Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 6 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Agrarius the Martyr
St Amand of Grisalba
St Berthanc of Kirkwall
St Brychan of Brycheiniog
Bl Catherine of Pallanza
St Diogenes of Philippi
St Elstan of Abingdon
St Galla of Rome
St Gennard
St Irenaeus of Sirmium
Bl Jan Franciszek Czartoryski
St Marcellinus the Martyr
Bl Maria Karlowska (1865-1935)
About Blessed Maria:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/06/saint-of-the-day-6-april-blessed-maria-karlowska-1865-1935/

Bl Michele Rua
Bl Notker Balbulus OSB (c 840-912)
Biography:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/06/saint-of-the-day-6-april-blessed-notker-balbulus/

St Phaolô Lê Bao Tinh
St Philaret of Calabria
Bl Pierina Morosini
St Platonides of Ashkelon
St Prudentius of Troyes
St Pope Sixtus I
St Timothy of Philippi
St Ulched
St Urban of Peñalba
St William of Eskilsoe
St Winebald
Bl Zefirino Agostini (1813-1896)
—
Martyrs of Sirmium : 7 saints – A group of fourth century martyrs at Sirmium, Pannonia (modern Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia). We know little more than seven of their names – Florentius, Geminianus, Moderata, Romana, Rufina, Saturus and Secundus.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Enric Gispert Domenech
Bl Josep Gomis Martorell

Posted in PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MERCY, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 5 April – “A saint of the ordinary?”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio OSA (1905-1983)

Blessed Mariano has been called “a saint of the ordinary”, this giving, loving and holy man who spent all he had for his people.   Is this ‘ordinary’, is this how ‘ordinary’ folk live, though we should be living thus.  Is St Mother Teresa, who likewise, gave all, what we would call an ordinary saint  . For the suffering sheep are the beloved of God, they are not ordinary, they are His most in need of the extraordinary love and charity of us, ‘the ordinary.’

I am reminded of the words of Fr Henri Nouwen (1932-1996):

“Visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, consoling the dying or sheltering the homeless, may not catch the public eye and are often perceived as irrelevant when put in the perspective of a possible nuclear holocaust. There are many voices that say: ‘These little acts of mercy are a waste of time when we consider the urgency of stopping the arms race, etc etc.” But the peacemaker knows that true peace is a divine gift that has nothing to do with statistics or measures of success and popularity. Peace is like life itself. It manifests itslef quietly and gently.
Who can say that a lost afternoon with a sick friend is in truth not much more than an interruption of ‘true’ peace work?
Who knows?
Jesus’ way is the humble way. He calls out to use – “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.'”

Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio , Pray for Us!bl mariano de la mata aparecio pray for us 5 april 2019.jpg

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, POETRY, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Lenten Thoughts – 5 April ‘ But You God”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

And now, my heavy laden soul,
what will you do?
You call with your lips and voice to
God most high,
God, who cares only for deeds and
is not taken in by words.
You, my soul, with a heart always turned toward Egypt,
how can I describe you?

Am I
a Sodom, to be punished likewise with destruction,
or the prosecutor of Ninevah, who was struck dumb?

Am I
more cowardly and barbarous than the
queen of the south,
lower than Canaan,
more stubborn than Amalek,
incurable as the city of idols,
a relic left behind from the rebellion of Israel,
a reminder of the broken covenant of Judah,
more reproachable than Tyre,
more shunned than Zidon,
more immoral than Galilee,
more unpardonable than faithless Capernaum,
maligned like Korazin,
slandered like Bethsaida?

Or am I
immodest as Ephraim as he prayed,
or a dove, whose gentleness seems due to
feeblemindedness and not to inner calm,
or an evil serpent born of lion’s cubs,
or the serpent’s egg filled with decay,
or like the last blow against Jerusalem?

Or am I
in the words of our Lord
and the sayings of the prophets,
an abandoned tabernacle about to collapse,
the unlatched doors of the stronghold,
my speaking edifice stained again,
having given up my rightful inheritance,
my home built by God,
as Moses, David and Jeremiah prophesied?
My thinking body now consumed by disease,
afflicted with carping counsel, rehabilitated by the law,
anointed with the clay of mildness,
incapable of finding my own salvation,
torn away from the maker’s hand,
expelled as just punishment
by order of the Almighty, to an unholy place,
rejected, exiled, greatly shunned, nothing spared,
having buried my gift in the ground,
like the one chastised in the Gospel by
losing his inheritance.

But You, God,
Lord of souls and all flesh,
in the words of one divinely graced,
You are long-suffering and abounding in mercy.
In the voice of blessed Jonah,
grant that I finish to Your delight
this book of prayers, now begun.
And having sown these words with tears
and set forth on this journey toward the dwellings You have prepared,
may I return joyfully in the time of harvest
with the bounty of atonement,
with sheaves of goodness and the fruits of delight.

St Gregory of Narek (950-1003) – Fathe & Doctor of the Churchbut-you-god-st-gregory-of-narek-27-feb-2018.jpg

“If you elevate yourself,
God distances Himself from you.
If you humble yourself,
He leans towards you.”

St Augustine (354-430)if you elevate yourself - st augustine - 5 april 2019.jpg

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, LENT 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 5 April – “Humility”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)

“Once humility is acquired,
charity will come to life,
like a burning flame,
devouring the corruption of vice
and filling the heart so full,
that there is no place for vanity.”…

St Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419)once humility is acquired - st vincent ferrer - 5 april 2019.jpg

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, LENT 2019, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 5 April – “Love…more powerful than sin.”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Wisdom 2:1A, 12-22; Psalm 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23; John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)

Encyclical « Dives in Misericordia » # 8

“You know me and you know where I come from?
But I have not come of my own accord;
he who sent me is true and him you do not know.”…John 7:28

The Paschal Mystery is Christ at the summit of the revelation of the inscrutable mystery of God.   It is precisely then that the words pronounced in the Upper Room are completely fulfilled:  “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9).   In fact, Christ, whom the Father “did not spare” (Rm 8:32) for the sake of man and who in His passion and in the torment of the cross did not obtain human mercy, has revealed in His resurrection, the fullness of the love that the Father has for Him and, in Him, for all people. “He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Mk 12:27).

