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.
This fresco is in a Church in Germany
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.
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/
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.
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- 24 June – The Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist Year C, Gospel: Luke 1:57–66
The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness
Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church
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.
Quote/s of the Day- 24 June – The Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist Year C, Gospel: Luke 1:57–66 and the Memorial of St Maria Guadalupe García Zavala (1878-1963) “Mother Lupuita”
“The true secret of love consists in this: we must forget self like St John the Baptist and exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus.”
St Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)
“Look today to John the Baptist, an enduring model of fidelity to God and His Law. John prepared the way for Christ, by the testimony of his word and his life. Imitate him with docile and trusting generosity.”
St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)
(24 June 2001)
“With deep faith, unlimited hope and great love for Christ, Mother “Lupita” sought her own sanctification, beginning with love for the Heart of Christ and fidelity to the Church. In this way she lived the motto which she left to her daughters: “Charity to the point of sacrifice and perseverance until death”.
St Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)
On the Beatification of St Maria Guadalupe García Zavala (1878-1963) “Mother Lupuita”
One Minute Reflection – 24 June – The Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist, Year C, Gospel: Luke 1:57–66
“And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed and he spoke, blessing God.”…Luke 1:64
REFLECTION – “The Benedictus, is prayed every morning in the Breviary and so, the Church remembers this “forerunner of Jesus” at the beginning of every day. The opening words of this Canticle are the source of its Latin title, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel”.
What does it mean for Catholics, that we sing this song about John the Baptists at the start of every new day? After having been “silenced” by sleep throughout the night, God opens our mouths and one of the first things we do, is to sing this blessing of God, whose dawn breaks forth to shine on us and guide our way to peace.
In the Benedictus, we join ourselves to the mission of St John the Baptist, who came to prepare a way for the Lord by being a witness of God’s salvation, living a simple and penitential life and calling others to do the same. Our work each day, then, is to use our voice – like Zechariah and his son – and the witness of our lives, to make God’s presence known wherever we go and to whom whomever we encounter.”
PRAYER –
The Benedictus – Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and His forerunner
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
He has visited His people and redeemed them.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,
in the house of David, His servant,
as He promised by the lips of holy men,
those who were His prophets of old.
A Saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who us.
So His love for our fathers is fulfilled
and His holy covenant remembered.
He swore to Abraham, our father, to grant us,
that free from fear and saved from the hands of our foes.
we might worship Him in justice and holiness
all the days of our lives, in His Presence.
As for you, little child,
you shall be called the prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare His ways before Him,
to make known to His people their salvation,
through forgiveness of all their sins,
the loving kindness of the heart of our God,
who visits us like the dawn from on high.
He will give light to those in darkness,
those who dwell in the shadow of death
and to guide us into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 24 June – The Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist and the Month of the Sacred Heart
Be the Heart of My Heart By St John Eudes (1501-1680)
O Heart all lovable
and all loving of my Saviour,
be the Heart of my heart,
the Soul of my soul,
the Spirit of my spirit,
the Life of my life
and the sole principle
of all my thoughts,
words and actions,
of all the faculties of my soul
and of all my senses,
both interior and exterior.
Amen
Saint of the Day – St Maria Guadalupe García Zavala (1878-1963) – born Anastasia Guadalupe García Zavala on 27 April 1878 in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico and died on 24 June 1963 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico of natural causes – Virgin and co-foundress of the Handmaids of Santa Margherita and the Poor. She is also known as “Mother Lupita”. Patronages – Nurses, Handmaids of Santa Margherita Maria and the Poor.
María Guadalupe García Zavala was born on 27 April 1878 in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, to Fortino García and Refugio Zavala de García. As a child she was known for her piety and made frequent visits to the Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan, which was located next to the religious goods shop run by her father . Her love for God was particularly demonstrated in her love for the poor.
“No’ to matrimony, “yes’ to Jesus:
With uncommon transparency and simplicity, María treated everyone with equal love and respect. Although as a young woman she planned to marry Gustavo Arreola, she suddenly broke off her engagement when she was 23 years old. The reason: María “understood” that Jesus was calling her to love Him with an undivided heart as part of the religious life and she fully believed, that she was called to do this, by giving assistance to the poor and sick.
Foundress of the “Servants’:
When María confided to her spiritual director, Fr Cipriano Iñiguez, her “sudden change of heart”, he told her that for some time he had the inspiration to found a religious congregation that would provide assistance to the hospitalised. He invited María to join him in this foundation.
