Posted in ARMOUR of CHRIST, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on JOY, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 8 June – Being Salt and Light

Quote/s of the Day – 8 June – Readings: First: Second Corinthians 1: 18-22,
Psalm: Psalms 119: 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, Gospel: Matthew 5: 13-16

“You are the salt of the earth …
You are the light of the world.”

Matthew 5:13,14

“Let us contend with all earnestness,
knowing that we are now called to the combat.
Let us run in the straight road,
the race that is incorruptible.”

St Clement of Alexandria (150-215)
Father of the Church

“Be joyful and keep your faith and your creed.”

St David of Wales (c 542-c 601)
Bishop

“All the darkness in the world
cannot extinguish the light
of a single candle.”

St Francis of Assisi (c 1181-1226)

“If you are what you should be,
you will set the whole world on fire!”

St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Doctor of the Church

“Think well.
Speak well.
Do well.
These three things,
through the mercy of God,
will make a man go to Heaven.”

St Camillus de Lellis M.I. (1550-1614)

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Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, FATHERS of the Church, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PARTIAL Indulgence, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 8 June – “You are the salt of the earth” – Matthew 5:13

One Minute Reflection – 8 June – Readings: First: Second Corinthians 1: 18-22,
Psalm: Psalms 119: 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, Gospel: Matthew 5: 13-16

“You are the salt of the earth” – Matthew 5:13

REFLECTION – “Salt is useful for so many purposes in human life! What need is there to speak about this? Now is the proper time to say why Jesus’ disciples are compared with salt. Salt preserves meats from decaying into stench and worms. It makes them edible for a longer period. They would not last through time and be found useful without salt. So also Christ’s disciples, standing in the way of the stench that comes from the sins of idolatry and fornication, support and hold together, this whole earthly realm.” – Origen Adamantius (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father – (Fragment 91)

PRAYER – Holy Almighty Father, we pray that we may be the light of Your divine Son and the salt of the earth. Help us, we pray, to ever strive to be both the light and salt of the earth and may the protection of Our Lady of Grace, first disciple of Jesus and model, be of help to believers who live every day their vocation and mission in history. May our Mother help us, to let ourselves always be purified and illumined by the Lord, to become in turn “salt of the earth” and “light of the world. Through the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God now and for all eternity, amen. MAY the HEART of JESUS be loved everywhere. 100 Days, Indulgence Once a day – Bl Pope Pius IX 23 September 1860

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on MEDIOCRITY, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 June – ‘…Could it be that our light is not bright enough?’

One Minute Reflection – 9 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: 1 Kings 17:7-16, Psalm 4:2-5, 7-8, Matthew 5:13-16 and the Feast of Our Lady of Grace and the Memorial of St Columba of Iona (521-597) Apostle of the Picts, Apostle to Scotland

“You are the salt of the earth but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? … You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.“…Matthew 5:13, 14

REFLECTION – “That is what we are as authentic disciples of Jesus.
Salt bring savour;  light dispels darkness.
In order to bring savour, salt must identify with the food without losing it’s own identity.   If it loses it’s own identity, it is fit only to be trampled underfoot.
Light dispels darkness. In fact, light and darkness are mutually exclusive because, where there is light there cannot be darkness and where there is darkness, light is absent.
But the light that we, as disciples of Jesus shed, must be mounted high, not for our own glory but that those who are enlightened may glorify and praise the Father.
If there is still so much darkness in our world, could it be that our light is not bright enough?” ,,, Msgr Alex Rebello, Diocese of Wrexham,  Wales.matthew 5 13 and 14 salt and light msgr alex rebellow bible diary 9 june 2020

PRAYER – Holy Almighty Father, we pray that we may be the light of Your divine Son and the salt of the earth.   Help us, we pray, to ever strive to be both the light and salt of the earth and may the protection of Our Lady of Grace, first disciple of Jesus and model, be of help to believers who live every day their vocation and mission in history. May our Mother help us, to let ourselves always be purified and illumined by the Lord, to become in turn “salt of the earth” and “light of the world. As St Columba of Iona brought both salt and light to the darkness of the pagan Scotland, grant we pray that his prayers may help us in our mission. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen…our lady of grace pray for us 9 june 2020

st columba of iona pray for us 9 june 2020

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SANCTITY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 February – ‘For the heart is then illumined by Jesus.’