In His resurrection Christ has revealed the God of merciful love, precisely because He accepted the cross as the way to the resurrection.   And, it is for this reason, that, when we recall the cross of Christ, His passion and death, our faith and hope are centred on the Risen One – on that Christ who “on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, . . .stood among them” in the upper Room, “where the disciples were, …breathed on them, and said to them:  ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.   If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’ ” (Jn 20:19).

Here is the Son of God, who in His resurrection, experienced in a radical way, mercy shown to Himself, that is to say the love of the Father which is more powerful than death.   And it is also the same Christ, the Son of God, who… reveals Himself as the inexhaustible source of mercy, of the same love… more powerful than sin.and it is also the same christ - st john paul - encyclical frifourtheweeklent 5 april 2019.jpg

Daily Meditation:
May we reach out with joy to grasp Your hand.

We keep acknowledging that God is the source of our life.
We realise that we have been seeking other sources of life.
We recognise our weakness and turn to God for help.
Though our hearts are being opened up to their depths,
though we cry out to God for help, we are not discouraged.

The Lord is near to broken hearts.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Psalm 34:18-19

Closing Prayer:
Loving God of forgiveness,
I come before You humbled and sad
in the face of my own repeated failings.
I hold out my hands as a petitioner would,
asking for mercy.
It is then that I feel You reach out and take my hand
in Your loving grasp.
Thank You for the love You pour out on me so lavishly.
Help me to follow more closely
in the path You have set for me,
the path of Your Son.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amenjohn 7 28 you know me - fridayfourtheweeklent 5 april 2019

Posted in JESUIT SJ, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 April – “You know me?”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 and celebrating St Vincent Ferrer and Blessed Mariano de la Mata

“You know me and you know where I come from?   But I have not come of my own accord;  he who sent me is true and him you do not know.”…John 7:28

REFLECTION – “The crowds are surprised to see Jesus teaching in public, despite the death threats and so wonder if He could indeed be the Messiah.   The crucial question here is, whether or not one perceives Jesus as having been sent by God.   The answer to this question determines whether one is on the right track or engaged in only superficial reflection.   God, in Jesus, continues to come to us in various disguises and forms. If we decide in advance how He must come, then there is the danger that we too might continue to miss Him.   The way to be able to find Him in all things and all things in Him, is to be open and receptive and let God be God.   It is to open our eyes, ear and every fibre of our being to the revelation that He will make and to be prepared for that revelation, in the most unexpected persons, places and events!”…Fr Errol Fernandes SJjohn 7 28 you know me - god in jesus continues to come - gods word 5 april 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Loving God and Father, open our eyes and ears and our hearts.   Help us to recognise the Light of Christ in the world around us.   Too often we are hard of heart and closed up in our ‘rites’ – He is there but He is not only there and we are blind.   May the prayers of the saints and angels help us to be open to Him.   Mary, the Mother He gave us, pray for us.   Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.mother mary pray for us - 5 oct 2018.jpg

st-vincent-ferrer-pray-for-us-5-april-2018.jpg

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 5 April – Grant me, O my God

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)

Grant me, O my God
By St Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419)

Good Jesus,
let me be penetrated with love
to the very marrow of my bones,
with fear and respect toward You;
let me burn with zeal for Your honour,
so that I may resent terribly all the outrages
committed against You, especially those
of which I myself have been guilty.
Grant further, O my God,
that I may adore
and acknowledge You humbly, as my Creator
and that, penetrated with gratitude
for all Your benefits,
I may never cease to render You thanks.
Grant that I may bless You in all things,
praise and glorify You
with a heart full of joy and gladness
and that, obeying You with docility
in every respect, I may one day,
despite my ingratitude and unworthiness,
be seated at Your table
together with Your Holy Angels and Apostles
to enjoy ineffable delights.
Amengrant me o my god by st vincent ferrer - 5 april 2019.jpg

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 5 April – Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio OSA (1905-1983)

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Saint of the Day – 5 April – Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio OSA (1905-1983) was a Spanish Priest, a professed religious of the Order of Saint Augustine, Missionary, Apostle of Charity, Eucharistic and Marian devotee, Spiritual Director, Teacher and Professor.   He joined the missions in Brazil where he served until his death and was known for his educational work with the poor.   His age and diminishing health was no obstacle for him throughout his time in Brazil and it did not hinder his efforts to visit the sick or go out to be with the people he looked after.blessed-mariano-de-la-mata-aparicio

Mariano was born into a simple Christian family from Barrio de la Puebla de Valdavia (Palencia), Spain, on 31 December 1905.   Three of his brothers preceded him into the Order of Saint Augustine.   He himself studied in Valladolid and La Vid.   He was vested in the habit on 9 September 1921 and in 1922 made his initial profession, he had received the habit from the Blessed Anselm Polanco (1881–1939) Martyr.   In 1926 he was transferred back to Santa María de la Vid where he completed his theological courses.  He made his solemn profession on 23 January 1927 and he was later ordained to the priesthood on 25 July 1930.   After two years ministering in Spain, he left for Brazil, where he carried out an extensive apostolate in the field of education and especially in the daily care of the poor, the infirm and children.mariano-de-la-mata-d3ba9213-80cf-48f5-bb2c-1b699d374a9-resize-750.jpg

In 1961 he went to teach at the Saint Augustine college and also took on the duties of a spiritual director at the Saint Rita of Cascia Workshop as well as the parochial vicar of the Saint Augustine church.   He tended to the needs of those who surrounded him and went to visit the sick on a regular basis as was the case with Sergio Teixera. He visited this student of his for twelve months and gave him private lessons during his illness. Another student – Horacio Gentile – was visited during his two month stay in the hospital, notwithstanding the great distance and steep climb, the prelate had to endure to get to him.bl mariano-de-la-mata-b272cc97-4609-4d6a-8add-37c47860ef4-resize-750

In character he was remembered as an active and enterprising prelate who was open and communicative to all, a person of affection and kindness.   He organised more than 200 of the Saint Rita Workshops, which attracted poor people to make clothing that the poor could afford.   He was often seen walking down the streets of São Paulo to pastoral visits, though, even as he aged and his strength waned and his vision grew dim he still continued all his pastoral practices.