The new Congregation, which officially began on 13 October 1901, was known as the “Handmaids of St Margaret Mary (Alacoque) and the Poor”.
“Poor with the poor’:
María worked as a nurse, giving assistance to the first patients that were welcomed into “their hospital”. Regardless of the poverty and lack of material goods of the patients, compassion and care for the physical and spiritual well-being of the sick were the primary concerns and María gave of herself wholeheartedly to carry out this task of love.
Sr María was named Superior General of the quickly-growing Congregation and taught the Sisters entrusted to her, mostly by means of her example, the importance of living a genuine and joyful exterior and interior poverty. She was convinced that it was only through loving and living poverty that one could be truly “poor with the poor”.
Indeed, Mother María was known for her simplicity, humility and willingness to accept all that came from the hand of God.
In times of “dire straits”, Mother María asked her spiritual director for permission to go begging in order to collect money for the hospital. Together with other Sisters, she would seek offerings until the needs of the hospital and patients were me, and would ask no more than was necessary. The Sisters also worked in parishes to assist the priests and to teach catechism.
Risking life to help those hiding:
From 1911 until 1936, the political-religious situation in Mexico became uneasy and the Catholic Church underwent persecution. Mother María put her own life at risk to help the priests and the Archbishop of Guadalajara to “go into hiding” in the hospital.
She did not limit her charity simply to helping the “righteous” but also gave food and care to the persecutors who lived near the hospital, it was not long before they, too, began defending the sick in the hospital run by the Sisters.
The last two years of Mother María’s life were lived in extreme suffering because of a grave illness and on 24 June 1963, she died at the age of 85.
During the lifetime of the foundress, 11 foundations were established in the Republic of Mexico.
Today, the Congregation has 22 foundations and is present in five different Nations: Mexico, Peru, Iceland, Greece and Italy.
Her Beatification cause began in mid-1984 and her formal Beatification was celebrated on 25 April 2004. Pope Francis later Canonised her as a saint on 12 May 2013 in Saint Peter’s Square.
The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (Solemnity) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/24/the-solemnity-of-the-nativity-of-st-john-the-baptist-24-june/
St Aglibert of Créteil
St Agoard of Créteil
St Alena of Brussels
St Amphibalus of Verulam
St Bartholomew of Farne
Bl Christopher de Albarran
St Erembert I of Kremsmünster
St Faustus of Rome and Companions
St Festus of Rome
St Germoc
St Gohardus of Nantes
Bl Henry of Auxerre/the Hagiographer
St Ivan of Bohemia
St John of Rome
St John of Tuy
St Joseph Yuan Zaide
Bl Maksymilian Binkiewicz St Maria Guadalupe García Zavala (1878-1963)
St Rumold
St Simplicio of Autun
Bl Theodgar of Vestervig
St Theodulphus of Lobbes
—
Martyrs of Satala: Seven Christian brothers who were soldiers in the imperial Roman army. They were kicked out of the military, exiled and eventually martyred in the persecutions of Maximian. We know little more about them than their names – Cyriacus, Firminus, Firmus, Longinus, Pharnacius, Heros and Orentius. The martyrdoms occurred in c 311 at assorted locations around the Black Sea.
Today’s Scripture Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’...John 8: 10-11
Reflection for the Fifth Day
I read something recently which went like this: ‘You do not have to be good before God will love you; you do not have to repent before you will be absolved by God. It is all the other way around. If you are good, it is because God’s love has already made you so; if you want to be forgiven, that is because God is forgiving you.’
Today’s Prayer
Jesus, as I reflect upon Your Sacred Heart,
help me to have a deep felt knowledge
that You have already forgiven
the sins of which I have repented
and asked Your forgiveness.
Help me to examine my conscience each day,
for I know You long to forgive all my sins,
where Your Sacred Heart
is love made visible.
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 – 23 June – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Through Our Gazing in Adoration
Pope Benedict XVI General Audience, 17 November 2010
Dear friends, fidelity to the encounter with the Eucharistic Christ in Sunday’s Holy Mass is essential for the journey of faith but let us try as well to frequently go to visit the Lord present in the Tabernacle! Gazing in adoration at the consecrated Host, we discover the gift of the love of God, we discover the passion and the cross of Jesus and also His Resurrection. Precisely through our gazing in adoration, the Lord draws us to Himself, into His mystery, to transform us as He transforms the bread and wine.
The saints always found strength, consolation and joy in the Eucharistic encounter. With the words of the Eucharistic hymn “Adoro te devote,” let us repeat before the Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament: “Make me believe ever more in You, that in You I may have hope, that I may love You!”