One Minute Reflection – 9 February – Fifth Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: Isaiah 58:7-10, Psalm 112:4-9, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Matthew 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth …you are the light of the world…” …Matthew 5:13,16

REFLECTION – “Just as salt seasons our bread and other food and keeps certain meats from spoiling for quite a time, so the spiritual sweetness and marvellous working which result from the guarding of the intellect effect something similar.   For in a divine manner they season and sweeten both the inner and the outer self, driving away the stench of evil thoughts and keeping us continually in communion with good thoughts. Many of our thoughts come from demonic provocation and from these derive our evil outward actions.   If, with the help of Jesus, we instantly quell the thought, we will avoid its corresponding outward action.   We will enrich ourselves with the sweetness of divine knowledge and so will find God, who is everywhere.

Holding the mirror of the intellect firmly towards God, we will be illumined constantly as pure glass is by the sun.   Then the intellect, having reached the term of its desires, will, in Him, cease from all other contemplation. (…) Just as he who looks at the sun cannot but fill his eyes with light, so he who always gazes intently into his heart, cannot fail to be illumined. (…)   When clouds are scattered, the air is clear and when the fantasies of passion are scattered by Jesus Christ, the Sun of righteousness, bright and star-like thoughts are born in the heart.   For the heart is then illumined by Jesus.” … St Hesychios the Sinaite (c 5th century), Monk of the monastery at Vatos on Mount Sinai -sometimes identified with Hesychios of Jerusalem, Priest – Chapters “On watchfulness and holiness”, nos. 87, 88, 108 – St Hesychios the Sinaite’s Liturgical Memorial is on 3 October).matthew5 13 16 you are salt ofthe earth you are the light of the world st hesychios 9 feb 2020

PRAYER – All-powerful, eternal God, splendour of true light and never-ending day, let our striving for Your kingdom not fall short through selfishness or fear, may the universe be alive with the Spirit and our homes be the pledge of the world redeemed.   May our eyes see and our hearts have compassion, to all those who need us.   May the intercession of our Holy Mother and all the saints, be a strength and a comfort.   Through Jesus, our compassionate and loving Redeemer, with the Holy Spirit, one God with You forever, amen.mother mary pray for us - 5 oct 2018

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 12 June – Tuesday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:13-16 and the Memorial of St Gaspar Bertoni C.S.S. (1777-1853)

Thought for the Day – 12 June – Tuesday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:13-16 and the Memorial of St Gaspar Bertoni C.S.S. (1777-1853)

“You are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world”

At about the time of the Mission, St Gaspar suffered a physical relapse and sickness continued as a constant companion until his death.   Shortly after, on 27 July 1816, the “Stimmate”, a small private chapel, with several rooms attached, named after the Stigmata of St Francis, was bequeathed to a priest in Verona.   Just a few months later, the Stimmate was given to Father Bertoni with the stipulation that he continue to teach the youth.  Fr Bertoni and confreres, Fr Mariani and layman, Paul Zanolli move into the Stimmate on 4 November 1816 resolving, “never again to leave,” thus establishing the new religious community.   Suspicion lingered about all religious groups after the French Revolution and the Napoleonic conquest of Verona but since the school was a very visible reason for the men to be together at the Stimmate, the authorities did not object. In 1833, Father Bertoni had 180 young people in his care.   The Oratory, which remained quiet during the period of repression, flowered into a beautiful movement blossoming admiration from visitors throughout Italy.   It was a powerful instrument for God.  Father Bertoni was asked regularly to pray and to intercede for the sick.   Many people recovered for whom he prayed.   He always acknowledged that thanks were due to the Madonna, or Saint Joseph, or St Zeno (patron of Verona).

Over the years following his first illness,Father Bertoni endured over 300 operations, all without anaesthesia, to lacerate leg ulcers and to remove gangrene which invaded his right leg.   At age 61, St Gaspar was confined to his bedroom “between his bed and wheelchair.”   He spent the remaining 14 years of his life in that bare room with empty walls, adorned only by his beloved Crucifix.

By his every action, by his every word, St Gaspar lived every moment in the Light of Christ, sending the rays to all around him, in good and bad times, never ceasing to live the mission given to us all, to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world!

St Gaspar Bertoni, pray for us, that we may always strive to be salt and light, amen!st gaspar bertoni - 12 june 2018 - pray for us