Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE MERCY, FATHERS of the Church, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 March – “Do you wish to be healed?” John 5:6

One Minute Reflection – 11 March – Ember Friday of the First Week of Lent – Ezechiel 18:10-28, John 5:1-15

Jesus said to him, “Do you wish to be healed?” The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool’ … Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your pallet and walk.” And at once the man was cured.” – John 5:6-8

REFLECTION – “We read in the Old Testament that in the times of Noah, since all humankind had been won over by sin, heaven’s floodgates opened and rain poured down for forty days… This was a symbol – it was less about a flood, than about a baptism. For it was indeed a baptism that bore away the misdeeds of the sinners and spared the uprightness of Noah. And so today, just as it was then, our Lord has given Lent to us so that the skies can open for the same number of days to inundate us with the floods of divine mercy. Once washed in the saving waters of baptism, this Sacrament enlightens us and, just as formerly, its waters bear away the evil of our sins and confirm the uprightness of our virtues.

Today’s situation is just the same as in Noah’s time. Baptism is flood to sinners and consecration for the faithful. In Baptism the Lord rescues justice and destroys injustice. We can see this in the example of one and the same man – before he was cleansed by the spiritual commands, the Apostle Paul, was a persecutor and blasphemer (1Tm 1,13). But once he had been bathed with the heavenly rain of Baptism, the blasphemer died, the persecutor died, Saul died. Then the Apostle, the just man, Paul, came to life… Anyone who lives Lent in a religious manner and observes the Lord’s decrees will see sin die in him and grace come to life… such as these die as sinners and live as righteous persons.” – St Maximus of Turin (?-c 420), Bishop – Sermon for Lent 50

PRAYER – Forgive my sins, O my God, forgive my sins:
the sins of youth, the sins of age, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body,
the sins which, through frailty, I have committed, my deliberate and grievous sins,
the sins I know and the sins I do not know, the sins I have laboured so long to hide from others, that now they are hidden from my own memory.
Let me be absolved from all these iniquities and delivered from the bond of all these evils, by the Life, Passion and Death of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

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Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 9 March – Act of Contrition, By St Alphonsus

Our Morning Offering – 9 March – Wednesdayof the First Week of Lent, Ember Wednesday – FAST & PARTIAL ABSTINENCE

Act of Contrition
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.”
Amen

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, DIVINE MERCY, DOCTORS of the Church, MARTYRS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on THE LIGHT of CHRIST, QUOTES on WATCHING, The LAST THINGS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 21 January – “Our lamps are going out.” – Matthew 25:8

Quote/s of the Day – 21 January – The Memorial of St Agnes (c 291- c 304) Virgin and Martyr – Ecclus 51:1-8, 12; Matthew 25:1-13

“Our lamps are going out.

Matthew 25:8

“I have not become as wise
as those five wise Virgins.
… But I have become the most wretched of the foolish ones
by failing to keep some oil for my lamp,
namely, mercy together with virginity
or, still more, the anointing from Baptism’s Sacred fount

Therefore, the doors of the wedding hall
are closed to me too, in my negligence.
But, O my Bridegroom,
while I am still in my body here below,
listen to my soul, Your Bride…
From now on, I will cry aloud piteously,
“Oh, open to me Your Heavenly Door,
bring me into Your Wedding Chamber on high,
make me worthy of Your Holy Kiss,
Your pure and spotless Embrace.
Oh let me not hear the Voice saying
it does not know me!
I am blind; set alight with Your own Light
my spirit’s extinguished flame!

St Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173)
Armenian Bishop

(Jesus, the Father’s beloved Son 688-693, SC 203)

“Give me grace,
to amend my life
and to have an eye to mine end,
without grudge of death,
which, to them,
who die in You,
good Lord,
is the gate of a wealthy life.

St Thomas More (1478-1535)
Martyr

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.”
Amen

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

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, DIVINE MERCY, DOCTORS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on BAD CONVERSATION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The HEART, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 July – “They repented” – Matthew 12:41

One Minute Reflection – 19 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 14: 5-18; Exodus 15: 1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6; Matthew 12: 38-42

