Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 26 February – St Margaret of Cortona (1247–1297) Penitent – Sirach 51:13-17, Matthew 13:44-52 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“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
ALMSGIVING
St Peter Chrysologus (c400-450) Bishop of Ravenna Father and “Doctor of Homilies”
“All this is what that treasure brings about. Either through almsgiving, it raises the heart of a man into Heaven, or through greed, it buries it in the earth!
That is why He said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” O man, send your treasure on, send it ahead into Heaven, or else your God-given soul will be buried in the earth. Gold comes from the depth of the earth — the soul, from the highest Heaven. Clearly, it is better to carry the gold to where the soul resides, than to bury the soul in the mine of the gold. That is why God orders those, who will serve in His army here below, to fight as men stripped of concern for riches and unencumbered by anything. To these he has granted the privilege of reigning in Heaven.” (Sermon 22)
One Minute Reflection – 26 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Exodus 32: 15-24, 30-34; Psalms 106: 19-20, 21-22, 23; Matthew 13: 31-35 and the Memorial of Saints Anne and Joachim – Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Grandparents of Jesus
“Until the whole was leavened” – Matthew 13:33
REFLECTION – “If someone kneads bread without mixing leaven into it, they may well apply themselves to the task, knead and work at it, the dough will not rise and cannot be used as food. But when leaven has been mixed in, it draws all the dough to itself and makes it all rise, as in the parable the Lord applied to the Kingdom… It is the same with meat – no matter how much care you take, if you neglect to put in salt to preserve it,… it will smell badly and become inedible In the same sort of way, imagine the whole of humanity as meat or dough and that the divine nature of the Holy Spirit is salt and leaven from another world. If the heavenly leaven of the Spirit and good salt of the divine nature… are not added to our lowly human nature and mixed into it, the soul will never lose its bad odour of sin and will not rise by losing the heaviness and impurities of the “leaven of wickedness” (1Cor 5,7)…
If a soul only relies on its own strength and thinks itself able to achieve complete success of itself, without the help of the Holy Spirit, it is greatly deceived. It is not made for the dwelling places of Heaven nor made for the Kingdom… If sinful man does not draw near to God, does not renounce the world, does not await in hope and patience a good that is foreign to its own nature, namely, the strength of the Holy Spirit; if the Lord does not instil His own divine life from on high into that soul, that person will never taste the true life… On the other hand, if he has received the Spirit’s grace, if he does not turn away from it, if he does not offend Him by his negligence and wrongdoing, if, after persevering a long time like this in the fight, he does not “grieve the Spirit” (Eph 4,30), he will have the happiness of winning eternal life.” – Attri to St Macarius of Egypt (c 300-390) Monk
PRAYER – True light of the world, Lord Jesus Christ, as You enlighten all men for their salvation, give us grace, we pray, to herald Your coming by preparing the ways of justice and of peace. Help us Lord, that we may sprout and bear fruit, fitting to grow and be a home of comfort to our neighbour. By the prayers of Sts Anne and Joachim, may we too be beacons of Your Light and of the glory of Your Kingdom. Through Jesus our Lord, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 30 July – Monday of the Seventeenth week in Ordinary Time, Year B and The Memorial of St Peter Chrysologus “Golden Words” (c 400-450) Father & Doctor
“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”..Matthew 13:33
REFLECTION – “Let us give the deep meaning of this parable. The woman who took some yeast is the Church; the yeast which she took is the revelation of heavenly doctrine; the three measures with which she mixed the yeast are the Law, the Prophets and the Gospels, where the divine meaning mixes itself and hides itself under symbolic terms, to be understood by the believer but escape those who do not believe. As for these words “until the whole batch was leavened”, they relate to what the apostle Paul says: “Now we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away” (1Co 13:9). The knowledge of God is now in the dough: it spreads to the senses, it inflates hearts, strengthens our minds and like all instruction, widens them, lifts them and opens them up to the dimensions of heavenly wisdom. Everything will soon be leavened. When? at the advent of Christ.”...St Peter Chrysologus
PRAYER – God our Father, You made St Peter Chrysologus a most eloquent preacher of Christ, Your Word. By his intercession, help us top meditate constantly in our hearts, on the mysteries by which You save us and to manifest them faithfully in our lives. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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