Fr Mariano may be called ‘a saint of the ordinary.’   He possessed a strong character but was at the same time, a generous and sensitive individual, friendly and approachable with all.   He was devoted to the Blessed Virgin, thoroughly committed to his priestly vocation and fervent in his love for the Eucharist.bl mariano-de-la-mata-1a576c19-e4b0-485d-8879-190b26f8a2b-resize-750

Mariano was diagnosed with cancer in early 1983.   He underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumour but the cancer continued to spread.   He died on 5 April 1983 and was Beatified on 5 November 2006 in the Cathedral of Sao Paulo, Brazil by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, who said of the new blessed:

“Fr Mariano was poor with the poor, humble among children and compassionate towards the infirm and the elderly.   He was conscientious with his students, the faithful and the association of Workshops of Saint Rita (he founded over 200 such workshops which employ people to make affordable clothing for the poor).   He was merciful toward his penitents, pure of heart and a lover of peace in his Augustinian community and in his family, overcoming difficulties through prayer and sacrifice, constantly having recourse to the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Consolation up until the moment he departed this life.”

His body rests beside the altar of his beloved Virgin of Consolation in the Church of Saint Augustine in Sao Paulo.bl mariano-de-la-mata-867f9ef2-1e49-4ed8-9cab-afeab82c250-resize-750

As a “saint of the ordinary,” Father Mariano reminds us that the path to holiness is essentially simple – it consists in living the Gospel message in a spirit of faith, freedom and generosity, loving God and neighbour as Jesus instructed us.   Mariano is a modern saint, a saint who lived surrounded by the challenges of our contemporary world but with the timeless truth and wisdom of the two great commandments.bl mariano de la mata.jpg

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 5 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419) (Optional Memorial)
Biography of St Vincent:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/05/saint-of-the-day-5-april-st-vincent-ferrer-o-p-1350-1419/

St Albert of Montecorvino
Bl Antonius Fuster
St Becan
Bl Blasius of Auvergne
St Claudius of Mesopotamia
St Derferl Gadarn
St Gerald of Sauve-Majeure
St Irene of Thessalonica
St Maria Crescentia Hoss
Bl Mariano de la Mata Aparicio OSA (1905-1983)
St Pausilippus
Bl Peter Cerdan
St Theodore the Martyr
—
Martyrs of Lesbos: 5 saints – Five young Christian women martyred together for their faith. We don’t even know their names. island of Lesbos, Greece.

Martyrs of North-West Africa: Large group of Christians murdered while celebrating Easter Mass during the persecutions of Genseric, the Arian king of the Vandals. They were martyred in 459 at Arbal (in modern Algeria).

Martyrs of Seleucia: 120 saints – One-hundred and eleven (111) men and nine (9) women who, because they were Christians, were dragged to Seleucia and martyred for refusing to worship the sun or fire or other pagan idols during the persecutions of King Shapur II. They were burned alive in 344 in Seleucia, Persia.

Posted in NOTES to Followers

Appeal update

Posted on by AnaStpaul

My grateful thanks to Hugh who is helping me immensely, words alone cannot suffice to express my gratitude to him.   A gentleman who has travelled a long way with me and one of great generosity and love.

I do not cease to give thanks for you!

Ephesians 1:16

appeal - thank you Mass Hugh Hubble 4 april 2019

So now, our God, we give thanks to you

and praise your majestic name.

1 Chronicles 29:13

APPEAL to make a donation - 4 march 2019.jpg

Posted in LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, The WORD

Lenten Thoughts – 4 April – I Am With You

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Lenten Thoughts – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

I Am With You
By Fr John Woolley 1928-2008
A Missionary of God’s Word

“For the sake of My sheep
I surrender My life”
John 10:15

My child, let it be your privilege, each day, to dwell upon My sacrifice – made for the whole world.

In My suffering love upon the Cross, you see a continuing process….the unrequited love which pursues My children – yearning for the slightest response and profoundly grateful, when one of those children surrenders his or her life to Me.

On the Cross, you see My heart of love crushed, for the moment, by the force of evil which darkens this universe.   Then you see the bursting forth again of love’s power … In my Father’s victory, this power, in its submission and its patience, can change permanently, any human situation.

Although you are conscious of being unworthy of that love, be sure that the pain of rejections is made so much less by even the simplest, imperfect dependence upon Myself.

Here, at the Cross, give Me your heart, anew, everyday!john 10 15 for the sake of my sheep - here at the cross give me your heart i am with you 4 april 2019.jpg

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A departure for me – Fr John Woolley was an Anglican Minister in Chester, England.   His most famous work “I Am With You” is widely regarded and is filled with his reflections which he called “heart whispers from God.”

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 4 April – St Isidore, the Patron of the Internet?

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Isidore of Seville (560-636) Father & Doctor of the Church

St Isidore, the Patron of the Internet?

Isidore may seem like a strange choice but his academic works make him a perfect fit.
It may seem strange that a 7th-century saint was chosen as the patron saint of the internet but after a careful examination of his life, St Isidore of Seville turns out to be the perfect choice.

Isidore was a great scholar whose encyclopedic knowledge was far reaching.

Before his death, Isidore wrote a collection of books called Etymologiae, which, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, was “a vast storehouse in which is gathered, systematised and condensed, all the learning possessed by his time.   Throughout the greater part of the Middle Ages it was the textbook most in use in educational institutions.”

Interestingly enough, Isidore did not contain himself to only theological topics but successfully collected information on all subjects, both secular and religious. Pope Benedict XVI explained in a General Audience, “The wealth of cultural knowledge that Isidore had assimilated enabled him to constantly compare the Christian newness with the Greco-Roman cultural heritage, however, rather than the precious gift of synthesis it would seem that he possessed the gift of collatio, that is, of collecting.”

For this reason, Isidore has been regarded as the patron saint of the internet.   He was, in a certain sense, a human “Wikipedia,” possessing a vast storehouse of information on every topic available.

