Quote/s of the Day – 16 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 46:2, Ps 46:3, Rom 6:19-23, Matt 7:15-21
“I say to you, something greater than the temple is here …”
Matthew 12:6
“The Word of God, as consubstantial with the Father, has all things in common with Him and, therefore, has necessarily supreme and absolute dominion, over all things created.”
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father & Doctor of the Church
“The kingdom of God, in the words of our Lord and Saviour, does not come for all to see; nor shall they say: Behold, here it is, or behold, there it is; but the kingdom of God is within us, for the word of God is very near, in our mouth and in our heart. Thus it is clear that he who prays for the coming of God’s kingdom, prays rightly to have it within himself, that there it might grow and bear fruit and become perfect.For God reigns in each of his holy ones.
Origen (c185-253) Father of the Church
“Follow Me. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Without the Way, there is no going. Without the Truth, there is no knowing. Without the Life, there is no living. I am the Way, which you must follow, the Truth, which you must believe, the Life, for which you must hope. I am the inviolable Way, the infallible Truth, the unending Life. I am the Way that is straight, the supreme Truth, the Life that is true, the blessed, the uncreated Life. If you abide in My Way, you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free and you shall attain life everlasting.”
There are some who not only waste the Precious Blood, but actually trample it under their feet. These are they who, being washed from all their sins in the most Precious Blood of Jesus, deliberately turn back again to the sins they have abandoned, and set at naught His proffered love and friendship, and become far worse at the end than they were at the beginning. My Jesus! may I never be guilty of such base ingratitude!
But there are other still worse, who, after having been enrolled in the army of Jesus Christ, desert His standard and profess themselves unable to accept the teaching of the Church. Through pride or vice or covetousness they lose all their love of their holy faith and appreciation of its truth. These do indeed trample on the Precious Blood, and put Christ Our Lord to shame. Yet at any time, without God’s grace, I might be guilty of a like abandonment of my faith. O my God, make me always faithful to Thee!
There is a still lower depth. Some not only lose their faith, but become it enemies and traducers. They esteem the blood with which they are sanctified an unclean thing, and offer an affront to the Spirit of grace. They assail the Church, its ministers, its sacraments, its doctrines, with lying lips and open insult. How can any ever fall so low as this? Yet among them all will be found some who were once more pleasing to God than I. May I take warning from them and humble myself, and cherish as an inestimable treasure the grace won for me by the Precious Blood!
Our Morning Offering – 15 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” and the Memorial of St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Seraphic Doctor of the Church
To our Lady of Sorrows By St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor of the Church
O most holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the overwhelming grief you experienced when you witnessed the Martyrdom, the Crucifixion and the Death, of your Divine Son, look upon me, with eyes of compassion and awaken in my heart, a tender commiseration for those sufferings and a sincere detestation of my sins, in order that, being disengaged from all undue affection for the passing joys of this earth, I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem and that, henceforward, all my thoughts and all my actions may be directed towards this one most desirable object, the honour, glory and love of our divine Lord Jesus, and to you, the Holy and Immaculate Mother of God. Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 15 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” and the Memorial of St Bonaventure OFM (1221-1274) Seraphic Doctor of the Church
“As “pride is the beginning of all sin,” (Eccl. 10:15) so humility is the foundation of all virtue. Learn to be really humble and not, as the hypocrite, humble merely in appearance.”
“Run with eager desire to this Source of Life and Light, all you who are vowed to God’s service.”
St Bonaventure’s Sermon of 4 October 1255
“When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard , more than that proceeding from the mouth.”
“If you do not know your own dignity and condition, you cannot value anything at its proper worth.”
Have mercy on me, O Lady, for thou art called the Mother of Mercy. And according to thy mercy, cleanse me from all my iniquities. Pour forth thy grace upon me and withdraw not from me thine accustomed clemency. For I will confess my sins to thee and I will accuse myself of all my crimes before thee. Reconcile me to the Fruit of thy womb: and make peace for me with Him, Who has created me. Amen.”
The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure
“Mary seeks for those who approach her devoutly and with reverence, for such she loves, nourishes, and adopts as her children. ”
“Men do not fear a powerful hostile army, as the powers of hell, fear the name and protection of Mary.”
It seems a strange thing to say that the Precious Blood of Jesus was wasted, and in one sense it is true that every drop fulfilled the design for which it was shed in the honour it gave to God and the immeasurable reward that it won for the sacred humanity of the Son of God. But as regards men, for whom it was shed, it was in great measure wasted, because they in their folly and guilt refused the boon that was offered them. Alas! what madness to spurn such a treasure, every drop of which was worth a million worlds!
How do men waste the Precious Blood? Whenever the reject any grace that was won for them, whether it be a grace to avoid sin, or a grace that was intended to carry them on to a higher level of virtue, their rejection renders it, as far as they are concerned, inefficacious. It has been offered in vain, on account of their non-acceptance of the grace offered them.
