Sts Peter and Paul Apostles (Solemnity)
St Anastasius of Bourges
St Benedicta of Sens
St Cassius of Narni
St Ciwg ap Arawn
St Cocha
St Ilud Ferch Brychan
St Judith of Niederaltaich
St Marcellus of Bourges
St Mary, the Mother of John Mark
Bl Pierre of Tarentaise the Elder
St Salome of Niederaltaich
St Syrus of Genoa
Bl William of Sann
—
Martyrs of China
Ioannes Baptista Wu Mantang
Magdalena Du Fengju
Maria Du Tianshi
Paulus Wu Anju
Paulus Wu Wanshu
Thoughts for the Day – 28 June – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests
St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father & Doctor(Forty Gospel Homilies, 17)
“We must all of us strive zealously to make known to the church both the dreadfulness of the coming judgement and the kingdom of heaven’s delight. Those who are not in a position to address a large assembly, should instruct individuals, offering instruction in personal talks, they should try to serve those around them through simple encouragement.
You who are pastors, consider that you are pasturing God’s flock. We often see a block of salt put out for animals to lick for their well-being. Priests, among their people, should be like blocks of salt. They should counsel everyone in their flocks, in such a way, that all those with whom they come in contact may be seasoned with eternal life, as if they had been sprinkled with salt. We who preach, are not the salt of the earth, unless we season the hearts of those, who listen to us. We are really preaching to others, if we ourselves do what we say, if we are pierced with God’s love, if, since we cannot avoid sin, our tears wash away the stains on our life, that come with each new day. We truly feel remorse, when we take to heart, the lives of our forebears in the faith, so that we are diminished in our own eyes. Then do we truly feel remorse, when we attentively examine God’s teachings and adopt for our own use, what those we revere themselves used for theirs.
And while we are moved to remorse on our own account, let us also take responsibility for the lives of those entrusted to our care. Our own bitter compunction should not divert us from concern for our neighbour. What good to love and strive to do good for our neighbour and abandon ourselves? We must realise that our passion for justice in the face of another’s evil, must never cause us to lose the virtue of gentleness.
Priests must not be quick-tempered or rash, they must, instead, be temperate and thoughtful. We must support those we challenge and challenge those we support. If we neglect this, our work will lack either courage or gentleness. What shall we call the human soul but the food of the Lord? It is created, to become nothing less, than Christ’s body and to bring about growth in the eternal church.
We priests are to season this food. Cease to pray, cease to teach and the salt loses its taste.”
++++++++++++++++++++
Excerpt
Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
OPENING OF THE YEAR FOR PRIESTS
ON THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH
OF SAINT JOHN MARY VIANNEY
the holy Curé of Ars (1786-1859) Patron of Priests
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Saint Peter’s Basilica
Friday, 19 June 2009
“To be “in” Jesus Christ is already to be seated in heaven. The very core of Christianity is expressed in the heart of Jesus; in Christ the revolutionary “newness” of the Gospel is completely revealed and given to us – the Love that saves us and even now makes us live in the eternity of God. As the Evangelist John writes: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (3:16). God’s heart calls to our hearts, inviting us to come out of ourselves, to forsake our human certainties, to trust in Him and, by following His example, to make ourselves a gift of unbounded love.
While it is true that Jesus’ invitation to “abide in my love” (cf. Jn 15:9) is addressed to all the baptised, on this feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the day of prayer for the sanctification of priests, this invitation resounds all the more powerfully for us priests. It does so in a special way this evening, at the solemn inauguration of the Year for Priests which I have proclaimed to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars. A lovely and touching saying of his, quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, comes immediately to mind: “the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus” (n. 1589). How can we fail to be moved when we recall that the gift of our priestly ministry flows directly from this heart? How can we forget that we priests were consecrated to serve, humbly yet authoritatively, the common priesthood of the faithful? Ours is an mission which is indispensable for the Church and for the world, a mission which calls for complete fidelity to Christ and constant union with Him. To abide in His love entails constantly striving for holiness, as did Saint John Mary Vianney.
…To be completely enthralled by Christ! This was the goal of the entire life of Saint Paul, … this was the goal of the entire ministry of the Curé of Ars, whom we shall invoke in particular during this Year for Priests – may it also be the primary goal for each and every one of us. Certainly, to be ministers at the service of the Gospel, study and careful, ongoing pastoral and theological formation are useful and necessary but even more necessary is that “knowledge of love” which can only be learned in a “heart to heart” encounter with Christ . For it is He who calls us to break the bread of His love, to forgive sins and to guide the flock in His name. And, for that reason, we must never step back from the source of love which is His Heart, pierced on the Cross.”
++++++++++++++++++++
Our Father who art in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy name be hallowed,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy kingdom come,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To give us each day the Bread of life,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To forgive us our trespasses,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That we be not led into temptation,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
And deliver us
And all of Your priests from evil. Amen.
(Anonymous)
Issued by the Congregation for the Clergy (vatican.va)
Quote/s of the Day – 28 June – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests
“We, Christians,
are the true Israel which springs from Christ,
for we are carved out of His Heart,
as from a Rock!”
“If the Jewish High priest carried the names
of the twelve tribes of Israel
written on his shoulders and on his breast,
how much more Christ, our High Priest,
carries our names
written on His Heart”
“When the Church,
in the days immediately succeeding her institution,
was oppressed beneath the yoke of the Caesars,
a young Emperor saw in the heavens across,
which became at once the happy omen
and cause of the glorious victory,
that soon followed.
And now, to-day, behold,
another blessed and heavenly token
is offered to our sight-
the most Sacred Heart of Jesus,
with a cross rising from it and shining forth
with dazzling splendour amidst flames of love.
In that Sacred Heart
all our hopes should be placed
and from it,
the salvation of men
is to be confidently besought.
…. there is in the Sacred Heart
a symbol and a sensible image
of the infinite love of Jesus Christ
which moves us to love one another…”
ANNUM SACRUM (Holy Year)
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII
ON CONSECRATION TO
THE SACRED HEART
25 MAY 1899
” I wish to serve the Sacred Heart of Jesus, today and always.
I want my devotion to His Heart
to be the measure of all my spiritual progress.
I desire to do everything in intimate union
with the Sacred Heart of Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament.”
“By blood, I am Albanian.
By citizenship, an Indian.
By Faith, I am a Catholic Nun.
As to my calling,
I belong to the World.
As to my heart,
I belong entirely to
the Heart of Jesus.”