St Isidore is a great intercessor for all those logging on to the internet, a saint who can help us find what we need as well as protect us from the darker side of the World Wide Web.

St Isidore of Seville, Pray for Us!st-isidore-pray-for-us-no-2-4-april-2019.jpg

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 4 April – St Isidore of Seville

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Isidore of Seville (560-636) Father & Doctor of the Church

“The suffering of adversity
does not degrade you but exalts you.
Human tribulation teaches you,
it does not destroy you.
The more we are afflicted in this world,
the greater is our assurance for the next.
The more we sorrow in the present,
..the greater will be our joy in the future.”

“Confession heals,
Confession justifies,
Confession grants pardon of sin,
all hope consists in Confession;
in Confession there is
a chance for mercy.”

St Isidore of Seville (560-636)

Father & Doctor of the Church

Posted in LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on HYPOCRISY, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 4 April – Fertile excuses and evasions

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Lenten Reflection – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Exodus 32:7-14; Psalms 106:19-20, 21-22, 23; John 5:31-47

“…you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he has sent.”...John 5:38THURSDAYFOURTHERWEEKLENT - 4 APRIL 2018 JOHN 5 38.jpg

Fertile excuses and evasions
Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Next I observe that a civilised age is more exposed to subtle sins than a rude age.   Why? For this simple reason- because it is more fertile in excuses and evasions.   It can defend error and hence, can blind the eyes of those who have not very careful consciences.   It can make error plausible, it can make vice look like virtue.   It dignifies sin by fine names;  it calls avarice proper care of one’s family, or industry, it calls pride independence, it calls ambition greatness of mind;  resentment it calls proper spirit and sense of honour and so on.

…What all of us want more than anything else, what this age wants, is that its intellect and its will should be under a law.   At present it is lawless, its will is its own law, its own reason is the standard of all truth  . It does not bow to authority, it does not submit to the law of faith.   It is wise in its own eyes and it relies on its own resources.   And you, as living in the world, are in danger of being seduced by it and being a partner in its sin and so coming in, at the end, for its punishment.this-age-dignifies-sin-bljhnewman 10 march 2017.jpg

Daily Meditation:
Lead us to the joy of Easter.
We are still aware of our patterns.
We still are realigning our priorities.
We are still trying to simplify
and trying to eat in solidarity with others.
Most of all, we are still asking for a change of heart.

They made a calf in Horeb
and worshipped a molten image.
They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
Psalm 106:19-20

Closing Prayer:
Merciful Father, Loving Mother,
I know that the tiny sacrifices I make this Lent
can never serve as a real penance in my life.
But help me to make my whole life
one of following Your Son.
Listening to Him, seeking Him.
I am filled with Your love.
Let Your love shine out from within me
and guide my life in this sacred journey
toward the Easter joy You offer me.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

Posted in LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 4 April – “A veil hid Him from their eyes”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C, Gospel:  John 5:31–47 and the Memorial of St Isidore (c 560-636) Father & Doctor of the Church

“If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me.”…John 5:46

REFLECTION – “Moses face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. Aaron and the other Israelites saw (it)… and were afraid to come near him… When Moses had finished speaking with them, he would again put the veil over his face” (cf. Ex 34:29f.).   The radiance lighting up Moses’ face was Christ shining within him but He was hidden from the eyes of the Hebrews who did not see him… The Old Testament as a whole is shown to us, veiled like Moses, the symbol of all prophecy.   Underneath this veil, displayed by the lips of the prophets, Christ appears, a judge in majesty, seated on his throne of glory…

If Moses was veiled, what other prophet could have uncovered his face?   All veiled their speech in imitation of him.   They simultaneously heralded and veiled, they put forth their message and, at the same time, covered it with a veil… Because Jesus shone out in their books, a veil hid Him from their eyes, a veil that makes known to all the world how the words of Holy Scripture contain a hidden meaning…

Our Lord lifted this veil when He expounded His mysteries to the whole of creation.   By His coming, the Son of God uncovered Moses’ face, the incomprehensible words, that up to then had been veiled.   The new covenant has come to interpret the old, now, at last, the world is able to grasp those words that nothing covers any longer.   The Lord, our Sun, has arisen over the world and illumined every living being, mysteries and enigmas are at last made clear.   The veil that used to cover those books has been removed and the world beholds the Son of God with uncovered face.”…St Jacob of Sarug (c 451-521) Syrian Bishop and Monkthe new covenant has come to interpret the old john 5 46 thurs4thweeklent 4 april 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Father almighty, grant us Your good grace to trust completely in the Word made Flesh whom You sent to lead us to our heavenly home and save us from our evil ways.   As we proceed by penance and prayer, grant us now perseverance in listening to Him and learning from Him.   May the prayers of St Isidore, assist us on our journey.   We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God with You, now and forever, amen.st-isidore-pray-for-us-4-april-2018.jpg

Posted in LENT 2019, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 4 April – The Promise

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

The Promise
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

And lastly, O my dear Lord,
though I am so very weak
that I am not fit to ask You
for suffering as a gift
and have not strength to do so,
at least I will beg of You,
grace to meet suffering well,
when You, in Your love and wisdom,
brings it upon me,
knowing that in this way,
I shall gain the promise,
both of this life and of the next.
Amenthe promise - bl john henry newman 4 april 2019.jpg

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 4 April – Blessed Giuseppe Cardinal Benedetto Dusmet OSB (1818-1894)

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Saint of the Day – 4 April – Blessed Giuseppe Cardinal Benedetto Dusmet OSB (1818-1894) aged 75 Cardinal Archbishop of Catania, Italy, professed Benedictine religious, Abbot, Professor, Apostle of the sick and the poor- born on 15 August 1818 at Palermo, Sicily and died on 4 April 1894 at Catania, Sicily of natural causes.   Patronage – Archdiocese of Catania.   Blessed Giuseppe served as the Archbishop of Catania from 1867 until his death. He became professed into the Order of Saint Benedict where he took “Benedetto” as his religious name.   He studied under the Benedictines prior to joining them before serving as a professor, in addition to prior and abbot.   His elevation to the episcopate saw him distinguish himself in cholera epidemics when he tended to the ill while also remaining a strong advocate for the poor of his archdiocese.   He remained a Benedictine and was known to continue to don the Benedictine habit instead of the red cardinal’s regalia.bl giuseppe-benedetto-dusmet-13322b60-4158-4903-b772-910e56206a7-resize-750

Giuseppe Dusmet was born in Palermo in 1818 as the first of six children to the nobles Luigi Dusmet and Maria dei Dragonetti.   His lineage can be traced back to Flanders in Belgium.   Dusmet was baptised just hours after his birth in the Archdiocesan Cathedral as “Giuseppe Maria Giacomo Filippo Lupo Domenico Antonio Rosolino Melchiorre Francesco di Paola Benedetto Gennaro”.   He would be referred to as Melchiorre at home.

His two maternal uncles Vincenzo and Leopoldo Dragonetti were both monks of the Order of Saint Benedict.

Dusmet was educated at the San Martino delle Scales convent in Monreale from 1824.   It was around this time that the Dusmet’s moved to Naples and his father made him return there in 1832, since he feared exposure in the convent, would mean his son would harbour the desire to follow a religious vocation.   But Dusmet returned to the school in 1834 when his father realised that he could not change his son’s vocation.   He would later teach philosophical and theological studies at Benedictine houses.   He entered the Benedictines at Montecassino and chose the name “Benedetto” as his middle name after professing his formal vows on 15 August 1840.  In preparation for his profession he went on a retreat where the preacher was the future cardinal Michelangelo Celesia who became his lifelong friend.

He received the subdiaconate from Archbishop Domenico Balsamo on 11 October 1840 in the Archiepiscopal palace and would later receive the diaconate from the same prelate in the same location on 15 November 1840.   He was ordained to the priesthood on 18 September 1841 and had to receive a special dispensation to be ordained since he was under the canonical age requirement.

In 1845 he began serving as an aide to the abbot Carlo Antonio Buglio and travelled with him as the latter made visitation.   The General Chapter in 1847 saw Buglio – and Dusmet accompanied him – moved to the San Flavio convent of Caltanissetta.   Dusmet served as the prior convent in Naples from 12 June 1850 until May 1852 when he was named as the prior for the San Flavio convent in Caltanissetta.   He held that position until 1858 when the General Chapter at Perugia named him as the abbot for the San Nicolò l’Arena convent.   But he no longer could hold that position as of 15 October 1866 after the Italian kingdom was established with the state confiscating all religious properties.bl guiseppe.jpg

He was appointed Archbishop of Catania in 1867 and he received his episcopal consecration on 10 March in the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome.   Dusmet issued his first pastoral letter to the faithful on 14 March.   He served as a Council Father at the First Vatican Council that Pope Pius IX had convoked.   Dusmet could not assume formal possession of his episcopal see since the new political situation with the kingdom saw the government approve bishops prior to formal enthronement.  The government did not grant Dusmet the approval until 1878 when he was then enthroned in Catania. Dusmet was later elevated to the Cardinalate in 1889 with Pope Leo XIII naming him as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Pudenziana.  bl giuseppe-benedetto-dusmet-2706873d-f454-4064-8c62-38c66553239-resize-750

Dusmet was close friends with fellow Sicilian cardinal and Servant of God Giuseppe Guarino and he knew also the Servant of God Giuseppina Faro.  He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Knights of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and also received the Gold Medal for the Benefits of Public Health on 23 November 1889 in Rome due to his efforts in aiding the ill in cholera epidemics.

Bl Giuseppe died on 4 April 1894 at around 10:30 pm and was buried in the chapel of the Confraternita dei Bianci at a funeral on 6 April that started at 10:00am and ended with his burial at 4:30pm.   He had fallen ill at the beginning of 1894 and on 2 April left instructions not to be embalmed and to have a simple funeral.   On 4 April attempts at artificial respiration were stopped when doctors said that Dusmet’s death was imminent. His final words echoed that of Jesus Christ:  “it is finished”.   His relics were later translated to the Catania Cathedral in May 1904.   Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster – a future Blessed and a Benedictine himself – unveiled a monument dedicated to Dusmet in Catania in 1935.bl guiseppe dusmet catania-monumento-al-cardinale-dusmetCatania_al_Cardinale_Dusmet_-_panoramio

St Pope John Paul II presided at Dusmet’s Beatification in Saint Peter’s Square on 25 September 1988.bl guiseppe shrine relics

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 4 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Isidore of Seville (c 560-636) (Optional Memorial) Father & Doctor of the Church
St Isidore’s life: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/04/saint-of-the-day-4-april-st-isidore-of-seville-father-and-doctor-of-the-church/

Bl Abraham of Strelna
St Agathopus of Thessalonica
St Aleth of Dijon
St Benedict of Sicily OFM (1526-1589)
About St Benedict: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/04/saint-of-the-day-4-april-st-benedict-of-sicily-o-f-m-1526-1589/

Bl Giuseppe Benedetto Dusmet OSB (1818-1894)
St Gwerir of Liskeard
St Henry of Gheest
St Hildebert of Ghent
St Peter of Poitiers
St Plato
St Theodulus of Thessalonica
St Theonas of Egypt
St Tigernach of Clogher
St Zosimus of Palestine

Posted in PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for April 2019

Posted on by AnaStpaul

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for April 2019

Universal

Doctors and their Collaborators in War-Torn Areas.

For doctors and their humanitarian collaborators

in war-torn areas,

who risk their lives to save the lives of others.

the holy father's prayer intention april 2019 .jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

April Devotion – The Blessed Sacrament

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April Devotion – The Blessed Sacrament

Other Christians, most notably the Eastern Orthodox, some Anglicans and some Lutherans, believe in the Real Presence, that is, they believe, as we Catholics do, that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament of the altar (though only Catholics define this change as transubstantiation).