They repented” – Matthew 12:41

REFLECTION – “Let us meditate on the Ninevites…, let us listen to what they did. After the terrifying proclamation made by Jonah before this gluttonous and drunken people…, like capable workmen they made hast to restore the City their evil deeds had destroyed, taking a sure rock for its foundation…: repentance. After washing away its filth in the floods of their tears, they adorned their Town with their prayer and, converted Nineveh, pleased the Merciful One. For she immediately showed forth the beauty of her heart to “he who searches the heart” (Ps 7,10)… rubbed with the oil of their good deeds, perfumed with fasting, she returned to the One who loves her… and He embraced her repentance.
Its king, a wise man,… prepared animals and flocks as if to bring them along in dowry, saying: “O God, my Saviour, I offer everything to You, only reconcile, bring back in grace, she who prostituted herself and betrayed… Your purity, for see how, in her love, she offers her repentance to You like a gift… If I, the sovereign king, have sinned then strike me alone and take pity on all these others. But if we have all fallen short, hear the voices of all… May Your help come upon us and all fear will be dissolved. Nothing will frighten us if You receive what we are offering You – our repentance…
Rebellious Nineveh throws herself at Your feet and I, a miserable king and Your wretched servant, I sit down in ashes since I am unworthy of my throne (Joh 3,6). Because I have scorned the crown, I throw dust on my head. Because I am not worthy of my purple, I have put on sackcloth and burst into lamentation. Therefore, do not despise me, cast a glance upon us, O my Saviour, and accept our repentance.”

Son of the One God, O only God, those who love You, wish to carry out Your Will; protect them in Your mercy… As in former days You took pity on the Ninevites… so today, release from judgement those who sing to You and grant me forgiveness in return for my confession… Since I have no works worthy of Your glory, at least save me, my Saviour, for my words of contrition – You Who love repentance.” – St Romanos Melodios (c 490-c 556) Monk, Poet, Hymnist – Hymn « Nineveh » § 4-17; SC 99

PRAYER – My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.”
Amen – By St Alphonsus Mary Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 16 March – “Do you want to be healed?” John 5:1-16

One Minute Reflection – 16 March – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Readings: Ezekiel 47:1-912Psalms 46:2-35-6,8-9John 5:1-16

“Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool….” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” John 5:6-8

REFLECTION – “We read in the Old Testament that in the times of Noah, since all humankind had been won over by sin, heaven’s floodgates opened and rain poured down for forty days… This was a symbol – it was less about a flood, than about a baptism. For it was indeed a baptism that bore away the misdeeds of the sinners and spared the uprightness of Noah. And so today, just as it was then, our Lord has given Lent to us so that the skies can open for the same number of days to inundate us with the floods of divine mercy. Once washed in the saving waters of baptism, this Sacrament enlightens us and, just as formerly, its waters bear away the evil of our sins and confirm the uprightness of our virtues.

Today’s situation is just the same as in Noah’s time. Baptism is flood to sinners and consecration for the faithful. In Baptism the Lord rescues justice and destroys injustice. We can see this in the example of one and the same man – before he was cleansed by the spiritual commands, the Apostle Paul, was a persecutor and blasphemer (1Tm 1,13). But once he had been bathed with the heavenly rain of Baptism, the blasphemer died, the persecutor died, Saul died. Then the Apostle, the just man, Paul, came to life… Anyone who lives Lent in a religious manner and observes the Lord’s decre,es will see sin die in him and grace come to life… such as these die as sinners and live as righteous persons.” – St Maximus of Turin (?-c 420), Bishop – Sermon for Lent 50

PRAYER – Forgive my sins, O my God, forgive my sins:
the sins of youth, the sins of age, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body,
the sins which, through frailty, I have committed, my deliberate and grievous sins,
the sins I know and the sins I do not know, the sins I have laboured so long to hide from others, that now they are hidden from my own memory.
Let me be absolved from all these iniquities and delivered from the bond of all these evils, by the Life, Passion and Death of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, DIVINE MERCY, LENT 2020, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Lenten Reflection – 27 March – ‘Here is the Son of God …’

Lenten Reflection – 27 March – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Readings: Wisdom 2:1, 12-22, Psalm 34:17-21, 23, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”

“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

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

“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.” … St Pope John Paul (1920-2005) – Encyclical « Dives in Misericordia » # 8

and-it-is-also-the-same-christ-st-john-paul-encyclical-frifourtheweeklent-5-april-2019 AND 27 MARCH 2020

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:17-18

friday of the fourth week 27 march 2020

Intercessions:
Let us pray to Christ our Saviour,
who redeemed us by His Death and Resurrection:
Lord, have mercy on us.

You went up to Jerusalem to suffer and so enter into Your glory,
– bring Your Church to the Passover feast of heaven.
You were lifted high on the cross and pierced by the soldier’s lance,
– heal our wounds.
You made the Cross the Tree of Life,
– give its fruit to those reborn in baptism.
On the Cross You forgave the repentant thief,
– forgive us our sins.