“Do not let the past disturb you –
just leave everything in
the Sacred Heart
and being again
with joy!”
One Minute Reflection – 28 June – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests, Gospel: Luke 15:3–7
“Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost.”…Luke 15:6
REFLECTION – “I feel that my Jesus is drawing ever closer to me. These last days He has let me fall into the sea and drown in the consideration of my wretchedness and pride, so as to make me understand just how much I need Him. Just as I am on the verge of being overcome, Jesus, walking on the water, comes smiling to meet me, so that I may be saved. With Peter I should like to say to Him: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8) but, I am forestalled, by the gentleness of His heart and sweetness of His words: “Fear not” (Lk 5:10).
Ah! Beside You I am not afraid of anything! I snuggle up against You and, like the lost sheep, hear the beating of Your Heart. Jesus, yet again I am Yours, Yours forever. With You, I am truly great, without You, nothing but a weak reed, upheld by You, I am a pillar. I must never forget my wretchedness, not so as to be constantly trembling but so that, regardless of my lowliness and confusion, I may, with ever greater confidence, draw close to Your Heart. For my wretchedness, is the throne of Your mercy and love.”…St John XXIII (1881-1963) Journal of a soul, 1901-1903
PRAYER – “May Your heart dwell always in our hearts! May Your blood ever flow in the veins of our souls! O sun of our hearts, You give life to all things by the rays of Your goodness! I will not go, until Your heart has strengthened me, O Lord Jesus! May the heart of Jesus be the king of my heart! Blessed be God. Amen.”…St Francis De Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of Charity
Our Morning Offering – 28 June – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Heart Of Jesus
By Blessed Miguel Pro – Martyr (1891-1927)
I believe, O Lord
but strengthen my faith,
Heart of Jesus, I love Thee
but increase my love.
Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee,
but give greater vigour
to my confidence.
Heart of Jesus,
I give my heart to Thee,
but so enclose it in Thee
that it may never
be separated from Thee.
Heart of Jesus, I am all Thine,
but take care of my promise
so that I may be able
to put it into practice even unto
the complete sacrifice of my life.
Amen
Daily Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sacred Heart of Jesus,
filled with infinite love,
broken by my ingratitude,
pierced by my sins,
yet loving me still,
accept the consecration that I make to You,
of all that I am and all that I have.
Take every faculty of my soul and body,
and draw me, day by day,
nearer and nearer to Your Sacred Side,
and there, as I can bear the lesson,
teach me Your blessed ways.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 28 June – St Vincenza Gerosa SCCG (1784–1847) – was an Italian professed religious and the co-foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Lovere that she founded alongside Saint Bartolomea Capitanio (1807–1833). Gerosa met Capitanio in 1824 and the two consecrated themselves to God in the name of educating children and tending to the poor of the Bergamo area. Patronage – Sisters of Charity of Lovere.
Saint Vincenza was born Caterina Gerosa in Lovere, Bergamo, Italy in 1784. She was orphaned as a youth. She was eventually adopted by a wealthy family of shopkeepers. Despite her family’s wealth, Caterina grew up shy and reserved. She was ever focused on aiding those in need, specifically the poor and abandoned. She dressed modestly and spent her time when not helping at the family shop, in prayer and at daily Mass.
Vincenza was sent by her parents to be educated by the Benedictine Sisters of Gandino. However, she soon fell ill and her poor health prevented her from continuing her studies. She returned to Lovere, where her adopted mother, father and dear sister died in rapid succession. She was left alone again and had to manage the family business, suffering the losses of her family by offering them to Christ. She prayed constantly to accept the will of the Lord in her life and used her family’s money to provide charitable works in the community. She became involved in her Church parish, organising a women’s oratory with meetings and retreats. She founded a practical school to teach the poor girls of the community domestic work so as to improve their station in life.
Vincenza met the schoolteacher, Bartolomea Capitanio and together they embarked on a new mission – to found a hospital to care for those who could not afford medical care. This they did and extended their mission to establishing a special religious institute with the objectives of providing assistance to the sick, free education for girls, Christian orphanages and programs designed to promote youth welfare. 
To accomplish this mission, together they founded the Sisters of Charity in 1824. At that time, Catherine took the name Vincenza and made her profession in the parish of San Giorgio before Father Rusticiano Barboglio and the Servant of God Angelo Bosio. Together they wrote ‘the Foundation Document” which forms the basis of the Rule of Life for the Order – “The Institute which will be founded in Lovere is be totally founded on charity and this must be its principle aim…should have as its aim the education of poor young girls…devote itself to the relief of the sick..”
Only nine short years later, Bartolomea died. Vincenza was tempted to return to her previous life at Lovere but agreed to continue the work the two started after her spiritual director encouraged her to do so. She continued on her own to manage and expand the order. The Order of the Sisters of Charity was approved by Pope Gregory XVI in 1840 and quickly spread throughout Italy and later to India and other countries. Vincenza continued overseeing the order until her death in 1847. Her body is venerated at the Chapel of the Sisters of Charity in Lovere.
Saint Vincenza Gerosa was Beatified on 7 May 1933 by Pope Pius XI. She was Canonised on 18 May 1950 by Pope Pius XII.
Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus *2019
World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests *2019
Excerpt from ENCYCLICAL of Pope Pius XII
HAURIETIS AQUAS – on DEVOTION TO The SACRED HEART
15 May 1956
St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 130 – c 202) (Memorial)
Biography:
Saint of the Day – 28 June – St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 135 – c 202) Father of the Church
Bl Almus of Balmerino
St Argymirus of Córdoba
St Attilio of Trino
St Austell of Cornwall
St Benignus of Utrecht
St Crummine
Bl Damian of Campania
St Egilo
St Heimrad
St Lupercio
St Papias the Martyr
St Pope Paul I
St Theodichildis
St Vincenza Gerosa (1784–1847)
—
Martyrs of Africa – 27 saints: 27 Christians martyred together. The only details about them to survive are the names – Afesius, Alexander, Amfamon, Apollonius, Arion, Capitolinus, Capitulinus, Crescens, Dionusius, Dioscorus, Elafa, Eunuchus, Fabian, Felix, Fisocius, Gurdinus, Hinus, Meleus, Nica, Nisia, Pannus, Panubrius, Plebrius, Pleosus, Theoma, Tubonus and Venustus. Unknown location in Africa, date unknown.
