from the beginning of the world to 874, Chronicon de VI ætatibus mundi and the lives of St Desiderius, St Bernard – a previous Bishop of Vienne and St Theuderius.

Ado’s name is in the Roman Martyrology and at Vienne, his feast is celebrated on 16 December, the day of his death. His body was buried in the Church of the Apostles in Vienne, now called St Peter’s Church, the usual place of burial of the archbishops of Vienne.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 16 December

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St Adelaide of Burgundy (c 931-999) Holy Roman Empress
About St Adelaide:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/16/saint-of-the-day-16-december-st-adelaide-of-italy-burgundy-c-931-999/

St Adelard of Cysoing
St Ado of Vienne (Died 875) Bishop
Bl Adolphus of Tunis
Bl Arnaldo of Tunis
St Albina of Caesarea
St Ananias
St Azarias
St Bean of Lough Derg
St Beoc
Bl Clemente Marchisio
St Dominic Dosso
Bl Elizabeth of Saint Francis
Bl Filip Siphong Onphithakt
St Irenion
Bl James of Tunis
Bl Jaume Mases Boncompte
St Jean Wauthier
St Macarius of Collesano
Blessed Mary of the Angels Fontanella OCD (1661-1717)
Blessed Mary’s life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/16/saint-of-the-day-16-december-blessed-mary-of-the-angels-fontanella-ocd-1661-1717-the-fragrant-rose-of-turin/
St Misael
St Nicholas Chrysoberges
Bl Raynald de Bar
Blessed Sebastian Maggi OP (1414–1496)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/16/saint-of-the-day-16-december-blessed-sebastian-maggi-op-1414-1496/
—
Martyred Women of North-West Africa: A large group of women martyred in the persecutions of Hunneric, Arian King of the Vandals. 482 in North-West Africa.

Martyrs of Ravenna – (4 saints): A group of Christians martyred together. Four names and no other information has survived – Agricola, Concordius, Navalis and Valentine. c 305 at Ravenna, Italy.

CHRISTMAS NOVENA TO THE CHRIST CHILD – DAY ONE:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/12/16/christmas-novena-to-the-christ-child-day-one-16-december/

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THEOLOGICAL

Thought for the Day – 12 December – The Theological Virtues of Our Lady

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Thought for the Day – 12 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Theological Virtues of Our Lady

“The three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, shone like constellations throughout the life of Mary.
“Blessed is she who has believed” (Lk 1:45), St Elizabeth said of her.
Mary’s life was one long act of faith and of love.
She lived continuously in the presence of God, being united to Him by lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity.
Her spirit of constant prayer was the result of her intense practice of these theological virtues.
When the Archangel Gabriel came down from Heaven, to bring her the tidings of her divine motherhood, he found her absorbed in prayer.
When St Elizabeth praised and called her the Mother of her Lord, Mary, from the depths of her faith, attributed everything to God and glorified Him in her Magnificat.
When the baby Jesus was born in the cave of Bethlehem, she adored Him with faith, hope and love, as her God and future Saviour.
When she realised that Herod was searching for her Son to put Him to death, she placed her confidence in Him.
She fled with Him into Egypt and brought Him back later, to their land, always with the same faith, hope and love.
Her faith and hope were not weakened by the loss of Jesus in Jerusalem, only her mother’s love was disturbed, on this occasion.
When it seemed in that hidden life of Nazareth, that Jesus was leading a life of pointless silence, her faith and hope in Him, did not fade, while her love grew greater from day to day.
In the triumphs and sorrows of His public life, she continued to practice, to an extraordinary degree, these three virtues – on the road to Calvary, at the foot of the Cross, at the removal of Our Lord’s body from the Cross, at the tomb, at the glorious Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost.
At last, when she was alone in this world without Jesus, these three virtues seemed to burn more brightly in her soul.
She thought only of Jesus, hoped in Jesus alone and loved Jesus alone.
Then Jesus rewarded the lively faith, expectant hope and flaming charity of His Mother, for on her assumption into Heaven, these three virtues shared in her triumph and coronation.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, Hail MARY!, MARIAN QUOTES, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, The ANNUNCIATION, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The REDEMPTION, The RESURRECTION

Quote/s of the Day – 12 December – Is she not our mother?

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Quote/s of the Day – 12 December – “Month of the Immaculate Conception” – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Readings: Zechariah 2:14-17, Judith 13:18, 19, Luke 1:26-38.

“And if any man
will not receive His birth from a virgin,
how shall he receive His resurrection
from the dead?
For it is nothing wonderful
and astonishing and extraordinary,
if one who was not born,
rose from the dead – nay indeed,
we cannot speak of a resurrection of him
who came unto being without birth.
For one who is unborn and immortal
and has not undergone birth,
will also not undergo death.
For He, who took not the beginning of man,
how could He receive His end?”

St Irenaeus (130-202)
Martyr, Theologian, Father

“What shall we say, brethren?
Is she not our mother?
Certainly, brethren, she is in truth our mother.
Through her we are born,
not to the world but to God.”