Their rejection of it does not simply leave them where they were but puts them in a worse position than before it was received. They are less ready to receive further graces. They have disqualified themselves for at least a portion of the rich store of grace that God had prepared for them. The Precious blood has not only been shed in vain for them, but through their perversity has been for their disadvantage, and not for their benefit, in respect of the grace they have rejected and other graces which would have followed from it. Pray, then, that you may never willingly reject any grace, lest your birthright, like Esau’s, should prove a curse rather than a blessing.
One Minute Reflection – 14 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Sir 15:5, Ps 91:2, 2 Tim 4:1-8, Matt 5:13-19
In that time Jesus said to His disciples: You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.
REFLECTION – Now then, after giving them due exhortation, He refreshes them again with praises. As thus: the injunctions being high, and far surpassing those in the Old Testament; lest they should be disturbed and confounded, and say, How shall we be able to achieve these things? hear what He says: You are the salt of the earth. Implying, that of absolute necessity He enjoins all this. For not for your own life apart, says He, but for the whole world, shall your account be. For not to two cities, nor to ten or twenty, nor to a single nation am I sending you, as I sent the prophets; but to earth, and sea, and the whole world; and that in evil case. For by saying, You are the salt of the earth, He signified all human nature to have lost its savor, and to be decayed by our sins. For which cause, you see, He requires of them such virtues, as are most necessary and useful for the superintendence of the common sort. For first, the meek, and yielding, and merciful, and righteous, shuts not up his good deeds unto himself only, but also provides that these good fountains should run over for the benefit of others. And he again who is pure in heart, and a peacemaker, and is persecuted for the truth’s sake; he again orders his way of life for the common good. Think not then, He says, that you are drawn on to ordinary conflicts, or that for some small matters you are to give account.You are the salt of the earth.
Do you see how by degrees He indicates their superiority to the very prophets? In that He says they are teachers, not of Palestine, but of the whole world; and not simply teachers, but awful ones too. For this is the marvellous thing, that not by flattering, nor soothing, but by sharply bracing them, as salt, even so they became dear to all men.
St John Chrysostom (Homily 15 on Matthew)
PRAYER – May the annual festival of blessed Bonaventura, Your Confessor and Bishop, we beseech You, O Lord, render us pleasing to Your loving kindness, so that this service of sacred propitiation may be a blessed recompense for him and secure for us the gifts of Your grace. Through our Lord…
“If you learn everything, except Christ, you learn nothing. If you learn nothing, except Christ, you learn everything.”
Dearly beloved: I charge thee, before God and Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead, by his coming, and his kingdom: Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine.
2 Tim 4:1-8
For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables.
2 Tim 4:1-8
But be thou vigilant, labour in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry.
2 Tim 4:1-8
For I am even now ready to be sacrificed: and the time of my dissolution is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord the just judge will render to me in that day: and not only to me, but to them also that love His coming.
Our Morning Offering – 13 July – “Month of the Precious Blood”
Act of Spiritual Communion By St Bernard (1090-1153 Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
As I cannot this day enjoy the happiness of assisting at the Holy Mysteries, O my God, I transport myself in spirit to the foot of Your Altar. I unite with the Church, which by the hands of the Priest, offers You, Your adorable Son in the Holy Sacrifice. I offer myself with Him, by Him and in His Name. I adore, I praise and thank You, imploring Your mercy, invoking Your assistance and presenting to You, the homage I owe You as my Creator and the love due to You as my Saviour.
Apply to my soul, I beseech You, O Merciful Jesus, Your infinite merits; apply them also to those for whom I particularly wish to pray. I desire to communicate spiritually, that Your Blood, may purify, Your Flesh, strengthen and Your Spirit, sanctify me. May I never forget that You, my divine Redeemer, died for me. May I die to all that is not You, that hereafter, I may live eternally with You. Amen.
For as you yielded your members as slaves of uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members as slaves of justice unto sanctification.
Rom 6:19-23
REFLECTION – “Let us cry out with David; let us hear him weep and let us shed tears with him. Let us see how he rises up again and let us rejoice with him: “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness.” (Ps 51:3)
Let us place before the eyes of our soul a man who is seriously injured, almost on the point of breathing his last breathe and who is lying naked in the dust. In his desire to see a doctor arrive, he is moaning and begging the person who understands his condition, to have pity. Now sin is a wound to the soul. You who are this wounded person, learn that your Doctor is within you and show Him the wounds of your sins. May He, to whom every secret thought is known, hear the moaning of your heart. May your tears move Him and, if you have to seek Him with some insistence, let deep sighs rise up to Him from the bottom of your heart. May your pain come to Him and may you also be told, like David: “The Lord… has forgiven your sin.” (2 Sam 12:13)…
“Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness.” The people who belittle their fault because they do not know this great tenderness, only draw a little tenderness to themselves. As for me, I fell far, I sinned with full knowledge. But You, Almighty Doctor, correct those who scorn You; You teach those who do not know their fault and You forgive those who admit it to You.” – St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father and Doctor of the Church – Presentation on the seven penitential Psalms
“ It is better to atone for sin now and to cut away vices, than to keep them for purgation in the hereafter. In truth, we deceive ourselves by our ill-advised love of the flesh. What will that fire feed upon but our sins? The more we spare ourselves now and the more we satisfy the flesh, the harder will the reckoning be and the more we keep for the burning.”
Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
PRAYER – God our Father, we are Your children and You have set us aside to come home to You by the light of the way of Your divine Son. Fill us with knowledge of our need to turn to You in sorrow and repentance, that we may one day attain our final home with You. Grant we pray, that by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, we may too become lights announcing Your Glory and our great need for repentance. and penance. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus with You in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 13 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 46:2, Ps 46:3, Rom 6:19-23, Ps 33:12, 6, Ps 46:2, Matt 7:15-21
It is truly meet and just, and profitable unto salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to Thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ, our Lord.
(Preface of the Mass)
In this wise have the martyrs shown their power, leaping with joy in the presence of death, laughing at the sword, making sport of the wrath of princes, grasping at death as the producer of deathlessness, making victory their own by their fall, through the body taking their leap to heaven, suffering their members to be scattered abroad in order that they might hold their souls, and, bursting the bars of life, that they might open the. gates of heaven. And if any one believes not that death is abolished, that Hades is trodden under foot, that the chains thereof are broken, that the tyrant is bound, let him look on the martyrs disporting themselves in the presence of death, and taking up the jubilant strain of the victory of Christ. O the marvel! Since the hour when Christ despoiled Hades, men have danced in triumph over death.
O death, where is your sting! O grave, where is your victory? Hades and the devil have been despoiled, and stripped of their ancient armour, and cast out of their peculiar power. And even as Goliath had his head cut off with his own sword, so also is the devil, who has been the father of death, put to rout through death; and he finds that the selfsame thing which he was wont to use as the ready weapon of his deceit, has become the mighty instrument of his own destruction. Yea, if we may so speak, casting his hook at the Godhead, and seizing the wonted enjoyment of the baited pleasure, he is himself manifestly caught while he deems himself the captor, and discovers that in place of the man he has touched the God. By reason thereof do the martyrs leap upon the head of the dragon, and despise every species of torment.
For since the second Adam has brought up the first Adam out of the deeps of Hades, as Jonah was delivered out of the whale, and has set forth him who was deceived as a citizen of heaven to the shame of the deceiver, the gates of Hades have been shut, and the gates of heaven have been opened, so as to offer an unimpeded entrance to those who rise there in faith.
In olden time Jacob beheld a ladder erected reaching to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. But now, having been made man for man’s sake, He who is the Friend of man has crushed with the foot of His divinity him who is the enemy of man, and has borne up the man with the hand of His Christhood, and has made the trackless ether to be trodden by the feet of man. Then the angels were ascending and descending; but now the Angel of the great counsel neither ascends nor descends: for whence or where shall He change His position, who is present everywhere, and fills all things, and holds in His hand the ends of the world?
St. Gregory Thaumaturgus (On All The Saints)
“Since all the good we have, or all the good we do, is of God and from God, we are bound, in justice, to render Him thanks for every good action done, or every victory won in the battle against self. And, what is more, we are obliged to render thanksgiving for all blessings, general or particular, which we have received from His bounteous Hand.
To do this in a becoming manner, let us consider the end because of which, He has heaped upon us the abundance of His blessings; for from such considerations, we come to learn how God would be thanked. And, as His principal design, in all His beneficence, is primarily His own honour and the dedication of souls to His Divine service, let everyone reflect within his hearts: “What power, wisdom and goodness has God displayed in bestowing this grace and blessing upon me!”
Then considering the incapacity of finite man, to merit unaided, an Infinite favour – or even man’s utter ingratitude which makes him unworthy of such a blessing – we should say, in deep humility: “Is it possible, O Lord that Thou shouldst love sinful man, the most abject of creatures? How boundless is a love which grants a multitude of blessings, to him, who deserves it so little!? May Thy Holy Name be blessed now and forever!”
And finally, as such a multitude of blessings requires no more acknowledgment from man, than that he love his gracious Benefactor, let him thank and love God from the bottom of his heart, resolving to obey completely, the dictates of God’s Holy Will.
Victory without conquest is but of little avail to one who invades the territory of the foe. Our Lord came not only to subdue His enemies, but o obtain for Himself a kingdom. By the shedding of the Precious Blood the kingdoms of this world became the kingdoms of Our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. The blood of Jesus sinking into the ground gave to the earth a new life. The curse had departed, the new era had begun which shall culminate in the new heaven and the new earth wherein dwelleth justice. Pray that the King may soon come to take possession of this kingdom.
The shedding of the Precious Blood also won for Christ our King not only a new territory, but a multitude of new subjects. If the material world was sanctified by the Precious Blood, how much more those who dwelt upon it! What must have been the joy of Jesus to look down on whole countries faithful to Him amidst trials and persecutions! Ireland, Belgium, Spain, Catholic Austria, France, Italy, covered with multitudes subdued and held in joyful captivity by the Precious Blood. Rejoice in the wide spread of the Faith, and pray that it may spread more and more.
Above all, the Precious Blood has subdued to the yoke of Christ priests innumerable, monks, nuns, saints in the world and in religion, all rejoicing to be the very bond-slaves of the Precious Blood. Their chief calls himself the Servant of the Servants of God. Pray that you may rejoice to be a willing slave of Jesus Christ.
