Tag: john3:1-8

Posted in BAPTISM, DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, The HOLY SPIRIT, The LAST THINGS, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – – 12 April – ‘… A second life ‘

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – – 12 April – Monday of the Second week of Easter, Readings: First: Acts 4: 23-31, Psalm: Psalms 2: 1-3, 4-7a, 7b-9, Gospel: John 3: 1-8

“Nicodemus said to him,
“How can a person once grown old, be born again?
Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb
and be born again, can he?”

John 3:4

“We are a compound of both body and soul.
The one part is visible, the other invisible.
In the same way, our cleansing also is twofold,
that is, by water and the Spirit.
The one is received visibly in the body,
the other concurs with it invisibly
and apart from the body.
The one that comes to the aid of our first birth
makes us new, instead of old
and like God, instead of what we now are.
It recasts us, without fire
and creates us anew, without breaking us up.
For the virtue of Baptism,
is to be understood, as a covenant with God
for a second life and a purer conversation.”

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

“Ah Jesus, Sun of Justice,
make me clothe myself with You,
so that I may be able to live
according to Your will.
Make me, under Your guidance,
preserve my robe of baptismal innocence,
white, holy and spotless
and present it undefiled,
before Your tribunal,
so that I may wear it,
for eternal life.”

St Gertrude the Great of Helfta (1256-1301)

Advertisement
Posted in BAPTISM, DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 20 April – ‘Make room for God…’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 20 April – Monday of the Second week of Easter, Readings: Acts 4:23-31, Psalm 2:1-9, John 3:1-8

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:3

john 3 3 - unless one is born again 20 april 2020

“We read in Saint John – No-one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.   To be reborn in the Holy Spirit during this life is to become most like God in purity, without any mixture of imperfection.   Accordingly, pure transformation can be effected – although not essentially – through the participation of union.

Here is an example that will provide a better understanding of this explanation.   A ray of sunlight shining on a smudgy window, is unable to illumine that window completely and transform it into its own light.   It could do this, if the window were cleaned and polished…  The extent of illumination is not dependent on the ray of sunlight but on the window.   If the window is totally clean and pure, the sunlight will so transform and illumine it, that to all appearances the window will be identical with the ray of sunlight and shine just as the sun’s ray.  Although, obviously, the nature of the window is distinct from that of the sun’s ray, even if the two seem identical, we can assert, that the window is the ray or light of the sun by participation.john-3-6-that-which-is-born-of-the-spirit-a-ray-of-sunlight-st-john-of-the-cross-29-april-2019 and 20 april 2020

The soul on which the divine light of God’s being is ever shining, or better, in which it is ever dwelling by nature, is like this window.   A soul makes room for God by wiping away all the smudges and smears of creatures, by uniting its will perfectly to God’s, for to love is to labour, to divest and deprive oneself for God, of all that is not God   When this is done, the soul will be illumined by and transformed in God.”

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

a soul makes room for god by wiping away all the smudges and smears - st john of the cross - 20 april 2020

“What you are is God’s gift to you,
what you become,
is your gift to God.”

Hans Cardinal Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)

what you are is god's gift to you what you become is your gift to god - hans urs von balthasar 20 april 2020

“If God is your co-pilot, switch seats!”

if god is your co-pilot switch seats fr mike schmitz

“God is King of the entire universe,
except for possibly one little corner of it –
Your heart.”

Father Mike Schmitz

god is king of the entire universe fr mike schmitz 20 april 2020

Posted in BAPTISM, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, EASTER, ONE Minute REFLECTION, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 April – By the power of the Spirit

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 20 April – Monday of the Second week of Easter, Readings: Acts 4:23-31, Psalm 2:1-9, John 3:1-8 and the Memorial of Blessed Chiara Bosatta (1858-1887)

Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no-one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” … John 3:5

REFLECTION – The Roman Missal – Prayer for the blessing of baptismal water during the Easter Vigil

Father, You give us grace through sacramental signs,
which tell us of the wonders of Your unseen power.

In baptism we use Your gift of water,
which You have made a rich symbol
of the grace You give us in this sacrament.

At the very dawn of creation
Your Spirit breathed on the waters,
making them the wellspring of all holiness.

The waters of the great flood
You made a sign of the waters of baptism,
that make an end of sin and a new beginning of goodness.

Through the waters of the Red Sea
You led Israel out of slavery,
to be an image of God’s holy people,
set free from sin by baptism.

By the waters of the Jordan
Your Son was baptised by John
and anointed with the Spirit.

Your Son willed that water and blood
should flow from His side
as He hung upon the cross.

After His resurrection, He told his disciples,
‘Go out and teach all nations,
baptising them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’

Father, look now with love upon Your Church,
and unseal for her the fountain of baptism.

By the power of the Spirit
give to the water of this font
the grace of Your Son.

You created humankind in Your own likeness:
cleanse us from sin in a new birth of innocence
by water and the Spirit.

We ask You, Father, with Your Son,
to send the Holy Spirit upon the waters of this font.

May all who are buried with Christ
in the death of baptism
rise also with Him to newness of life.john 3 5 nicodemus and jesus no-one can enter - prayer baptismal water roman missal 20 april 2020

PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, grant that Your faithful people who were buried with Your Son in baptism, may by His Resurrection and intercession at Your right hand, obtain for us eternal life.   Send Your Spirit upon Your adopted children and lead us in Your way.   Grant that by the intercession of Blessed Chiara Bosatta, our path may be straightened and glow with Your light.   Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.bl chiara bosatta pray for us 20 april 2020