Novena to Our Angel Guardian – Day Two – 24 September (Indulgence of 300 days, each day of the Novena)
Opening Prayer
Deus in adjutorium: V/. O God +, come to my assistance R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri…
DAY II.
Most mighty spirit, my angel-guardian, I pray thee, by that supreme felicity thou dost enjoy in seeing God without a veil, even whilst watching over me, obtain for me grace to walk without ceasing in the presence of God, so that I may live as a perfect Christian till my last breath. And this special intention of virtue which I make unto thy prayers …………………….. (the special virtue you desire).Amen
Thought for the Day – 24 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Depending Always on Jesus
Virtue is difficult and life holds more trials than consolations. Sometimes, we feel discouraged because virtue seems impossible and we fall so often, in spite of our best resolutions or because, our cross seems too heavy and we feel that we are overburdened.
Where will we find comfort in our sufferings and strength in our weakness? “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Go to Jesus and depend always on Him.
Difficulties will be overcome, the cross will grow lighter, the pain will be less severe, if we rely always on Jesus. Isaias, the Prophet, placed these words on the lips of God: “I have made you and I will bear-I will carry and I will save” (Is 46:3). At that time, Jesus had not yet come; He was not yet present among us with His doctrine, with His consoling spirt and with His Divine Eucharist. Now things are different; we have Emmanuel, God with us! Why, therefore, do we not allow ourselves to be carried by Him? It is necessary for us to allow ourselves to be “Carried by the grace of God,” (Bk II, Ch 9) as The Imitation of Christ puts it.
If God is with us, who or what can prevail against us?
We must, as St Francis de Sales writes, lean on the arm of Jesus, as the child leans securely on the arm of it’s mother. “It matters little,” he adds, “where she walks, on a grassy plain or on a steep path surrounded by precipices.” She, is his mother and she carries him; that is enough to make him happy and content. We must trust Jesus in this way, relying always on His support in joy and in sorrow, in moments of trial and in moments of satisfaction, in life and in death. Let us not be afraid; Jesus is better and stronger than our earthly mother. If He guides and supports us, we can be sure of Heaven, no matter what happens!”
Quote/s of the Day – 24 September – Thursday of the Twenty Fifth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ecclesiastes 1:2-11, Psalms 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17, Luke 9:7-9
“… Who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.”
Luke 9:9
“Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened and I will give you rest. ”
Matthew 11:28
“Through Him, our gaze penetrates the heights of heaven and we see, as in a mirror, the most holy face of God. Through Christ, the eyes of our hearts are opened and our weak and clouded understanding, reaches up toward the light.”
St Pope Clement I (c 35-99) Apostolic Father, Bishop of Rome and Martyr
“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. ”
“Do you desire security? Here you have it. The Lord says to you, “I will never abandon you, I will always be with you.” If a good man made you such a promise, you would trust him. God makes it and do you doubt? Do you seek a support, more sure than the word of God, which is infallible? Surely, He has made the promise, He has written it, He has pledged His word for it, it is most certain!”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“Rest is in Him alone. Man knows no peace in the world but he has no disturbance when he is with God.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
“If you learn everything, except Christ, you learn nothing. If you learn nothing, except Christ, you learn everything.”
St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Seraphic Doctor of the Church
“Only one thing is necessary: Jesus Christ! Think unceasingly of Him. ”
St John Gabriel Perboyre CM (1802-1840) Martyr for Christ
One Minute Reflection – 24 September – Thursday of the Twenty Fifth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ecclesiastes 1:2-11, Psalms 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17, Luke 9:7-9 and the Memorial of St Gerard Sagredo OSB (980-1046) Bishop and Martyr
“… Who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.” … Luke 9:9
REFLECTION – “He who wishes for anything but Christ, does not know what he wishes; he who asks for anything but Christ, does not know what he is asking; he who works and not for Christ, does not know what he is doing.” … St Philip Neri (1515-1595)
PRAYER – Shepherd of Your Church and we, the sheep of Your flock, who follow You and hear and do Your Word. Support us with grace those who are constantly striving to do Your will, so that following the example of the humble fiat of Your blessed Mother and ours, we may devote all our powers and talents to love of You and our neighbour and finally arrive safely in our heavenly home. May the prayers of St Gerard Sagredo, your faithful servant, be assistance in strengthening us in this vale of tears. In God, our Father we pray through You who live in union with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ages and ages. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 24 September – Thursday of the Twenty Fifth week in Ordinary Time
Above All That is Not You Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
O most loving Jesus, give me this special grace to rest in You above all created things, above all health and beauty, above all glory and honour, above all dignity and power, above all knowledge and prudence, above all riches and talents, above all joy and gladness, above all fame and praise, above all sweetness and consolation, above all hope and promise, above all merit and desire, above all gifts and rewards that You may give or send – except Yourself – above all joy or happiness that the human mind and heart can grasp or feel, above all Angels and Archangels, above all the heavenly hosts, above all things visible and invisible and above all that is not You, my God. Amen
Saint of the Day – 24 September – Saint Gerard Sagredo OSB (980-1046) Bishop and Martyr, “The Apostle of Hungary,” Venetian nobleman, Benedictine monk, Prior of San Giorgio, Missionary to Hungary, Adviser to King Saint Stephen, Tutor to Prince Saint Emeric, Hermit, Bishop of Csanád, Writer, Reformer and Martyr, murdered by pagans on this day in 1046. Born on 23 April 980 in Venice, Italy and died by being stabbed to death with a lance on 24 September 1046 at Buda, Hungary. Also known as Gerard of Hungary, Collert, Gerardo, Gellért.