However, only the Catholic Church has developed the practice of Eucharistic adoration. Every Catholic Church contains a Tabernacle in which the Body of Christ is reserved between Masses and the faithful are encouraged to come and pray before the Blessed Sacrament.   Frequent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is a path to spiritual growth.april-devotion

Eucharistic Adoration
The practice of Eucharistic adoration on earth not only brings us grace but prepares us for our life in Heaven.   As Ven Pope Pius XII wrote in Mediator Dei (1947):

“These exercises of piety have brought a wonderful increase in faith and supernatural life to the Church militant upon earth and they are reechoed to a certain extent by the Church triumphant in heaven which sings continually a hymn of praise to God and to the Lamb “who was slain.”

This month, why not make a special effort to spend some time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament?   It doesn’t need to be long or elaborate – You can start simply by making the Sign of the Cross and uttering a short profession of faith, such as “My Lord and my God!” as you pass a Catholic church.   If you have the time to stop for five minutes, all the better.

“A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent
in sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

“When you want to find me, come near the tabernacle.”

St Pio of Pietrelcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)a thousand years and when you want to find me - st padre pio 3 april 2019.jpg

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SANCTITY, Thomas a Kempis

Lenten Thoughts – 3 April – O Fountain of Everlasting Love

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 3 April – Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis (1380-1471): Book 3, Chapter 10

That it is sweet to despise the world and to serve God.

Now, will I speak again, O Lord and will not be silent, I will say in the hearing of my God and my King Who is on high:  Oh, how great is the abundance of Your sweetness, O Lord, which You have hidden for those that fear You!

But what are You, for those who love You?   What, to those who serve You with their whole heart?   Unspeakable indeed, is the sweetness of Your contemplation, which You bestow on those who love You.   In this most of all, have You shown me the sweetness of Your love, that when I had no being, You did make me and when I was straying far from You, You brought me back again, that I might serve You and You have commanded me to serve You.

O Fountain of everlasting love, what shall I say of You?   How can I forget You, Who have vouchsafed to remember me even after I was corrupted and lost?

Beyond all hope, You show mercy to Your servant and beyond all desert, have You manifested Your grace and friendship.   What return shall I make to You for this favour? For it is granted to all who forsake these things, to renounce the world and to assume the monastic life  . Is it much that I should serve You, Whom the whole creation is bound to serve?   It ought not to seem much to me to serve You but this does rather appear great and wonderful to me, that You vouchsafe to receive one so wretched and unworthy as Your servant.   It is a great honour, a great glory, to serve You and to despise all things for You for they who willingly subject themselves to Your holy service, shall have great grace.   They shall experience the most sweet consolation of the Holy Spirit, Who for the love of You, have cast aside all carnal delight.o fountain of everlasting love - thomas a kempis 3 april 2019.jpg

Posted in QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 3 April – I am unable to live a mere earthly life!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 3 April – Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937)

“I feel within my soul an impulse
which spurs me onto God.
I am unable to live a mere earthly life!…
I must raise myself above all worldly things
in order to live for God alone,
to sacrifice myself for priests
and to console the Pierced Heart of Jesus.
Thus fulfilling His desire of love
toward me and toward souls.”

Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937)i feel within my soul - bl maria teresa casini 3 april 2019.jpg

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The LAMB of GOD, The LAST THINGS, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Lenten Reflection – 3 April – “The dead will hear his voice”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 3 April – Wednesday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Isaiah 49:8-15; Psalms 145:8-9, 13CD-14, 17-18; John 5:17-30

Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming, when all who are in the tombs, will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement.…John 5:28-29wed of the fourth week lent - john 528-29 3 april 2019.jpg

Daily Meditation:
Grant us Your forgiveness.

We know that this whole journey is about our reconciliation.
We know that God wants to forgive us.
We know we are preparing to renew our Baptismal promises,
and “refuse to be mastered by sin.”
Today we hear the invitation and ask more earnestly.

In the marvellous discourse that follows His sign of healing,
Jesus says, “I am not seeking my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
I am filled with a sense of sorrow and gratitude,
as I see what He did for me.

I tell you for certain that everyone who hears my message
and has faith in the one who sent me has eternal life
and will never be condemned.
They have already gone from death to life.
John 5:24

“The dead will hear his voice”  – “Lazarus, come forth” (Jn 11:43)

Saint Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Father & Doctor of the Church

Our Lord had raised Jairus’s daughter but while the body was still warm and death was only halfway through its work (Mt 9:18f.)… He also raised the widow’s only son but by halting the stretcher and forestalling the tomb… before the dead man had fallen completely under the law of death (Lk 7:11f.).   But the whole event that takes place with regard to Lazarus is unique.. Lazarus, in whom all death’s power had been completed and in whom, equally, a complete image of the resurrection shone out… Christ, indeed, returned as Lord on the third day; Lazarus, as servant, was called back to life on the fourth day…

The Lord said and repeated to His disciples:  “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified” (Mt 20:18f.).   And when He said this, He saw them growing uncertain, sad, comfortless.   He knew they had to be crushed by the weight of His Passion until nothing of their own life, their own faith, their own light would remain within them but, to the contrary, their hearts would be darkened with the almost total darkness of their lack of faith.   That is the reason why He let Lazarus’s death continue for four days… From this follows what our Lord said to His disciples:  “Lazarus has died.   And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe” (vv.14-15).   Therefore Lazarus’s death was necessary so that the disciples’ faith might rise from the tomb along with Lazarus.

