Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The HEART, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 12 April – Who is he who overcomes the world?

Quote/s of the Day – 12 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Ferial Day – Friday in the Second Week of Easter – 1 John 5:4-10; John 20:19-31 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Who is he who overcomes the world?
but he who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God.

1 John 5:5

He wants you to become
a living force for all mankind,
lights shining in the world.
You are to be radiant lights
as you stand beside Christ,
the Great Light,
bathed in the glory of Him
who is the Light of Heaven.

St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390)
Father & Doctor of the Church

The very prince of the universe, is man;
the crowning point of man, is his heart;
of the heart, is love
and the perfection of love, is charity.
That is why the love of God is the goal,
the crowning point,
the be-all and end-all of the universe
.”

(Treatise on the Love of God, Book 10, Chapter 1)

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

“If we live good lives, hoping for a Heavenly reward
and guided by the action of the Holy Spirit,
dwelling within us, we shall possess this spiritual joy.
Once we possess it, it will be erased, neither by temptation,
nor by suffering, nor by persecution,
as long as our faith remains firm and steadfast.
The sincere Christian accepts pleasure
and pain with equal readiness
because he places everything in God’s hands.
… We must try, at least, to achieve that spirit
of complete resignation to God’s will
which is always rewarded by peace of soul!

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in 7 GIFTS of the HOLY GHOST: Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Strength, Knowledge, Piety, Fear, CATECHESIS, GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on ANGER, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on GOSSIP, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, St Francis de Sales, The HOLY GHOST, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 4 March – Wisdom for Lent and for Life

Quote/s of the Day – 4 March – Wisdom for Lent and for Life

Abide in Me and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
unless it abide in the vine,
so neither can you,
unless you abide in Me.

John 15:4

Strive to preserve your heart in peace;
let no event of this world, disturb it.

St John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Doctor of the Church

“If, when stung by slander
or ill-nature,
we wax proud
and swell with anger,
it is a proof that our gentleness
and humility
are unreal
and mere artificial show!

Do not look forward to the changes and chances
of this life in fear – rather look to them
with full hope that, as they arise,
God, Whose you are, will deliver you out of them.
He is your keeper. He has kept you hitherto.
Do you but hold fast to His dear Hand
and He will lead you safely through all things
and, when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms.
Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow.
Our Father will either shield you from suffering,
or He will give you strength to bear it.

The truly patient man
neither complains of his hard lot,
nor desires to be pitied by others.
He speaks of his sufferings
in a natural, true and sincere way,
without murmuring, complaining,
or exaggerating them.

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

If we live good lives, hoping for a Heavenly reward
and guided by the action of the Holy Spirit,
dwelling within us, we shall possess this spiritual joy.
Once we possess it, it will be erased,
neither by temptation, nor by suffering,
nor by persecution, as long, as our faith,
remains firm and steadfast.
The sincere Christian accepts pleasure and pain
with equal readiness because he places
everything in God’s hands.
… We must try, at least, to achieve
that spirit of complete resignation to God’s will
which is always rewarded by peace of soul!

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in GOD ALONE!, I BELIEVE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, The BEATITUDES, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 14 August – Christian Joy

Thought for the Day – 14 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Christian Joy

If we live good lives, hoping for a Heavenly reward and guided by the action of the Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, we shall possess this spiritual joy.
Once we possess it, it will be erased, neither by temptation, nor by suffering, nor by persecution, as long as our faith remains firm and steadfast.
The sincere Christian accepts pleasure and pain with equal readiness because he places everything in God’s hands.

This explains what Jesus had in mind when He said: “Blessed are you poor … Blessed are you who hunger …. Blessed are you who weep …. Blessed shall you be when men hate you and when they shut you out and reproach you …. ” (Lk 6:20-22).
The Saints were happy in spite of suffering and persecution.

We must try, at least, to achieve that spirit of complete resignation to God’s will which is always rewarded by peace of soul!

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/08/24/thought-for-the-day-24-august-christian-joy/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/08/14/thought-for-the-day-14-august-christian-joy/

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL

Thought for the Day – 24 August – Christian Joy

Thought for the Day – 24 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Christian Joy

“Christianity is neither sad nor pessimistic.
On the contrary, it is the harbinger of “great joy,” (Lk 2:10) to quote the expression used by the Angels when they announced to the shepherds, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

Obviously, this joy is something quite distinct from sensible pleasure.
It is the spiritual happiness which accompanies an innocent life, sorrow for sin, or suffering bravely borne for the love of God.

Any other form of earthly happiess can never be more than a partial and transitory pleasure, capable of satisfying the human heart completely.
When Christianity urges us to be detached from worldly objects, however, it does not condemn the joys of the present life.
The historian Tacitus, was very far from the truth when, in the description in his Annals of the burning of Rome at the time of Nero, he accused the Christians of hating the human race, although not of having set fire to the city.
Although the teaching of Christianity is preoccupied with the joys of Heaven, it does not frown upon legitimate worldly pleasures.

Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were in the power of the devil” (Acts 10:38).
He loved to give joy to others and sanctified the marriage feast of Cana by His presence and by working His first miracle there.
He restored happiness to the widow of Naim, by raising her son to life and to Martha and Mary, by giving them back their brother, Lazarus, who had been dead for four days.
He spent His entire life giving happiness to others.

There is only one kind of merriment which Christianity cannot countenance and that is, the inordinate pleasure which leads to sin, or, is the result of sin.
This kind of pleasure has no kinship with spiritual joy.
It is a momentary exaltation, which soon disappears and leaves behind disillusionment and remorse.
It leads inevitably to sorrow; this is a chastisement from God which can only become meritorious if it is offered up in expiation.
“The end of joy may be sorrow,” says the Book of Proverbs (14:13)
For this reason, let us seek spiritual joys, not those which lead to sin, nor those, which are the result of sin.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci