Tag: fr richard clarke

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, St JOSEPH, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 9 March –St Joseph’s First Joy

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Thought for the Day – 9 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

9th Day – St Joseph’s First Joy

+1. Joseph in his sad perplexity, had for some time prayed and thought and thought and prayed again. Externally, his conduct gave no sign of the anguish of his soul. But all the same, Mary must have been conscious of the thoughts which were passing in her dear spouse’s mind and, although God had given her no leave to speak, she prayed continually that He would make known to Joseph, what had taken place in her. God could not refuse to listen to His handmaid’s
prayer.

+2. One night, as Joseph slept, an Angel appeared.
“Fear not,” he said “to take to thee Mary, thy wife, for that which is conceived in Mary’s womb, is of the Holy Ghost.”
That Child is Divine, nay, is Himself God. Thou art appointed to be His Guardian and protector. Thou shalt call His Name Jesus; thou shalt be the foster-father of thy God, as thou art the true husband of His Mother.
Thus it is, God intervenes to dispel the fears of His servants who watch and pray, who patiently abide God’s time and seek only His Will.

+3. What intense joy and lightness of heart fill the soul of Joseph at the Angel’s words! His bewildered perplexity was changed into peace and gladness. He was to be the consort of the Mother of God; nay more, he was to have the rights of a father over the Son of God; he was to have the unspeakable privilege of dwelling with God Incarnate!
O happy Joseph! Thy obedience and patience indeed received, a rich reward.

Posted in MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, St JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 8 March – St Joseph’s First Sorrow

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Thought for the Day – 8 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

8th Day – St Joseph’s First Sorrow

+1. St Joseph’s life had, from the beginning, been one of many trials and much suffering but all were mere trifles compared with the dark cloud of sorrow which fell upon him, after Mary returned from the house of Elizabeth.
He could not help seeing that she was about to become a mother. What could this mean? How could it be explained consistently with her spotless purity?
St Joseph ventured not, to pass any judgement.
Here he is our model slow in believing that which had the appearance of evil, anxious to find a favourable explanation.

+2. What explanation could he find?
That she had grievously sinned, was a thought, not only abhorrent to him but utterly impossible, in view of Mary’s transparent purity and exalted virtue.
Away with so horrible a thought!
Could the human paternity have been without any fault on her part? Equally impossible – God would have protected His hand -maid.
Was her condition a miracle wrought by God? Such a miracle was without example since the world began. Joseph was utterly perplexed. All was dark and black – he could only wait and pray. O wise resolve!

+3. But it was necessary to take action. In any case, he could not keep her with him. She must be sent back to her kin. How could he live without her? How could he expose her to disgrace? To put her to open shame was out of the question, he must send her away privately. This
was his duty and he would do it. It would break his heart to lose her but he must do his duty without thought of self.
Here , too , S. Joseph is a model for our imitation.

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The LAMB of GOD, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 8 March – The Eating of the Paschal Lamb

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Lenten Meditations – 8 March – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The First Saturday in Lent
The Eating of the Paschal Lamb

Read St Luke xxii:14-18

[14] And when the hour was come, He sat down and the twelve Apostles with him. [15] And He said to them: With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you, before I suffer.
[16] For I say to you, that from this time, I will not eat it, until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. [17] And having taken the chalice, He gave thanks and said: Take and divide it among youselves. [18] For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God come. [Luke 22:14-18]

Our Blessed Lord , before He suffered , celebrated the Jewish rite which, above all the rest, foreshadowed His own sacred sufferings. The paschal lamb was an exact type of Himself, the Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sins of the world.

+1. The paschal lamb was the means employed by Almighty God to deliver His people from Egypt. It was the sprinkling of its blood on the door-posts which caused the avenging Angel to pass by and leave the inmates unharmed.
So the Blood of Jesus Christ sprinkled on our souls, in the Sacraments and when we make an Act of Contrition, saves us from the vengeance which would otherwise fall upon us.
O Jesus! sprinkle me with One Drop of Thy Precious Blood and I shall be free from sin.

+2. The paschal lamb had to be drained of the last drop of its blood.
So the Lamb of God, shed the last drop of His Precious Blood for us. He was not satisfied with merely giving His Life for us but, He must needs endure all the intense agony, the burning thirst which came of this draining of His whole body for love of us.
How can I ever thank Him as I ought?

+3. The lamb suffers uncomplainingly.
It never murmurs against its lot, or struggles against those who lead it here and there; unlike the filthy swine which grunt and grumbles at every attempt to control them. None was ever so submissive as the Lamb of God.
“Lo, I come to do Thy Will, O my God.
I am content to do it.”
Can I echo these words?

Posted in Hail MARY!, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, St JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 7 March – The Visitation

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Thought for the Day – 7 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

7th Day – The Visitation

+1. The visit of Mary to her cousin St Elizabeth took place a short time after the Annunciation . It had been suggested to her by the Angel’s message, telling her that Elizabeth was to bear a son.
St Joseph knew nothing of this, yet, he raised no objection to the journey. He had already conceived such a reverence for his spotless spouse that it was enough for him that she entertained a wish. He knew that she never acted on impulse, or without a due cause and so, when Mary asked his leave to visit her cousin, he at once consented.
So we too, should consult, as far as possible, the wishes of others, especially our spouses, seeking to conform our will to others in the spirit of charity.

+2. St Joseph would not allow his young wife to journey alone. He went with her as her escort. What a happiness to him to wait upon her! How tenderly he watches over her
How thoughtfully he sees to all her wants!
Men often idealise those they love but there was no need to idealise Mary. She was an ideal in herself. And when he approached her, Joseph somehow felt that he was drawing near to God and that God dwelt in her ,in some other way than by His graces and gifts.