“That I was not there.”   Now was there anywhere where Christ was not?… My brethren, Christ as God was there but Christ the man was not.   Christ God was there when Lazarus was dying but now Christ man was going to the dead man because Christ our Lord was going enter into death:  “It is there, in death, in the tomb, in hell, that all the power of death is to be crushed through me and my death.”he knew they had to be crushed - st peter chrysologus 3 april 2019.jpg

Closing Prayer:
Loving and merciful God,
I am so aware of my sins and weaknesses.
But as painfully aware of my faults as I am,
Let me also remember Your tender love,
Your gentle and limitless forgiveness.
I come before You filled with pain and guilt
but look into Your eyes and see the forgiving love of my Father,
I so long for in my life.
Help me to forgive the same way.
Teach me to love as You love.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

Posted in GOD the FATHER, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 3 April – “Father”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 3 April – Wednesday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: John 5:17–30

Jesus answered them, “My Father is working still and I am working.” This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also called God his Father...John 5:17-18

REFLECTION – “Father – with this word I express my certainty that someone is there who hears me, who never leaves me alone, who is always present.   I express my certainty that God, despite the infinite difference between Him and me, is such that I can speak to Him, may even address Him familiarly as “thou” (German du).
His greatness does not overwhelm me, does not reject me as insignificant and unimportant.   Certainly I am subject to Him as a child is subject to his father, yet there is such a fundamental similarity and likeness between Him and me, yes, I am so important to Him, I belong so closely to Him, that I can rightly address Him as “Father”.
My being born is not a mistake, then but a grace.   It is good to live even though I do not always perceive it.   I am wanted. not a child of chance or necessity but of choice and freedom.
Therefore, I shall also have a purpose in life, there will always be a meaning for me, a task designed just for me, there is a conception of me that I can seek and find and fulfil. When the school of life becomes unbearably hard, when I would like to cry out as Job did, as the psalmist did – then I can transform this cry into the word “Father” and the cry will gradually become a word, a reminder to trust, because from the Father’s perspective it is clear that my distress, yes, my agony, is part of the greater love for which I give thanks.”…Pope Benedict XVIjohn 5 17 - jesus answered my father is working - father with this word pope benedict 3 april 2019

PRAYER – Almighty God and Father!   We give You thanks for cleansing our hearts and strengthening us in love through the Holy Spirit.   May we always be grateful for all the goodness You have shown us and may we bear our trials with patience.   You gave us Your only Son, in His life You have shown us the way of love, teach us to follow His steps in the great and small events of our life.   Move us always to hear the cries of our brothers.   May the prayers of all the angels and saints and the guiding hand of our Mother, the Mother of Christ, grant us strength.   Through Jesus our Lord, in the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.mater dei ora pro nobis mary pray for us 3 april 2019.jpg

Posted in LENT 2019, Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 3 April – Jesu, be You my Life!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 3 April – Wednesday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C

Jesu, be You my Life!
Msgr Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914)

I cannot live alone another hour,
Jesu, be You my Life!
I have not power to strive,
be You my Power
In every strife!
I can do nothing
– hope, nor love, nor fear.
But only fail and fall.
Be You my soul and self,
O Jesu dear.
My God and all!
Amenjesu-be-you-my-life-msgr-robert-hugh-benson-maundy-thurs-29-march-2018.jpg

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Saint of the Day – 3 April – Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937)

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Saint of the Day – 3 April – Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937) – Religious Sister and Founder of the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Priests known as Little Friends of Jesus , Apostle of Eucharistic Adoration, of Prayer especially for priests.   Also known as Sister Maria Serafina of the Heart of Jesus Pierced and Mother Maria Teresa. Additional Memorial – 29 October (Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, diocese of Frascati, Italy, based on the date of her baptism).   Born on 27 October 1864 in Frascati, Italy and died around 5am on 3 April 1937 at Oblate monastery on the via del Casaletto in Grottaferrata, Rome, Italy of natural causes, aged 72.

Maria Teresa Casini was born on 27 October 1864 to Tommaso Casini and Melania Rayner as their first born daughter, she was baptised on 29 October.

She travelled to Rome for her studies at the Santa Rufina boarding school that the nuns of the Madams of the Sacred Heart conducted. She received her First Communion on 7 May 1878 which solidified her vocation.   Due to a period of ill health, she had to leave school and return home for recuperation.bl maria teresa casini young

Shortly after she turned eighteen, she responded to her vocation and met Father Arsenio Pellegrini who became her guide and her spiritual director and who served as the Abbot of the Basilian Monks of Grottaferrata.   Despite entering the convent, ill health forced her to leave, though she attempted to enter once again yet failed due to the death of the foundress after which the institute she joined ceased to exist.

In due time, she became a nun after entering the monastery of Sepolte Vive in Rome on 2 February 1885.   Casini only started to live in Grottaferrata with fellow entrants from 17 October 1892 onwards.   On 2 February 1894, she founded the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

It was not until 1925 that Casini started the special work of the “Little Friends of Jesus” in order to promote and to cultivate the vocations of prospective priests.   The group’s special character came to life when Cardinal Francesco Satolli requested Casini and her congregation to take up new and vigorous apostolic work.   This group also worked for the sanctification of all priests and so the group opened a boarding school for males in order to please the Lord’s request for good and wholesome priests.

Throughout her life, Casini offered “the oblation of herself, in faithful response to the Love that overflows from the open Heart of the Savior, and which she imparted to so many daughters and priests”. This even earned the praise of Pope Pius X in 1904 who wrote:  “In order to bring about the reign of Jesus Christ, nothing is more necessary than the sanctity of the clergy.   God bless these sisters for their selfless love for these men of God, for through them, through the sacraments, we are fortified and purified for the journey”.bl maria teresa casini

Casini grew ill in the final years of her life and she died in 1937.   Her final words were: “I am peaceful.   I feel God is near me”.

Casini’s order continues to flourish on an international level in places such as Africa, the United States of America, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, India, Guinea Bissau.  The Generalate is in Rome and the Motherhouse is in Grottaferrata, Italy.

The first of the males of the Little Friends of Jesus that Casini herself oversaw was ordained as a priest in 1938.bl maria teresa casini 2

Blessed Maria Teresa was buried in the chapel of the Zealots of the Sacred Heart in a nearby cemetery and her remains were re-interred at the Generalate of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart in Grottaferrata on 20 May 1965.   She was Beatified on 31 October 2015 by Pope Francis.   The Beatification recognition was celebrated at the Piazza San Pietro at the cathedral in Frascati, Italy, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato.   Her Beatification miracle involved the 25 – 27 June 2003 healing of the brain lesions and trauma of Jacob “Jack” Ronald Sebest, a five year old drowning victim in Youngstown, Ohio.canonisation bl maria teresa maxresdefault.jpg

The Oblate Sisters are called to live and to participate intimately in the Oblation of Jesus to the Father, to repair and console His Pierced Heart, with an intense life of prayer and unconditional gift of ourselves, so that Priests may be holy.   They also care for retired and convalescent priests in special homes which they administer.

