Tag: acw

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on DESPAIR, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 22 July – ‘ … He spoke to her alone but, He was drawing all creation to His grace. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 22 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood” – St Mary Magdalene (1st Century) Penitent – Song 3:2-5; 8:6-7 – Luke 7:36-50 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” – Luke 7:50

REFLECTION – “A sinful woman has proclaimed to us that God’s Love has gone forth in search of sinners. For when He called her, Christ was inviting our whole race to His Love and, in her person, He was drawing all sinners to His forgiveness. He spoke to her alone but, He was drawing all creation to His grace. …

Who would not be struck by the Mercy of Christ, Who accepted an invitation to a Pharisee’s house, in order to save a sinner! For the sake of the woman, who hungered for forgiveness, He, Himself felt hunger for the table of Simon the Pharisee and all the while, under the guise of a meal of bread, He had prepared for the sinner, a meal of repentance! …

In order that you may have the same experience, reflect within yourself that your sin is great but that it is blasphemy against God and an injury to yourself, to despair of His forgiveness because your sin seems to you to be too great. He has promised to forgive your sins, however many they are; will you tell Him you cannot believe this and dispute with Him, saying that your sin is too great and He cannot heal your sickness? Stop at that point and cry out with the prophet: “Lord, I have sinned against you” (Ps 50:6). At once He will reply, “As for Me, I have overlooked your fault, you shall not die.” Glory to Him from us all, through all ages! Amen, Amen.” ~ An Anonymous Christian Syrian Writer of the 6th Century [ ACW} (From a collection of Sermons on the sinful woman, 1, 4.5.19.26.28).

PRAYER – May the prayers of blessed Mary Magdalen help us, O Lord, Who was moved by her prayers, her love and peniteance, that we too may learn true repentance and sorrow for our sins..Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, HOLY SATURDAY, HOLY WEEK, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 19 April – Lumen Christi – Deo Gratias!

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Quote/s of the Day – 19 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament – Holy Saturday – The Lord’s Vigil Mass of Easter – Matthew 28:1-7 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Today a great silence reigns on earth,
a great silence and a great stillness.
A great stillness because the King is asleep.
The earth trembled and is still
because God has fallen asleep in the flesh
and has raised up all who have slept,
since the world began…

I order you, O sleeper, to awake.
I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell.
Rise from the dead, for I am the Life of the dead.”

Ancient Christian Writer (ACW)

“He is not here.
For He is Risen, as He said.”
Matthew 28:6

“It was very necessary that Christ
should rise during the night because ,
His Resurrection has enlightened our darkness! …
Just as our faith,
strengthened by Christ’s Resurrection,
dispels all sleep, so this night,
lightened by our vigils, is filled with brightness.
He, Who has given us the glory of His Name (Ps 28:2)
has also illumined this night.
He to Whom we say “Thou lighten my darkness”
(Ps 18:28) sheds His brightness in our hearts.
Just as our dazzled eyes behold
these shining torches, so our enlightened spirits
enable us to see how luminous is this night,
this holy night in which our Lord
initiated, in His own flesh,
the Life which knows neither sleep nor death!”

“…He Slept,
so that We might be
Awakened,
He Died,
so that We might Live.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

“He enlightened our faith with proofs
and lifted up our hope with promises,
so as finally, to enkindle our love
with gifts from Heaven!”

St Bonaventure (1217-1274)
Seraphic Doctor of the Church

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on DESPAIR, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on SIN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 10 April – ‘ … He spoke to her alone but, He was drawing all creation to His grace. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 10 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Thursday in Passion Week –Ferial Day – Daniel 3:25, 34-45 – Luke 7:36-50 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” – Luke 7:50

REFLECTION – “A sinful woman has proclaimed to us that God’s Love has gone forth in search of sinners. For when He called her, Christ was inviting our whole race to His Love and, in her person, He was drawing all sinners to His forgiveness. He spoke to her alone but, He was drawing all creation to His grace. …

Who would not be struck by the Mercy of Christ, who accepted an invitation to a Pharisee’s house, in order to save a sinner! For the sake of the woman, who hungered for forgiveness, He, Himself felt hunger for the table of Simon the Pharisee and all the while, under the guise of a meal of bread, He had prepared for the sinner, a meal of repentance! …