Thank you.
Adoro te Devote By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church Trans. Fr Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)
Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows,
shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God Thou art.
Seeing, touching, tasting are in Thee deceived –
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed,
What God’s Son has told me, take for truth I do,
Truth Himself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.
On the cross Thy godhead made no sign to men,
Here Thy very manhood steals from human ken –
Both are my confession, both are my belief,
And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.
I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But can plainly call Thee Lord and God as he,
Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.
O Thou our reminder of Christ crucified,
Living Bread, the life of us for whom He died,
Lend this life to me then – feed and feast my mind,
There be Thou the sweetness man was meant to find.
Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican,
Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what Thy bosom ran—
Blood whereof a single drop has power to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.
Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below,
I beseech Thee send me what I thirst for so,
Some day to gaze on Thee face to face in light
And be blest forever with Thy glory’s sight.
Amen
Quote of the Day – 23 June – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
“When you have received Him, stir up your heart to do Him homage, speak to Him about your spiritual life, gazing upon Him in your soul where He is present for your happiness. Welcome Him as warmly as possible, and behave outwardly in such a way, that your actions may give proof to all, of His Presence.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 23 June – The Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ 2019, Gospel: Luke 9:11–17
“…he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.”…Luke 9:16
REFLECTION – “The mystery of today’s feast has three aspects, as is the case with all the great feasts after Pentecost and Trinity Sunday.
First, the Gospel portrays it through the image of the multiplication of the loaves. This is no bit of magic on Jesus’ part – to accomplish it He looks toward heaven, toward His Father, with both petition and thanksgiving (eucharistia): “Father, I thank you for hearing me.” (Jn 11:42) His lavish giving away of Himself in the loaves, will be a sign of the way the Father’s love utterly lavishes His Son on the world.
Then He blesses the bread, for the Father has left everything to the Son, including the bestowal of heaven’s blessing.
He breaks it, which points both to His own brokenness in the Passion and to the way His gifts will be limitlessly multiplied by the work of the Holy Spirit in every Eucharistic celebration. Thus, through this visible image, we realise that truine Love itself, becomes present in the Eucharistic self-giving of Jesus.”… Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)
PRAYER – Lord Jesus Christ, You gave Your Church an admirable Sacrament as the abiding memorial of Your Passion. Teach us so to worship the sacred Mystery of Your Body and Blood, that it’s redeeming power, may sanctify us always. Who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever and every, amen.
Sunday Reflection – 23 June – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
O precious and wonderful banquet!
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Priest and Doctor of the Church
An excerpt from On the Feast of the Body of Christ
Since it was the will of God’s only-begotten Son that men should share in His divinity, He assumed our nature, in order that by becoming man He might make men gods. Moreover, when He took our flesh He dedicated the whole of its substance to our salvation. He offered His body to God the Father, on the altar of the cross, as a sacrifice for our reconciliation. He shed His blood for our ransom and purification, so that we, might be redeemed, from our wretched state of bondage and cleansed from all sin. But to ensure that the memory of so great a gift would abide with us forever, He left His body as food and His blood as drink, for the faithful to consume, in the form of bread and wine.
O precious and wonderful banquet that brings us salvation and contains all sweetness! Could anything be of more intrinsic value? Under the old law it was the flesh of calves and goats that was offered but here Christ Himself, the true God, is set before us as our food. What could be more wonderful than this? No other sacrament has greater healing power, through it, sins are purged away, virtues are increased and the soul is enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift. It is offered in the Church for the living and the dead, so that what was instituted for the salvation of all, may be for the benefit of all. Yet, in the end, no one can fully express the sweetness of this sacrament, in which spiritual delight is tasted at its very source and in which we renew the memory of that surpassing love for us, which Christ revealed in His passion.
It was to impress the vastness of this love more firmly upon the hearts of the faithful, that our Lord instituted this sacrament at the Last Supper. As He was on the point of leaving the world to go to the Father, after celebrating the Passover with His disciples, He left it as a perpetual memorial of His passion. It was the fulfilment of ancient figures and the greatest of all His miracles, while for those who were to experience the sorrow of His departure, it was destined to be a unique and abiding consolation.
Our Morning Offering – 23 June – The Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ 2019
“MAY WE ALL BE LIVING MONSTRANCES.” By St Josemaria Escrivá (1902-1975)
May we be monstrances
wrought of pure gold,
free from all worldly influence,
studded with rubies,
which are like the stains of blood
from our sorrow and our sacrifice;
monstrances adorned with emeralds,
which signify,
our unshakeable hope
and embedded with
many other small stones –
that are barely noticed
but that You behold always,
delighting in their brilliance—
and which are our small mortifications,
our self-denial at every moment.