May We Confess Your Name to the End By St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop and Martyr Father of the Church
Good God, may we confess Your Name to the end. May we emerge unmarked and glorious from the traps and darkness of this world. As You have bound us together by charity and peace and as together we have persevered under persecution, so may we also rejoice together in Your heavenly kingdom. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 12 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 46:2, Ps 46:3, Rom 6:19-23, Ps 33:12, 6, Ps 46:2, Matt 7:15-21
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.
Matt 7:15-21
“Take heed that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’“
Luke 21:8
“If you believe what you like in the Gospels and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe but yourself.”
Saint Augustine (354-430)
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.
Matt 7:15-21
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father in heaven shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 7:15-21
For as some are mentioned in the sacred Hebrew books, as early as the time of Abraham — neither of his fleshly race nor of the people of Israel nor of the foreign society among the people of Israel — who were, nevertheless, sharers in their sacrament, why may we not believe that there were others elsewhere among other people, here and there, although we do not read any mention of them in the same authorities? Thus the salvation of this religion, by which only true one truesalvation is truly promised, never failed him who was worthy of it; and whoever it failed was not worthy of it. And from the very beginning of the propagation of man, even to the end, the gospel is preached, to some for a reward, to some for judgment; and thus also those to whom the faith was not announced at all were foreknown as those who would not believe; and those to whom it was announced, although they were not such as would believe, are set forth as an example for the former; while those to whom it is announced who should believe, are prepared for the kingdom of heaven, and the company of the holyangels.
St Augustine (On the Predestination of the Saints)
Brethren: I speak in a human way because of the weakness of your flesh; for as you yielded your members as slaves of uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members as slaves of justice unto sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free as regards justice. But what fruit had you then from those things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of these things is death. But now set free from sin and become slaves to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and as your end, life everlasting. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Precious Blood has conquered sin and Satan. It was the shedding of it on the cross which gave the death-blow to the kingdom of the devil. It was when the Son of God had by the loss of His Sacred Blood been reduced to the extremity of weakness and of misery, and brought down to the very gates of death, that He triumphed over the tyrant that had enslaved the world, and compelled all the rebel angels to bow the knee before His sacred humanity. Rejoice with your victorious King, and pray that you may deserve to share His triumph.
The Precious Blood has also conquered sinner by thousands, who, if it had not been shed, would have remained hardened sinners unto the end. Who can withstand its silent appeal, as it trickles down from His head, His hands, His feet? Who can refuse to listen to its silent pledgings? Who can turn away from Him Who has thus loved us even unto death? O my Jesus, may I never turn away from Thy voice calling me from Thy throne upon the cross to love Thee and obey Thy voice!
The Precious Blood has also conquered and averted the anger of God, Whose decree of just retribution would but for it have fallen upon sinners. Can the Father resist the pleadings of his co-equal Son when He holds out His hands, still marked with the scars of His sacred wounds, and asks for mercy and forgiveness for the sinner? May Thy wounds, O Jesus, plead for me now and at the hour of death!
Our Morning Offering – 11 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”
May I Be United With You, Good Jesus By St Peter Canisius (1521-1597) Doctor of the Church
Let my eyes take their sleep but may my heart always keep watch for You. May Your right hand bless Your servants who love You. May I be united with the praise that flows from You, Lord Jesus, to all Your saints; united with the gratitude drawn from Your Heart, good Jesus, that causes Your saints to thank You; united with Your Passion, good Jesus, by which You took away our guilt; united with the divine longing that You had on earth, for our salvation; united with every prayer that welled from Your divine Heart, good Jesus and flowed into the hearts of Your saints. Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 11 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 44:2, Ecclus 24:14-16, Luke 11:27-28
“Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”
Luke 11:27-28
Hail, holy Mother, who in childbirth brought forth the King Who rules heaven and earth world without end.
Sedulius
“Blessed is the womb that bore you ’”
Luke 11:27
“Do not delude yourselves, my brothers, if you hasten to hear the Word without meaning to put into practice that which you hear … consider carefully – if it is good to hear the Word, it is even better to put it into practice. If you do not listen to it, if you do not do what you have heard, then you are not building anything. If you listen to it and do not put it into practice, then you are building a ruin! “
St Augustine (354-430)
“Everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak” (Jas 1;19). Yes, brethren, I tell you frankly… I, who frequently address you at your own request, it is undiluted joy for me, when I take my place in the audience; my happiness is unalloyed, when I listen, rather than speak. Then, it is that I savour the Word in all confidence; my satisfaction is unthreatened by vainglory. When you sit on the solid rock of Truth, how can you fear the precipice of pride? “I will give ear,” says the psalmist, “and you will fill me with joy and gladness” (cf Ps 50:10). So, I am never more delighted, than when I am listening – our position as hearers, is that which keeps us in an attitude of humility.