At Baptism he received the name Jorge and belonged to a family from Dalmatia, which is descended from the Sagredo lineage. At the age of 5 he had a serious fever that his parents implored the grace of Saint George to heal.
Once cured and he had reached the required age, he entered the Benedictine Monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore on the Maggiore Island in Venice and in memory of his recently deceased father, he took the name Gerard. After a few years he was elected Prior of the Monastery and later Abbot but shortly after he resigned because he wanted to go on pilgrimage to Bethlehem.
He left in a ship, reached Zara, from where instead of continuing to the Holy Land, he went to Hungary where he settled. He was persuaded by Saint Stephen of Hungary to work in the evangelisation of the Magyars. However, he did not want to stay at the Court and for seven years he lived as a Hermit in the Beel.
Later he was Tutor to Prince Saint Emeric and in 1035, he was elected the first Bishop of Csnád; he worked with the utmost zeal, especially in liturgical observance and in the evangelisation of the people; they called him the Apostle of Hungary.
St Gerard with St Emeric
During the pagan reaction to the death of King Saint Stephen, he was martyred in Buda, where he was stoned and pierced by spears, locked in a barrel, he was thrown into the Danube from the top of a hill that today is called “Gellerthegy” – “Mount of San Gerard”; Gerard had refused to crown idolatrous kings.
Martyrdom of St GerardLife of St Gerard
He wrote several works among which the “Commentary on Daniel” is the most higly revered. He is considered the Apostle and Protomartyr of Hungary.
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes / Our Lady of Mercy/Our Lady of Ransom, Barcelona, Spain (1218) – 1 August, 10 August – The Founding of the Mercedarian Order and 24 September:
Commemorates the foundation of the Mercedarian Order and the apparition of Our Lady of Ransom. In this appearance she carried two bags of coins for use in ransoming Christians imprisoned by Moors. On 10 August 1218, the Mercedarian Order was legally constituted at Barcelona, Spain by King James of Aragon and was approved by Pope Gregory IX on 17 January 1235. The Mercedarians celebrated their institution on the Sunday nearest to 1 August because it was on 1 August 1218 that the Blessed Virgin showed Saint Peter Nolasco the white habit of the Order. This custom was approved by the Congregation of Rites on 4 April 1615. On 22 February 1696 it was extended to the entire Latin Church and the date changed to 24 September. St Peter Nolasco (1189-1256) was the Founder of the Mercedarian Order – Memorial 28 January. Patronages – Bahía Blanca, Argentina, archdiocese of, Barcelona, Spain, Dominican Republic.
Our Lady of Walsingham / Virgin of the Sea (1061) – 24 September: In 2012 the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter for Anglicans joining the Church was given its Patron as the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of Walsingham. Patronages – England,East Anglia, England, diocese of, Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.
St Chuniald Bl Colomba Matylda Gabriel St Coprio St Erinhard St Felix of Autun St Gerard Sagredo OSB (980-1046) Bishop and Martyr, “The Apostle of Hungary” St Geremarus St Gislar St Isarnus of Toulouse St Lupus of Lyons St Pacificus of Severino OFM (1653-1721) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/24/saint-of-the-day-24-september-saint-pacificus-of-severino-ofm-1653-1721/ St Paphnutius of Egypt Bl Robert Hardesty St Rusticus of Clermont St. Rupert of Salzburg St Terence of Persaro St Thyrsus of Autun St Ysarn of Saint Victor Bl William Spenser — Martyrs of Chalcedon – (49 saints): Forty-nine Christian choir singers of the church in Chalcedon in Asia Minor who were martyred together in their persecutions of Diocletian in 304.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Antonio Pancorbo López • Blessed Esteban García y García • Blessed José María Ferrándiz Hernández • Blessed Juan Francisco Joya Corralero • Blessed Luis de Erdoiza Zamalloa • Blessed Manuel Gómez Contioso • Blessed Melchor Rodríguez Villastrigo • Blessed Pascual Ferrer Botella • Blessed Rafael Rodríguez Mesa • Blessed Santiago Arriaga Arrien
Novena to Our Angel Guardian – Day One – 23 September (Indulgence of 300 days, each day of the Novena)
Opening Prayer
Deus in adjutorium: V/. O God +, come to my assistance R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri…
DAY I.
O most powerful angel, thou who art my guardian, I beseech thee, by the sovereign hatred thou hast for sin because it offends God, Whom you love with a pure and perfect love, obtain for me a sincere and lasting sorrow for my sins and an implacable hatred against all sin, of what kind soever, so that I may never more offend my God, till the last moment of my life. And this special intention of virtue which I make unto thy prayers …………………….. (the special virtue you desire).
The Novena to our Guardian Angels begins on 23 September in preparation for the Guardian Angels Feast day on 2 October
Guardian Angels are real! “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 328) There are countless examples of angels throughout Scripture. They ministered to everyone from shepherds, to Jesus Himself.
“Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.” – St Basil. Guardian angels are not something that we have to share. They are so valuable to our spiritual wellbeing, that God has blessed us all with our own. “Great is the dignity of the human soul, since each one of them has from the very outset of his life, an Angel deputed to safeguard him.” – St Jerome
“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14) Our Guardian Angels protect us from evil, assist us in prayer, lead us to choose good and represent us before God. They are able to act upon our senses and our imaginations but not our will. They cannot chose for us but, encourage us in every way possible, to choose what is true, good and beautiful.
“Christ is the centre of the angelic world. They are His angels: “When the Son of man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him.” (Mt 25:31 – CCC 331)
Angels are superior to man because although they are sent here to serve us, they are constantly in the presence of God. They are endowed with many spiritual powers and capabilities that humans are not given. Don’t think of your angel as a pretty cherub. They are prayerful and powerful and they stand beside you, to protect, defend and guard you.
Thought for the Day – 18 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Filial and Servile Fear
“We should not be afraid of God because He is our greatest benefactor and loves us infinitely. When we are lost, He searches for us as a loving father would search for a wandering son. Because they think only of the majesty and justice of God, some people keep themselves at a distance from Him, as Adam did, after he had sinned. They forget that the Lord told Adam, the sinner, of the coming of the pardoning Redeemer (Gen 3:9). Bossuet truly observes, that “after the curse which came upon men through sin, there has always remained, in their hearts, a certain dread of the supernatural, which prevents them from approaching God with confidence.” Jansenism increased this fear, emphasising the justice and majesty of God, rather, than the infinite love of Jesus and the beauty of His teaching.
Some writers compare our souls with the divine majesty and justice, in order to stress our unworthiness but, they forget, that Jesus is “Meek and humble of heart,” that He forgave the penitent woman, the good thief and the adulteress and, had kind words for the lost sheep and the prodigal son. They never think of the wonderful words of the beloved disciple: “God is love” (1 Jn 4:16).
This false fear of God, dries up our piety and lessens our trust in His mercy. It can lead to moroseness, to scrupulosity and to discouragement.
We should avoid this excessive fear which separates us from God. Even though we are sinful and unworthy, we should remember, that God is our loving Father, Who is always ready to help us and to grant us forgiveness. We should recall, moreover, that out of love for us, He did not spare His own Son, (Cf Rom 8:32) but gave Him to us for our redemption. If Jesus shed His blood and died for us, how can we doubt His love?!“
Quote/s of the Day – 18 September – The Memorial of St Joseph of Cupertino OFM Conv. (1603-1663)
Free Will – “Our Unique Possession”
“Clearly, what God wants, above all, is our will, which we received as a free gift from God in creation and possess as though our own. When a man trains himself to acts of virtue, it is with the help of grace from God, from whom all good things come … The will is what man has, as his unique possession.”
St Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663)
“A man may lose the good things of this life against his will but, if he loses the eternal blessings, he does so with his own consent.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“God desires, not death but faith. God thirsts, not for blood but for self-surrender. God is appeased, not by slaughter but by the offering of your free will.”
St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Bishop, Father & Doctor of Homilies
“Remove grace and you have nothing, whereby to be saved. Remove free will and you have nothing, that could be saved.”
St Anselm (1033-1109) Doctor of the Church
“Lord what will Thou have me do? Behold the true sign of a totally perfect soul – when one has reached the point of giving up his will so completely that he no longer seeks, expects or desires to do ought but that which God wills.”
St Bernard (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
“Happiness is secured through virtue, it is a good attained by man’s own will.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Angelic Doctor
“But do not forget, that all the saints cannot endear you to Christ as much as you can yourself. It is entirely up to you!”
St Cajetan (1480-1547)
“More determination is required to subdue the interior man than to mortify the body and to break one’s will, than to break one’s bones.”
St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
“A man makes the most progress and merits the most grace, precisely in those matters, wherein he gains the greatest victories over self and most mortifies his will.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of Charity
“I will attempt, day-by-day, to break my will into pieces. I want to do God’s Holy Will, not my own!”
By St Gabriel Francis Possenti of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)
One Minute Reflection – 18 September – Friday of the Twenty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Psalms 17:1, 6-7, 8 and 15, Luke 8:1-3 and the Memorial of St Joseph of Cupertino OFM Conv. (1603-1663)
And the twelve were with him and also some women … Luke 8:1-2
REFLECTION – “Also with Jesus are some women… these women from Galilee will follow Jesus, even to His death and buriel (Lk 23:49,55-56) and will be the ones who discover the empty tomb, hear the announcement of the resurrection and report it to the apostles (Lk 24:1-11). Three are named here, though there are many others. Most familiar is Mary, called Magdalene, who is mentioned again in Luke’s resurrection narrative (24:10) and frequently in the other Gospels. She is from Magdala, a fishing town on the western shore of the lake. Jesus had freed her from a severe case of possession by seven demons (11:26).
The other named women are Joanna and Susanna. Joanna is also mentioned in Luke’s resurrection narrative (24:10). Since she and Mary Magdalene thus accompany Jesus for a good portion of His public ministry, they may well be among Luke’s “eyewitnesses” (1:2) on whose testimony his Gospel is based, especially Joanna, who is mentioned only by Luke. In particular, since she is wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, she may be – like Manaen, “A close friend of Herod the tetrach” (Acts 13:1) – a source of Luke’s special passages about Herod (Luke 13:31-33; 23:6-15). Her association with Herod’s household also indicates that Jesus’ followers included people of high social and economic standing. Hence, with their resources, (8:3), she and the other women provided for them. What is emphasised here, is their financial support.