In order that you may have the same experience, reflect within yourself that your sin is great but that it is blasphemy against God and an injury to yourself, to despair of His forgiveness because your sin seems to you to be too great. He has promised to forgive your sins, however many they are; will you tell Him you cannot believe this and dispute with Him, saying that your sin is too great and He cannot heal your sickness? Stop at that point and cry out with the prophet: “Lord, I have sinned against you” (Ps 50:6). At once He will reply, “As for Me, I have overlooked your fault, you shall not die.” Glory to Him from us all, through all ages! Amen, Amen.” ~ An Anonymous Christian Syrian Writer of the 6th Century [ACW} (From a collection of Sermons on the sinful woman, 1, 4.5.19.26.28).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the dignity of human nature, weakened by excessive self-indulgence, may be restored by the earnest practice of healing self-denial. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CATECHESIS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), franciscan OFM, GOD the FATHER, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on Love of Self, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PURITY, The HOLY GHOST, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Quote/s of the Day – 13 February – The Most Holy and Blessed Trinity

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Quote/s of the Day – 13 February – “The Month of the Blessed Trinity”

“I shall reflect the image of God
in that I feed on love;
grow certain on faith and hope;
strengthen myself, on the virtue of patience;
grow tranquil by humility;
grow beautiful by chastity;
am sober by abstention;
am made happy by tranquillity
and am ready for death,
by practising hospitality.”

ACW – Ancient Christian Writer
Incomplete Work on Matthew

(Homily 40)

“This is the order of our faith,
the foundation of the edifice
and the support of our conduct –
God, the Father, uncreated, uncontainable, invisible,
One God, the Creator of all –
this is the first article of our faith.
And the second article – the Word of God,
the Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord,
Who was revealed by the Prophets
according to the character of their prophecy
and according to the nature
of the economies of the Father,
by Whom all things were made
and Who, in the last times, to recapitulate all things,
became a Man amongst men,
visible and palpable, in order to abolish death,
to demonstrate life and to effect communion
between God and man.
And the third article – the Holy Ghost,
through Whom the Prophets prophesied
and the Patriarchs learnt the things of God
and the righteous, were led in the path
of righteousness and Who, in the last times,
was poured out in a new fashion
upon the human race, renewing man,
throughout the world, to God.”

St Irenaeus (130-202)
Martyr, Father of the Church

“The likeness of Wisdom has been stamped
upon creatures, in order that the world
may recognise the Word, Who was its Maker
and, through the Word, come to know the Father. ”

St Athanasius (297-373)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“The whole Trinity
has marked mankind
with Its likeness.
With the memory, it resembles the Father;
with the understanding, it resembles the Son;
by love, it resembles the Holy Ghost … ”

St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
Evangelical Doctor of the Church

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on WATCHING, St Francis de Sales, The SECOND COMING

Quote/s of the Day – 27 November – They will see the Son of Mancoming in the clouds of Heaven

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Quote/s of the Day – 27 November – Feria of the Last Sunday after Pentecost – Colossians 1:9-14; Matthew 24:15-35 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“They will see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of Heaven
with much power and majesty.”

Matthew 24:30

“Watch” over your life. …
Sheep will turn into wolves
and love into hatred.
With the increase of iniquity,
people will hate, persecute
and betray each other.
Then the world deceiver
will appear in the disguise of God’s Son.
He will work “signs and wonders”
and the earth will fall into his hands.
He will commit outrages
such as have never occurred before.
Then humankind will come
to the “fiery trial“
and many will fall away” and perish.”

Unknown 1st Century Author [ACW-
Ancient Christian Writer] (Didache 16)

“Hope, O my soul, hope!
You know neither the day, nor the hour.
Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly,
even though your impatience, makes doubtful,
what is certain and turns
a very short time, into a long one.”