Martyrs of Alexandria – 8 saints: A group of spiritual students of Origen who were martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Septimius Severus – Heraclides, Heron, Marcella, Plutarch, Potamiaena the Elder, Rhais, Serenus and Serenus. They were burned to death c.206 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Novena to the Sacred Heart
Day Nine – 27 June
Today’s Scripture
Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’…Luke 17: 17-18
Today’s Reflection
Did you know that in the Old Testament the word ‘praise’ has only one object – God! In the psalms, to praise is to live, not praising is the same as not living, not living the life which is God’s gift, to be returned in praise. A Jewish rabbi has written, ‘It is difficult to feel depressed when you remember fairly constantly that life is a gift. Faith teaches us to make a blessing over life. Making a blessing over life is the best way of turning life into a blessing.’
Today’s Prayer
I want to say ‘thank You, Jesus’
for these nine days of prayer,
of talking and listening to You
more closely than usual.
Thank You,
especially for all the things in my life
that I just take for granted everyday,
forgetting that they are pure gift.
Amen
Daily Invocation
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
Novena Prayer
Lord Jesus, the needs of Your people,
open Your Sacred Heart in love for each of us.
You care for us when we are lost,
sympathise with us in loneliness
and comfort us in mourning.
You are closest to us when we are weakest.
You love us most, when we love ourselves least,
You forgive us most, when we forgive ourselves least
and You call us to spread Your love
in whatever way we can.
Lord Jesus, Your Sacred Heart
is moved with compassion
when we are suffering,
when we need Your help
and when we pray for each other.
I ask You to listen to my prayer during this Novena
and grant what I ask.
—————————-
(Mention your intention silently.)
If what I ask is not for my own good
and the good of others,
grant me what is best,
that I may build up Your kingdom
of love in our world.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 27 June – Thursday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Year C and The Memorial of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor
An excerpt from his Letter 1
That anyone could doubt the right of the holy Virgin to be called the mother of God fills me with astonishment. Surely she must be the Mother of God if our Lord Jesus Christ is God and she gave birth to him! Our Lord’s disciples may not have used those exact words but they delivered to us the belief those words enshrine and this has also been taught us, by the holy fathers.
In the third book of his work on the holy and consubstantial Trinity, our father Athanasius, of glorious memory, several times refers to the holy Virgin as “Mother of God.” I cannot resist quoting his own words: “As I have often told you, the distinctive mark of holy Scripture is that it was written to make a twofold declaration concerning our Saviour – namely, that He is and has always been God, since He is the Word, Radiance and Wisdom of the Fatherand that for our sake,, in these latter days, He took flesh from the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and became man.”
Again further on he says: “There have been many holy men, free from all sin. Jeremiah was sanctified in his mother’s womb and John while still in the womb leaped for joy at the voice of Mary, the Mother of God.” Athanasius is a man we can trust, one who deserves our complete confidence, for he taught nothing contrary to the sacred books.
The divinely inspired Scriptures affirm that the Word of God was made flesh, that is to say, He was united to a human body endowed with a rational soul. He undertook to help the descendants of Abraham, fashioning a body for Himself from a woman and sharing our flesh and blood, to enable us to see in Him not only God but also, by reason of this union, a man like ourselves.
It is held, therefore, that there are in Emmanuel two entities, divinity and humanity. Yet our Lord Jesus Christ is nonetheless one, the one true Son, both God and man, not a deified man on the same footing as those who share the divine nature by grace but true God, who for our sake, appeared in human form. We are assured of this by Saint Paul’s declaration: When the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law and to enable us to be adopted as sons.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God
By St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father & Doctor of the Church
Hail, Mother and Virgin,
eternal Temple of the Godhead,
Venerable Treasure of Creation,
crown of virginity,
support of the true faith,
on which the Church is founded, throughout the world.
Mother of God,
who contained the infinite God
under your heart,
whom no space can contain.
Through you, the most Holy Trinity, is revealed,
adored and glorified,
demons are vanquished,
Satan cast down from heaven into hell
and our fallen nature again assumed into heaven.
Through you, the human race,
held captive in the bonds of idolatry,
arrives at the knowledge of Truth.
What more shall I say of you?
Hail, through whom kings rule,
through whom the Only-Begotten Son of God
has become the Star of Light
to those sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 27 June – Thursday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Year C and The Memorial of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor
“He who receives Communion
is made holy and divinised in soul and body
in the same way that water, set over a fire, becomes boiling…
Communion works like yeast that has been mixed into dough
so that it leavens the whole mass;
…Just as by melting two candles together,
you get one piece of wax,
so, I think, one who receives the Flesh and Blood of Jesus
is fused together with Him by this Communion
and the soul finds that he is in Christ and Christ is in him.”
“We have passed over the waves of this present life like a sea,
with its commotion and insane bustle.
We have eaten spiritual manna,
the bread that came down from heaven giving life to the world.”
“If the touch alone of His sacred flesh,
restores life to a corrupting body,
what profit shall we not discover,
in His life-giving Eucharist,
when we make of it our food?
It will wholly transform into its own property,
which is immortality, those who participate in it.”
“Our Saviour went to the wedding feast
to make holy the origins of human life.”
“From Christ and in Christ,
we have been reborn through the Spirit,
in order to bear the fruit of life,
not the fruit of our old, sinful life
but the fruit of a new life founded upon
our faith in Him and our love for Him.
Like branches growing from a vine,
we now draw our life from Christ
and we cling to His holy commandment,
in order to preserve this life.”
“That anyone could doubt, the right
of the holy Virgin to be called the Mother of God,
fills me with astonishment.
Surely, she must be the Mother of God,
if our Lord Jesus Christ is God
and she gave birth to Him!”
One Minute Reflection – 27 June – Thursday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 7:21–29 and the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour
“Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”…Matthew 7:24-25
REFLECTION – “The Lord speaks to us of our foundation… our Christian life and He tells us that this foundation is the rock”. We must, therefore, “build the house”, namely, our life, on the rock that is Christ. When St Paul speaks of the rock in the desert, He is referring to Christ, the only rock “that can give us security”. …there is always a temptation to live our Christianity away from the rock that is Christ, the only One who gives us the freedom to say “Father” to God. This temptation has given life to various categories of Christians without Christ. ..The “light Christian”, who, instead of loving the rock, love beautiful words and turns towards a god of spray, a personal god, with superficiality and flimsiness. This temptation still exists: superficial Christians who indeed believe in God but not in Jesus Christ. They are modern Gnostics!