Luke’s complementary depiction of men and women, include, even the itinerant groups of disciples that accompany Him. As Paul says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female – for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). By reaching out to Gentiles, the poor and to women, Jesus challenged and turned on it’s head, the social conventions of His time and even in ours.” … Father Pablo T Gadenz – The Gospel of Luke
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help me to be holy in the way that You have laid out for me. Let me carry out my duties of my state of life to the full and grant me the grace to carry my crosses in honour of You. Only in You may I attain holiness, learning to give myself, my will, my heart and my soul only to You. St Joseph of Cupertino, you who were so disadvantaged, achieved by the grace of God, sanctity in this life and now behold His Face through all eternity. We ask for your intercession, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 18 September – Friday of the Twenty-fourth week in Ordinary Time
Lord, May Your Kingdom Come into My Heart By Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)
Lord, may Your kingdom come into my heart to sanctify me, nourish me and purify me. How insignificant is the passing moment, to the eye without faith! But how important each moment is, to the eye enlightened by faith! How can we deem insignificant anything, which has been caused by You? Every moment and every event is guided by You and so, contains Your infinite greatness. So, Lord, I glorify You in everything that happens to me. In whatever manner You make me live and die, I am content. Events please me for their own sake, regardless of their consequences, because Your action lies behind them. Everything is heaven to me because, all my moments, manifest Your love. Amen
Saint of the Day – 18 September – Blessed Ambrosio María de Torrent (Salvador Chuliá Ferrandis) TC (1866-1936) Priest and Martyr of the Spanish civil War. Blessed Ambrosio was a religious Friar and Priest of The Amigonian Friars. He was a man of deep piety, a devotee of the Eucharist, a great apostle of the confessional and a competent director of souls. Born on 16 April 1866 in Torrent, Valencia, Spain and died by being shot at dawn on 18 September 1936 in Torrent, Valencia, Spain.
The Amigonian Friars and Sisters, are a religious institute of religious founded in Spain during the 19th century which specialises in working with young boys facing issues of juvenile delinquency and drug addiction. They follow the Rule of the Third Order Regular of St Francis. The Friars follow a spirituality based on the vision of St Francis of Assisi, given to them by their founder, a Capuchin Friar Minor. They also model themselves on the role of Our Lady of Sorrows, who stood at the foot of the Cross, sharing her Son’s agony and love for the world. She is a model to the Friars, of the generosity, mercy, strength and tenderness needed in the mission of serving their charges.
Salvador Chuliá Ferrandis , which was his civil name, was born in Torrent (Valencia) on 16 April 1866. He studied ecclesiastical studies at the Conciliar Seminary of Valencia but, once he received the diaconate, he entered the Capuchin Tertiary. On 4 April 1892, he was Ordained a Priest, making his perpetual religious vows on 5 July 1898, taking the name Ambrosio María de Torrent.
A man of broad culture but rather gentle in character and of little authority, he was always more inclined to exercise obedience than to command. In his pastoral ministry, he manifested himself as a man of council and spiritual director of the fraternity, confessor of religious and students.
Captured in his father’s house on 21 August 1936, he was taken to La Torre prison, in his hometown. In that prison, Father Ambrosio and nine other Capuchin Tertiaries practically led community life. From the street, you could hear them sing the Sorrows of the Virgin and the wounds of Saint Francis.
In the early hours of 18 September 1936, he was executed in the area of La Mantellina, Torrent, along with seven other Priests and Friars. Father Ambrosio, despite his shyness, was the one who bravely faced Martyrdom and encouraged his companions by raising, at the final moment, his hands to bless and forgive the executioners.
When trying to delineate his spiritual silhouette, the various biographers agree that Father Ambrosio was a little Franciscan flower – simple, humble, conciliatory, poor, obedient, silent, sparing in words, that he did not speak ill of anyone and that he always looked to find the good in all. Likewise, they define him as a man of deep piety, a devotee of the Eucharist, a great apostle of the confessional and a competent director of souls.
His mortal remains rest in the Chapel of Los Mártires, in the parish of Nuestra Señora de Monte Sión de Torrent (Valencia), where they are frequently visited.
Blessed Ambrosio was Beatified by Pope John Paul II togther with 232 others who were Martyred during the Spanish Civil War. The Image below shows the Martyrs of the Amigonian Orders.
St Oceano of Nicomedia Saint Richardis (839-c 895) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/18/saint-of-the-day-18-september-saint-richardis-839-c-895/ St Sophia of Egypt — Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Ambrosio María de Torrent (Salvador Chuliá Ferrandis) • Blessed Carlos Eraña Guruceta • Blessed Fernando García Sendra • Blessed Jacinto Hoyuelos Gonzalo • Blessed Jesus Hita Miranda • Blessed José García Mas • Blessed José María Llópez Mora • Blessed Justo Lerma Martínez • Blessed Salvador Fernández Pérez • Blessed Vicente Gay Zarzo • Blessed Vicente Jaunzarás Gómez
Thought for the Day – 17 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Commandments and the Desires of Jesus Christ
“Sanctity consists, in doing the will of God, in all things. We can become perfect by doing His will, from the motive of love alone. “He who has my commandments and keeps them,” said Jesus, “he it is who loves me. But he who loves me, will be loved by my Father and I will love him and manifest myself to him. If anyone love me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our abode with him” (Jn 14:21-23).
Do we wish to know if we love God sincerely? The proof is this. If we do His will and obey His precepts, it is a sign that we love him but, if we do not observe His commandments, we lie when we say we love Him. We must, therefore, show our love, by observing in all things, the commandments of God. He gave us these commandments our of love for us, so that, by observing them, we should be saved and should be happy with Him. Even as He has given them out of love, we should observe them out of love, for He is our supreme and only good. Just as Jesus lovingly did the will of His heavenly Father, from Bethlehem to Nazareth, from Nazareth to Calvary and from Calvary to Heaven, so we should follow in His footsteps, by doing the adorable will of God in all the circumstances of our lives, both joyful and sorrowful. But, we must obey the divine will out of love, that is, because we love God whole-heartedly and above all created things.