St Teresa of Jesus of Avila (1515-1582)

“Fool that I am to offend God
for the sake of such trifling vanities.
I have forsaken God and for what – for nothing!
On the other hand, devotion and good deeds
will be seen as desirable and delightful
and you will ask yourself –
why did I not take this beautiful
and pleasant path of everlasting joy?
At that hour, your sins –
which at the time seemed so small –
will appear as vast as mountains
and your devotions truly small. …

Pray to God and cast yourself into His arms.
O my God, take me into Thy care on that terrible day;
may all other days be sad, if only that single day
will be a happy one!”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), GOD ALONE!, GOD the FATHER, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 22 October – I shall reflect the image of God …

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 22 October – Feria –Philippians 1:6-11; Matthew 22:15-21 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I shall reflect the image of God
in that I feed on love;
grow certain on faith and hope;
strengthen myself, on the virtue of patience;
grow tranquil by humility;
grow beautiful by chastity;
am sober by abstention;
am made happy by tranquillity
and am ready for death,
by practising hospitality.”

ACW – Ancient Christian Writer
Incomplete Work on Matthew

(Homily 40)

“The likeness of Wisdom has been stamped
upon creatures, in order that the world
may recognise the Word, Who was its Maker
and, through the Word, come to know the Father. ”

St Athanasius (297-373)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“The whole Trinity
has marked mankind
with Its likeness.
With the memory, it resembles the Father;
with the understanding, it resembles the Son;
by love, it resembles the Holy Ghost … ”

St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
Evangelical Doctor of the Church

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on ANGELS, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, QUOTES on WATCHING, The HEART, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 15 July – Being “Watchers.”

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Quote/s of the Day – 15 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Ecclesiasticus 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Watch” over your life. …
Sheep will turn into wolves
and love into hatred.
With the increase of iniquity,
people will hate, persecute
and betray each other.
Then the world deceiver
will appear in the disguise of God’s Son.
He will work “signs and wonders”
and the earth will fall into his hands.
He will commit outrages
such as have never occurred before.
Then humankind will come
to the “fiery trial“
and many will fall away” and perish.”

Unknown 1st Century Author [ACW-
Ancient Christian Writer] (Didache 16)

“Blessed are those servants
whom the Master, on His return,
shall find watching.”
Luke 12:37

“Blessed are those who watch for Him
and so, make themselves like the Angels,
whom we call “Watchers.”
A man asleep is worth nothing,
no more than if he were dead.
But, whoever has the light, keeps watch
and “darkness does not overcome him” (Jn 1:5)
neither does sleep. Whoever has been illumined is, therefore, wakened to God and such a person is alive, “for what came to be in him was life.” (Jn 1:4)
“Happy the man,” says Wisdom,
“who obeys me and happy those who keep my ways, happy the man watching daily at my gates,
waiting at my doorposts” (Pr 8:34).”

St Clement of Alexandria (c150- c215)
Father of the Church,

“She did not leave the temple,
serving with fastings and prayers,
night and day.”
Luke 2:37

“If, in holy Scripture,
Christ is the true Sun and the true Day,
there is no hour when Christians
should not adore God frequently and constantly,
so that we, who are in Christ, that is,
in the true Sun and true Day,
should be persevering, throughout the whole day,
in our petitions and prayer.
And when, in the course of time,
the revolving night returns,
there can be no harm from the nocturnal shades,
for those who pray because, to the sons of Light (1 Thes 5:5),
even in the night there is day!
For when is he without light who has Light in his heart?
Or when does he not have sun and day
to whom Christ is Sun and Day?”

St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258)
Martyr, Father of the Church

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, JESUIT SJ, PATRONAGE - OF CHASTITY, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on PATIENCE, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 16 June – Fishers of men and St John Francis Régis

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 June – St John Francis Régis SJ (1597-1640) Priest, Confessor, Missionary –The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
– Romans 8:18-23; Luke 5:1-11 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

St John Francis Regis Quotes HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/06/16/quote-s-of-the-day-16-june-st-john-francis-regis-sj-1597-1640/

“I shall reflect the image of God
in that I feed on love;
grow certain on faith and hope;
strengthen myself, on the virtue of patience;
grow tranquil by humility;
grow beautiful by chastity;
am sober by abstention;
am made happy by tranquillity
and am ready for death,
by practising hospitality.”

ACW – Ancient Christian Writer
Incomplete Work on Matthew
(Homily 40)

“O my Lord, what a price Thou paid
to ransom my useless service! …
What a way Thou has, full of love,
of gentleness and of kindness,
to win back and submit this rebellious servant,
by triumphing over evil through good,
by confounding my pride with Thy humility,
by filling this ungrateful person,
with Thy kindness!
This! This is howThy Wisdom triumphed!”