Closing Prayer:

Act of Contrition
By St Alphonsus Mary Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.
Amenact-of-contrition-st-alphonsus-13-april-2019 and 27 march 2020

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, DIVINE MERCY, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2020, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The PASSION, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 24 March – By your blood, forgive my sins.

Lenten Reflection – 24 March – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Readings: Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12, Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9, John 5:1-16 and the Memorial of Blessed Didacus Joseph of Cadiz OFM Cap (1743–1801)

“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethzatha, which has five porticoes.   In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed. One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. … John 5:2-5
“It was because Jesus did things such as this on the Sabbath
that they began to persecute him.” …John 5:16
For me!

lent-tues-of-the-fourth-week-john-5-16-it-was-because-2-april-2019 and 24 march 2020

Daily Meditation:
We begin to feel the power of the Fourth Gospel.
The “forces” that are opposed in the gospel
have everything to do with the forces at work in my heart.

“Go down, my brothers and put on the Holy Spirit in the waters of baptism;
be united with those spiritual beings who serve our God.
Blessed be He who instituted baptism for the forgiveness of Adam’s sons!
This water is the secret fire that marks His flock with a sign,
with the three spiritual names that confound the Evil one (cf. Rev 3:12). (…)
John bore witness concerning our Saviour:
“He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11).
Here, my brethren, in the true baptism, is that fire and that Spirit.
For baptism is more powerful than Jordan, that little stream,
its waves of water and oil wash away all human sin.
Elisha, by initiating it seven times, purified Naaman of his leprosy (2 Kgs 5:10);
whereas baptism purifies us of sins hidden in our souls.
Moses baptised the people in the sea (1 Cor 10:2)
yet could not cleanse their hearts from within,
Stained, as they were, by sin.
And now here is a Priest, like Moses, who cleanses the soul from its stains
and with oil He marks with a sign, lambs newborn for the Kingdom. (…)
With the water that flowed from the rock, the people’s thirst was quelled (Ex 17:1f.),
See how, through Christ and His spring, is quenched the thirst of nations. (…)
See how, from Christ’s side, there flows a life-giving stream (Jn 19:34),
peoples who thirst have drunk from it and there forgot their affliction.
Pour your dew on my weakness, Lord.
By your blood, forgive my sins.” … St Ephrem (306-373) Father & Doctor of the Church

pur your dew on my weakness lord by your blood forgive my sins - st ephrem 24 march 2020

Intercessions:
God the Father has given us His only Son, the Word made human,
to be our food and our life. Let us thank Him and pray:
May the word of Christ dwell among us in all its richness.

Help us this Lenten season to listen more frequently to Your word,
– that we may celebrate the solemnity of Easter
with greater love for Christ, our Paschal Sacrifice.
May Your Holy Spirit be our teacher,
– that we may encourage those in doubt and error to follow what is true and good.
Enable us to enter more deeply into the mystery of Your Anointed One,
– that our lives may reveal Him more effectively.
Purify and renew Your Church in this time of salvation,
– that it may give an ever greater witness to You.

Closing Prayer:

ACT OF CONTRITION

Forgive my sins, O my God, forgive my sins:
the sins of youth,
the sins of age,
the sins of my soul
and the sins of my body,
the sins which, through frailty, I have committed,
my deliberate and grievous sins,
the sins I know and the sins I do not know,
the sins I have laboured so long to hide from others,
that now they are hidden from my own memory,
let me be absolved from all these iniquities
and delivered from the bond of all these evils,
by the Life, Passion and Death
of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amenact-of-contrition-7-march-thurs-after-ash-wed-2019 and 24 march 2020

Posted in Blessed JOHN HENRY Cardinal NEWMAN, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CONFESSION/PENANCE, HOLY WEEK, HOLY WEEK 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, STATIONS of the CROSS, The STATIONS of the CROSS

The Stations of the Cross – 20 April – Thirteenth & Fourteenth Stations

The Stations of the Cross – 20 April – Holy Saturday, – Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

Pardon us, O Lord, pardon us
By William of Saint-Thierry OSB, O.Cist. (c 1075-1148)
Abbot, Monk, Theologian, Mystic, Writer
Friend of St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