Everything is easy to him who loves. “When we love him who gives us orders,” says St Francis de Sales, “even the hardest of actions becomes easy.”
Let us examine ourselves. Are we always ready to obey the commandments of God at any cost and would we die rather than offend Him? Let us examine ourselves also, to see, if we do all this out of love for Jesus. “He who does not love,” writes St John, “abides in death” (1 Jn 3:14).”
Quote/s of the Day – 17 September – The Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
“The school of Christ is the school of love. In the last day, when the general examination takes place … Love will be the whole syllabus.”
“What is easier, sweeter, more pleasant, than to love goodness, beauty and love, the fullness of which, YOU ARE, O Lord, my God?”
“It is granted to few, to recognise the true Church, amidst the darkness, of so many schisms and heresies and, to fewer still, so to love the Truth which they have seen, as to fly to it’s embrace!”
“Charity is that, with which no man is lost and without which, no man is saved.”
“It seems unbelievable that a man should perish in whose favour Christ said to His Mother: ‘Behold thy son’, provided that he has not turned a deaf ear to the words, which Christ addressed to him: ‘Behold thy Mother.’”
St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 17 September – Thursday of the Twenty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 28, Luke 7:36-50 and the Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
“Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” ~ Luke 7:48,50
REFLECTION – “A sinful woman has proclaimed to us that God’s love has gone forth in search of sinners. For when He called her, Christ was inviting our whole race to His love and, in her person, He was drawing all sinners to His forgiveness. He spoke to her alone but He was drawing all creation to His grace. (…)
Who would not be struck by the mercy of Christ, who accepted an invitation to a Pharisee’s house in order to save a sinner! For the sake of the woman who hungered for forgiveness, He, Himself felt hunger for the table of Simon the Pharisee and all the while, under the guise of a meal of bread, He had prepared for the sinner a meal of repentance! (…)
In order that you may have the same experience, reflect within yourself that your sin is great but that it is blasphemy against God and an injury to yourself, to despair of His forgiveness, because your sin seems to you to be too great. He has promised to forgive your sins, however many they are; will you tell Him you cannot believe this and dispute with Him, saying that your sin is too great and He cannot heal your sickness? Stop at that point and cry out with the prophet: “Lord, I have sinned against you” (Ps 51[50]:6). At once He will reply, “As for me, I have overlooked your fault, you shall not die.” Glory to Him from us all, through all ages! Amen, Amen.” ~ An anonymous Syrian writer of the 6th century – From a collection of homilies on the sinful woman, 1, 4.5.19.26.28 (Eastern Syrian)
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, teach me to do everything for Your honour and glory. Grant me the grace to work out my salvation with anxious concern each day of my life. St Robert Bellarmine, as you worked tirelessly for the salvation of souls, so now pray for us all, as tirelessly, that we may achieve eternal joy, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 17 September – Thursday of the Twenty Fourth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
O Infinite Goodness Act of Contrition By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
O my God, I am exceedingly grieved, for having offended Thee and with my whole heart, I repent of the sins I have committed. I hate and abhor them above every other evil, not only because, by so sinning, I have lost heaven and deserved hell but still more because I have offended Thee, O infinite Goodness, who art worthy to be loved above all things. I most firmly resolve, by the assistance of Thy grace, never more to offend Thee for the time to come and to avoid those occasions which might lead me into sin. Amen
Saint of the Day – 17 September – St Lambert (c 635-c 700) Bishop and Martyr, Bishop of Maastricht, Confessor, Missionary. Born in c635 at Maastricht, Netherlands and died by stabbing through the heart by a javelin in c 700 at the Chapel of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian, Liège, Belgium while celebrating Mass. Patronages – Liège, Belgium, Diocese of Middelaar, Netherlands,Freiburg , Gladbeck and Lambrecht in the Palatinate; of farmers, surgeons, dentists, against kidney disease, against diseases of domestic animals, as well as against hernia, gallstones and epilepsy. Finally, he is the patron saint of fowl. St Lambert is also known as Lambert of Liege or of Maastricht, Lamberto, Lambertus, Landebertus.
The Martyrdom of St Lambert and his 2 newphews
Lambert was from a noble family of Maastricht, the supposed son of Apre, lord of Liège, and his wife Herisplende, both from noble families. The child was Baptised by his godfather, the local bishop, Remaclus and educated by Landoald, Archpriest of the city. Lambert was also related to the seneschal Hugobert, father of Plectrude, Pepin of Herstal’s lawful wife and thus an in-law of hereditary mayors of the palace who controlled the Merovingian kings of Austrasia.
Lambert appears to have frequented the Merovingian Court of King Childeric II and was a protégé of his uncle, St Theodard, who succeeded Remaclus as Bishop of Maastricht. He is described by early biographers as “a prudent young man of pleasing looks, courteous and well-behaved in his speech and manners, well-built, strong, a good fighter, clear-headed, affectionate, pure and humble and fond of reading.” When Theodard was murdered soon after 669, the councillors of Childeric made Lambert Bishop of Maastricht. After five years he was involved in the political turmoil following the death of Childeric II. Lambert was then exiled from his seat by Ebroino, the previous mayor of the Neustria palace.
He withdrew to the Monastery of Stavelot where he lived for seven years as one of the Monks, claiming no privileges despite his office. Once, getting up to pray during the night, he accidentally disturbed the monastic silence.