Blessed Guerric of Igny (c1080-1157)
Cistercian Abbot

“Fear not, henceforth you shall catch men.”
Luke 5:10

“At Thy Word I will lower the nets.”
It is at the command of divine grace
and supernatural inspiration that the nets
of preaching are to be spread out.
Otherwise, the preacher wastes his time in lowering
the lines of his words.
People’s faith is won, not by carefully composed speeches
but the grace of a divine vocation…
O fruitful humility!
When those who so far have not caught a thing,
put their trust in Christ’s Word,
they catch a great number of fish…”

St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
Doctor of the Church

“Humility and charity
are the two master chords –
one, the lowest;
the other, the highest;
all the others are dependent on them.
Therefore, it is necessary, above all.
to maintain ourselves in these two virtues,
for observe well,
that the preservation of the whole edifice
depends on the foundation and the roof!”

St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, St JOSEPH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 April – ‘ … This Son, however, adopted (fore)fathers whom He chose for Himself. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 20 April – Within the Octave of the Solemnity of the Patronage of St Joseph – Genesis 49:22-26; Luke 3:21-23 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And Jesus, Himself, was beginning about the age of thirty years, being – (as it was supposed) – the son of Joseph … ” – Luke 3:23

REFLECTION – “This is the miracle – He Who adopted and begot fathers, was born from their sons! They were made His fathers whose Son He was not! He did them a favour by being their Son. They, however, offered Him nothing by being His forefathers. Among men, fathers adopt whomever they wish to be their sons. This Son, however, adopted fathers whom He chose for Himself. Among men, sons receive the honour of birth from their fathers. But in Christ’s case, the fathers received honour from the Son!

The text reads, “Although His Mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they married, she was found to be with child by the Holy Ghost.” Subsequently, all Saints would be born from the virgin Church which is betrothed to Christ. … Sons often imitate the example of their father. Note that Mary was betrothed to a carpenter. Christ, betrothed to the Church, was about to fashion for humanity, salvation in its entirety and his entire Work from the Wood of the Cross!” – ACW (Ancient Christian Writer) (Extract from Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 1).

PRAYER – God, Who in thine unspeakable foreknowledge didst choose Thy blessed servant Joseph, to be the husband of Thine Own most holy Mother; mercifully grant that now that he is in Heaven with Thee, we who on earth do reverence him for our Defender, may worthily be helped by the succour of his prayers to Thee on our behalf. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on CHILDREN, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PATIENCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES/PRAYERS on THE FAMILY

Quote/s of the Day –7 April – ‘ He asks for our faith and offers us salvation. …’

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Quote/s of the Day –7 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Low Sunday, The Octave Day of Easter – 1 John 5:4-10, John 20. 19-31 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“ Blessed are they who have not seen
and have believed.”

John 20:29

“He asks for our faith and offers us salvation.
What He offers us, is so precious
that what He asks of us, is as nothing!”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of Grace

“I shall reflect the image of God
in that I feed on love;
grow certain on faith and hope;
strengthen myself, on the virtue of patience;
grow tranquil by humility;
grow beautiful by chastity;
am sober by abstention;
am made happy by tranquillity
and am ready for death,
by practising hospitality.”

ACW – Ancient Christian Writer
Incomplete Work on Matthew
(Homily 40)

“True piety admits no other rule than that,
whatsoever things have been faithfully received
from our fathers, the same are to be
faithfully consigned to our children
and that, it is our duty,
not to lead religion whither we would
but rather, to follow religion whither it leads
and that, it is the part of Christian modesty
and gravity, not to hand down our own beliefs
or observances to those who come after us
but, to preserve and keep what we have received,
from those who went before us.”

St Vincent of Lérins (Died c445)
Author of the ‘Commonitorium.’