+3. Arriving at their journey’s end, St Joseph, in his humility, saw to their material needs and did not hear the words of Elizabeth saluting Mary as the Mother of God and announcing the joy of her unborn babe at His Presence.
St Joseph was ignorant and remained in ignorance of the Mystery of the Incarnation. He had to wait – this was to be the law of his life as it is, of the lives of all who are very dear to God.

Posted in LENT- 2025, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT, The WORD

Lenten Meditations – 7 March – The Supper in Simon’s House

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Lenten Meditations – 7 March – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The First Friday in Lent
The Supper in Simon’s House

Read St Mark xiv:3-11

[3] And when He was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper and was at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of precious spikenard and breaking the alabaster box, she poured it out upon His Head. [4] Now, there were some that had indignation within themselves and said: Why was this waste of the ointment made? [5] For this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred pence and given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
[6] But Jesus said: Let her alone, why do you molest her? She hath wrought a good work upon Me. [7] For the poor you have always with you and whensoever you will, you may do them good but Me, you have not always. [8] She hath done what she could, she is come beforehand to anoint My Body for burial. [9] Amen, I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached, in the whole world that also, which she hath done, shall be told for a memorial of her. [10] And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests, to betray him to them.
[11] Who hearing it were glad and they promised him, they would give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray Him. [Mark 14:3-11]

+1. The supper in Simon’s house was remarkable for St Mary Magdalene’s act of devotion to our Divine Lord.
She brought an alabaster box of ointment of precious spikenard and poured it on His head as He sat at table.
Her gift was very pleasing to Our Lord for three reasons:
(a ) she gave of her bes ;
(b) she gave out of pure love;
(c) she gave in the presence of the assembled guests, fearlessly and knowing men would ridicule and blame her. Are the gifts I give to God marked by generosity, supernatural love, with an absence of seeking all human respect?

+2. Some of those present, instigated by Judas, began to criticise what they regarded as wasteful. They had indignation within themselves and showed it in words. They veiled their grumbling under show of charity to the poor. This was very displeasing to Jesus. He hates the spirit which finds fault and criticises and condemns and, all the more, when it hides itself under the cloak of virtue.
Yet is not this spirit strong in me?

+3. Notice the gratitude of Jesus. A little box of ointment poured on His head earns for the donor a commemoration of her gift wherever the Gospel shall be preached in the whole world .
And not only this – it obtains for her too, many graces on earth and great glory in Heaven.
There is no-one who is as grateful as Jesus Christ! no-one who will reward with such Divine generosity, everything done for love of Him! Nothing will be forgotten nothing is too small to be noticed and richly recompensed by Him!

Posted in MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, St JOSEPH, The ANNUNCIATION

Thought for the Day – 6 March – The Annunciation

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Thought for the Day – 6 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

6th Day – The Annunciation

+1. Our Lady’s peaceful life at Nazareth with her chaste and holy spouse had continued for some weeks or months, when that wondrous message came to her – she was to be the Mother of God. The Son of God became Incarnate in her holy womb!
How it must have transformed her whole life to know that her God dwelt within her!
She was no longer Joseph’s spouse before all else; he had to give place to One holier than he, to One Who was not mere man but God!
Now she was before all and above all, the sacred house in which the Eternal Wisdom of God dwelt under a veil of flesh!

+2. Did Joseph perceive any change in her?
Yes – he was conscious of a dignity, of a grace, of a Divinity encircling Mary which ,with all her holiness, had not been there before.
Mary’s sanctity was transformed. She, herself, who before had been like a beautiful crystal, was now like a crystal through which some brilliant Light continually darted its rays of splendour.
So ought we to be when we receive Holy Communion .
What a change it should make in us!
How in our conversation the recent Presence of our God
within us, should show its Divine effects in our lives!

+3. Why did Mary not tell Joseph?
She could not. She, who always acted under Divine inspiration was inspired to conceal the Divine secret.
How could she, with her humility, reveal this unexampled privilege? She knew all that her silence would bring on her but, until God urged her to speak, she would be silent.
Are we similarly guided by God in all things and, are we anxious to conceal, what exalts us in the eyes of others?

Posted in LENT- 2025, QUOTES on Love of Self, QUOTES on PRIDE, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 6 March – The Preliminaries of the Passion

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Lenten Meditations – 6 March – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)”

Ash Thursday
The Preliminaries of the Passion

Read St. Luke xxii:1-6

[1] Now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the pasch, was at hand. [2] And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put Jesus to death but they feared the people. [3] And Satan entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariot, one of the twelve. [4] And he went, and discoursed with the chief priests and the magistrates, how he might betray Him to them. [5] And they were glad and covenanted to give him money. [6] And he promised. And he sought opportunity to betray Him in the absence of the multitude. [Luke 22:1-6]

+1. During the first days of the week in which He suffered, our Blessed Lord had been teaching all day in the Temple. The assembled crowd had cried ,“ Hosanna to the Son of David, Blessed is He Who cometh in the name of the Lord.”
It seemed as if He were going to be acknowledged by the voice of the people as the King of Israel. How deceptive are appearances! How often, when all seems to be going well and the cause of Christ about to triumph, some grievous disappointment is at hand!

+2. Side by side with the enthusiasm of the people grew the rage and fury of the chief priests and scribes.
Why did they thus hate Him, Who went about doing good? In their selfishness and cupidity, they feared, lest He should interfere with their influence and they thus lose their position, their reputation, their gains. Pride and self -love blinded their eyes and made them hate, the Son of God, with a bitter hatred.
Am I not sometimes blinded by like feelings? filled with unjust dislike of others because they seem to interfere with my influence or my personal interests?