Pardon us, O Lord, pardon us.
We beg to shift the blame for our sins,
we make excuses.
But no-one can hide
from the Light of Your Truth,
which both enlightens those,
who turn to it
and exposes those,
who turn away.
Even our blood and our bones
are visible to You,
who created us out of dust.
How foolish we are,
to think that we can rule our own lives,
satisfying our own desires,
without thought of You.
How stupid we are,
to imagine that we can keep our sins hidden.
But although we may deceive other people,
we cannot deceive You.
And since You see into our hearts,
we cannot deceive ourselves,
for Your Light reveals to us,
our own spiritual corruption.
Let us, therefore, fall down before You,
weeping with tears of shame.
May Your judgement,
give new shape to our souls.
May Your power,
mould our hearts
to reflect Your love.
May Your grace,
infuse our minds,
so that our thoughts
reflect Your Will.
Amenpardon us o lord pardon us by william saint thierry - 20 april 2019 holy sat.jpg

The Thirteenth Station
Jesus is taken from the Cross, and laid in Mary’s Bosom

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

THE multitude have gone home.   Calvary is left solitary and still, except that St John and the holy women are there.   Then come Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus and take down from the Cross the body of Jesus and place it in the arms of Mary.

O Mary, at last you have possession of your Son.   Now, when His enemies can do no more, they leave Him in contempt to you.   As His unexpected friends perform their difficult work, you look on with unspeakable thoughts.   Your heart is pierced with the sword of which Simeon spoke.   O Mother most sorrowful, yet in your sorrow there is a still greater joy.   The joy in prospect nerved you to stand by Him as He hung upon the Cross, much more now, without swooning, without trembling, you receive Him to your arms and on your lap.   Now you are supremely happy as having Him, though He comes to you not as He went from you.   He went from your home, O Mother of God, in the strength and beauty of His manhood and He comes back to you dislocated, torn to pieces, mangled, dead.   Yet, O Blessed Mary, you are happier in this hour of woe than on the day of the marriage feast, for then He was leaving you and now in the future, as a Risen Saviour, He will be separated from you no more.

Pater, Ave. &c. thirteenth station jesus is taken from the cross bl john henry newman 20 april 2019 holy sat

The Fourteenth Station
Jesus is laid in the Tomb

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

BUT for a short three days, for a day and a half—Mary then must give Him up.   He is not yet risen.   His friends and servants take Him from you and place Him in an honourable tomb.   They close it safely, till the hour comes for His resurrection.

Lie down and sleep in peace in the calm grave for a little while, dear Lord and then wake up for an everlasting reign.   We, like the faithful women, will watch around You, for all our treasure, all our life, is lodged with You.   And, when our turn comes to die, grant, sweet Lord, that we may sleep calmly too, the sleep of the just.   Let us sleep peacefully for the brief interval between death and the general resurrection.   Guard us from the enemy, save us from the pit.   Let our friends remember us and pray for us, O dear Lord. Let Masses be said for us, so that the pains of Purgatory, so much deserved by us and, therefore, so truly welcomed by us, may be over with little delay.   Give us seasons of refreshment there, wrap us round with holy dreams and soothing contemplations, while we gather strength to ascend the heavens.   And then let our faithful guardian Angels help us up the glorious ladder, reaching from earth to heaven, which Jacob saw in vision. And when we reach the everlasting gates, let them open upon us with the music of Angels and let St Peter receive us and our Lady, the glorious Queen of Saints, embrace us, and bring us to You, and to Your Eternal Father and to Your Co-equal Spirit, Three Persons, One God, to reign with Them forever and ever.

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.fourteenth station - tomb - bl john henry newman - 20 april 2019 holy sat

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my
whole heart for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself from You again
grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

LET US PRAY

God, Who by the Precious Blood of Your only-begotten Son did sanctify the Standard of the Cross, grant, we beseech You, that we, who rejoice in the glory of the same Holy Cross, may at all times and places, rejoice in Your protection, Through the same Christ, our Lord.   Amen.

Lord Jesus, I am too tired to go on but in You I find rest.
Lord Jesus, I feel so alone but You promised that You would never leave me.
Lord Jesus, I am so afraid but Your arms constantly protect me.
Lord Jesus, I cannot make it but You promise that You will carry me.
Lord Jesus, I am lost but through You and You alone I am found.

End with one Pater, Ave and Gloria, for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.