“We should also have great confidence
in the continual assistance which God offers us
in the temptations, troubles and trials of life.
When pain torments us,
when humiliations are difficult to bear,
when all is dark. we fear each moment
and we feel abandoned, let us trust in Him,
Who is the Way, the Truth and Life.
He says to us, as He said to Peter floundering in the waves:
“O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?” (Mt 14:31).
He is always ready to console and comfort.
He is always there waiting for our call.
We are not alone!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, JESUIT SJ, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, THEOLOGICAL

Quote/s of the Day – 24 February – I Am meek and humble of heart …

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 24 February – Ember Saturday – Feast of St Matthias, Apostle – Acts 1:15-26, Matthew 11:25-30 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I Am meek and humble of heart
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For My yoke is easy and My burden light.”

Matthew 11:29-30

“I shall reflect the image of God
in that I feed on love;
grow certain on faith and hope;
strengthen myself, on the virtue of patience;
grow tranquil by humility;
grow beautiful by chastity;
am sober by abstention;
am made happy by tranquillity
and am ready for death,
by practising hospitality.”

ACW – Ancient Christian Writer
Incomplete Work on Matthew
(Homily 40)

“If you wish to reach high, then begin at the lowest level.
If you are trying to construct some mighty edifice in height,
you will begin with the lowest foundation.
This is humility.
However great the mass of the building
you may wish to design or erect,
the taller the building is to be,
the deeper you will dig the foundation.
The building in the course of its erection,
rises up high but he who digs its foundation,
must first go down very low.
So then, you see even a building is low
before it is high and the tower is raised,
only after humiliation.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

“True humility consists in persuading
and convincing oneself
that without God, we are insignificant
and despicable
and, in accepting to be treated as such!”

St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 30 October – The Image of God

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Quote/s of the Day – 30 October – Philippians 1:6-11, Matthew 22:15-21 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Therefore, render to Caesar
the things that are Caesar’s and to God,
the things that are God’s.”

Matthew 22:21

“… Caesar required his image on every coin
but God has chosen man,
whom He has created,
to reflect His glory!”

“I shall reflect the image of God
in that I feed on love;
grow certain on faith and hope;
strengthen myself, on the virtue of patience;
grow tranquil by humility;
grow beautiful by chastity;
am sober by abstention;
am made happy by tranquillity
and am ready for death,
by practising hospitality.”

ACW – Ancient Christian Writer
Incomplete Work on Matthew

(Homily 40)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on TIME, QUOTES on TRUTH, QUOTES on WATCHING, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES: JUSTICE, PRUDENCE, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 17 August –’It is time now for us to rise from sleep!’

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Quote/s of the Day – 17 August – St Hyacinth OP (1185-1257) ) Confessor – Sirach 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Be vigilant at all times and pray,
that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man…”
Luke 21:36

“Watch” over your life. …
Sheep will turn into wolves
and love into hatred.
With the increase of iniquity,
people will hate, persecute
and betray each other.
Then the world deceiver
will appear in the disguise of God’s Son.
He will work “signs and wonders”
and the earth will fall into his hands.
He will commit outrages
such as have never occurred before.
Then humankind will come
to the “fiery trial“
and many will fall away” and perish.”

Unknown 1st Century Author (ACW)
of this early Treatise (Didache, 16)

“Be you then also ready …”
Luke 12:40

“Wretch! using the excuse that your Master is late,
do you imagine He will not come at all?
His coming is certain!
Then why do you not stay on your guard?
No, the Lord is not slow in coming –
this lateness is purely in the imagination
of the wicked servant!”

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“It is time now for us to rise from sleep!”

St Benedict (c 480-547)

“But vigilant faith not only performs good works, like living faith,
it also penetrates and understands revealed Truths quickly
and with great depth and subtlety of perception.
It is active and diligent, in seeking and embracing those things
which can increase and strengthen it.
It watches and perceives from afar, all its enemies.
It is always on the alert to discover the good and to avoid evil.
It guards itself against anything which could ruin it.
Vigilant, it walks firmly and easily keeps from falling over precipices.

This vigilant faith is accompanied by the Four Cardinal Virtues:
Fortitude, Prudence, Justice and Temperance.
It uses them as an Armoured Breastplate to put its enemies to flight,
or to remain among them firm, invincible and unshaken.
So great is its strength that it fears nothing because, not only is it strong
but also, it is aware of its strength and by Whom it is supported—
Truth itself!”

(Sermon for Thursday after the First Sunday of Lent, 17 February 1622).