+3. The chief priests had a great advantage in the fact that, in the little company, which surrounded Jesus, there was a traitor. Judas impelled by avarice, had been first a thief and then, had made overtures to betray his Master. O fatal love of money, to harden the heart of man!
How careful must I be not to set my heart on any earthly possessions, since nothing has a more deadly power than this, to separate me from the love of Jesus!

Posted in MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, St JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 5 March – St Joseph’s Espousal

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Thought for the Day – 5 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

5th Day – St Joseph’s Espousal

+I. Never were husband and wife so eminently suited to each other, as Joseph and Mary. Never was there a union which so exactly symbolised the union between Christ and the Church.
Happy indeed are those who meet with a congenial spouse! Happier still, are those who are content to live in a state of virginity and in the religious life to choose Jesus Christ Himself for their Divine Spouse. They it is, who most nearly approach to the life of Joseph with Mary.

+2. St Joseph and Our Lady lived in perpetual chastity and their union was a closer one than that of any other husband and wife in the whole world.
Their ideas, opinions, hopes,wishes, likes and dislikes, were all the same; Joseph was Mary’s strong support, Mary loved to depend on Joseph. None was ever so obedient, gentle loving and sympathising a wife as Mary. None was ever such a thoughtful, kind, prudent, faithful husband as Joseph.

+3. Of what age was St Joseph at the time of his marriage? Not an old man, for this would have been unseemly; nor very young, for he would not have been a suitable protector for Mary but, about the prime of life. It is true that from the 5th Century onwards, he is represented as a bearded old man but this is partly to represent the dignity of his character, partly, as a portrait of his later years. Joseph was always far advanced in wisdom, counsel, prudence and the love of God.
Would that I were more like him!

Posted in LENT- 2025, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 5 March – Ash Wednesday, The Anticipation of the Passion

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Lenten Meditations – 5 March – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)”

Ash Wednesday
The Anticipation of the Passion

Read St Matthew xvi:21; xvii:21, 22
“From that time, Jesus began to show to His disciples,that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests and be put to death and the third day rise again.” [Matthew 16:21]

“And when they abode together in Galilee, Jesus said to them: ‘The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men; [22] And they shall kill Him and the third day He shall rise again. And they were exceedingly troubled.” [Matthew 17:21-22]

+1. From the first moment of His Incarnation, our Blessed Lord had ever before His Eyes, the prospect of His approaching Agony and Death. It was present to Him, not vaguely and uncertainly, like pain and suffering to which men look forward but vividly and distinctly, as at the actual time when He suffered. Never, for a single moment, was it absent from His thoughts.
O wondrous Love of our Incarnate God, Who thus employed His Divine Power to protract His sufferings by this continual prospect!

+2. Yet, in spite of this, He was always cheerful and full of brightness and joy of heart.
His coming Agony did not weigh Him down or depress Him. In spite of the bitterness of the chalice, of the unspeakable agony ever present to Him, no cloud overcast His brow, no weakness or dread was manifest to His Apostles, no thought of Self, interfered with His perfect sympathy for others. He was a pattern of Divine unselfishness; the unselfish always forget their own troubles and so can comfort and help
others.

+3. But our Blessed Lord, not only was not cast down by the approaching Passion, He actually longed for it. I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptised and how am I straitened until it be accomplished?
His Love for men was such that He rejoiced in the thought of suffering for us .
How can I ever thank Him as I ought?
How can I show my love for Him Who loved me with so great a Love?

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, LENT, LENT- 2025, QUOTES on MEDIOCRITY, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 5 March – Preface and Introduction by St Bonaventure

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Lenten Meditations – 5 March – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)”

PREFACE

THERE is no subject of meditation more pleasing to God and more profitable to the soul, than the Passion of Jesus Christ. It containswithin itself, all sweetness It is the remedy for every evil; the food which nourishes the soul. It is continued still in the Blessed Eucharist and every Mass, is a representation and renewal of the Sacred Passion. It is a subject always in season but especially during the holy time of Lent.
These Meditations deal with some of the main incidents of Our Lord’s Sacred Passion. They are intended to be begun on Ash Wednesday and to end on Holy Saturday.
A few verses of Scripture are suggested to be read before each meditation, as furnishing the subject – matter of
which it treats.

Introduction – How to Meditate on the Passion

St Bonaventure tells us, if we desire to meditate with fruit on the Passion of Jesus Christ, three conditions are necessary. Our meditation must be
+1. HUMBLE – for the Passion is unlike anything else in the world, it is unfathomable to human reason; it is a bottomless ocean of mystery. Reason must bow its head and confess its inability to grasp the Mysteries which even Faith sees only darkly and through a glass. The story of Christ’s humiliation, is to the proud, a sealed book; they see nothing attractive in it. Christ suffering, has no beauty that they should admire Him. I must, therefore, begin by praying for
humility.

+2. FULL of CONFIDENCE – since the Passion is the source of all our confidence. It is the proof of the exceeding Love wherewith Christ loved us.
How can I fear, with the sight before me, of Christ suffering for love of me? It is, too , a medicine for every possible evil, for every temptation for every sin, whatever the malady of my soul –the Passion of Christ can cure it.
At the Foot of the Cross, each mortal wound will be made whole!

+3. PERSEVERANCE – the beauty of the Passion does not appear all at once.
The world considers it a degradation, the careless and the indifferent. pass it by unmoved; even the faithful Christian scarcely penetrates beneath the surface of that Divine Mystery, unless he prays earnestly and continually, to appreciate it. Only gradually and by degrees, are we drawn by the Sacred attractiveness of the Cross
Before I begin my meditations, I must ask God for this spirit of humility, confidence, persistence!

