Tag: oantiphons

Posted in ADVENT, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The CHRIST CHILD, The INCARNATION, The WORD

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori – 22 December

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787))

22 December

The sorrow that the ingratitude of humankind has caused Jesus

“Consider that Saint Francis of Assisi, during the days of the holy Nativity, went about the highways and woods with sighs and tears and inconsolable lamentations.   When asked the reason, he responded, “Why should I not weep when I see that love is not loved! I see a God who became human for the love of humanity and humanity that is ungrateful to this God.” Now, if this ingratitude caused so much sorrow in the heart of St Francis, consider how much more it must have afflicted the heart of Jesus Christ.   The loving infant does not deserve this response.   He came from heaven to suffer and die for us, so that we might love Him.   How can we remain ungrateful?

O my Jesus, I love You and will always love You.   Inflame my heart every day with the memory of Your love for me.   Mary, my mother, help me to live a life grateful to God, who has loved me, even after I have so greatly offended Him.”

Scripture

“…For he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.”…Luke 1:49

Prayer

O KING OF ALL NATIONS
and keystone of the Church
come and save man,
whom You formed from the dust!o-king-of-all-nations-22-dec-2017

Advent Action
“The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”   Mary looks back to the beginning of her song, where she said:  My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. Only that soul for whom the Lord in His love does great things can proclaim His greatness with fitting praise and encourage those who share her desire and purpose, saying – ‘join with me in proclaiming the greatness of the Lord, let us extol His name together.'”…St Bede the Venerable (673-735) – Father & Doctor

Have you ever been overcome by the goodness of God?   Today’s Scripture presents the images of Hannah and Mary, who are both overcome by God’s goodness.   Lord, today, I too want to join Your mother in her hymn of thanksgiving.   On the threshold of Christmas, this is the best prayer that we humans can raise to the Almighty God.   Let us make this song our own – our continual song of gratitude!   Together with Mary, let us rejoice for the fulfilment of the promise of which You, already in her womb, are the fruit and proof.   Lord, make us too partners in the revolution that You begin, with Your incarnation – the revolution that pulls down the mighty and exalts the poor and the powerless.advent with st alphonsus - luke 1 49 for he who is mighty 22 dec 2018

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Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT PRAYERS, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The CHRIST CHILD, The INCARNATION, The WORD

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori – 21 December

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787))

21 December

Jesus is a prisoner in the womb of Mary

“Consider the painful life that Jesus Christ led in the womb of His mother and the long-confined and dark imprisonment that He suffered there for nine months.   He had His senses but He could not use them.   A tongue but He could not speak.   Eyes but he could not see.   Hands but He could not stretch them out.   Feet but He could not walk.   For nine months, He had to remain the womb of Mary, a voluntary prison but also a prison of love. He was innocent but He had offered Himself to make payment for our debts and our crimes.

What gratitude and love we should demonstrate for our Lord in return for the love and goodness that He has given us.   He has put Himself into chains, in order to deliver us from the chains of evil.

O my Jesus, You are the innocent one. I implore You to bind my poor soul to Your feet by Your holy love, so that it may never again be separated from You.”

Scripture

“Blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

Luke 1:42luke 1 42 blessed are you among woman - o raidant dawn 21dec2018

Prayer

O Radiant Dawn,
splendour of eternal light, sun of justice!
Come and shine on those
who dwell in darkness and in the
shadow of death.o-radiant-dawn-21-dec-2017

Advent Action
Dawn never happens quickly.   Long before dawn, while it is quite dark, the birds start their sounds of joy.   Slowly the night changes from dark, to charcoal, to haze, to light. Today’s Scripture presents to us the image of waiting.   In the Gospel, Mary and Elizabeth, wait and wonder together and the Lord waits, St John the Baptist waits.   Oftentimes, we are called to wait.   We must believe that in our waiting, the dawning also exists. We know that the Lord will always draw us from darkness into His cleansing light. Patience is a virture – displayed so wonderfully and painfully by the Lord.   How can we give into our impatience?   Rest in Me, remember me in the womb of My mother Mary and learn patience!

Posted in ADVENT, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The WORD

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787))

20 December

Jesus offered Himself for our salvation from the beginning

“Consider that the divine Word knew that all the sacrifices of goats and bulls offered to the Father in times past had not been able to satisfy for the sins of humankind but that it required a divine person to pay the price of redemption.   “My Father” said Jesus, “all the victims previously offered to You have not paid the debt, nor could they have paid the debt, necessary to satisfy Your justice.   You have given me my humanity, in order that by shedding my blood, I might please You and save humanity.   Behold I come.   Here I am.   I am ready. I accept everything and I submit myself in everything, to Your will.”

O my Jesus, I am weak, grant me strength against temptation. I am infirm, I hope that Your precious blood will be my medicine. I am a sinner but I hope that Your grace will make me a saint.   I acknowledge that I have co-operated with my own ruin but this day, I promise always, to call upon You and in this way co-operate with Your grace.”