May these living monstrances
illumine those around them
by their apostolic charity.
Deign, my God,
living in each one of them,
to vivify with the rays of Your Love
all those who come
into contact with us.
Mother of ours,
Mother of Eucharistic Love:
this is our petition today.
Present it, we beseech you,
at your Son’s feet.
Obtain for us a life
imbued with a Eucharistic spirit,
so that love for the Holy Eucharist
fills our heart.
Amen
The Feast of Corpus Christi also known in Liturgical Latin as Dies Sanctissimi Corporis et Sanguinis Domini Iesu Christi – Latin for “Day of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ the Lord” and as Solemnity of the Corpus Christi “Body of Christ” is a Christian liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of the Eucharist. Two months earlier, the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper is observed on Maundy Thursday in a sombre atmosphere leading to Good Friday. The liturgy on that day also commemorates Christ’s washing of the disciples’ feet, the institution of the priesthood.
The feast of Corpus Christi was proposed by St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) , Doctor of the Church to Pope Urban IV, in order to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist emphasising the joy of the Eucharist being the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Recognised the authenticity of the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena on input of St Thomas, in 1264 the pontiff, established the feast of Corpus Christi as a Solemnity and extended it to the universal Catholic Church.
The feast is liturgically celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or, “where the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is not a holy day of obligation, it is assigned to the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity as its proper day”, which is now the case in most countries. In the liturgical reforms of 1969, under Pope Paul VI, the bishops of each nation have the option to transfer it to the following Sunday.
At the end of Holy Mass, there is a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, generally displayed in a monstrance. A notable Eucharistic procession is that presided over by the Pope each year in Rome, where it begins at the Archbasilica of St John Lateran and passes to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where it concludes with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
The feast of Corpus Christi is one of five occasions in the year on which a diocesan bishop is not to be away from his diocese unless for a grave and urgent reason.
By tradition, Catholics hear Mass then go in procession through the streets of their parish church’s neighbourhood, all whilst praying and singing. The Eucharist, known as the Blessed Sacrament, is placed in a monstrance and is held aloft by a member of the clergy during the procession. Usually, there are anything from 3 – 5 stops, where altars have been erected and Benediction takes place. The final Benediction usually takes place back in the Church.
Let us be transported to the same climate of expectation and joyful hope as we feel in the Adoro Te Devote with these last words of the Lauda Sion, the Eucharistic hymn/sequence also written by St Thomas Aquinas. (Fr Raneiro Cantalamessa O.F.M. “This is My Body”)
Source of all we have or know, feed and lead us here below. Grant that with Your saints above, Sitting at the feast of love, We may see You face to face.
Saint of the Day – 23 June – St Etheldreda (c 636-679) Abbess and widow, an East Anglian princess, a Fenland and Northumbrian queen and Abbess of Ely – born in c 636 probably n Exning, near Newmarket in Suffolk, England. She died on 23 June 679 of natural causes. When her body was re-interred in 694 it was found to be incorrupt and again in 1106 when her relics were transferred to Ely Cathedral where her shrine now remains, her body was incorrupt. Patronage – throat ailments, widows, neck ailments, th University of Cambridge.
She was one of the four saintly daughters of Anna of East Anglia, including Wendreda and Seaxburh of Ely, all of whom eventually retired from secular life and founded abbeys.
Born and brought up in the fear of God-her mother and three sisters are numbered among the Saints – Etheldreda had but one aim in life, to devote herself to His service in the religious state. Her parents, however, had other views for her and, in spite of her tears and prayers, she was compelled to become the wife of Tonbercht, a tributary of the Mercian king. She lived with him as a virgin for three years and at his death retired to the Isle of Ely, that she might apply herself wholly to heavenly things.
This happiness was but short-live,; for Egfrid, the powerful King of Northumbria, pressed his suit upon her with such eagerness that she was forced into a second marriage. Her life at his court was that of an ascetic rather than a queen – she lived with him not as a wife but as a sister and, observing a scrupulous regularity of discipline, devoted her time to works of mercy and love.
After twelve years, she retired with her husband’s consent to Coldingham Abbey, which was then under the rule of St Ebba, and received the veil from the hands of St Wilfrid. As soon as Etheldreda had left the court of her husband, he repented of having consented to her departure and followed her, meaning to bring her back by force. She took refuge on a headland on the coast near Coldingham and here a miracle took place, for the waters forced themselves a passage round the hill, barring the further advance of Egfrid.