The Abbot called out for whoever was responsible, to do penance by standing barefoot in the snow, before a Cross outside the Monastery Church. In the morning, the Abbot was dismayed to see the Bishop standing barefoot, covered with snow, before the Cross, his face shining. The Abbot sought to apologise but Lambert replied that he was honoured to serve God like the Apostles, in cold and nakedness.
When King Pepin of Heristal took power in 681, he restored Lambert to his See, despite the Saint’s desire to remain in obscurity. The holy Bishop renewed his pastoral labours with vigour, visiting the most distant parishes and preaching the Gospel to the pagans who still inhabited the area, despite danger and threats.
In company with St Willibrord, who had come from England in 691, Lambert preached the gospel in the lower stretches of the Meuse, in the area to the north. In conjunction with St Landrada, he founded a female Convent at Munsterblizen. Lambert was also the spiritual director of the young noble Hubertus, eldest son of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine. Hubertus would later succeed Lambert as Bishop of Maastricht.
Lambert seems to have succumbed to the political turmoil that developed when various clans fought for influence as the Merovingian dynasty gave way to the Carolingians. Historian Jean-Louis Kupper says that the Bishop was the victim of a private struggle between two clans seeking to control the Tongres-Maastricht see. Lambert is said to have denounced Pepin’s adulterous liaison with Alpaida, who was to become the mother of Charles Martel. This aroused the enmity of either Pepin, Alpaida, or both. The Bishop was murdered at Liege by the troops of Dodon, Pepin’s domesticus (manager of state domains), father or brother of Alpaida.
The year of his death is variously given for some time between 700 and 709. Lambert came to be viewed as a Martyr for his defence of the Sacrament of Marriage and marital fidelity. Lambert’s two nephews, Peter and Audolet, were also killed defending their uncle. They too, were viewed as saints.
Although Lambert was buried in his family’s vault in the cemetery of Saint Peter, Maastricht, Netherlands, his successor as Bishop, St Hubertus, translated his relics to Liège, to which the see Maastricht was eventually moved. To enshrine Lambert’s relics, Hubertus, built a Basilica near Lambert’s residence which became the true nucleus of the city. The shrine became St Lambert’s Cathedral which was destroyed in 1794. Its site is the modern Place Saint-Lambert. Lambert’s tomb is now located in the present Liège Cathedral. The Cathedral of Our Lady and St Lambert in Liege was built in his honour.
Liege CathedralThe Cathedral of Our Lady and St Lambert in Liege
Saint Lambert is one of the best-loved Saints of Belgium, where many Parish Churches are dedicated to him. St Lambert’s admiration was also particularly widespread in the Archdiocese of Cologne. Near Lambrecht in the Palatinate Forest, in Germany now but bordering on France, is the Lambert Cross, a stone cross, which bears the name of Lambert, from which the town takes its name.
Stigmata of St Francis of Assisi: Two years before the great Saint Francis of Assisi died and when he was forty-two years old — one year after he had built the first crib in honour of Our Lord — he went off to a lonely mountain called Mount Alvernia, to prepare himself by forty days of fasting and prayer for the feast of Saint Michael, the greatest of God’s angels, whose feast day is 29 September. On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on 14 September, Saint Francis received in his hands, feet and side the Sacred Wounds from Our Lord’s own body.
Never was a saint more beautifully loved by Jesus than Saint Francis of Assisi. The wounds Jesus gave him stayed in his hands, feet and side and continually bled for two more years, until he died in 1226. The day on which Saint Francis received the Five Wounds of Our Lord was 14 September but so, that this beautiful event might have a feast day for itself, the Stigmata of Saint Francis is commemorated today, on 17 September. The simple liturgy of this holy saint’s life might be put this way – the crib in 1223 and the Cross in 1224.
St Justin of Rome St Lambert (c 635-c 700) Bishop & Martyr St Narcissus of Rome St Peter Arbues St Rodingus St Satyrus of Milan St Socrates Bl Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary St Stephen St Theodora St Uni of Bremen St Zygmunt Sajna St Zygmunt Szcesny Felinski TOSF (1822-1895) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/17/saint-of-the-day-17-september-saint-zygmunt-szcesny-felinski-1822-1895/ — Martyred in the Spanish Civil War • Blessed Álvaro Santos Cejudo Moreno Chocano • Blessed Juan Ventura Solsona • Blessed Timoteo Valero Pérez
Thought for the Day – 16 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Christ’s Work in Us
“It is not enough that Jesus live in us ; He must increase and act in us continually. The Spiritual life is like natural life. It cannot stop, for to halt would mean death! If Jesus is our life, He should live in us with ever-increasing intensity. Life is like a stairway, we are either going up or coming down.
If we continue to climb energetically towards Jesus, we shall be coming nearer to Christian perfection. If, on the other hand, we halt, the supernatural life of Jesus in us, will begin to weaken. Tepedity will replace fervour and sin will succeed tepidity. It is difficult to remain unchanged because, life involves movement. ‘Jesus Christ,” writes St Augustine, “was born a baby but, He did not remain one. He grew to boyhood, to adolescence and then, to maturity.”
It is necessary for us to grow also. More precisely, it is necessary that Jesus grow continuously in us through faith, charity and good works. “Court the good,” admonishes St Paul, “from a good motive always … until Christ is formed in you” (Gal 4:18-19).
It is not enough that Christ be born in us, it is necessary that He increase to the fullness of perfection (Cf Eph 4:13-16). “Jesus increases daily,” writes Origen, “in the soul of the holy and just man, which mirror His grace, His wisdom and His sanctity. In the soul of the unfortunate sinner, however, Christ decreases and dies.”