Posted in Blessed JOHN HENRY Cardinal NEWMAN, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HOLY WEEK 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, STATIONS of the CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The STATIONS of the CROSS

The Stations of the Cross – 16 April – The Sixth Station Jesus and Veronica

The Stations of the Cross – 16 April – Tuesday of Holy Week

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

Act of Contrition
By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church

O my God,
I am exceedingly grieved for having offended thee
and with my whole heart
I repent of the sins I have committed.
I hate and abhor them above every other evil,
not only because, by so sinning,
I have lost heaven and deserved hell
but still more, because I have offended thee,
O infinite Goodness,
who are worthy to be loved above all things.
I most firmly resolve,
by the assistance of thy grace,
never more to offend thee for the time to come
and to avoid those occasions
which might lead me into sin.
Amen

Note:  It is little known that St Robert is the Author of this, one of our most widely used prayersact-of-contrition-written-by-st-robert-bellarmine-o-m-god-i-am-exceedingly-grieved-17-sept-2018.jpg

The Sixth Station
Jesus and Veronica

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

AS Jesus toils along up the hill, covered with the sweat of death, a woman makes her way through the crowd and wipes His face with a napkin.   In reward of her piety, the cloth retains the impression of the Sacred Countenance upon it.

The relief which a Mother’s tenderness secured is not yet all she did.   Her prayers sent Veronica as well as Simon—Simon to do a man’s work, Veronica to do the part of a woman.   The devout servant of Jesus did what she could.   As Magdalen had poured the ointment at the Feast, so Veronica now offered Him this napkin in His passion.   “Ah,” she said, “would I could do more!   Why have I not the strength of Simon, to take part in the burden of the Cross?   But men only can serve the Great High Priest, now that He is celebrating the solemn act of sacrifice.”

O Jesus! let us one and all minister to You according to our places and powers.   And as You did accept from Your followers refreshment in Your hour of trial, so give to us the support of Your grace when we are hard pressed by our Foe.   I feel I cannot bear up against temptations, weariness, despondency and sin.   I say to myself, what is the good of being religious? {138}   I shall fall, O my dear Saviour, I shall certainly fall, unless You renew for me my vigour like the eagle’s and breathe life into me by the soothing application and the touch of the Holy Sacraments which You have appointed.the sixth station - jesus and veronica - 16 april - bl john henry newman - o jesus i shall certainly fall - 16 april 2019.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again grant that I
may love always
and then do with me what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

Posted in Blessed JOHN HENRY Cardinal NEWMAN, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The STATIONS of the CROSS

The Stations of the Cross – 13 April – The Third Station

The Stations of the Cross – 13 April – Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787).

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.
Amenact of contrition - st alphonsus 13 april 2019.jpg

The Third Station
Jesus falls the first time beneath the Cross

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

JESUS, bowed down under the weight and the length of the unwieldy Cross, which trailed after Him, slowly sets forth on His way, amid the mockeries and insults of the crowd.   His agony in the Garden itself was sufficient to exhaust Him but it was only the first of a multitude of sufferings.   He sets off with His whole heart but His limbs fail Him and He falls.

Yes, it is as I feared.   Jesus, the strong and mighty Lord, has found for the moment our sins stronger than Himself.   He falls—yet He bore the load for a while, He tottered but He bore up and walked onwards.   What, then, made Him give way?   I say, I repeat, it is an intimation and a memory to thee, O my soul, of thy falling back into mortal sin.   I repented of the sins of my youth and went on well for a time but at length, a new temptation came, when I was off my guard and I suddenly fell away.   Then all my good habits seemed to go at once, they were like a garment which is stripped off, so quickly and utterly did grace depart from me.   And at that moment I looked at my Lord and lo! He had fallen down and I covered my face with my hands and remained in a state of great confusion.the third station jesus falls the first time - bl john henry newman 13 april 20195.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love
above all things,
I repent
with my
whole heart
for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I
may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

Posted in Blessed JOHN HENRY Cardinal NEWMAN, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DIVINE MERCY, DOCTORS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The STATIONS of the CROSS

The Stations of the Cross – 12 April – The Second Station

The Stations of the Cross – 12 April – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)the stations of the cross - meditations by - for each post - header 11 april 2019

Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787).

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.
Amen

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

The Second Station
Jesus receives His Cross

A STRONG, and therefore heavy Cross, for it is strong enough to bear Him on it, when He arrives at Calvary, is placed upon His torn shoulders.   He receives it gently and meekly, nay, with gladness of heart, for it is to be the salvation of mankind.