The Saint remained on this island refuge for seven days, till the king, recognising the divine will, agreed to leave her in peace. God, who by a miracle confirmed the Saint’s vocation, will not fail us if, with a single heart, we elect for him.
In 672 she returned to Ely, and founded there a double monastery. The nunnery she governed herself and was by her example a living rule of perfection to her sisters.
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St Bede the Venerable records many miracles worked by her relics at her Shrine. Below is her Statue and resting place in Ely Cathedral.
St Agrippina of Rome
St Bilio of Vannes St Etheldreda (c 636-679)
Bl Félix of Cîteaux
St Felix of Sutri
Bl Frances Martel
Bl Francis O’Sullivan
St Hidulphus of Hainault
St James of Toul
St John of Rome St Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860) St Joseph Cafasso’s Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/23/saint-of-the-day-23-june-st-joseph-cafasso-1811-1860-priest-of-the-gallows/
Bl Lanfranco Beccari
St Lietbert
Bl Lupo de Paredes
Bl Mary of Oignies
St Moeliai of Nendrum
Bl Peter of Juilly
Bl Thomas Corsini of Orvieto
St Thomas Garnet
Bl Walhere of Dinant
St Zenas of Philadelphia
St Zeno of Philadelphia
—
Martyrs of Ancyra: A family of converts who were arrested, tortured and sent in chains to Ancyra, Galatia (modern Ankara, Turkey) where he was tortured more by order of governor Agrippinus during the persecutions of Diocletian. Martyr. They were – Eustochius, Gaius, Lollia, Probus, Urban. They were roasted over a fire and finally beheaded c 300 in Ancyra, Galatia (modern Ankara, Turkey).
Martyrs of Nicomedia: During the persecutions of Diocletian, many Christians fled their homes to live in caves in the area of Nicomedia. In 303 troops descended on the area, systematically hunted them down and murdered all they could find.
Today’s Scripture
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions….Mark 10: 21-22
Reflection for the Fourth Day
A Dominican theologian once wrote, ‘A person is enlightened not when they get an idea but when someone looks at them’. How we look at another has tremendous consequences for self-esteem. The Sacred Heart looks at each one of us with deep love, understanding and compassion. We are called to look at others in the same way.
Today’s Prayer
Jesus, You looked at the rich young man with love
and yet he could not respond to Your call.
Help our prayer
to become our looking at You
looking at us
and smiling with love
so that we will not run
from the love that You offer.
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 – 22 June – The Memorial of St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr
His belief that no lay ruler has jurisdiction over the Church of Christ cost Thomas More his life.
Beheaded on Tower Hill, London, on 6 July 1535, More steadfastly refused to approve King Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage and establishment of the Church of England.
Described as “a man for all seasons,” which title is drawn from what Robert Whittington, an English man of letters, in 1520 wrote of More:
“More is a man of an angel’s wit and singular learning. I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requires, a man of marvellous mirth and pastimes and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons.”
More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children and chancellor of England. An intensely spiritual man, he would not support the king’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Nor would he acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church in England, breaking with Rome, and denying the pope as head.
More was committed to the Tower of London to await trial for treason, not swearing to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy. Upon conviction, More declared he had all the councils of Christendom and not just the council of one realm to support him in the decision of his conscience.
Four hundred years later in 1935, Thomas More was Canonised a saint of God. Few saints are more relevant to our time. In the year 2000, in fact, St Pope John Paul II named him patron of political leaders. The supreme diplomat and counsellor, he did not compromise his own moral values in order to please the king, knowing that true allegiance to authority is not blind acceptance of everything that authority wants. King Henry himself realised this and tried desperately to win his chancellor to his side because he knew More was a man whose approval counted, a man whose personal integrity no one questioned. But when Thomas More resigned as chancellor, unable to approve the two matters that meant most to Henry, the king had to get rid of him. Before being executed he said, “I die the king’s faithful servant, but God’s first.” The question is, would we too?
Quote/s of the Day – 22 June – Saturday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time, Year C and The Memorial of St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431) and St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr
“To my mind the only art, is the faith and Christ is my poetry.”
St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431)
“We cannot go to Heaven in featherbeds.”
“One of the greatest problems of our time, is that many are schooled but few are educated.”