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of Charity

Posted in CHRIST the HIGH PRIEST, CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, HOLY SATURDAY, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION, The RESURRECTION

Quote/s of the Day – 8 April – Holy Saturday

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 8 April – Holy Saturday

“Today a great silence reigns on earth,
a great silence and a great stillness.
A great stillness because the King is asleep.
The earth trembled and is still
because God has fallen asleep in the flesh
and has raised up all who have slept,
since the world began…

I order you, O sleeper, to awake.
I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell.
Rise from the dead, for I am the Life of the dead.”

Ancient Christian Writer (ACW)

“The Lord, although He was God, became man.
He suffered for the sake of those who suffer,
He was bound for those in bonds,
condemned for the guilty,
buried for those who lie in the grave
but He rose from the dead and cried aloud:
“Who will contend with Me? Let him confront Me.”
I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life,
raised men from their graves.
Who has anything to say against Me?
I, He said, Am the Christ, I have destroyed death,
triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot,
bound the strong one and taken men up to the heights of Heaven.
I Am the Christ.
Come, then, all you nations of men, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you.
I Am your Forgiveness.
I Am the Passover which brings salvation.
I Am the Lamb Who was immolated for you.
I Am your Ransom, your Life, your Resurrection, your Light, I am your Salvation and your King.
I will bring you to the heights of Heaven.
With My own Right Hand I will raise you up
and I will show you the Eternal Father.”

St Melito of Sardis (Died c 180)
Bishop, Father

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM

Quote/s of the Day – 28 December – The Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 28 December – “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception” – The Holy Innocents, Martyrs – Apocalypse 14:1-5, Matthew 2:13-18 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Then was fulfilled that
which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet,
saying: a voice was heard in Rama,
lamentation and great mourning;
Rachel bewailing her children
and would not be comforted
because they were no more.”

Matthew 2:17-18

“A voice was heard in Rama.”
Rama was Saul’s city.
Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin.
Benjamin was the son of Rachel,
whose memorial was near Bethlehem,
where these wicked deeds were done.
Therefore, since the babies
were killed in Bethlehem,
where there is a monument to Rachel,
this is why Rachel is described as weeping.”

From the work known as
the “Incomplete Work on Matthew,” by
an Anonymous Ancient Christian Writer (ACW)

“These then, whom Herod’s cruelty
tore as sucklings from their mothers’ bosom,
are justly hailed as “Infant Martyr Flowers”-
they were the Church’s first blossoms,
matured by the frost of persecution,
during the cold winter of unbelief.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“They could not yet speak
but already, they are confessing Christ.
Their little bodies are, as yet,
unable to engage in combat
but already, they are carrying off
the Palm of Victory.”

St Quodvultdeus (Died c 453)
Bishop at Carthage

Posted in ADVENT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 17 December – Prepare the way of the Lord make straight His paths. – Luke 3:4

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 17 December – “The Month of the Divine Infant and the Immaculate Conception” – Saturday of Ember Week in Advent – Isaias 19:20-22, Luke 3:1-6 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“As it was written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: ‘A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord make straight His paths.’” – Luke 3:4

REFLECTION – “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God.’ The prophecy makes clear that it is to be fulfilled, not in Jerusalem but in the wilderness, it is there that the glory of the Lord is to appear and God’s salvation is to be made known to all mankind.

It was in the wilderness that God’s saving presence was proclaimed by John the Baptist and there that God’s salvation was seen. The words of this prophecy were fulfilled when Christ and His glory were made manifest to all after His Baptism, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, rested upon Him and the Father’s Voice was heard, bearing witness to the Son: ‘This is My beloved Son, listen to Him.‘

The prophecy meant that God was to come to a deserted place, inaccessible from the beginning. None of the pagans had any knowledge of God, since His holy servants and prophets, were kept from approaching them. The Voice commands that a way be prepared for the Word of God – the rough and trackless ground is to be made level, so that our God may find a highway when He comes. Prepare the way of the Lord – the way is the preaching of the Gospel, the new message of consolation, ready to bring to all mankind, the knowledge of God’s saving power.