Posted in MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, QUOTES on CHASTITY, St JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 4 March – St Joseph’s Betrothal

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Thought for the Day – 4 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

4th Day – St Joseph’s Betrothal

+1. When our blessed Lady arrived at a marriageable age, the Chief Priest summoned all the unmarried men of the House of David that, from them, a husband might be chosen for her.
There is a tradition that, to each of them, a rod was delivered and the High Priest, speaking under Divine inspiration, declared that God would choose a spouse for Mary in the same way in which Aaron was chosen to be the High Priest in the Old Law.
“Whomsoever of these I shall choose, his rod shall blossom (Num xvii:5).
On the morrow the rod of Joseph had budded and blossomed. He was thus declared by God, to be the worthy spouse of His holy Mother.

+2. But Joseph had promised God, to remain ever a virgin.* How could he then consent to marriage? He knew by Divine revelation that Mary had made a similar vow and Mary knew the same of him O happy , O ideal union! where the sublime gift of virginity was united to the
mutual love and dependence of husband on wife and wife on husband.

+3. But thus it is that God provides for His elect.
He plans for them in a way which utterly sets at naught, the prudence of the world. He never disappoints those who leave themselves in His Hands but exercisesH a Divine ingenuity in fulfilling all the desires of their hearts, in most unexpected ways, in return for their submission and obedience to His holy Will.
Thus it is, those who do God’s Will, always do their own will , for their will is His and His Will is theirs.
(* St Thomas in Quæst Sent ii I).

Posted in MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 3 March – St Joseph’s Childhood and Youth

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Thought for the Day – 3 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

3rd Day – St Joseph’s Childhood and Youth

+1. The names of the servants of God often indicate some leading feature in their work or. in their character.
When God Himself gives the name, this is always the case. Joseph signifies – adding or increasing – and was a forecast of his continuous increase , not only in grace and in favour with God but also, in glory and repute with men as long as the world shall last.
Rejoice in the growing devotion to St Joseph and ask yourself whether your devotion to him grows more and more?

+2. St Joseph is said to have had a boyhood and youth of suffering and, to have been persecuted and ill-treated by his brethren.
We should expect it to be so, since this was the lot of the Patriarch of Genesis and, moreover, one who has such an eminent position in the Church on earth and, such exceeding glory in Heaven, must have been conformed to our Blessed Lord in having a career of suffering.
St Joseph’s character as known to us in Sacred Scripture, is eminently, one purified by having had much to undergo.
Such patience, gentleness, thoughtful charity, cannot be learned except at a heavy price!

+3. Joseph’s trade was that of a carpenter.
The thought of the great Patron of the Universal Church, the husband of Mary, having been a handicraftsman, ought to give us a great respect for manual labour.
The idea that there is in it anything unsuitable to our dignity is a vulgar, unchristian, heathen notion. All the Saints had a love for manual labour.
How much better such a life than that of self-satisfied ease and luxury!
Thank God if you have to labour with your hands.

Posted in MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 2 March – St Joseph’s Parentage and Birth

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Thought for the Day – 2 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

2nd Day – St Joseph’s Parentage and Birth

+1. Although St Joseph lived in poverty and contempt, he came of a noble ancestry. The blood of Kings and Saints ran in his veins and, what is more, he inherited, from them, the virtues of each but in a far higher degree, than that which their original possessor had enjoyed.
How much the good in me is an inheritance from my parents and forefathers!? Yet how ill I have employed the virtues I received from them! Instead of being better than they, like St Joseph, I am the degenerate child of parents far better than myself.

+2. St Joseph, as the greatest of all the Saints next to Our Lady, had all the privileges of other Saints.
Hence, we may piously believe that, like St John, he was cleansed from sin in his mother’s womb.
He was to be Mary’s spouse, he was to occupy the first and foremost place in the family of Jesus, he was, hereafter, to be the Patron of the whole Church! It was, therefore, fitting that he should be endowed with this initial privilege of being, from his birth, a child of God, an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Thank God for this privilege bestowed on him!

+3. St Joseph was the connecting link between the Old and the New Dispensation, the first dawn which announces the coming day.
In his youth, he belonged to the Old Law, in his later life, to the New. As the dawn brightens into the glorious day, so St Joseph’s life, beautiful from the first, advanced in splendour continually.
Is this the history of my life? Have I made steady progress
in the love of God?

Posted in CATECHESIS, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, St JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 1 March – The Foreshadowing of St Joseph

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Thought for the Day – 1 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Ist Day – The Foreshadowing of St Joseph

+I. As the Church of Christ is prefigured in the rites and ceremonies of the Old Law, so too, the chief personages who centre around Our Lord in the Redemption of the world, are foreshadowed in the Old Testament .
We trace the outlines of Our Lady’s graces in Esther, Jahel, Bethsabee, Judith.
So too, St Joseph’s place in the new dispensation is anticipated in the place of the Patriarch Joseph at the Court of Pharaoh. Thus it is that, God in His Love for His chosen ones, paves the way for them centuries before. From the beginning, He has prepared their work and the throne they are to earn in Heaven by their labours and sufferings for Him.

+2. In the life of the Patriarch Joseph, there was throughout, a correspondence to the life of the foster -father of Jesus Christ.
The troubles and persecutions of his early life, his long time of servitude and obscurity, his wondrous purity, his time of patient expectation, his glorious exaltation, his omnipotence with the King, his power to save all who came to him – all these were repeated, or rather, were fulfilled, in St Joseph. Reflect on each of these and consider how St Joseph is a model to us.