Quote/s of the Day – 16 September – The Memorial of Sts Cornelius & Cyprian
“The world is going mad in mutual extermination and murder, considered as a crime, when committed individually, becomes a virtue, when it is committed by large numbers. It is the multiplication of the frenzy, that assures impunity to the assassins.”
“You cannot have God for your Father if you do not have the Church for your mother.”
“There is one God and one Christ and one Church and one Chair founded on Peter, by the word of the Lord. It is not possible to set up another altar or for there to be another priesthood besides that one altar and that one priesthood. Whoever has gathered elsewhere, is scattering!”
“Their property held them in chains… chains which shackled their courage and choked their faith and hampered their judgement and throttled their soul… If they stored up their treasure in heaven, they would not now have an enemy and a thief within their own household… They think of themselves as owners, whereas it is they rather, who are owned – enslaved as they are to their own property, they are not the masters of their money but it’s slaves!”
“We have solemnly renounced the world and therefore, whilst we continue in it, we should behave like strangers and pilgrims.”
“He [Christ], protects their faith and gives strength to believers, in proportion to the TRUST, that each man, who receives that strength, is willing to place in Him.”
“The wretched bodies of the condemned shall simmer and blaze in those living fires.”
St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258) Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 16 September – Wednesday of the Twenty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 12:31–13:13, Psalms 33:2-3, 4-5, 12 and 22, Luke 7:31-35 and the Memorial of Sts Cornelius & Cyprian
“To what shall I compare the people of this generation?” … Luke 7:31
REFLECTION – “The apostle Paul says that there are some, who have no knowledge of God (1 Co 15:34). My opinion is that all those who lack knowledge of God, are those, who refuse to turn to Him. I am certain, that they refuse because they imagine this kindly disposed God, to be harsh and severe, this merciful God to be callous and inflexible, this lovable God to be cruel and oppressive. So it is, that wickedness plays false to itself, setting up for itself an image that does not represent God as He truly is.
What are you afraid of, you men of little faith? That He will not pardon your sins? But with His own hands He has nailed them to the cross. That you are used to soft living and your tastes are fastidious? But He knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2:7). That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain? But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners. Or perhaps that angered by the enormity and frequency of your sins, He is slow to extend a helping hand? But where sin abounded, grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20). Are you worried about clothing and food and other bodily necessities so that you hesitate to give up your possessions? But He knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32). What more can you wish? What else is there to hold you back from the way of salvation? This is what I say – you do not know God, yet you will not believe our words. I should like you to believe those whom experience has taught.” … St Bernard (1091-1153) Mellifluous Doctor of the Church – Commentary on the Song of Songs, Sermon 38
PRAYER – Look upon us Lord, Creator and Ruler of the whole world, give us the grace to serve You with all our hearts, to take up our cross and follow You, that we may come to know the power of Your love and the forgiveness which You give and You teach. Grant that by the intercession of Sts Cornelius and Cyprian, we may attain the glory of Your kingdom and see You face to face. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 16 September – Wednesday of the Twenty Fourth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of Sts Cornelius & Cyprian
“So, my brothers, let us pray as God our Master has taught us. To ask the Father, in words His Son has given us, to let Him hear the prayer of Christ ringing in His ears, is to make our prayer one of friendship, a family prayer. Let the Father recognise the words of His Son. Let the Son, who lives in our hearts, be also on our lips. We have Him as an Advocate for sinners, before the Father, when we ask for forgiveness for ours sins, let us use the words given by our Advocate. He tells us – Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you. What more effective prayer could we then make, in the name of Christ, than in the words of His own prayer?”
St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258) Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church
The Lord’s Prayer Jesus Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen
Saint of the Day – Blessed Luigi Ludovico Allemandi (1390-1450) Bishop and Cardinal – often called “The Cardinal of Arles.” Born in c 1390 possibly in Arbent, Bugey, Kingdom of France and died on 16 September 1450 (aged 60) Arles, Kingdom of France. Blessed Luigi was a Priest driven by immense love for the Holy Mother of God and for the Church. His involvement in various Councils and papal dissentions, were the result of his great desire to maintain the purity of the Chair of Peter. He is also known as Louis Allemand, Louis Alamanus, Louis Alemanus, Louis Almannus, Louis Alamandus.
The noble Germanic family of Allemandi moved, at the time of the Ottoni emperors, to Piedmont and more precisely to San Michele di Prazzo, in Val Maira. Most likely the present Blessed was born here, although according to other hypotheses he would have been born in the nearby French region of Bugey. What is certain, however, is the Saluzzo origins of the family, given the future good relations that Ludovico had with Cardinal Amedeo of the Marquises of Saluzzo.
He embarked on an ecclesiastical career at a very young age and, having entered the Canons of Lyon, he was elevated to the dignity of Prior of Piellonez and Contamines-sur-Arles. At the University of Avignon, he graduated in law in 1414. He received various positions as a teacher at Abbeys in Tours, Valenza and Barbona.
He took part in the councils of Pisa and Constance, both aimed at a positive conclusion of the Western schism. Pope Martin V then assigned him to the Episcopal chair of Maguelonne in 1418 and of Arles in 1423.
Awarded the Cardinal’s purple, in 1424 he became governor of Bologna, where he had to face the ongoing struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines. Here he was imprisoned for several long days by the powerful Guelph family of the Canetoli. When released, he moved to Rome where he worked at the Papal Court.