From their Constitution:
“The exclusive pursuit of God – which is the goal of our community life – is the foundation of that spirit of prayer that must characterise our whole existence as
Christians, religious and Oblates.   From the spirit of prayer, springs prayer itself as the source and fundamental expression of our community and personal life because “the Oblate’s life is intimately tied to the altar.”   In founding the Institute, Mother
Teresa wanted to root it in faith, prayer and that unconditional gift of herself to priests, which knew no limits in our first sisters, if not in the consummation of life itself.

In silent and adoring prayer we express the typical attitude of our consecration and
Oblate spirituality, because with it, we join our feelings to the feelings of Jesus Himself, which are an endless act of love and an unceasing supplication to the Father for the Church and for its priests.   Our individual prayer finds its climax in daily adoration.   It brings us close to the altar, seen as the true source of our specific mission in the Church: suppliant and atoning prayer for the holiness of priests.”

“The life Jesus leads in the Sacrament of His love and which the Oblate must imitate and make her own is this – a life of generous and limitless sacrifice… a life of incessant prayer …a life of obedience… a life of poverty…”….Blessed Mother Maria Teresa

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 3 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Bl Alexandrina di Letto
St Attala of Taormina
St Benatius of Kilcooley
St Benignus of Tomi
St Burgundofara
St Chrestus
St Comman
St Evagrius of Tomi
Bl Francisco Solís Pedrajas
Bl Gandulphus of Binasco
Bl Iacobus Won Si-bo
St John I of Naples
Bl John of Penna
St Joseph the Hymnographer
Bl Juan Otazua Madariaga
Bl Lawrence Pak Chwi-deuk
St Luigi Scrosoppi Cong. Orat. (1804-1884)
About St Luigi:   https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/saint-of-the-day-3-april-st-luigi-scrosoppi/

A little Note about St Luigi – his Canonisation Miracle occurred in my Parish in Oudtshoorn!

Bl Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937)
St Nicetas of Medicion
St Papo
Bl Piotr Edward Dankowski
St Richard of Chichester (1197-1253)
Biography:   https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/saint-of-the-day-3-april-st-richard-of-chichester-1197-1253/

Bl Robert Middleton
St Sixtus I, Pope
Bl Thurstan Hunt
St Vulpian of Tyre

Posted in QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 2 April – A martyr dies and his rule begins.

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Thought for the Day – 2 April – The Memorial of St Pedro Calungsod (1654–1672) Martyr

SOREN Kierkegaard once said,
“A tyrant dies and his rule ends.
A martyr dies and his rule begins.”the tyrant dies and his rule is over the martyr dies and his rule begins - soren kierkegaard 21 jan 2019

Pope Benedict XVI referred to San Pedro Calungsod in his homily by his English and German name ‘Peter’.   Without saying it directly the Holy Father was signalling all of us to go beyond our usual, if natural, patriotic yet myopic perspective when looking at San Pedro’s elevation to the altar of the Lord.   San Pedro or St Peter Calungsod now belongs to the whole Church or, rather, to the whole believing world.   We need to rejoice, as he is now officially one of our intercessors with God, for our various needs and concerns.

We need San Pedro Calungsod’s courage to shine through our efforts to face up to the spears of secularism, materialism and hedonism that subject our young and adult Filipinos under constant attack.   We need the same courage of San Pedro Calungsod who did not abandon a priest-mentor-friend in mortal danger, to prod us not to abandon what we once heard from the tender lips of our mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers and catechists – the things of God, of His Son Jesus Christ, of His Church, of eternal life, not only of the life here and now.

The early Christian writer Tertullian once wrote, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.”   May the blood of St Pedro Calungsod give birth to all of us becoming more Christ-like, not abandoning the truth of the Lord for the tricks of the world.

Then we, like him, shall rediscover the secret of eternal youth.
Fr Eutiquio Belizar SThD (Excerpt)

St Pedro Calungsod, Pray for us!ST PEDRO CALUNGSOD MARTYR 2 APRIL 2019 PRAY FOR US.jpg

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, Thomas a Kempis

Lenten Thoughts – 2 April – “If you wish…” Thomas à Kempis

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

On the Fervent Amendment of our Whole Life

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

“When a certain anxious person, who often times wavered between hope and fear, once overcome with sadness, threw himself upon the ground in prayer, before one of the altars in the Church and thinking these things in his mind, said “Oh, if I only knew how to persevere,” that very instant he heard within him, this heavenly answer: “And if thou did know this, what would thou do? Do now what you would do and thou shall be perfectly secure.” And immediately being consoled and comforted, he committed himself to the Divine Will and his anxious thoughts ceased. He no longer wished for curious things, searching to find out what would happen to him but studied rather to learn what was the acceptable and perfect will of God for the beginning and the perfection of every good work.”

“If you wish to enter into life, keep My commandments.
If you will know the truth, believe in Me.
If you will be perfect, sell all.
If you will be My disciple, deny yourself.
If you will possess the blessed life, despise this present life.
If you will be exalted in heaven, humble yourself on earth.
If you wish to reign with Me, carry the Cross with Me.
For only the servants of the Cross find the life of blessedness and of true light.”if-you-wish-to-enter-into-life-imitation-chapeter-56-12-feb-2018.jpg

“MY CHILD, the more you depart from yourself,
the more you will be able to enter into Me.
As the giving up of exterior things, brings interior peace,
so the forsaking of self, unites you to God.
I will have you learn perfect surrender to My will,
without contradiction or complaint.”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
The Imitation of Christmy child the more you depart from yourself- thomas a kempis - 2 april 2019.jpg

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The PASSION

Quote of the Day – 2 April – Fix on your minds on the Passion

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Francis of Paola O.M. (1416-1507)

“Fix your minds on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Inflamed with love for us, He came down from heaven to redeem us.
For our sake He endured every torment of body and soul
and shrank from no bodily pain.
He Himself gave us an example of perfect patience and love.
We, then, are to be patient in adversity.”

St Francis of Paola O.M. (1416-1507)fix your minds on the passion - st francis of paola 2 april 2019.jpg