+3. We read of the Patriarch that the King of Egypt made him the lord of his house.
So God made St Joseph the lord of that earthly Tabernacle of Flesh in which He dwelt on earth. Joseph ruled Our Lord in His Sacred Humanity. He made him the lord too , of another house in which He sojourned, of the Sacred House which Wisdom built for Himself, in the form of His holy Mother. If St Joseph was thus, the lord of Jesus and Mary, what may we not expect from Him!?

Posted in GOD ALONE!, In the PRESENCE of GOD, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The GREAT TRUTHS, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 28 February – How to Begin Heaven on Earth

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 28 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

28th Day – How to Begin Heaven on Earth

Thy Will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven .
(St Matt vi:10)

+I. In this vale of tears, even the happiest life is misery compared to the life in Heaven.
Even the perfect tranquillity and peace, enjoyed by the Saints of God on earth, is confusion and trouble compared to the peace of Heaven. Yet, we can begin even here, a life which contains the germ of Paradise.
The essential element of Heaven, is union with God,and those, who are united to God by supernatural charity, have in them, the seed of Heaven’s happiness.

+2. This supernatural charity does not consist in feeling, or in the absence of suffering, or in brilliant success or in freedom from temptation.
Our life maybe one continual cross, one long series of failures, as men count failure; we may live in poverty and want and die unheeded and uncared for; yet, such a life, maybe the beginning of Heaven upon earth.

+3. In what then, does supernatural charity consist?
Simply in doing what we know to be God’s Will in the details of our daily life; in having the thought of Him before us as the guiding principle of our actions, of doing all for Him and not for self.
One who consistently leads such a life as this, cannot fail to be happy, in spite of all external miseries, for he carries in himself, the principle which constitutes heavenly happiness.
“Thy Will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.”
Pray for this unfailing compliance with the will of God in all that you do and think and are.

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, GUARDIAN ANGELS - Prayers etc, ON the SAINTS, QUOTES on HEAVEN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 27 February – The Companions of Heaven

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 27 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

27th Day – The Companions of Heaven

Their lot is among the Saints.
(Wisdom v: 5)

+1. How much of our happiness depends upon those among whom we dwell! There are some whose very presence is enough and more than enough, to satisfy us; the mere fact of being in their company, is a source of continual pleasure; this is the case with those who are still full of imperfections and fault, how much more, in Heaven, where everyone will be purged of all which offends us in them on earth Everyone of the Saints and Angels, will be, not only a congenial but, a most delightful companion.

+2. But, there will be some, who will feast our souls with their company and conversation beyond the rest – our friends on earth will be our friends in Heaven; we shall recognise each and all. All to whom we have done any kindness for Christ’s Sake, will come to thank us then; above all, any whom we have had the happiness of saving from sin, by precept or example, will never tire of pouring out upon us, the abundance of their gratitude.
What more delicious pleasure than this!?

+3. Yet, there will be dearer companions still!
The Saints of God, our Patron Saints, our Guardian Angel, how shall we linger in their sweet society!
The Saints to whom we have had a special devotion, above all – Our Lady and St Joseph, how surpassingly sweet to be with them!
Yet, all this is only a reflection of the joy we shall derive from
beholding the Lamb Who had been slain, our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Pray to dwell now, in heart, in the company of the Saints and the Angels. 🛐

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 26 February – The Employments of Heaven

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Thought for the Day – 26 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

26th Day – The Employments of Heaven

His servants shall serve Him.
(Apoc xxii:3)

+1. While faith and hope will be at an end in Heaven, the virtue of charity will remain.
There is nothing on earth as sweet as love nothing which fills the heart with such continual joy; nothing which so occupies the soul and causes men to forget all else.
This is the case when the object of our love is a perishable, imperfect creature like ourselves.
How much more when the object of our love is the God of Infinite Beauty containing in Himself, every possible earthly perfection, not only multiplied to an infinite degree but altogether superior in kind and, therefore, a source of greater joy, than all possible created beauty!

+2. A strong love makes the long hours pass away in a stream of unceasing delight; no weariness, no monotony, no desire for anything else.
One thing only limits the perfection of the happiness of love and that is the thought that it cannot last forever.
In Heaven, there will be a stream of delight immeasurably richer and, the joyful consciousness that, there is no fear of its ever coming to an end.

+3. As God is Infinite in His perfections, they will necessarily be inexhaustible. The various phases (if we may use the term) of His Divine Loveliness will never come to an end. After a million years, there will still be the same inexhaustible treasure of multiform delights to be enjoyed and, after a million years, it will not be diminished.
No fear then, of sameness in Heaven, no fear of monotony, it will ever be the same and yet, ever new!
Pray for a greater love of God here on earth.

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN, St PAUL!, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 25 February – Heaven

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Thought for the Day – 25 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

25th Day – Heaven .

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither hath it entered into the heart of man,
what things God hath prepared
for those who love Him.
(1 Cor ii:9)

+1. These words convey the best idea which the Apostle who had been carried up into the Third Heaven could give, of the happiness of the redeemed.
All the loveliest things we have ever seen, are as nothing in comparison to the sight of Heaven; all the sweetest sounds are discord compared with the music of Heaven; all the joys which have made the longest hours only too short, do not deserve the name of joy, compared with the joys of Heaven. One moment of Heaven, is worth them all!

+2. Whatever God does, He does on a scale worthy of Himself.
The happiness of Heaven will be immeasurable, from the fact of its being, in union with the God of Infinite Love and Beauty. It will be a joy like the joy of Our Lord Himself, since He will say to each of the redeemed – “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
Am I doing what I can to insure those words, being addressed to me?

+3. In Heaven, all will be perfectly happy.
Even those who have the lowest places, will have all that their hearts desire. There will be no unsatisfied wish in Heaven, no craving after what we do not possess.
Everyone will have an overflowing cup of pleasure.
Oh, what fools we are not to do more to insure the joy of Heaven!
Pray that you may often think of Heaven and its eternal joys.