“Blessed is the womb which bore Thee ” – Luke 11:27”
REFLECTION – And so you say, O heretic, whoever you may be, who deny that God was born of the Virgin, that Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ ought not to be called Theotocos, i.e., Mother of God, but Christotocos, i.e., only the Mother of Christ, not of God. For no one, you say, brings forth what is anterior in time. And of this utterly foolish argument whereby you think that the birth of God can be understood by carnal minds, and fancy that the mystery of His Majesty can be accounted for by human reasoning, we will, if God permits, say something later on. In the meanwhile we will now prove by Divine testimonies that Christ is God, and that Mary is the Mother of God. Hear then how the angel of God speaks to the Shepherds of the birth of God. There is born, he says, to you this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.In order that you may not take Christ for a mere man, he adds the name of Lord and Saviour, on purpose that you may have no doubt that He whom you acknowledge as Saviour is God, and that (as the office of saving belongs only to Divine power) you may not question that He is of Divine power, in whom you have learned that the power to save resides.
But perhaps this is not enough to convince your unbelief, as the angel of the Lord termed Him Lord and Saviour rather than God or the Son of God, as you certainly most wickedly deny Him to be God, whom you acknowledge to be Saviour. Hear then what the archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary. The Holy Ghost, he says, shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. Do you see how, when he is going to point out the nativity of God, he first speaks of a work of Divinity. For the Holy Ghost, he says, shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you. Admirably did the angel speak, and explain the majesty of the Divine work by the Divine character of his words.
If only a mere man was to be born of a pure virgin why should there be such careful mention of the Divine Advent? Why such intervention of Divinity itself?
St John Cassian (On the Incarnation)
PRAYER – Human weakness finds its anchor in You, Lord and our faith is built on You as on a rock. Supported by the teachings, lives and prayers of our fathers, Your Apostles, may we always answer Your call and live in ever-closer union with You. And may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother and all your Angels, Martyrs and Saints, pray for Holy Mother Church and for us all. Through Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
It is of faith that Christ died, not only for the elect, but for all. There was no single individual member of the whole race of men who did not enjoy the privilege of being redeemed by Christ, not the most degraded of heathen, not the most ignorant or the most hardened in sin. The Precious Blood was sprinkled on all, and if they did not avail themselves of its benefits, it was their own fault. None will incur the eternal misery of hell who has not deliberately rejected the forgiveness that the Precious Blood won for us.
What about the innocent child who dies without Baptism? For it, too, the Precious Blood was shed, and if it does not attain to eternal salvation in heaven, this is owing to the willful sin of man, and not to any lack of efficacy in the Precious Blood. It will at least enjoy great natural happiness through all eternity. He who shed His Precious Blood for all is not unmindful of those who through no fault of their own fail of attaining the joy of the beatific vision.
Does the Precious Blood do anything for sinners who have rejected it? Yes, for though their rejection of it excludes them from all right to share in the blessings it won for man, and has deserved for them eternal punishment, yet their punishment, terrible as it will be, will nevertheless be in some way short of what they deserved and this is through the merits of the Precious Blood. Thank God for His infinite mercy, and pray that you may never forfeit any of the graces won for you.
Quote/s of the Day – 10 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 112:1, 9, Ps 112:2, Prov 31:10-31, Ps 123:7-8, Matt 12:46-50
Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord. He establishes in her home the barren wife as the joyful mother of children.
Ps 112:1, 9
Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord. He establishes in her home the barren wife as the joyful mother of children.
Ps 112:1, 9
Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever.
Ps 112:2
My Jesus, mercy!
(300 days every time said)
“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today. It is a source of joy and inspiration in our youth; of strength in our manhood, when only His Holy Name and His grace, can enable us to overcome temptation; of hope, consolation and confidence at the hour of our death, when more than ever before, we realise, that the meaning of Jesus is ‘Lord, the Saviour.’ We should bow in reverence to His Name and submission to His Holy Will.”
Bl Henry Suso (1290-1365)
“Was it not through the brilliance and sweet savour of this Name, that God called us into His marvelous light?”
St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)
“If thou are bound down by sickness, if sorrows weary thee, if thou are trembling with fear, invoke the name of Jesus.”
In old pictures and engravings of the crucifixion we often see angels holding a chalice to catch the drops of the Precious Blood as they fall from the sacred wounds in the hands and feet of Jesus. We are also told that the angels collected all the blood that Our Lord had shed during His Passion, that not a drop might be lost. How they must have counted each drop as a treasure of infinite value. What were all the treasures of the earth compared with these drops, instinct with the Godhead of Jesus! Pray that you may scorn all earthly things in comparison with the Precious Blood of Jesus.
The angels not only treasure up the Precious Blood, but they pay to each drop their supreme homage. So we kneel and adore the Precious Blood in the chalice upon the altar. In each drop Christ is present whole and undivided. Make an act of faith in this wondrous miracle, and pray that you may adore with a reverent homage like that of the angels present at the crucifixion.
As the three hours advance, the body of Jesus is more and more drained of the Precious Blood. Hence follows a thirst so agonising that it forced from the lips of Jesus the cry, ‘I thirst!’. When our lips are parched and dry in sickness or in the agony of death, may we remember Thee, O Lord, and Thy sacred thirst endured for us, and may we offer up our sufferings in union with Thy unspeakable and agonising thirst upon the cross!
I will go round, and offer in His tent, sacrifices with shouts of gladness; I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
Ps. 26:6
REFLECTION – “I urge you, by the grace in which you are clothed, to press on in your race and urge everyone to be saved. Assert your office with all the diligence of flesh and spirit. Give your attention to unity, for there is nothing better. Carry your brethren as the Lord also carries you. Patiently, bear with them all in love, as indeed you do bear with them. Devote yourself to unceasing prayer. Ask for greater understanding than you have. Be watchful, possessing a wakeful spirit. Speak to each one individually, concerning God’s way. “Bear the infirmities” (cf Mt 8,17) of each as a perfect athlete. Where there is more toil, there is greater gain. If you only love the good disciples, this wins you no advantage. Rather, subdue by meekness the more annoying. Not every wound is cured by the same salve. Ease sharp pains with a hot compress. In everything “be wise as serpents” and always “harmless as doves”. You who are of flesh and spirit, humour those things visibly present before you but pray, too, that what is invisible may be manifested to you, so that you may lack nothing and may abound in every spiritual gift.
As pilots invoke the winds and tempest-tossed mariners call for haven, this season invites you to return to God. Be temperate, as God’s athlete. The prize is incorruption and life eternal… It is the part of a great athlete to suffer blows and to conquer. It is above all for God’s sake we ought to endure all things, that He too, may endure us. Become more zealous than you are already. Consider the times. Look for Him Who is above all times, Who is timeless, invisible but made visible for our sakes – He Who, beyond the touch of our hands, beyond suffering, yet knew the Passion for our sakes and endured every suffering.” – St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108) Father of the Church, Martyr, Bishop – Letter to St Polycarp (69-155) Bishop and Martyr), 1-3 ; SC 10
PRAYER – Mercifully hear our humble prayers, O Lord, and graciously accept these offerings of Your people, and grant that no prayer may be without effect, no petition in vain, so that what we ask in faith, we may really obtain. Through our Lord…
Quote/s of the Day – 9July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps. 27:8-9., Ps 27:1, Rom 6:3-11, Ps. 89:13, 1, Ps. 30:2-3, Mark 8:1-9
The Lord is the strength of His people, the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance; and rule them forever!
Ps. 27:8-9
We, therefore, both know and confess that God is without beginning, without end, eternal and everlasting, uncreate, unchangeable, invariable, simple, uncompound, incorporeal, invisible, impalpable, uncircumscribed, infinite, incognisable, indefinable, incomprehensible, good, just, maker of all things created, almighty, all-ruling, all-surveying, of all overseer, sovereign, judge; and that God is One, that is to say, one essence ; and that He is known , and has His being in three subsistences, in Father, I say, and Son and Holy Ghost…
An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book I) (St John of Damascus)
Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on Your servants! ℣. O Lord, You have been our refuge through all generations.
Ps. 89:13, 1
“Wake up then, believer and note what is stated here: “In My Name.” That [Name] is Christ Jesus. Christ signifies King, Jesus signifies Saviour. Therefore, whatever we ask for that would hinder our salvation, we do not ask in our Saviour’s Name and yet, He is our Saviour, not only when He does what we ask but also, when He does not. When He sees us ask anything to the disadvantage of our salvation, He shows Himself our Saviour by not doing it. The physician knows whether what the sick person asks for, is to the advantage or disadvantage of his health. And [the physician] does not allow what would be harmful to him, although the sick person himself, desires it. But the physician looks to his final cure.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace of the Church
“Our Lord Jesus Christ Has appeared to us from the bosom of the Father. He has come and drawn us out of the shadows And enlightened us with His joyful Light.
Day has dawned for humankind, Cast out the power of darkness. For us, a Light from His Light has arisen That has enlightened our darkened eyes.
Over the world He has made His glory arise And has lit up the deepest depths. Death is no more, darkness has ended, The gates of hell are shattered.
He has illumined every creature, All the shades from times long past. He has brought about salvation and given us Life; Next He will come in glory.
Our King is coming in His great glory: Let us light our lamps and go out to meet Him (Mt 25,6); Let us be glad in Him, as He has been glad in us And gives us gladness, with His glorious Light.
My friends, arise! make yourselves ready To give thanks to our Saviour King, Who will come in His glory and make us joyful With His joyous Light in the Kingdom.”
St Ephrem (306-373) Father of the Church (Hymn I on the Resurrection)
For, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. By reason of the agitation and confusion of all these, the Lord of the universe cries in the Gospel, saying, Take heed that you be not deceived; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and the time draws near: go not therefore after them. But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet by and by. Let us observe the word of the Saviour, how He always admonished us with a view to our security: Take heed that you be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ.
“I have compassion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with Me three days and have nothing to eat.” – Mark 8:2
REFLECTION – “ In this account of the miracle we must consider, in one and the same Redeemer, the separate operation of His Divinity and of His Humanity. And the error of Eutyches, who dared to teach that in Christ there is but one operation, must be wholly driven out from Christian lands. Who cannot see that the Lord, in having compassion on the multitude, lest they faint from want of food or from the weariness of the long journey home, was moved by the compassion of human pity but that, feeding four thousand people from seven loaves and a few fish, is a work of Divine Power?
“And they collected seven baskets full of fragments.” That multitude who had just eaten and been fille, did not carry away with them the remains of the loaves but left them to be gathered into baskets by the disciples, as before. And taken literally, this event teaches us to be content with what is necessary and never to look for anything more than that. Then the Evangelist makes known to us the number of those who were satisfied – “Now those who ate were about four thousand and He dismissed them” Here, let us consider that our Lord Jesus Christ does not wish to send anyone away hungry, since to the contrary, He wants to give to everyone the nourishment of His grace.
In a figurative sense, there is this difference between this second miracle and the first multiplication of the five loaves and two fish – the first prefigures the letter of the Old Testament, which was as though full of the spiritual grace of the New, whereas the second, represents the truth and grace of the New Testament fully communicated to the faithful. The multitude who, according to Saint Matthew’s testimony, wait three days for the healing of their sick (Mt 15), represent the elect in the faith of the Holy Trinity, who beg for the forgiveness of their sins, with persevering prayer, or those who are converted to the Lord, through their thoughts, words and deeds.” – St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Monk, Father and Doctor of the Church (Homilies on Mark, Book II, ch8 cf PL 92 – quoted by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the Catena Aurea Vol 4)
PRAYER – O God of the heavenly powers, creator of all good things, implant in our hearts the love of Thy Name and bestow upon us, an increase of godliness, fostering what is good and, by Thy loving care, guarding what Thou hast fostered. 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
Quote/s of the Day – 8 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 118:75; 118:120, Ps 118:1, Prov 31:10-31, Ps 44:3; 44:5, Ps 44.5, Matt 13:44-52.
‘So will it be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the just, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things?‘
– Matt 13:44-52
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field; he who finds it, hides it and in his joy, goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Matthew 13:44
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
Luke 12:34
“We have had Your treasure hidden within us, ever since we received baptismal grace, it grows ever richer at Your sacramental table.”
St Ephrem (306-373) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Let your door stand open to receive Him, unlock your soul to Him, offer Him a welcome in your mind and then you will see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the joy of grace. Throw wide the gate of your heart, stand before the Sun of the everlasting Light.”
St Ambrose (c 340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
“ He who finds Jesus, finds a rare treasure, indeed, a good above every good, whereas he who loses Him, loses more than the whole world. The man who lives without Jesus, is the poorest of the poor, whereas no-one is so rich, as the man who lives in His grace. … Let all things be loved, for the sake of Jesus but Jesus, for His own sake.”
Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”
St John Leonardi (1541-1609)
“You leave the land just as it is when you depart, you do not carry anything away. Our first aim is to go to God, we are not on earth for anything but this!”
8th Day – Types of the Precious Blood: (5) The Holocaust
The holocaust, or whole burnt offering, could be an ox or sheep, or pigeon, or turtle-dove, according to the abilities of him who offered it. Its blood was to be shed, and the whole body was afterwards to be burnt upon the altar. So Christ offered Himself a holocaust to God, there was no part of His human nature that was not sacrificed for the sins of men. All the faculties of His soul, every thought and wish and inclination, every nerve and fibre in His body, all were offered to God and consecrated to Him. Try and realise the extent of this sacrifice.
In this offering Christ left us an example. If we are really to tread in His footsteps, a partial offering is not enough. As long as keep anything for ourselves and deny it to God, there is rapine in our holocaust, that is, we keep back part of what we profess to sacrifice entirely to God, and such an offering cannot be acceptable. Is there anything which I consciously still keep back from God?
First of all, the blood of the sacrifice was to be shed, and the blood, as we read in Holy Scripture, signifies the life. We must therefore dedicate our lives to God before we can belong wholly to Him. Hence the virtue of religious vows. If we are not called to these, at least we are called to make the service of God the end and aim of our daily life. Is this the character of my life?
Quote/s of the Day – 7 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 131:9-10, Ps 131:1, Ps 131:16-17, Ps 109:4, Heb 7:23-27, Luke 10:1-9, Ps 67:36, Matt 10:27
“And He said to them, The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest.”
Luke 10:1-9
“Go. Behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves.”
Luke 10:1-9
“A person who wishes to become the Lord’s disciple must repudiate a human obligation, however honourable it may appear, if it slows us, ever so slightly, in giving the wholehearted obedience we owe to God.”
St Basil the Great (329-379) Father and Doctor of the Church
“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
“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
“What a tragedy, how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell, thanks to you!”
Our Morning Offering – 6 July – “Month of the Precious Blood”
An Old Morning Prayer – Excerpt From The Blossoms of the Cross — 1894 The Sisters of St Joseph
I rise In God’s strength, In God’s power, In the Agony of Christ, In the Cross of Christ, In Christ’s Precious Blood, These will sustain me against my enemies, visible and invisible. I rise in the blessing of Christ which my dearest Jesus left to the whole world. Protect me, All-Holy Trinity, God the Father, Who created me, God, the Son, Who redeemed me in His Precious Blood, God, the Holy Ghost, Who sanctified me in Holy Baptism. God, the Father, I give myself to Thee! God, the Son, I commend myself to Thee! God, the Holy Ghost, teach me! Mary, Mother of God, assist me! All you Saints of God, pray for me! All you Holy Angels, protect me! The Cross of Christ preserve me! Amen
One Minute Reflection – 6 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – The Octave Day of Sts Peter and Paul –
“O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” – Matthew 14:31
REFLECTION – “Once again the disciples are a plaything of the waves and a storm, similar to the first one (Mt 8:4) hurls itself against them. The first time, however, they had Jesus with them, whereas this time they are alone and left to themselves. … I think this was because our Saviour wanted to stir their sleeping hearts and, by throwing them into a panic, He inspired in them a strong desire for His presence and kept the remembrance of Him constantly in their minds. Hence, He did not come to their help at once but “during the fourth watch of the night He came towards them, walking on the sea …”
Peter, ever volatile, always getting in before the other disciples, said: “Lord, if it is Thee, command me to come to Thee on the water” … He didn’t say, “Command me to walk on the water” but “come to thee,” for, there was none who loved Jesus as much as he. He did the same thing after the Resurrection – unable to bear moving as slowly as the others in the boat, he jumped into the water to get there before them and satisfy his love for Christ. …Getting out of the boat, then, Peter went towards Jesus, more delighted to be going towards Him, than to be walking on the water. But after confronting the greatest danger, that of the sea, he was to give in to a lesser, that of the wind. Such is human nature! Often, having overcome serious dangers we are conquered by lesser ones … Peter had not yet been set free from all his fear … in spite of Christ’s presence beside him. For it is of no use to be beside Christ if one is not close to Him by faith. This is what emphasises the distance separating Master from the disciple …
“O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” So if Peter’s faith had not faltered, he would have resisted the wind without difficulty. And the proof of this, is that Jesus grasped Peter ,while leaving the wind to continue blowing … Just as the mother bird supports the fledgling which has prematurely left the nest, with her wings, as it is about to fall and draws it back into the nest, so does Christ, with regard to Peter.” … St John Chrysostom (345-407) Bishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor of the Church – (Homilies on Saint Matthew’s Gospel no 50, 1-2).
PRAYER – O God, Who made this day holy by the Martyrdom of Your Apostles Peter and Paul, grant Thy Church to follow in all things, the teaching of those, from whom she first received the faith. 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).
Quote/s of the Day– 6 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Genesis 32: 23-33, Psalms 17: 1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b and 15, Matthew 9: 32-3
We are not without a Shepherd!
“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours. All mine are yours and all yours are mine and I am glorified in them. … Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”
John 17:9-11
“This, beloved, is the way in which we found our salvation, Jesus Christ, the High Priest who offers our gifts, the patron and helper in our weakness (Heb 10:20; 7:27; 4:15). I t is through Him, that we look straight at the heavens above. Through Him, we see mirrored, God’s faultless and transcendent countenance. Through Him, the eyes of our heart were opened. Through Him, our unintelligent and darkened mind shoots up into the light. Through Him, the Master was pleased to let us taste the knowledge that never fades,”
St Pope Clement I (c 35 – c 99)
“The mark of Christ’s sheep is their willingness to hear and obey, just as disobedience is the mark of those who are not His. We take the word ‘hear’ to imply obedience to what has been said.”
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Pray in the spirit and sentiment of love, in which the royal prophet said to Him, ‘Thou, O Lord, are my portion.’ Let others choose to themselves, portions among creatures, for my part, You are my portion, You alone I have chosen for my whole inheritance.”
St Augustine of Canterbury (Died c 605)
And if by chance you do not know Where to go in quest of Me, Do not go far My Face to see, Searching everywhere high and low, But in yourself must seek for Me.
For, soul, in you I am confined, You are My dwelling and My home; And if one day I chance to find Fast-closed the portals of your mind I ask for entrance when I come.
Oh, do not seek me far away, For, if you would attain to Me, You only need My Name to say And I’ll be there, without delay. Look in yourself to seek for Me!”
6th Day – Types of the Precious Blood: (3) The Peace-Offering
The peace-offering was one of the chief sacrifices of the Old Law. It was an offering of gratitude for blessings received, or of petition for blessings desired. So Jesus offered Himself upon the cross, not only to obtain for us the blessings of eternal life, but also to render thanks to God for His mercy to man and make to Him the only possible return worthy of His majesty.
The blood of the heifer sacrificed was shed as a necessary part of the sacrifice. “The priests, the sons of Aaron shall offer the blood thereof, pouring it round about the altar.” (Lev. i. 5). There is no mark of our gratitude to God like willingness to suffer for Him. The blood is, as it were, the life, and the shedding of it corresponds in the body to the sacrifice of our will in the soul , which is the noblest sacrifice that man can make to God. Do I sacrifice my will to God’s, or is self-will still strong within me?
The blood was shed, moreover, as a means of obtaining fresh favours. Those who are anxious to gain great things from God must make some sacrifice for His sake, andthose who are most powerful with Him, are those who give up their will to His. Christ in His sacred humanity is all-powerful with God, because in the head of the book it is written of Him that He should fulfil the will of God and was content to do it. Do I deserve such influence with Him?
AnaStpaul 
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