Climb on a high mountain, bearer of good news to Zion. Lift up your voice in strength, bearer of good news to Jerusalem. These words harmonise very well with the meaning of what has gone before. They refer, opportunely, to the Evangelists and proclaim the coming of God to men, after speaking of the voice crying in the wilderness. Mention of the Evangelists suitably follows the prophecy of John the Baptist.

What does Zion mean if not the City previously called Jerusalem? This is the mountain referred to in that passage from Scripture: Here is mount Zion, where Thou dwelt. The Apostle says: You have come to mount Zion. Does not this refer to the company of the Apostles, chosen from the former people of the circumcision?

This is the Zion, the Jerusalem, which received God’s salvation. It stands aloft on the mountain of God, that is, it is raised high on the Only-begotten Word of God. It is commanded to climb the high mountain and announce the Word of Salvation. Who is the bearer of the good news but the company of the Evangelists? What does it mean to bear the good news but to preach to all nations but first of all, to the cities of Judah, the coming of Christ on earth?” – Eusebius of Caesarea (c 265-339) Bishop, Theologian, Historian, Father (An excerpt from his Commentary on Isaias).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we, who are heavy-laden under the yoke of sin, maybe delivered from the bondage of old, by the long-awaited new birth of Thy Only-begotten Son. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Rejoice! ejoice! Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel. Amen (Collect)

Posted in QUOTES on WATCHING, The LAST THINGS, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 23 September – “Watch” over your life. …

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 23 September – Osee 14:2-10, Luke 7:36-50

“Wherefore I say to you,
her sins, many as they are,
shall be forgiven her
because she has loved much.
But he, to whom little is forgiven,
loves little.”

Luke 7:47

“You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.”

Luke 12:40

“Be vigilant at all times and pray,
that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man…”

Luke 21:36

“Watch” over your life. …
Sheep will turn into wolves
and love into hatred.
With the increase of iniquity,
people will hate, persecute
and betray each other.
Then the world deceiver
will appear in the disguise of God’s Son.
He will work “signs and wonders”
and the earth will fall into his hands.
He will commit outrages
such as have never occurred before.
Then humankind will come
to the “fiery trial“
and many will fall away” and perish.”

Unknown 1st Century Author
of this early Treatise (Didache, 16)

“We should consider how much good
our Lord did us,
by His first coming
and how much more He will do for us,
by His second.
This thought will help us,
to have a great love
for that first coming of His
and a great longing for His return.”

St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167)

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, HOLY SATURDAY, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HELL, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The LAST THINGS, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION

Holy Saturday – 16 April – The Lord Descends into Hell

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Holy Saturday (Vigil Mass of Easter) – 16 April – Matthew 28:1-7

“When Christ should appear, Who is your Life, then you also shall appear with Him, in glory.” – Colossians 3:4

“And at the end of the Sabbath,
when it began to dawn
toward the first day of the week,
came Mary Magdalen
and the other Mary,
to see the sepulchre.”

Matthew 28:1

Ancient Christian Writer
Anonymous
(An excerpt from Homily on Holy Saturday)

The Lord Descends into Hell

SOMETHING STRANGE IS HAPPENING — there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept even since the world began. God has Died in the Flesh and hell trembles with fear!

HE HAS GONE TO SEARCH for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow, the captives Adam and Eve, He Who is both God and the Son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the Cross, the Weapon that had won Him the Victory. At the sight of Him, Adam, the first man He had created, struck His breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper and rise from the dead and Christ will give you light.”

I AM YOUR GOD, Who, for your sake, have become your Son! Out of love for you and for your descendants, I now by My Own Authority, command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness, to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the Life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in My image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in Me and I Am in you; together, we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

FOR YOUR SAKE I, your God, became your Son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, Whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden and I was Crucified in a garden.

SEE ON MY FACE the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in My Image. On My Back see the marks of the scourging I endured, to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See My Hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I SLEPT ON THE CROSS and a sword pierced My Side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My Side has healed the pain in yours. My Sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced Me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

RISE, LET US LEAVE THIS PLACE.
The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise but I will enthrone you in Heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life but see, I Who am Life itself, am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The Kingdom of Heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity!