Scripture
” Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?   And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”
Psalm 24:3-4advent with st alphonsus - psalm 24 3-4 who shall ascend - 20dec2018

Prayer
O KEY OF DAVID,
and Sceptre of the House of Israel,
who opens and no-one shuts,
who shuts and no-one opens:
Come and bring forth the captive from his prison,
he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.o-key-of-david-20-dec-2017

Advent Action
The Pharisees, dressed in fine robes and living in palaces, are rejected.   Advent is the time to ask Jesus to change us. He is coming, He invades the world, He changes everything, forevermore – He will change us if we ask – “Lord, come to me this day. Change me. Restore me to Your kingdom.”
“If we would please this Divine Infant,
we too must become children,
simple and humble;
we must carry to Him flowers of virtue,
of meekness, of mortification, of charity;
we must clasp Him in the arms of our love.”…St AlphonsusIf we would please this divine infant - st alphonsus liguori 20dec2018

Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT PRAYERS, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The INCARNATION, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The PASSION, The WORD

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

19 December

The passion of Jesus lasted throughout His whole life

“Consider that when Abraham was leading his son Isaac to death, that he did not give him notice of it beforehand, even during the short time that was necessary for them to arrive at the mount.   But the eternal Father chose that His incarnate Son, whom He had destined to be the victim for the atonement of our sins, should know the sorrow He was to endure from the very first moment that He was in His mother’s womb.  The whole life, then, of our blessed Redeemer and all the years that He spent, was a life of pain and tears. His divine heart never passed one moment free from suffering.   The martyrs have suffered but assisted by grace, they suffered with you and fervour.   Jesus Christ suffered but He suffered with a heart full of weariness and sorrow and He accepted all, for our love.

O sweet, O amiable, O loving heart of Jesus, I thank You.   O afflicted and loving heart of my Lord, I thank You for all that You suffered for me!”

Scripture

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
Psalm 71:4advent with st alphonsus rescue me o my god psalm 71-4 o sweet 19dec2018

Prayer

O ROOT OF JESSE,
that stands for an ensign of the people,
before whom the kings keep silence
and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication,
come, to deliver us and tarry not.o-root-of-jesse-19-dec-2017

Advent Action
Speechless I stand before You, contemplating the Father’s mysterious design for our salvation.   I revere the elaborate preparations the Father puts in place for Your coming into our midst as one of us.    First, He prepares a mother for You, preserving her from sin right from conception and filling her with grace.   Then, in the fullness of time, He approaches her announcing His plan and the role she has to play in it.   Then, He takes care of her heart-broken husband, Joseph, announcing to him the mystery of Your incarnation.   And finally, the Father raises one more prophet to prepare the field for Your mission and to introduce You to our world.
Today, Your Word invites me to reflect on the role of the Baptist in Your redemptive work and challenges me to make space for You to be born in our world and in my heart.
Lord, let my life be a pointer to You as John’s was…I beg You!

Posted in ADVENT, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The WORD

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787))

17 December 

The Heart of Jesus in the womb of His Mother

“Consider that whatever Jesus suffered in His life and in His Passion was all placed before Him while He was in the womb of Mary.   He accepted everything that was proposed to Him with delight but in accepting all things and in overcoming the natural repugnance of sense, O my God, what anguish and oppression did the innocent heart of Jesus suffer. Our Redeemer accepted each moment even though He continually had before His eyes that confusion which He would one day feel at seeing Himself stripped naked, scourged and suspended by three iron nails, ending His life in the midst of insults and curses.   And for what?   To save us miserable and ungrateful sinners.

My beloved Redeemer, how much did it cost You to raise me from the ruin, which I brought on myself through my sins?   What can I do without Your grace? I can do nothing but pray that You will help me but even this prayer comes from the merits of Your suffering and death!   O my Jesus, help me!”

Scripture

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1

Prayer

O WISDOM
You came forth from the mouth of the Most High
and reaching from beginning to end,
You ordered all things mightily and sweetly.
Come and teach us the way of prudence

Advent Action
Time is fast approaching for Eternity to break into time.   And today we begin our special preparations to celebrate Your birthday.   Your Evangelist, Matthew, begins his Gospel by tracing Your origin as a human being.   You did not come to us as bolt from the blue.   You fully belong to our human stock.   Matthew’s list of Your genealogy is disturbing, if not shocking.   Of course, Your ancestors include great patriarchs of the chosen people.  But it also includes some of ill repute!   It begins with Abraham begetting Isaac.  Ishmael, the first son of Abraham, is not in the picture.   The story continues with Isaac begetting Jacob and not the elder son Esau.   Again, Jacob begets Judah, ignoring Joseph who was obviously the best of the brothers.   With these unreasonable choices, Matthew seems to impress on us that often God does not choose the best or the noblest or the saintly.   Thank You, Lord, for it is only Your unpredictable graciousness that made You choose me and employ me in Your service!   Only by my prayer, ‘O my Jesus, help me’ can I live up to this choice.   And so I increase my prayer this week. (Fr Joseph Thena SSP)_O Wisdom 17 dec 2018