Posted in CHRIST the JUDGE, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, The GREAT TRUTHS, The LAST THINGS, The SECOND COMING

Thought for the Day – 24 February – The End Attained!

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Thought for the Day – 24 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

24th Day – The End Attained!

Then shall the King say to those who shall be
on His Right Hand, Come you blessed of My Father,
possess you the Kingdom, prepared for you
from the foundation of the world.
(St Matt xxv:34)

+1. What will be the sentiments of those who, at the General Judgement will find themselves on the Right Hand of the Judge and listen to His Words of Love?
First of all, they will overflow with a delicious sense of happiness and peace; they will scarcely be able to contain themselves with delight; unmixed and unsullied, will be their cup of joy, unlike any of the joys of earth, intoxicating them with its ineffable sweetness!

+2. They will also be amazed and astonished at the reward given to them.
What have I done, O Lord, to deserve all this? When did I minister to Thee as Thou sayest? When did I do anything to earn Thy Words of Gratitude? Who am I that, Thou shouldst thus exalt me? All the little which I did, came from Thee and now, Thou rewardest me, as if it was my own doing.
We bless Thee, we praise Thee, for Thy great goodness,
Thine unspeakable generosity!

+3. They will also look back with wonder on their earthly life. While it lasted it seemed so long, so tedious, perhaps so miserable and now, it is like a moment in the past, like a shadow which flitted by.
How infinitesimal all its sorrows and pains will then seem, all compensated by that first moment of ineffable delight!
Seek to bear that day in heart and mind, when earthly sorrows press heavily.

Posted in CHRIST the JUDGE, The GREAT TRUTHS, The LAST THINGS, The SECOND COMING

Thought for the Day – 22 February – The General Judgement .

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Thought for the Day – 22 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

22nd Day – The General Judgement .

Behold He cometh with the clouds
and every eye shall see Him
and they also who pierced Him .
(Apoc i:7)

+1. At the General Judgement, Christ as Man, will be the Judge of men because He is at once God and Man.
He will, therefore, have not only the most intimate knowledge of all our lives but a sympathy with us, an understanding of our nature from experience which will give Him, in the natural order, the highest qualifications for being our Judge.

+2. On that day, what a complete reverse there will be of all the world’s unjust verdicts!
How many, now ridiculed, despised, condemned, will then be glorious and honoured before men and Angels!
What will my sentiments be on that day, when the thoughts of all hearts will be revealed?

+3. On the Right of the Judge will be the sheep, on the Left, the goats – the one overflowing with celestial delights, the other already filled with the despair of hell.
What will distinguish between them? Simply this – whether they have shown charity to others for Christ’s sake. This and nothing else, will be the test –
“Inasmuch as you have done it to one of My least brethren, you have done it to Me.”
How shall I stand this test?
Ask God to teach you how to secure a place on the Right Hand of the Judge.

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes, CHRIST the JUDGE, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 21 February – The Particular Judgement .

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Thought for the Day – 21 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

21st Day – The Particular Judgement .

We must all be manifested before
the Judgement-seat of Christ.
(2 Cor v:10)

+1. At the Particular Judgement, we shall see our lives as they never appeared to us before. In an instant, we shall live them over again.
Each thought word, act, will be clear and distinct, with its true character no longer hidden by our own wilful blindness but, in all its foulness, baseness, ingratitude, revealed to us in the bright Light of God.

+2. We shall then stand face-to-face with Jesus Christ, no longer as our Advocate but, as our Judge; no longer pleading for us but dealing out strict justice, according to our deserts. He will be clothed with a Divine glory which will attract us and, at the same time, fill us with dismay, at the thought of having offended Him. St Teresa said that what struck her most forcibly in the vision she had of Him, was how awful would be the anger of One so full of Divine sweetness!

+3. Yet, we need not fear the Judgement if we make Christ our friend now. If we earn His gratitude by doing all we can to please Him, He will not remember our former sins. He will look to what we are, not to what we have been. He will not remember the sins of those who love Him with all their hearts.
The same St Teresa said – “Why should I fear the Judgement when my Judge will be my Best Friend.”
Pray that you may forestall the Judgement by a careful examination of your conscience.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, In the PRESENCE of GOD, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES on BAD CONVERSATION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 21 February – Preparing to Prepare

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Quote/s of the Day – 21 February – Preparing to Prepare

“For he who would save his life
will lose it but he who loses his life,
for My sake will find it.”

Matthew 16:25

“Destroy yourself completely
and sit, like a chick,
content with the grace of God,
for unless its mother gives it something,
it tastes nothing and has nothing to eat.”

St Romuald (c951-1027)

“May the God of love and peace,
set your hearts at rest
and speed you on your journey,
may He meanwhile,
shelter you from disturbance by others,
in the hidden recesses of His Love,
until He brings you, at last,
into that place of complete plenitude,
where you will repose forever,
in the vision of peace,
in the security of trust
and in the restful enjoyment of His riches.”

St Raymond of Peñafort
(1175-1275)

“When I look at successful men,
I find in all, three characteristics:
(1) A spirit of cheerfulness and confidence.
They know how to look at everything
from its best side.
Hence, I must pray for these attributes.
(2) A spirit of perseverance.
They are not discouraged by failures.
They recover themselves without delay.
What a lesson for me, not to lose heart
but to say, when I fall, I will rise again
and that, promptly!
(3) A spirit of single-mindedness.
They keep the end in view steadily before them.
If I am to attain, to the End of my life,
to succeed in coming to God at last,
I must keep Him always before me.”

Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Posted in QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 20 February – Death

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Thought for the Day – 20 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

20th Day – Death

It is appointed unto men once to die.
(Heb ix:27)

+1. Why is death a terror to men?
Because it is the punishment for sin, the penalty which was attached, by God Himself, to the first transgression of His law – “In the day thou eatest of it, thou shalt die the death.”
For this reason we shrink from it as the mark and sign of our fallen and degraded condition.
Disease, corruption, old age, decay, are its forerunners and are invested with the same reproach as testimonies to our being born in sin.

+2. Death is the end of our time of trial.
After it, our destiny will be irrevocably fixed. No more chance of doing penance, no more opportunities of contrition, no more merit, no more grace, no more calls to repentance, no more hope for those who reject God in this life. No wonder, then, men dread it! Yet death is standing at our very door; at any moment the King of Terrors may summon us away.
Am I prepared for the summons?

+3. Yet to those who love God, death loses all its terrors.
For them it is the beginning of their true life. All their hopes have been directed to the unseen world; why should they fear? Their heart is in Heaven and their treasure is in Heaven, their King and Lord is there and all their dearest and best friends and the Angels and the Saints.
How happy are those who are thus detached from this world and ever look to the world to come!
Pray for a happy death!

Posted in Of the Holy Souls in PURGATORY, PURGATORY, QUOTES on PATIENCE, The GREAT TRUTHS, VENIAL SIN

Thought for the Day – 19 February – The Punishment of Venial Sin

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Thought for the Day – 19 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

19th Day – The Punishment of Venial Sin

Thou shalt not go out from thence
until thou repay the last farthing.
(St Matthew v:26)

Venial Sin is the great evil in the world next to mortal sin and, therefore, it deserves a punishment greater than all the miseries of earth.
God has taught us what sort of an evil it is, by one or two instances of the way in which He visits it in this life.

+1. Moses, the friend of God, the Chosen Ruler of His People, the meekest of men, to whom God conversed as friend with friend, once committed a Venial Sin. He gave way to momentary impatience and lost his temper under provocation. For this, God denied him admission into the Promised Land! After his long and faithful service, God sent him to die on Mount Nebo before the Jordan was crossed. All the forty years of weary travel did not avail him; the Venial Sin cut him off before the goal was reached!

+2. David , the man after God’s Own Heart, in a moment of vanity, determined to number the people, boastfully priding himself on the strength of his fighting men.
In punishment of this, God sent a pestilence which, in less than three days, destroyed seventy thousand Israelites.
Jerusalem itself, would have been decimated, had not David entreated God to avert His destroying Hand.
How God must hate Venial Sin!

+3. After death, there will remain for most, a debt still to be paid for Venial Sin.
It is in Purgatory where we shall see its true character.
No earthly agony even approaches the agony of the Purgatorial Fire. The souls God loves, must be tormented there until they have paid the last farthing.
Alas! what do I still owe?
Am I doing my best to pay the debt and avoid adding to it?
Beg for an intense dread of Venial Sin .

Posted in QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SIN, VENIAL SIN

Thought for the Day – 18 February – Venial Sin

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Thought for the Day – 18 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

18th Day – Venial Sin

With these [ wounds ] I was wounded
in the house of them who loved me
(Zach xiii:6)

+1. Venial sin does not, like mortal sin, kill the soul and make us the enemies of God but, it is a disease which disfigures the soul and renders it unfit for union with Him, until it has been purged away.
It is the path which leads to hell by paving the way, little-by-little, for the entrance of mortal sin. It is an unkindness which destroys the warmth of our love and creates a coldness towards God.

+2. Venial sin is small as compared with mortal sin but, it is small only, as ten thousand years are small, compared with eternity.
It is the greatest evil in the whole world, with the exception of mortal sin. It is committed against an Infinite God. It can only be expiated by the Infinite Merits of Jesus Christ; it will add to the sufferings of the lost, for all eternity!

+3. Venial sin is of two kinds –
(1) Deliberate, when knowing that which I am about to do, will give pain to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I nevertheless, do it to gratify myself
This is the worst kind and the guilt of it is sometimes very great.
(2) Indeliberate, or semi-deliberate – when on impulse or without thinking, I do that which is faulty. Yet, I might have foreseen the danger and been more vigilant!
Ask God to help you to appreciate, the grave evil of one
venial sin.

Posted in QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HELL, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 17 February – The Eternity of Hell

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Thought for the Day – 17 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

17th Day – The Eternity of Hell

This is my rest forever and ever.
(Ps cxxxi:14)

+1. The worst aggravation of the sufferings of hell is that, they will never end.
If only they would cease, or be alleviated, after a thousand or a million years, the day of hope would shine on the inmates of that prison-house, even though far away in the dim distance. It is the knowledge that, at the end of countless millions of years, they will still be suffering as they are now which makes the agony of the lost so intolerable.
Forever, never! Forever, never!

+2. Add to this, the frightful monotony of their torments. How wearily the time drags on through a night, sleepless on account of acute pain!
But what will be the monotony of anguish which will make those endless ages drag along in unchanging misery? Nothing to vary the blackness of darkness around them; nothing to vary the worm of remorse ever gnawing at their heart nothing to vary the excruciating agony of the fire which will never be quenched.

+3. All this is the necessary result of their being fixed in an unchanging enmity with God.
If only they could receive in their souls, one spark of the Love of God, hell would at once cease to be hell. One thought of love would turn their agony of despair into joyful hope.
But no such thought will ever come to them.
Make many Acts of Love of God and ask Him that you may never be separated from Him by sin.