One Minute Reflection – 22 June – Saturday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 6:24–34 and the Memorial of St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr
Look at the birds in the sky,they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? ..Matthew 6:26
REFLECTION – “I will not mistrust Him, Meg, though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember, how Saint Peter at a blast of wind, began to sink because of his lack of faith and I shall do as he did, call upon Christ and pray to Him for help. And then I trust He shall place His holy hand on me and in the stormy seas, hold me up from drowning.”…St Thomas More (1478-1535)
“In the face of the situations of so many people, near and far, who live in wretchedness, Jesus’ discourse might appear hardly realistic, if not evasive . In fact, the Lord wants to make people understand clearly, that it is impossible to serve two masters – God and mammon [riches]. Whoever believes in God, the Father, full of love for His children, puts first the search for His Kingdom and His will. And this is precisely the opposite of fatalism or ingenuous irenics. Faith in Providence does not, in fact, dispense us from the difficult struggle, for a dignified life but frees us, from the yearning for things and from fear of the future.
It is clear that although Jesus’ teaching remains ever true and applicable for all it is practised in different ways according to the different vocations – a Franciscan friar will be able to follow it more radically, while a father of a family must bear in mind his proper duties to his wife and children. In every case, however, Christians are distinguished by their absolute trust in the heavenly Father, as was Jesus. It was precisely Christ’s relationship with God the Father that gave meaning to the whole of His life, to His words, to His acts of salvation until His Passion, death and Resurrection. Jesus showed us what it means to live with our feet firmly planted on the ground, attentive to the concrete situations of our neighbour, yet, at the same time keeping our heart in Heaven, immersed in God’s mercy.” … Pope Benedict XVI (Sunday, 27 February 2011).
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, we trust in You and abide in You. Grant us we pray, that by the prayers of our heavenly Mother, our Mother of divine Providence and St Thomas More, who said “I will trust Him”, that we too may ever know that You are with us and guide, help and feed us everyday. Through Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 22 June – St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr an English lawyer, Social Philosopher, Author, Statesman and noted Renaissance Humanist. He was born on 7 February 1478 at London, England and was beheaded on 6 July 1535 on Tower Hill, London, England. Patronages – adopted children, civil servants, court clerks, difficult marriages, large families, lawyers, statesmen and politicians, stepparents, widowers, Ateneo de Manila Law School, Diocese of Arlington, Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee; Kerala Catholic Youth Movement, University of Malta, University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters.
He was also a councillor to Henry VIII and Lord High Chancellor of England from October 1529 to 16 May 1532. He wrote Utopia, published in 1516, about the political system of an imaginary, ideal island nation.
St Thomas opposed the Protestant Reformation, in particular the theology of Martin Luther, Henry VIII, John Calvin and William Tyndale. He also opposed the king’s separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England and the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy, he was convicted of treason and executed. Of his execution, he was said: “I die the King’s good servant but God’s first”.
Pope Pius XI Canonised More in 1935 as a martyr. St Pope John Paul II in 2000 declared him the patron saint “of Statesmen and Politicians”.
St Pope John Paul II Excerpt from the Apostolic letter issued Motu Proprio proclaiming Saint Thomas More Patron of Statesmen and Politicians 31 October 2000
“The life and martyrdom of Saint Thomas More have been the source of a message which spans the centuries and which speaks to people everywhere of the inalienable dignity of the human conscience, which (…) is “the most intimate centre and sanctuary of a person, in which he or she is alone with God, whose voice echoes within them” (Gaudium et Spes, 16). Whenever men or women heed the call of truth, their conscience then guides their actions reliably towards good. Precisely because of the witness which he bore, even at the price of his life, to the primacy of truth over power, Saint Thomas More is venerated as an imperishable example of moral integrity. And even outside the Church, particularly among those with responsibility for the destinies of peoples, he is acknowledged as a source of inspiration for a political system which has as its supreme goal the service of the human person.
(…) Thomas More had a remarkable political career in his native land. Born in London in 1478 of a respectable family, as a young boy he was placed in the service of the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Morton, Lord Chancellor of the Realm. He then studied law at Oxford and London, while broadening his interests in the spheres of culture, theology and classical literature. He mastered Greek and enjoyed the company and friendship of important figures of Renaissance culture, including Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam.