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on DESPAIR, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 7 April – “He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” – Luke 7:50

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 7 April – Thursday in Passion Week, the Fifth Week of Lent Daniel 3:25, 34-45, Luke 7:36-50

“He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” – Luke 7:50

REFLECTION – “A sinful woman has proclaimed to us that God’s love has gone forth in search of sinners. For when He called her, Christ was inviting our whole race to His love and, in her person, He was drawing all sinners to His forgiveness. He spoke to her alone but He was drawing all creation to His grace. (…)

Who would not be struck by the mercy of Christ, who accepted an invitation to a Pharisee’s house, in order to save a sinner! For the sake of the woman who hungered for forgiveness, He, Himself felt hunger for the table of Simon the Pharisee and all the while, under the guise of a meal of bread, He had prepared for the sinner, a meal of repentance! …

In order that you may have the same experience, reflect within yourself that your sin is great but that it is blasphemy against God and an injury to yourself, to despair of His forgiveness because your sin seems to you to be too great. He has promised to forgive your sins, however many they are; will you tell Him you cannot believe this and dispute with Him, saying that your sin is too great and He cannot heal your sickness? Stop at that point and cry out with the prophet: “Lord, I have sinned against you” (Ps 51[50]:6). At once He will reply, “As for me, I have overlooked your fault, you shall not die.” Glory to Him from us all, through all ages! Amen, Amen.” ~ An Anonymous Christian Syrian Writer of the 6th century [ACW} (From a collection of homilies on the sinful woman, 1, 4.5.19.26.28 (Eastern Syrian)

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech You, Almighty God, that the dignity of human nature, weakened by excessive self-indulgence, may be restored by the earnest practice of healing self-denial. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who livetsand reigns withTthee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, LENT 2022, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on ENVY, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MERCY, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The HEART

Wednesday day of the Third Week of Lent – 23 March – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – ‘… With our whole heart and our whole mind.’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Wednesday day of the Third Week of Lent – 23 March – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Exodus 20:12-24, Matthew 15:1-20

“Have pity on me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord.” – Psalm 6:3

“… This people honours me
with their lips but their heart
is far from Me … ”

Matthew 15:7

“GREAT IS THE MERCY that Jesus Christ has shown us. The first benefit that we owe to His mercy, is that we, who are living, do not sacrifice to dead gods or worship them but have, through Christ, attained a knowledge of the Father. What else is knowledge of the Father but the recognition of His Son, through Whom this knowledge comes to us? He Himself declares: – Everyone who acknowledges Me, I in My turn will acknowledge in the presence of the Father. This then will be our reward if we acknowledge Him through Whom we have been saved. But how shall we show that we acknowledge Him? By doing what He says, by not disobeying His commands and by honouring Him. not only with our lips but with our whole heart and our whole mind. For He says in Isaiahs This people pays me lip service but its heart is far from me.

LET US NOT ONLY CALL HIM LORD, for that will not save us. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will be saved, He warns but only the man who does what is right. So then, brothers, let us show our faith in Him by our deeds, by loving one another, by not committing adultery, by not finding fault with one another, or being envious. Instead, let us be chaste, merciful and kind. We should also have compassion for one another and, not be covetous. We have to prove that we believe in Him by performing such actions as these and by avoiding whatever is contrary to them, since we fear God rather than men. Should we fail to do so, we have the Lord’s warning:- If you do not keep my commandments, even though I had pressed you to my heart, I will thrust you away from me and say to you: Out of my sight, you whose deeds are evil; you are complete strangers to me.

THEREFORE, MY BROTHERS, let us enter the lists in the knowledge that the contest is imminent. Many men travel far to contend for a crown that soon fades, yet not all of them win but only those who have strained every nerve and competed fairly. Let us so contend, that we may all be crowned. Let us run a straight course in the race of the Christian life, setting out in great numbers to take part in it and then striving for the crown with all our might. Even if we are not all able to win, at least let us draw near to victory.

NOW, WE MUST SURELY KNOW, that even when the contest is for a wreath that lasts but a day, if anyone is found to be breaking the rules, he is flogged and driven off the racecourse. What do you suppose, then, will be the fate of the man who breaks the rules in the contest of the Christian life? Of those who have not kept the seal of their Baptism unbroken, Scripture says: The worm does not die and the fire is never extinguished. They will be a spectacle to all men.” – Anonymous Ancient Christian Writer – ACW (An excerpt from a Second Century Homily).