The second category includes those who believe that Christian life must be taken so seriously that they end by confusing solidity and firmness with rigidity. These rigid Christians, think that to be Christian it is necessary to wear mourning and always to take everything seriously, paying attention to formalities, just as the scribes and Pharisees did. Tthese are Christians for whom everything is serious. They are today’s Pelagians who believe in the firmness of faith and are convinced that salvation is the way I do things. I must do them seriously, without any joy. They are very numerous. They are not Christians. They disguise themselves as Christians.
In short, these two categories of believers do not know Jesus, do not know who the Lord is, do not know what the rock is, they have none of the freedom of Christians. Consequently, they have neither joy nor freedom. In their life there is no room for the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Lord’s teaching for today, is an invitation to build our Christian life on the rock that gives us freedom”….Pope Francis – ‘Santa Marta’ – Thursday, 27 June 2013
PRAYER – God our Father, You open the gates of the kingdom of heaven to those who are born again of water and the Holy Spirit. Increase the grace You have given, so that the people who have been purified from all sin, may not forfeit the promised blessing of Your love. Grant that we may ever keep Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, before our eyes and do all in Him and through Him and for Him and may the prayers of our Mother of Perpetual Succour may ever guide and bear us in her care. We make our pray through Christ, our Lord, in union with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen
Our Morning Offering – 27 June – Thursday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – June the Month of the Sacred Heart
Prayer to the Sacred Heart
When the Clock strikes the Hour
By St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)
O most sweet Jesus,
I commend to Your Sacred Heart,
all that I have done in the hour that is gone,
to be cleansed and purified
and offered to God the Father,
for His eternal praise.
And whatsoever I shall do
in the hour that is beginning,
I resolve to do
simply and purely,
for the glory of God
and for the salvation of all mankind,
in union with Your Passion.
Amen
Saint of the Day – St Ladislaus I – (c 1040-1095) King of Hungary, Apostle of Charity, defender of the Faith. Born in c 1040 in Hungary and died on 1095 in Neutra, Hungary (in modern Slovakia) of natural causes. His relics are at Varadin (in modern Serbia). Patronage – Szekszard, Hungary.
Ladislaus the First, son of Bela, King of Hungary, was born in 1041. By the pertinacious importunity of the people he was compelled, much against his own inclination, to ascend the throne, in 1080.
He restored the good laws and discipline which St Stephen had established and which seem to have been obliterated by the confusion of the times. Chastity, meekness, gravity, charity and piety were from his infancy the distinguishing parts of his character, avarice and ambition were his sovereign aversion, so perfectly had the maxims of the Gospel extinguished in him all propensity to those base passions.
His life in the palace was most austere; he was frugal and abstemious but most liberal to the Church and the poor. Vanity, pleasure, or idle amusements had no share in his actions or time, because all his moments were consecrated to the exercises of religion and the duties of his station, in which he had only the divine will in view and sought only God’s greater honour.
He watched over a strict and impartial administration of justice, was generous and merciful to his enemies and vigorous in the defence of his country and the Church. He drove the Huns out of his territories and vanquished the Poles, Russians and Tartars.
He was preparing to command, as general-in-chief, the great expedition of the Christians against the Saracens for the recovery of the Holy Land, for Ladislaus believed that he was called to die for Christ, when God called him to Himself, on 30 July, 1095.
Legend says that Géza, Ladisluas’s brother, decided to build a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin in Vác after Ladislaus explained the significance of the wondrous appearance of a red deer at the place where the church would be erected:
As [King Géza and Duke Ladislaus] were standing at a spot near [Vác], where is now the church of the blessed apostle Peter, a stag appeared to them with many candles burning upon his horns and it began to run swifly before them towards the wood and at the spot where is now the monastery, it halted and stood still. When the soldiers shot their arrows at it, it leapt into the Danube and they saw it no more. At this sight the blessed Ladislaus said: “Truly that was no stag but an angel from God.” And King [Géza] said: “Tell me, beloved brother, what may all the candles signify which we saw burning on the stag’s horns.” The blessed Ladislaus answered: “They are not horns but wings, they are not burning candles but shining feathers. It has shown to us that we are to build the church of the Blessed Virgin on the place where it planted its feet and not elsewhere.” — The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle
Ladislaus was Canonised on 27 June 1192 by Pope Celestine III. Legends depict him as a pious knight-king, “the incarnation of the late-medieval Hungarian ideal of chivalry.” He is a popular saint in Hungary and neighbouring nations, where many churches are dedicated to him.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour
Mother of God of Gietrzwald, Poland
Details of the above two Marian Feasts here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/saints-memorials-and-feast-days-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-27-june/
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial)
Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/27/saint-of-the-day-27-june-st-cyril-of-alexandria-376-444-father-and-doctor-of-the-church/
and
St Adeodato of Naples
St Aedh McLugack
St Anectus of Caesarea
St Arialdus of Milan
St Arianell of Wales
Bl Benvenutus of Gubbio
St Brogan
St Crescens of Galatia
St Crescentius of Mainz
Bl Daniel of Schönau
Bl Davanzato of Poggibonsi
St Desideratus of Gourdon
St Dimman
St Felix of Rome
St Ferdinand of Aragon
St Gudene of Carthage
St Joanna the Myrrhbearer
St John of Chinon
St Ladislaus I – (c 1040-1095)
St Sampson of Constantinople
St Spinella of Rome
St Tôma Toán
St Zoilus of Cordoba
—
Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe: Among the thousands of Christians murdered by various Communist regimes in their hatred of the faith, there were 25 members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Russian Byzantine Catholic Church, priests, bishops, sisters and lay people, whose stories are sufficiently well documented that we know they were murdered specifically for their faith in eastern Europe and whose Causes for Canonization were opened. Their Causes were combined and they were beatified together. They have separate memorials but are remembered together today. They are –
• Andrii Ischak • Hryhorii Khomyshyn • Hryhorii Lakota • Ivan Sleziuk • Ivan Ziatyk • Klymentii Sheptytskyi • Leonid Feodorov • Levkadia Harasymiv • Mykola Konrad • Mykola Tsehelskyi • Mykolai Charnetskyi • Mykyta Budka • Oleksa Zarytskyi • Ol’Ha Bida • Ol’Ha Matskiv • Petro Verhun • Roman Lysko • Stepan Baranyk • Symeon Lukach • Vasyl Vsevolod Velychkovskyi • Volodomyr Bairak • Volodymyr Ivanovych Pryima • Yakym Senkivsky • Yosafat Kotsylovskyi • Zenon Kovalyk
Beatified – 27 June 2001 by Pope John Paul II in Ukraine
Novena to the Sacred Heart
Day Eight – 26 June
Today’s Scripture
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’…Luke 24: 36-39
Reflection for the Eighth Day
Peace; Look; Listen; Go! Jesus greets the apostles with that soothing word, ‘Shalom’ (Peace) – it means I wish you the fullness of well-being of mind and body and soul. He then invites them to look at His hands and side. He encourages them to listen to what the scriptures say about Him and then to go and preach the Good News that He is Risen!