“Scripture says, ‘Praise the Lord in his saints’.
If the Lord is to be praised in those saints
through whom He performs
mighty works and miracles,
how much more should He be praised in HER,
in whom He fashioned Himself,
He who is wonderful beyond all wonder.”

St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167)
From his sermons – Sermon 20

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The ANNUNCIATION, The WORD

Advent Reflection – 12 December – ‘… The mediator and the ladder … ‘

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Advent Reflection – 12 December – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Readings: Zechariah 2:14-17, Judith 13:18, 19, Luke 1:26-38.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus.” – Luke 1:30-31

REFLECTION – “Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb ” For all ages will call you blessed, as you said (Lk 1:48). The daughters of Jerusalem, that is to say, the Church, saw you and proclaimed your happiness … For you are the royal throne near which the angels stood contemplating their Master and Creator, who was seated on it (Dan 7:9). You have become the spiritual Eden, more sacred and more divine than the former one. The earthly Adam lived in the former; in you, lives the Lord who came from heaven (1 Cor 15:47). Noah’s ark was a prefiguration of you; it saved the seed of the second creation, for you gave birth to Christ, the world’s salvation, who submerged sin and pacified the floods.

It was you whom the burning bush described ahead of time, whom the tablets depicted, on which God wrote (Ex 31:18), which the ark of the covenant told about; it is you whom the golden urn, the candelabra … and Aaron’s staff that blossomed (Num 17:23) clearly prefigured. … I almost left out Jacob’s ladder. Just as Jacob saw heaven united with the earth by means of the two ends of the ladder and the angels descending and ascending on it and as the one who is really the strong and invincible one engaged in a symbolic struggle with him, thus you yourself became the mediator and ladder by which God came down to us and took upon Himself the weakness of our substance, embracing it and closely uniting it to Himself.” – St John Damascene (675-749) Monk, Theologian, Father and Doctor of the Church – 1st Sermon on the Dormition

PRAYER – Lord Jesus Christ my Lord, help me to become a devoted client of Your holy Mother Mary. Through Your grace, may I receive the spiritual strength she has promised to all her clients. May I, in simplicity, like St Juan Diego, become her vessel to share Your Light, throughout my world. Our Lady of Guadalupe Pray for us! Jesus Christ, our Lord, one God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for all ages, amen.

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Our Morning Offering – 12 December – Mary Immaculate! By St John Damascene

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 12 December – “Month of the Immaculate Conception” – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Readings: Zechariah 2:14-17, Judith 13:18, 19, Luke 1:26-38.

Mary Immaculate!
By St John Damascene (675-749)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Today, the root of Jesse has produced its shoot,
she will bring forth a Divine flower for the world.
Today, the Creator of all things,
God the Word,
composes a new book:
a book issuing from the heart of His Father
and written by the Holy Spirit,
who is the tongue to God.

O daughter of King David and Mother of God,
the universal King.
O Divine and living object
whose beauty has charmed God the Creator;
your whole soul is completely open
to God’s action and attentive to God alone.

All your desires are centred
only on what merits to be sought
and is worthy of love.
You harbour anger only for sin and its author.
You will have a life superior to nature,
but not for your own sake.
For it has not been created for you
but has been entirely consecrated to God,
who has introduced you into the world
to help bring about our salvation
in fulfillment of His plan,
the Incarnation of His Son
and the Divinisation of the human race.

Your heart will find nourishment in the words of God,
like the tree planted near the living waters of the Spirit,
like the tree of life
that has yielded its fruit in due time,
the incarnate God who is the life of all things.

Your ears will be ever attentive to the Divine words
and the sounds of the harp of the Spirit,
through whom the Word has come to take on our flesh.
Your nostrils will inhale the fragrance of the Bridegroom,
the Divine fragrance with which He scented His humanity.

Your lips will savour the words of God
and will rejoice in their Divine sweetness.
Your most pure heart,
free from all stain,
will ever see the God of all purity
and will experience ardent desire for Him.

Your womb will be the abode
of the one whom no place can contain.
Your milk will provide nourishment for God,
in the little Infant Jesus.
Your hands will carry God
and your knees will serve
as a throne for Him
that is more noble
than the throne of the Cherubim.

Your feet, led by the light of the Divine Law,
will follow Him along an undeviating course
and guide you to the possession of the Beloved.

You are the temple of the Holy Spirit,
the city of the living God,
made joyous by abundant flowers,
the sacred flowers of Divine grace.
You are all-beautiful
and very close to God,
above the Cherubim
and higher than the Seraphim,
right near God Himself!

Image Excerpt

O daughter of King David
and Mother of God,
the universal King.
O Divine and living object
whose beauty has charmed God the Creator;
your whole soul is completely open
to God’s action and attentive to God alone.
… Your womb will be the abode
of the one whom no place can contain.
Your milk will provide nourishment for God,
in the little Infant Jesus.
Your hands will carry God
and your knees will serve
as a throne for Him
that is more noble
than the throne of the Cherubim.
… You are the temple of the Holy Spirit,
the city of the living God,
made joyous by abundant flowers,
the sacred flowers of Divine grace.
You are all-beautiful
and very close to God,
above the Cherubim
and higher than the Seraphim,
right near God Himself!
Amen