He was a prominent member of the Council of Basel in 1432 and together with Cardinal Julian Cesarini led the forces that maintained the power of the general councils over the Pope’s own control of the Church. It was while the council was proceeding, that he tended to victims of the plague. He later led opposition to the Pope but Cesarini was reconciled with Pope Eugene IV and had a prominent part in the Pope’s convoked Council of Florence. In 1439 he led the effort to depose Eugene IV and the election of a successor. In 1440 he placed the tiara upon Antipope Felix V and Consecrated him as a Bishop. This was a misguided attempt at reforming the Church which Blessed Luigi believed was vital. Eugene IV responded to this and excommunicated the antipope while also depriving Luigi of all his Ecclesiastical dignities. This occurred on 11 April 1440 – he was stripped of Arles as his Archdiocese and was stripped of his Titular Church.
Antipope Felix V made him the legate to the Diet of Frankfurt to the Court of Emperor Friedrich IV. He was further involved in the unsuccessful efforts to win over Europe’s Princes to Basel’s antipope. In order to make an end of the schism, the former cardinal advised Felix V to abdicate, at which stage Pope Nicholas V restored the Cardinal to all his honours and appointed him as a Papal Legate to the German kingdom; his full restoration was on 19 December 1449. He was restored to his Titular Church as well and from that moment, until his death served as the Protopriest of the College of Cardinals. It was due to his estrangement to the Roman See that he was not permitted to participate in the conclave of 1447.
He returned to his former Archdiocese of Arles, where he dedicated himself with great zeal, to the catechetical formation of the people. Death reached him in 1450 at the Franciscan convent of Salon. He was buried in his Cathedral and his tomb did not take long to become a pilgrimage destination and a miraculous place.
The historian, Saxius, summarised his life as follows: “Angelicam vitam duxit,” that is, “he led an angelic life,” characterised by a marked Marian devotion embodied in support of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
In 1527, Pope Clement VII officially confirmed his cult by declaring him “Blessed.”
St Abundantius of Rome St Abundius of Rome St Andrew Kim Taegon St Cunibert of Maroilles St Curcodomus Bl Dominic Shobyoye St Dulcissima of Sutri St Edith of Wilton St Eugenia of Hohenburg St Euphemia of Chalcedon St Geminianus of Rome St John of Rome Blessed Luigi Ludovico Allemandi (c 1390-1450) Bishop and Cardinal St Lucy of Rome St Ludmila St Marcian the Senator Bl Martin of Huerta Bl Michael Himonaya St Ninian (Died 432) Apostle to the Southern Picts Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/16/saint-of-the-day-16-september-st-ninian-c-360-died-432-apostle-to-the-southern-picts/
Martyrs of the Via Nomentana: Four Christian men martyred together, date unknown – Alexander, Felix, Papias and Victor. They were martyred on the Via Nomentana outside Rome, Italy.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Antonio Martínez García • Blessed Ignasi Casanovas Perramón • Blessed Manuel Ferrer Jordá • Blessed Pablo Martínez Robles • Blessed Salvador Ferrer Cardet
The Seven Sorrows Novena By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Day Nine Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Sorrows
Opening Prayer
V/. O God +, come to my assistance R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri …
Let intercession be made for us, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, now and at the hour of our death, before the throne of Thy mercy, by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose most holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy bitter Passion. Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns, world without end. Amen
Reflection (St Alphonsus de Liguori)
Meditation: Consider the meeting of the Son and the Mother, which took place on this journey. Jesus and Mary looked at each other and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly. My most loving Jesus, by the sorrow Thou didst experience in this meeting, grant me the grace of a truly devoted love for Thy most holy Mother. And thou, my Queen, who wast overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain for me, by thy intercession, a continual and tender remembrance of the Passion of thy Son.
Closing Prayers V/. Pray for us, O Virgin most sorrowful R/. That we may be made be worthy of the promises of Christ.
Ave Maria …
Prayer of St Alphonsus: O afflicted Virgin! O soul, great in virtues and great also in sorrows! for both arise from that great fire of love thou hast for God; thou “whose heart can love nothing but God”; O Mother, have pity on me, for I have not loved God and I have so much offended Him. Thy sorrows give me great confidence to hope for pardon. But this is not enough; I wish to love my Lord and who can better obtain this for me than thou, thou who art the Mother of fair love? O Mary, thou dost console all, comfort me also. Amen
Thought for the Day – 15 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Mary’s Patience 2
“We also have our share of suffering and humiliation. It is useless to try and escape from it, useless to rebel against it. If we embrace the cross patiently and lovingly, a Jesus and Mary did, it will seem lighter, even welcome. If we attempt to cast it from us, it will weigh more heavily on our shoulders. There are two kinds of men, those who bear their cross, patiently and embrace it because they wish to be like Jesus and, those who do not want to suffer and rebel. The former may stagger beneath their daily burden but, they have peace of soul because they are putting into practice, the great Gospel precept: “By your patience, you will win your souls” (Lk 21:19). They know that they are on the path to Heaven and this thought is consolation, which cannot be taken from them. The second group of men, rebel against the cross and, therefore, suffer doubly, in body and in soul. “The senseless man,” the Holy Spirit says, “loves not to be reproved” (Prov 15:12).
To which of these two categories do we belong? Do we love our cross, or do we carry it patiently, at least? Anyone who does not want the cross, does not want Jesus. Let the example of Mary and of the Saints inspire us. They always bore their burden patiently, they even looked for suffering and humiliation. If we cannot reach such heroic heights, let us at last, accept, from the hands of Our Lord, the cross which He offers us. Let us accept the sufferings which we meet on the way of life. If we are not heroic enough to seek to be unknown and mortified, let us resolve to accept, patiently, the inevitable sorrows of life.”
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