Today’s Prayer
Lord, You see my poverty
and still You love me better than
I can love myself.
Supply my wants with Yourself,
according to Your mercy.
Help me to accept Your will
without seeking
to understand disappointments.
Help me to resign myself entirely
and absolutely to You.
Amen
Novena Prayer
Lord Jesus, the needs of Your people,
open Your Sacred Heart in love for each of us.
You care for us when we are lost,
sympathise with us in loneliness
and comfort us in mourning.
You are closest to us, when we are weakest.
You love us most, when we love ourselves least,
You forgive us most, when we forgive ourselves least
and You call us to spread Your love
in whatever way we can.
Lord Jesus, Your Sacred Heart
is moved with compassion
when we are suffering,
when we need Your help
and when we pray for each other.
I ask You to listen to my prayer during this Novena
and grant what I ask.
—————————-
(Mention your intention silently.)
If what I ask is not for my own good
and the good of others,
grant me what is best,
that I may build up Your kingdom
of love in our world.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 26 June – Wednesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of Blessed Jacques Ghazir Haddad OFM Cap (1875-1954) “The Apostle of Lebanon” “The Apostle of the Cross”
Lebanon’s Apostle of the Cross
Brother Jacque’s long-cherished dream of erecting a large Cross in Lebanon was a concrete expression of his commitment to his Christian faith and to his native country. He wanted to make it not only a meeting place for Franciscan Tertiaries but above all, a place of prayer for all those fallen in war and for the Lebanese who had emigrated in search of work. With the help of collected money he completed this project which also included a church dedicated to Our Lady of the Sea and, later, hospital, orphanage and rest home for retired priests in 1923.
Brother James’s love for the Cross of Christ was so legendary that people christened him ‘the Apostle of the Cross’. He himself prayed the Stations of the Cross everyday and he encouraged others to frequently pray this prayer. Among his publications is a booklet of mediations for the Way of the Cross and the congregation of Tertiary Sisters he founded to run his corporal works of mercy projects is called the ‘Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Cross of Lebanon’. Among his frequently quoted maxims are the following: “I myself have the Cross as a destiny”., “One ounce of a Cross is much better than a ton of books of prayer.”, and “O Cross of the Lord, so dear to the heart”. And as he left this world he held his well-worn Crucifix in his hands.
Besides his love of the Cross, Brother James also had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and to Our Blessed Lady. He prayed the fifteen decades of the rosary every day. He viewed our Lady as the perfect guide who leads people to Christ. “Honouring Mary, no matter how sacred, is only the door leading to Jesus. Mary is the means, Jesus is the end. Mary is the road, Jesus is the destination”. It was in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament that Brother James reached this destination while here on earth. Sometimes, as he adored the the Lord in the tabernacle, he would pray, “How I would prefer to take you in procession throughout the streets rather than closing up on you in the tabernacle”.
Apostle of Lebanon
But inevitable old-age and illness impacted this energetic Capuchin Brother’s own strength of also. He was already known throughout Lebanon as Abouna Yaaqoub(أبونا يعقوب) meaning Father Jacques, Father James or Abba Jacob.
At dawn on Saturday 26 June 1954 he said, “Today is my last day!” and he died at 3 o’ clock in the afternoon . The radio, the press, his friends and church bells in the villages announced his death. Thousands flocked to the Friary of the Cross to weep, pray and receive a final blessing. His body was laid to rest in a tomb of the new Calvary Chapel. This chapel soon became a site that is visited by an ever-growing throngs of pilgrims. Tens of thousands of Lebanese turned out to celebrate his beatification in Beirut’s Martyrs Square. That bloodstained square which witnessed so many tragedies of wartorn Lebanon’s recent history resound with cheers of joy as the painting of the Brother Jacques of Ghazir was unveiled above it after the Pope’s representative, Cardinal Martens, proclaimed the faithful son of Lebanon, Khalil Haddad, the Capuchin Order’s ‘Abuna Yaaqub’ a Blessed. His beatification a moment of hope for unity in a country ripped apart by factional warfare and international conflict.
Quote/s of the Day – 26 June – Wednesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of Blessed Jacques Ghazir Haddad OFM Cap (1875-1954) “The Apostle of Lebanon” “The Apostle of the Cross”
“How I would prefer to take You
in procession throughout the streets,
rather than closing You up
n the tabernacle!”
“One ounce of a Cross
is much better
than a ton of books
of prayer.”
“Anyone who seeks heaven
but without suffering,
is like someone
who wants to buy goods,
without paying.”
“Prayer without trust,
is like a letter in one’s pocket.
It never reaches its destination!”
“Honouring Mary,
no matter how sacred,
is only the door
leading to Jesus.
Mary is the means,
Jesus is the end.
Mary is the road,
Jesus is the destination.”
One Minute Reflection – 26 June – Wednesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Gospel: Matthew 7:15–20
“Every good tree bears good fruit”...Matthew 7:17
REFLECTION – “In a culture paradoxically suffering from anonymity and at the same time obsessed with the details of other people’s lives, shamelessly given over to morbid curiosity, the Church must look more closely and sympathetically at others whenever necessary. In our world, ordained ministers and other pastoral workers can make present the fragrance of Christ’s closeness and His personal gaze. The Church will have to initiate everyone – priests, religious and laity – into this “art of accompaniment” which teaches us to remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (cf. Ex 3:5). The pace of this accompaniment must be steady and reassuring, reflecting our closeness and our compassionate gaze which also heals, liberates and encourages growth in the Christian life…
Today more than ever we need men and women who, on the basis of their experieevangeliigaudium169-171,nce of accompanying others, are familiar with processes which call for prudence, understanding, patience and docility to the Spirit, so that they can protect the sheep from wolves who would scatter the flock. We need to practice the art of listening, which is more than simply hearing. Listening, in communication, is an openness of heart which makes possible that closeness without which genuine spiritual encounter cannot occur. Listening helps us to find the right gesture and word which shows that we are more than simply bystanders. Only through such respectful and compassionate listening, can we enter on the paths of true growth and awaken a yearning for the Christian ideal – the desire to respond fully to God’s love and to bring to fruition what He has sown in our lives.”…Pope Francis – Apostolic Exhortation « Evangelii Gaudium / The Joy of the gospel #169-171
PRAYER – Enable me loving Father, to live a life of purity that will make me live in You. Let me be so united with You that whatever I might ask will be in total accord with Your will for me. Bl Jacques Ghazir Haddad, your tireless work and preaching for the glory of the Kingdom show us the way to sanctification, please intercede for us all. May Mary our Mother of Compassion, be our constant companion. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 26 June – Wednesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time – Month of the Sacred Heart
Hail, Sacred Heart of Jesus
By St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)
Hail, Sacred Heart of Jesus,
living and strengthening
source of eternal life,
infinite treasury of the divinity,
burning furnace of divine love!