His sincere religious sentiment led him to pursue virtue through the assiduous practice of asceticism – he cultivated friendly relations with the Observant Franciscans of the Friary at Greenwich and for a time he lived at the London Charterhouse, these being two of the main centres of religious fervour in the Kingdom. Feeling himself called to marriage, family life and dedication as a layman, in 1505 he married Jane Colt, who bore him four children. Jane died in 1511 and Thomas then married Alice Middleton, a widow with one daughter. Throughout his life he was an affectionate and faithful husband and father, deeply involved in his children’s religious, moral and intellectual education. His house offered a welcome to his children’s spouses and his grandchildren, and was always open to his many young friends in search of the truth or of their own calling in life. Family life also gave him ample opportunity for prayer in common and lectio divina, as well as for happy and wholesome relaxation. Thomas attended daily Mass in the parish church but the austere penances which he practised were known only to his immediate family.
St Thomas More and his family by Hans Holbein
He was elected to Parliament for the first time in 1504 under King Henry VII. The latter’s successor Henry VIII renewed his mandate in 1510 and even made him the Crown’s representative in the capital. This launched him on a prominent career in public administration. During the following decade the King sent him on several diplomatic and commercial missions to Flanders and the territory of present-day France. Having been made a member of the King’s Council, presiding judge of an important tribunal, deputy treasurer and a knight, in 1523 he became Speaker of the House of Commons.
St Thomas More in Hans Holbein’s Studio
Highly esteemed by everyone for his unfailing moral integrity, sharpness of mind, his open and humorous character and his extraordinary learning, in 1529 at a time of political and economic crisis in the country he was appointed by the King to the post of Lord Chancellor. The first layman to occupy this position, Thomas faced an extremely difficult period, as he sought to serve King and country. In fidelity to his principles, he concentrated on promoting justice and restraining the harmful influence of those who advanced their own interests at the expense of the weak . In 1532, not wishing to support Henry VIII’s intention to take control of the Church in England, he resigned. He withdrew from public life, resigning himself to suffering poverty with his family and being deserted by many people who, in the moment of trial, proved to be false friends.
Given his inflexible firmness in rejecting any compromise with his own conscience, in 1534 the King had him imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was subjected to various kinds of psychological pressure. Thomas More did not allow himself to waver, and he refused to take the oath requested of him, since this would have involved accepting a political and ecclesiastical arrangement that prepared the way for uncontrolled despotism. At his trial, he made an impassioned defence of his own convictions on the indissolubility of marriage, the respect due to the juridical patrimony of Christian civilisation and the freedom of the Church in her relations with the State. Condemned by the Court, he was beheaded.
St Thomas More’s Farewell to Meg, his daughter
Hans Holbein St Thomas More’s Farewell
(…) Thomas More, together with 53 other martyrs, including Bishop John Fisher, was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. And with John Fisher, he was Canonised by Pius XI in 1935, on the fourth centenary of his martyrdom.
(…) The life of Saint Thomas More clearly illustrates a fundamental truth of political ethics. The defence of the Church’s freedom from unwarranted interference by the State is at the same time a defence, in the name of the primacy of conscience, of the individual’s freedom vis-à-vis political power. Here we find the basic principle of every civil order consonant with human nature.
(…) Therefore, after due consideration and willingly acceding to the petitions addressed to me, I establish and declare Saint Thomas More the heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians and I decree, that he be ascribed all the liturgical honours and privileges which, according to law, belong to the Patrons of categories of people.”
Our Morning Offering – 22 June – Saturday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr
Father in heaven Be with Us Today By St Thomas More (1478-1535)
Father in heaven,
You have given us a mind to know You,
a will to serve You
and a heart to love You.
Be with us today in all that we do,
so that Your light may shine out in our lives.
We pray that we may be today,
what You created us to be
and may praise Your name in all that we do.
We pray for Your Church,
may it be a true light to all nations.
May the Spirit of Your Son Jesus,
guide the words and actions of all Christians today.
We pray for all who are searching for truth,
bring them Your light and Your love.
“Give us, Lord,
a humble, quiet, peaceable,
patient, tender and charitable mind
and in all our thoughts,
words and deeds
a taste of the Holy Spirit.
Give us, Lord,
a lively faith,
a firm hope,
a fervent charity,
a love of You.
Take from us all lukewarmness in meditation,
dullness in prayer.
Give us fervour and delight in thinking of You
and Your grace, Your tender compassion towards us.