Posted in QUOTES on DESPAIR, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on SIN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 16 February – The Aggravations of Hell

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Thought for the Day – 16 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

16th Day – The Aggravations of Hell

Here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.
(Ps cxxxi:14)

Every thought of the lost will aggravate, not alleviate, their sufferings. Let us review one or two of the thoughts which will be ever present to their minds.

+1. They might so easily have been saved!
One act of contrition at the last, one grace accepted out of the countless graces which were deliberately set at naught and they might have been with the Angels in Heaven, instead of with the devils in hell. To know that we have just missed some advantage which we might, with a little trouble, have secured for ourselves, is always a tormenting thought. How much more when it is Heaven which is lost!

+2. If the advantage is lost, purely through our own fault, this greatly increases our misery. We fools! We had so many chances, we knew so well we were forfeiting our eternal inheritance! It is this which changes sorrow into remorse and adds to suffering, the horror and blackness of despair!
All through our own fault! What a thought to dwell with me through all eternity!

+3. What is it that we have lost?
This will be the bitterest thought of all.
We have lost the sweet music of Heaven, we have lost the company of the Saints and Angels, we have lost the enchanting happiness of gazing on the Sacred Humanity of Jesus in all its glory and, above all, we have lost the unspeakable joy of the Beatific Vision. We fools!
Pray God that the dread of this thought hereafter, may keep you from sin.

Posted in QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on SIN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 15 February – The Eternal Consequences of Sin

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Thought for the Day – 15 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

15th Day – The Eternal Consequences of Sin

Whoever was not found written in the Book of Life
was cast into the pool of fire.
(Apoc xx 15)

Try to represent to your imagination, the eternal prison-house. Listen to the shrieks and howls and cries of despair which issue thence; see the agony written on the faces of the inmates; approach, if you dare, to the devouring flame, taste the burning thirst which longs for one drop of water as an indescribable luxury.

+1. What is it that the lost are suffering here?
The pain of fire. Touch a piece of red- hot iron and see how long you can bear it? Yet, the lost souls in hell, endure an agony far worse than this, not in one portion of their body but in all the entire body.
Their eyes burn in the sockets like molten balls of fire. The fire surrounds them like water, nay, it is within and without them, it dries up their tongue, it consumes their entrails, it penetrates to the very marrow of their bones.
My God, may I never incur this agony!

+2. This fire is no ordinary fire. It is a supernatural fire – the breath of God kindles it.
The torment of burning, as known to us, is a suffering far less than the torment of hell. If the lost could be transferred to a bath of seething, molten lead, it would be a far less suffering, than that of the fire in which they are steeped in hell!

+3. About this fire, there is none of the light of ordinary fire. It carries with it the blackness of utter darkness. No ray of light will ever pierce its hideous gloom, no word of comfort, no relief, no hope of change. Nothing to alleviate the eternal misery which comes of sin.
Pray that if the love of God or hope of Heaven does not keep you from sinning, at least the fear of hell-fire may stop you in time!

Posted in QUOTES on SIN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 14 February – The Sins of Individual Men

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Thought for the Day – 14 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

14th Day – The Sins of Individual Men

I will recount to Thee all my years,
in the bitterness of my soul.
(Ps xxxviii:15)

+1. When we look at the sin of Adam and see the consequences it entailed, what shall we say of the consequences which the sins of each one of us are likely to bring upon our heads?
Adam’s was a single sin, as opposed to our countless offences. He did not appreciate the results of sin as we do, he had not witnessed the misery which comes from it, as we do, he had not seen the flames of hell kindled by sin, as we do.
How much more grievous then, are the offences of each one of us!

+2. We must remember too, Adam’s sin was forgiven the very day it was committed and God, in His Mercy, sealed His forgiveness by the promise of the Redeemer.
Yet, see the consequences of forgiven sin! The long penance, the spread of moral corruption, the disease and death, the misery and sorrow, the banishment from the Face of God, all these still remained, although the guilt of sin was gone. What reason then, for me to tremble at the thought of all my past sins!

+3. I will glance over my past life and try to recall a few of my many offences.
What a career mine has been! What ingratitude to God! What selfishness, what uncharitableness to others, what meanness, what unfaithfulness to grace, what impurity, what low motives of action, what forgetfulness of God, what idle words, what waste of time, what continual following my own inclinations!
How can I hope to escape the just judgements of God?
Pray for shame and contrition at the sight of your sins!

Posted in QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SIN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 12 February – Man’s First Sin

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Thought for the Day – 12 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

12th Day – Man’s First Sin

Pride is the beginning of all sin.
(Ecclus x:15)

+1. In Paradise before the Fall, Adam and Eve enjoyed a happiness beyond compare. They knew no pain, sickness, sorrow. They were created immaculate and adorned with a high degree of supernatural grace; they were exempt from all concupiscence; their lives passed in a continual round of unfailing delight; each evening God Himself, came to hold sweet converse with them.

+2. What was it which ruined their happiness?
The tempter came and suggested to Eve, a distrust of God, whispered into her ear, motives of disobedience. Eve listened and consented and in her heart, deliberately revolted against God.
Pride
brought with it concupiscence; she looked at the fruit which God had forbidden, took it, ate it, gave it to Adam. He also ate it and thus lost, for himself and all his posterity, the gift of original justice and all the graces and blessings which accompanied it.
One single sin ruined the world!
How ought I to dread and hate sin?!

+3. What was the history of this first sin?
The same as of every sin.
First the listening to the tempter’s voice then a jealousy of God, as of One Who interferes with our happiness; then, a positive revolt and undisguised pride and after this, every other sin, especially the indulgence of bodily appetite and depraved desires.
If I examine myself, I shall find that each sin I commit,
follows the same course.
Pray to avoid the first beginnings of sin.