You are my refuge
and my sanctuary.
My loving Saviour,
consume my heart
in that burning fire
with which Your own is inflamed.
Pour into my soul
those graces which flow
from Your love.
Let my heart be so united with Yours
that our wills may be one
and my will, in all things,
conformed with Yours.
May Your Will be the guide
and rule of my desires
and of my actions.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 26 June – Blessed Jacques Ghazir Haddad OFM Cap (1875-1954) aged 79 – Priest, Religious of the Order of Friars Minor as a Capuchin Friar, Founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Cross of which he is the Patron, noted Preacher and founder of many orphanages and schools across Lebanon, Apostle of Charity. Called the “St Vincent de Paul of Lebanon,” “the Apostle of the Cross” and “the Apostle of Lebanon.”
Fr Jacques Ghazir Haddad was born on 1 February 1875, in Ghazir, Lebanon, the third of five children. He attended school in Ghazir and then the College de la Sageese in Beirut, where he studied Arabic, French and Syriac.
In 1892 he went to Alexandria, Egypt, to teach Arabic at the Christian Brothers’ College, and there he felt the call to the priesthood. He entered the Capuchin Convent in Khashbau the next year. He was ordained a priest on 1 November 1901 in Beirut, Lebanon.
As an itinerant preacher from 1903 to 1914 he walked all over Lebanon proclaiming the Word of God and was given the name “the Apostle of Lebanon”. He was also seen preaching in Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Turkey.
In 1919 he bought a piece of land on the hill of Jall-Eddib, north of Beirut, where he built a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Sea. Nearby he erected a great Cross.
Fr Jacques was tireless, he would help anyone in need following in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi. In 1920, to assist him in this mission to help the sick and the poor, he founded the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Cross of Lebanon. Sister Marie Zougheib was his first collaborator and aided him in setting up his new congregation. He set out in the rule of his order with the insistence, above all else, that the works of mercy never be neglected in the pursuit of the order’s work. He had been titled as the “Vincent de Paul of Lebanon”. 
The modest work of Fr Jacques aroused the people’s admiration, many poor and sick people began to go to the “Cross” and Fr Jacques would welcome them all. In 1950 the “Cross” became exclusively a psychiatric hospital, one of the most modern in the Near East. The movement of charity began to spread throughout Lebanon and Fr Jacques and his Sisters multiplied their works of social assistance.
In 1933 he opened the House of the Sacred Heart in Deir el-Kamar, a girls’ orphanage, which later became an asylum for the chronically ill. In 1948 he opened the Hospital of Our Lady for the aged, the chronically ill and the paralysed. In 1949 St Joseph’s Hospital became one of the most important medical centres of the capital. It was followed in 1950 by St Anthony’s House in Beirut for beggars and vagabonds whom the police found on the streets and Providence House for homeless girls.
Even though Fr Jacques was very busy with the hospital mission, he and his Sisters carried on the important work of education and opened several schools as well as an orphanage for 200 girls.
Fr Jacques was worn out by vigils, fatigue and travel. Although he suffered from numerous illnesses, became almost completely blind and was stricken with leukemia, he did not stop blessing God and working. He was lucid to the end, at dawn on the day of his death, he said “Today is my last day!” His last hours were an uninterrupted series of prayers invoking the Cross and the Virgin Mary until he died on 26 June 1954 in Lebanon.
His cause for Beatification was introduced in February 1979, on 24 February 1979, His Holiness St Pope John Paul II signed the Decree of Introduction of the Cause for Beatification. On Sunday, 22 June 2008, he was Beatified during a special Mass in Beirut by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F., Prefect of Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Since Blessed Haddad’s death, additional hospitals have opened to assist those injured during the war and to assist the Kabr-Chemoun region where medical services were scarce…Vatican.va
Father al-Haddād received from President Émile Eddé the Palm Medal of Lebanese Merit on 5 January 1938 while President Bechara El Khoury awarded him the Golden Medal of Lebanese Merit on 2 June 1949 and then the Officer Degree of the Lebanese Cedars Medal on 26 November 1951.
Blessed Virgin of Potente del Trompone:
Visionary: Domenica di Miglianotto on 26 June 1562
Title: Blessed Virgin of Potente del Trompone
2nd Visionary: Visionary: St Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562) – seen below:
Our Lady of Longing: Matka Boża Tęskniąca / Longing Mother of God, Warsaw, Poland – One of the oldest churches in the Archdiocese of Warsaw is St Elizabeth Powsin Located on the main altar is a painting of Our Lady of Longing – artist unknown – from the first half of the seventeenth century. At either side, the image is surrounded by statues of Saints Adalbert and Stanislaus – Polish bishops and martyrs . The testimony of miracles and graces relating to the Our Lady of Longing icon have been collected at least since the mid-seventeenth century. On 28 June 1998, the image became the fourth image of Mary in the Archdiocese of Warsaw to be canonically crowned.
St Acteie of Rome
St Albinus of Rome
Bl Andrea Giacinto Longhin
Bl Andrii Ischak
St Anthelm of Belley
St Babolenus of Stavelot-Malmédy
St Barbolenus of Fossés
Bl Bartholomew of Vir
St Corbican
St David of Thessalonica
St Deodatus of Nola
St Dionysius of Bulgaria
St Edburga of Gloucester
St Hermogius of Tuy
St Iosephus Ma Taishun
St John of Rome
St John of the Goths
St José Maria Robles Hurtado
St Josemaria Escriva (1902-1975)
Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/26/saint-of-the-day-26-june-st-josemaria-escriva-de-balaguer-y-albas-1902-1975-the-saint-of-ordinary-life/
Bl Jacques Ghazir Haddad OFM Cap (1875-1954)
St Maxentius of Poitou
St Medico of Otricoli
Bl Mykola Konrad
St Paul of Rome
St Pelagius of Oviedo
St Perseveranda of Poitiers
Bl Raymond Petiniaud de Jourgnac
St Salvius
Bl Sebastian de Burgherre
St Soadbair
St Superius
St Terence of Rome
St Vigilius of Trent
Bl Volodymyr Ivanovych Pryima
—
Martyrs of Africa – 4 saints: Four Christians who were martyred together – Agapitus, Emerita, Felix and Gaudentius at an unknown location in Africa, date unknown.
Martyrs of Alexandria – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred together, but we really know little more that the names – Agatho, Diogenes and Luceja. They were martyred in Alexandria, Egypt, date unknown.
Martyrs of Cambrai – 4 beati: Four Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul nuns at Arras, France. Imprisoned together in 1792 and executed together two years later in the anti-Catholic excesses of the French Revolution. They were:
• Jeanne Gerard
• Marie-Françoise Lanel
• Marie-Madeleine Fontaine
• Thérèse-Madeleine Fantou
They were guillotined on 26 June 1794 at Cambrai, Nord, France and Beatified in June 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.
Today’s Scripture
‘But I say to you listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you….Luke 6: 27-28
Reflection for the Seventh Day
You know the old saying, ‘Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are’ ? Well, Jesus had the strangest set of friends Levi (a hated tax-collector) Simon the Zealot (a revolutionary), women in prostitution and other ‘public sinners’. Maybe I’m not such bad company for Jesus, after all!
Today’s Prayer
Jesus, You once said,
‘I’ve come not to call the virtuous
but sinners to repentance.’
During Your mission,
You sat and ate with sinners.
This practice of Yours
gives me great hope
that Your love will bid me welcome too!
Amen
Novena Prayer
Lord Jesus, the needs of Your people,
open Your Sacred Heart in love for each of us.
You care for us when we are lost,
sympathise with us in loneliness
and comfort us in mourning.
You are closest to us when we are weakest.
You love us most, when we love ourselves least,
You forgive us most, when we forgive ourselves least
and You call us to spread Your love
in whatever way we can.
Lord Jesus, Your Sacred Heart
is moved with compassion
when we are suffering,
when we need Your help
and when we pray for each other.
I ask You to listen to my prayer during this Novena
and grant what I ask.
—————————-
(Mention your intention silently.)
If what I ask is not for my own good
and the good of others,
grant me what is best,
that I may build up Your kingdom
of love in our world.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 25 June – Tuesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 7:6,12=14
An excerpt from his treatise On Christian Perfection
The life of the Christian has three distinguishing aspects – deeds, words and thought. Thought comes first, then words, since our words express openly the interior conclusions of the mind. Finally, after thoughts and words, comes action, for our deeds carry out what the mind has conceived. So when one of these results in our acting or speaking or thinking, we must make sure that all our thoughts, words and deeds are controlled by the divine ideal, the revelation of Christ. For then our thoughts, words and deeds will not fall short of the nobility of their implications.
What then must we do, we who have been found worthy of the name of Christ? Each of us must examine his thoughts, words and deeds, to see whether they are directed toward Christ or are turned away from Him. This examination is carried out in various ways. Our deeds or our thoughts or our words are not in harmony with Christ if they issue from passion. They then bear the mark of the enemy who smears the pearl of the heart with the slime of passion, dimming and even destroying the lustre of the precious stone.
On the other hand, if they are free from and untainted by every passionate inclination, they are directed toward Christ, the author and source of peace. He is like a pure, untainted stream. If you draw from Him the thoughts in your mind and the inclinations of your heart, you will show a likeness to Christ, your source and origin, as the gleaming water in a jar resembles the flowing water from which it was obtained.
For the purity of Christ and the purity that is manifest in our hearts are identical. Christ’s purity, however, is the fountainhead, ours has its source in Him and flows out of Him. Our life is stamped with the beauty of His thought. The inner and the outer man are harmonised in a kind of music. The mind of Christ is the controlling influence that inspires us to moderation and goodness in our behaviour. As I see it, Christian perfection consists in thiS – sharing the titles which express the meaning of Christ’s name, we bring out this meaning in our minds, our prayers and our way of life.
Quote of the Day – 25 June – Tuesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of St Maximus of Turin (? – c 420)
“The light of Christ
is an endless day
that knows no night.”
One Minute Reflection – 25 June – Tuesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 7:6,12-14
“Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life and those who find it are few.”…Matthew 7:13-14
REFLECTION – “Of course Jesus’ door is a narrow one but not because it is a torture chamber. No, not for that reason! Rather, because He asks us to open our hearts to Him, to recognise that we are sinners in need of His salvation, His forgiveness and His love in order to have the humility to accept His mercy and to let ourselves be renewed by Him.
Jesus tells us in the Gospel that being Christians does not mean having a “label!” I ask you, are you Christians by label or by the truth? And let each one answer within him- or herself! Not Christians, never Christians by label! Christians in truth, Christians in the heart. The whole of our life must pass through the narrow door which is Christ.”…Pope Francis (Angelus, 25 August 2013)
PRAYER – Increase in us, Lord, Your gift of faith, so that the praise we offer You, may ever yield it’s fruit from heaven, May the Spirit pour into our hearts, that we may walk in Your light and become like You. May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Grace and all Your Saints, help us in our striving for holiness. Through Christ, our Lord in union with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 25 June – Tuesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – June the Month of the Sacred Heart
Be my Strength, O Sacred Heart!
By St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus,
I fly to You,
I unite myself with You,
I enclose myself in You!
Receive my call for help,
O my Saviour,
as a sign of my horror
of all within me
contrary to Your holy love.
Let me die rather a thousand times,
than consent to sin against You!
Be my strength, O God –
defend me,
protect me.
I am Yours
and desire forever to be Yours!
Amen
Saint of the Day – 25 June – Saint Prosper of Reggio (Died c 466) Bishop. Patronage – Reggio.
Tradition and documents attest that he was indeed the bishop of Reggio for 22 years in the fifth century. He is remembered for his strong sense of charity and to this day – his Feast Day is celebrated in Reggio, Italy with large festivals and celebrations.