The things that we pray for, good Lord,
give us grace to labour for,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431) (Optional Memorial) About St Paulinus: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/22/saint-of-the-day-22-june-st-paulinus-of-nola-c-354-431/
St John Fisher (1469-1535) Martyr (Optional Memorial)
St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr (Optional Memorial
St Aaron of Brettany
St Aaron of Pais-de-Laon
St Alban of Britain
Bl Altrude of Rome
St Consortia
St Cronan of Ferns
St Eberhard of Salzburg
St Eusebius of Samosata
St Exuperantius of Como
St Flavius Clemens
St Gregory of Agrigento
St Heraclius the Soldier
St Hespérius of Metz
Bl Pope Innocent V
St John IV of Naples
St Julius of Pais-de-Laon
Bl Kristina Hamm
Bl Marie Lhuilier
St Nicetas of Remesiana
St Precia of Epinal
St Rotrudis of Saint-Omer
St Rufinus of Alexandria
—
Martyrs of Samaria – 1480 saints: 1480 Christians massacred in and near Samaria during the war between the Greek Emperor Heraclius and the pagan Chosroas of Persia. c 614 in the vicinity of Samaria, Palestine.
Today’s Scripture Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose….Romans 8: 26-28
Reflection for the Third Day
St Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) once said, that love was her vocation in life. Never was this vocation tested more than in the last nine months of her life as she lay dying with tuberculosis. She wrote a note to her sister Céline: ‘Here is great love, to love Jesus without feeling the sweetness of His love – that is love pushed to the point of heroism.’
Today’s Prayer
Jesus, I believe. Help my unbelief!
Jesus, You are the real bedrock of my hope.
Help me always to rely on You,
especially in times of doubt and trouble.
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 – 21 June – The Memorial of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)
Excerpt from Ven Servant of God John A Hardon’s SJ (1914-2000)
‘Life of St Aloysius’
“To the one virtue which the Church has chosen and on account of which has chosen him ‘the universal patron of youth,’ was his chastity. All the evidence we have, indicates that he had very strong sexual passions. We know that from his own writing, we know that from people who knew him and we know that from what is called penance from one view-point, what is really, you might say, ‘preventive austerity’ from another. He simply believed that unless he mortified his body and I didn’t tell you one tenth of what he did, he just would not get that passion under control.
The lesson for us in a sex-mad world is obvious. You do not control that passion without mortification, you just don’t. As a result, the Church has held him up as a model of what even the most passionate personality can achieve, always with God’s grace. We may not be able to, given our temperament of the circumstances in which we are living, be able to cope with temptation–we need grace. Very well, how do you get the grace? –through prayer and mortification. And Christ’s words about a certain demon not being able to be driven out except through penance. Well, it’s a non-title to give the devil but, he is the demon of lust, though being without a body himself, he knows how, by stirring this passion, he can lead people into any kind of sin. That’s the first and towering lesson of the life of St Aloysius.
As we look at the short life of Aloysius, depending on the person’s view point, it may seem oppressive. It shouldn’t be but, in modern jargon, it has so much (pardon the expression) of the negative, you know, penance, mortification, sin–and a world that has gone mad, drunk with sin, doesn’t realise, that already this side of eternity, we are to be what Aloysius was literally, we are to be, if it is God’s will, ecstatically happy of that. We are not to be sad. We are not, God forbid, to be unhappy.
The secret and what an open secret it is in the life of Aloysius, is to find the happiness in the right place. That’s all, yes but that’s everything.
In other words, as a closing observation, Aloysius showed that’s why the Church Canonised him, that when Christ gave us the eight Beatitudes, which are eight promises of happiness, He meant it.
The condition for being happy, well, that’s part of the Covenant, that’s what we do but if we do our part, God comes through.
St Robert Bellarmine who knew him well, observed he was sure that Aloysius had never committed a mortal sin.
Saint Aloysius, pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Quote/s of the Day – 21 June – The Memorial of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)
“I am a piece of twisted iron, I entered the religious life to get twisted straight.”
“He who wishes to love God does not truly love Him, if he has not an ardent and constant desire to suffer for His sake.”
“Take care above all things, most honoured lady, not to insult God’s boundless loving kindness, you would certainly do this, if you mourned as dead, one living face-to-face with God, one whose prayers, can bring you in your troubles, more powerful aid, than they ever could on earth.”
“When He takes away what He once lent us, His purpose is to store our treasure elsewhere, more safely and bestow on us, those very blessings, that we ourselves would most choose to have.”
(From A Letter to His Mother)
More of this letter here: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/21/quote-of-the-day-21-june-the-memorial-of-st-aloysius-de-gonzaga-s-j-1568-1591/
In fidelity to his principles, he concentrated on promoting justice and restraining the harmful influence of those who advanced their own interests at the expense of the weak . In 1532, not wishing to support Henry VIII’s intention to take control of the Church in England, he resigned. He withdrew from public life, resigning himself to suffering poverty with his family and being deserted by many people who, in the moment of trial, proved to be false friends.
AnaStpaul 
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