True – but recollect, that heavy Cross is the weight of our sins.   As it fell upon His neck and shoulders, it came down with a shock.   Alas! what a sudden, heavy weight have I laid upon Thee, O Jesus.   And, though in the calm and clear foresight of Your mind—for You see all things—You were fully prepared for it, yet Your feeble frame tottered under it when it dropped down upon You.   Ah! how great a misery is it that I have lifted up my hand against my God.   How could I ever fancy He would forgive me! unless He had Himself told us, that He underwent His bitter passion, in order that He might forgive us.   I acknowledge, O Jesus, in the anguish and agony of my heart, that my sins it was that struck You on the face, that bruised Your sacred arms, that tore Your flesh with iron rods, that nailed You to the Cross and let You slowly die upon it.the second station jesus receives his cros - 12 april 2019 bl john henry newman.jpg

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.

I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love
above all things,
I repent
with my
whole heart
for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I
may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Bei love you lod jesus - st alphonsus 11 april 2019

Posted in Blessed JOHN HENRY Cardinal NEWMAN, LENT 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The STATIONS of the CROSS

The Stations of the Cross – 11 April – The First Station – By Blessed John Henry Newman

The Stations of the Cross – 11 April – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Year C

Each year I post the Stations from a different source, today we begin one of two Station Meditations, composed by Blessed John Henry.the stations of the cross - meditations by - for each post - header 11 april 2019.jpg

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition, this one by St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.
Amen

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

The First Station
Jesus Is Condemned to Death

LEAVING the House of Caiphas and dragged before Pilate and Herod, mocked, beaten, and spit upon, His back torn with scourges, His head crowned with thorns, Jesus, who on the last day will judge the world, is Himself condemned by unjust judges to a death of ignominy and torture.

Jesus is condemned to death.   His death-warrant is signed and who signed it but I, when I committed my first mortal sins?   My first mortal sins, when I fell away from the state of grace into which You did place me by baptism;  these it was that were Your death-warrant, O Lord.   The Innocent suffered for the guilty.   Those sins of mine were the voices which cried out, “Let Him be crucified.”   That willingness and delight of heart with which I committed them was the consent which Pilate gave to this clamorous multitude.   And the hardness of heart which followed upon them, my disgust, my despair, my proud impatience, my obstinate resolve to sin on, the love of sin which took possession of me—what were these contrary and impetuous feelings but the blows and the blasphemies with which the fierce soldiers and the populace received You, thus carrying out the sentence which Pilate had pronounced?

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.the first station - jesus is condemned to death - bl john henry newman - the death warrant is signed 11 april 2019

I love You,
Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended You.
Never permit me to separate myself
from You again.
Grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Bei love you lod jesus - st alphonsus 11 april 2019.jpg

 

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, LENT 2019, Our MORNING Offering, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Our Morning Offering – 7 March – Forgive my sins, O my God

Our Morning Offering – 7 March – Thursday after Ash Wednesday

ACT OF CONTRITION

Forgive my sins, O my God,
forgive my sins –
the sins of youth,
the sins of age,
the sins of my soul
and the sins of my body,
the sins which, through frailty,
I have committed,
my deliberate and grievous sins,
the sins I know
and the sins I do not know,
the sins I have laboured so long
to hide from others,
that now they are hidden
from my own memory;
let me be absolved
from all these iniquities
and delivered from
the bond of all these evils,
by the Life, Passion and Death
of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amenact of contrition - 7 march - thurs after ash wed 2019.jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, Our MORNING Offering, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering/s – 17 September – The Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) and St Hildegard von Bingen OSB (1098-1179) both Doctors of the Church

Our Morning Offering/s – 17 September – The Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) and St Hildegard von Bingen OSB (1098-1179) both Doctors of the Church

Holy Spirit, Giver of Life
By St Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) Doctor of the Church

Holy Spirit,
giving of life to all life,
moving all creatures,
root of all things,
washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes,
healing their wounds,
You are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart
from its ancient sleep.
Amenholy spirit giving of life to all life - st hildegard von bingen 17 sept 2018

Act of Contrition
By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church

O my God,
I am exceedingly grieved for having offended thee
and with my whole heart
I repent of the sins I have committed.
I hate and abhor them above every other evil,
not only because, by so sinning,
I have lost heaven and deserved hell
but still more, because I have offended thee,
O infinite Goodness,
who are worthy to be loved above all things.
I most firmly resolve,
by the assistance of thy grace,
never more to offend thee for the time to come
and to avoid those occasions
which might lead me into sin.
Amen

Note:  It is little known that St Robert is the Author of this, one of our most widely used prayersact of contrition written by st robert bellarmine o m god, I am exceedingly grieved - 17 sept 2018