His strongest following was up until the fourteenth century, before devotion to him has slowed down. He has 31 churches and chapels that are dedicated to him today in Parma, Bologna, Lucca and other cities surrounding Reggio, Italy – most being built in the Middle Ages. He personally built a church in San Prospero and it is dedicated to Saint Apollinaris. To this day in Reggio, they celebrate his feast locally on 24 November but 25 June is his feast day on general liturgical calendars. Giovanni Soncini did a painting of St Prosper and St Bernard, see below.
In the tenth century, Reggio being vunerable to attacks from the sea, Bishop Ermenaldo transported Prosper’s relics to the Cathedral of Santa Maria in the centre of the city while the church dedicated to Prosper was being built. This was completed by his successor Tenzone. Pope Gregory V, consecrated the church in 997. In the 16th century the church was rebuilt and Prosper’s body lies under the great altar. And fittingly enough he is the principal Patron of the city.
Saint Prosper was a very humble and charitable bishop and the people of Reggio celebrate his life, seeking his intercession and having festivals on his Feast Day. St Prosper took Jesus litterally when Jesus said, “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me”. Tradition holds that Prosper, a true follower of Jesus, took His command seriously. He distributed his goods to the poor.
St Prosper is a saint that shows us by his life and love for the church, that only by clearing ourselves of material things in this world, can we become Disciples of Christ. He sold his belongings and distributed it to the poor. His overwhelming gift of Charity was so prominent, that 17 centuries later – the faithful celebrate his Feast Day with festivals and celebrations! We too, as faithful, can impact those around us by our Charity of time, talent and treasures – as our means permit.
Our Lady of Grace/Our Lady of the Bowed Head –
About: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/25/25-june-the-feast-of-our-lady-of-grace/
St Adalbert of Egmond
St Amand of Coly
Bl Burchard of Mallersdorf
St Cyneburga of Gloucester
St Domingo Henares de Zafra Cubero
Bl Dorothy of Montau
St Eurosia of Jaca
St Febronia of Nisibis
Bl Fulgentius de Lara
St Gallicanus of Embrun
St Gallicanus of Ostia
St Gohard of Nantes
Bl Guy Maramaldi
Bl Henry Zdick
Bl John the Spaniard
St Luceias and Companions
St Maximus of Turin (? – c 420)
Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/25/saint-of-the-day-25-june-st-maximus-of-turin-c-420-father-of-the-church/
St Moloc of Mortlach
St Molonachus of Lismore
St Phanxicô Ðo Van Chieu
St Prosper of Reggio (Died c 466)
St Selyf of Cornwall
St Solomon I
St Solomon III of Bretagne
St William of Vercelli (1085-1142) – Biography: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/25/saint-of-the-day-25-june-st-william-of-vercelli/
Today’s Scripture
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’...John 11:17-24
Reflection for the Sixth Day
St Ignatius Loyola said that we should always speak to Jesus in prayer just as one close friend would speak to another. Don’t be afraid to express your real feelings to Jesus – anger, hurt, joy, sorrow, etc. When you’ve made your complaint or expressed your joy, don’t forget one thing Listen for God’s response! It may come in surprising ways.
Today’s Prayer
Jesus, I have to be honest
and tell You that there’ve been times
when I’ve been angry with You
and I feel that You’ve let me down.
Help me to trust that You really do have
a loving plan for me and for everyone,
a plan that most times
I find hard to fathom.
For Your ways are not ours
and that makes it difficult for us.
But total trust, as a child trusts it’s parents,
is what I ask of You.
Novena Prayer
Lord Jesus, the needs of Your people,
open Your Sacred Heart in love for each of us.
You care for us when we are lost,
sympathise with us in loneliness
and comfort us in mourning.
You are closest to us when we are weakest.
You love us most, when we love ourselves least,
You forgive us most, when we forgive ourselves least
and You call us to spread Your love
in whatever way we can.
Lord Jesus, Your Sacred Heart
is moved with compassion
when we are suffering,
when we need Your help
and when we pray for each other.
I ask You to listen to my prayer during this Novena
and grant what I ask.
—————————-
(Mention your intention silently.)
If what I ask is not for my own good
and the good of others,
grant me what is best,
that I may build up Your kingdom
of love in our world.
Amen
Thought for the Day- 24 June – The Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist Year C, Gospel: Luke 1:57–66
An excerpt from his Sermon 293
The Church observes the birth of John as a hallowed event. We have no such commemoration for any other fathers but it is significant, that we celebrate the birthdays of John and of Jesus. This day cannot be passed by. And even if my explanation does not match the dignity of the feast, you may still meditate on it with great depth and profit.
John is born of a woman too old for childbirth, Christ was born of a youthful virgin. The news of John’s birth was met with incredulity and his father was struck dumb. Christ’s birth was believed and He was conceived through faith.
Such is the topic, as I have presented it, for our inquiry and discussion. But as I said before, if I lack either the time or the ability to study the implications of so profound a mystery, He who speaks within you, even when I am not here, will teach you better, it is He whom you contemplate with devotion, whom you have welcomed into your hearts, whose temples you have become.
John, then, appears as the boundary between the two testaments, the old and the new. That he is a sort of boundary the Lord himself bears witness, when He speaks of the law and the prophets up until John the Baptist. Thus He represents times past and is the herald of the new era to come. As a representative of the past, he is born of aged parents, as herald of the new, he is declared to be a prophet while still in his mother’s womb. For when yet unborn, he leapt in his mother’s womb at the arrival of blessed Mary. In that womb, he had already been designated a prophet, even before he was born, it was revealed that he was to be Christ’s precursor, before they ever saw one another. These are divine happenings, going beyond the limits of our human frailty. Eventually he is born, he receives his name, his father’s tongue is loosened. See how these events reflect reality.
Zechariah is silent and loses his voice until John, the precursor of the Lord, is born and restores his voice. The silence of Zechariah is nothing but the age of prophecy lying hidden, obscured, as it were and concealed before the preaching of Christ. At John’s arrival, it becomes clear, when the one who was being prophesied is about to come. The release of Zechariah’s voice at the birth of John is a parallel to the rending of the veil at Christ’s crucifixion. If John were announcing his own coming, Zechariah’s lips would not have been opened. The tongue is loosened because a voice is born. For when John was preaching the Lord’s coming he was asked – Who are you? And he replied – I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. The voice is John but the Lord in the beginning was the Word. John was a voice that lasted only for a time, Christ, the Word in the beginning, is eternal.
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.