Quote/s of the Day – 24 June – The Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, B
“The true secret of love consists in this: we must forget self like St John the Baptist and exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus.”
St Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)
“His name is John” (Lk 1:63) …which in Hebrew means “God is benevolent”. God is benevolent to human beings, He wants them to live; He wants them to be saved. God is benevolent to His people, He wants to make of them a blessing, for all the nations of the earth. God is benevolent to humanity, He guides its pilgrim way, towards the land, where peace and justice reign. All this is contained in that name: John!”
“Look today to John the Baptist, an enduring model of fidelity to God and His Law. John prepared the way for Christ, by the testimony of his word and his life. Imitate him with docile and trusting generosity.”
Thought for the Day – 8 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday
What many do not know is that St John Paul II had been anticipating preaching a homily on Divine Mercy Sunday 2005 at a new parish in Albis, Rome. It was dedicated to God, the Merciful Father. We all watched with grief as his health rapidly declined during that Lent of 2005. He began to prepare his homily for the event, what some believe may be the last handwritten lines of our saintly pontiff. He left this world hours before it was to be delivered.
It would be his successor, Benedict XVI, who would deliver to that community the pope’s final words . In fact Pope Benedict called them St John Paul II’s spiritual last will and testament. It’s clear he didn’t intend them solely for a parish in the suburbs but for all of us. It represents his final mercy mandate to the world. ”To humanity, which sometimes seems bewildered and overwhelmed by the power of evil, selfishness and fear, the Risen Lord offers His love that pardons, reconciles and re-opens hearts to hope. It is a love that converts hearts and gives peace.”
Ten years later, with the emergence of unimagined evils perpetrated by groups like ISIS and others, we may be more overwhelmed than ever. Jesus and the Gospel are our only hope. He continued, “How much the world needs to understand and accept Divine Mercy!…Jesus I trust in You, have mercy upon us and upon the whole world.”
This Divine Mercy Sunday invites us each to evaluate our lives in light of St John Paul II and the Church’s profound message of mercy. Take a few moments to reflect on the meaning of your life, evaluate your plans and goals. Consider where you spend your attention, energy and affection. Gathered together would a fitting summary of your life be, “Here was one who modelled God’s Divine Mercy in prayer, word and deed. Here was one who loved, forgave, pardoned, reconciled and reopened hearts to hope”? It is my prayer for you and it is certainly possible by God’s grace and the intercession of St Faustina and St John Paul II……Thomas Smith – writer/presenter/speaker and more
Quote/s of the Day – 9 February – The Memorial of Bl Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824)
“The prayer most pleasing to God is that made for others and particularly for the poor souls. Pray for them, if you want your prayers to bring high interest.”
Bl Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824)
“As much as by her patience to endure her physical weaknesses, we are impressed by the strength of character of the new blessed and her firmness in the faith. She received this strength from the Holy Eucharist. In this way, her example opened the hearts of poor and rich men, educated and humble people, to complete loving passion toward Jesus Christ. Still today she communicates to all the salvific message: ‘By his wounds you have been healed’ (see 1 Peter 2:24).”
St Pope John Paul II, homily at the beatification of Blessed Anne, 3 October 2004
Quote/s of the Day – 8 February – The Memorial of St Jerome Emiliani (1486-1537) & St Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) and the Fourth World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Trafficking in Persons
” God wishes to test you, like gold in the furnace. The dross is consumed by the fire but the pure gold remains and its value increases. It is in this manner, that God acts with His good servant, who puts his hope in Him and remains unshaken in times of distress. God raises him up and, in return for the things, he has left out of love for God, He repays him a hundredfold in this life and with eternal life hereafter. If then you remain constant in faith, in the face of trial, the Lord will give you peace and rest for a time in this world and forever in the next.”
St Jerome Emiliani (1486-1537)
“When a person loves another dearly, he desires strongly to be close to the other: therefore, why be afraid to die?”
“The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone… we must be compassionate!”
“If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today.”
St Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947)
“Rejoice, all of Africa! Bakhita has come back to you: the daughter of the Sudan, sold into slavery as a living piece of merchandise and yet still free: free with the freedom of the saints.”
Thought for the Day – 15 January – The Feast of Our Lady of Banneux – Our Lady of the Poor and Queen of Nations
There are many ways of “being poor” and in today’s world, the more we have, the poorer we can be. Our Lady of Banneux is a most worthy intercessor to pray on our behalf to our God of such loving mercy, for all the needs of the poor of the world, for so many who are rich in goods but poor in spirit.
As St John Paul said on a visit to Banneux – “The poor today – and there are many ways of being poor! – feel at home in Banneux. They come here to find comfort, courage, hope, union with God in their affliction. I encourage the pilgrims who come here to pray to her, who, always and everywhere in the Church, reflects the face of the Mercy of God.”
One Minute Reflection – 1 January 2018 – The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Octave Day of the Nativity of Our Lord and the first day of the Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.…Luke 2:19
REFLECTIONS – “Today’s liturgy celebrates the solemnity of the Mother of God.
Mary is the one who was chosen to be Mother of the Redeemer, sharing intimately in his mission.
In the light of Christmas, the mystery of her divine motherhood is illumined.
Mary, Mother of Jesus who was born in the Bethlehem cave,
is also the Mother of every man and woman who comes into the world.
How is it possible not to commend to her the year that is beginning,
to implore a time of serenity and peace for all humanity?
On the day when this new year begins under the blessed gaze of the Mother of God,
let us invoke the gift of peace for each one and all.”…St Pope John Paul – 1997
PRAYER – God, our Father, since You gave mankind a saviour through blessed Mary, virgin and mother, grant that we may feel the power of her intercession when she pleads for us with Jesus Christ, Your Son, the author of life, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
NOVENA to St John Paul the Great DAY TWO – 14 OCTOBER
Little Known Fact #2: While working in a factory during the Nazi Occupation of Poland, Karol Wojtyla heard that one of his co-workers was expecting a child. The man worked the night shift and found out that his wife gave birth to their child. After a full day of work during the day, Karol told his co-worker to go home to be with his family. Karol then worked the entire night shift in place of the new father. He continued to work the night shift after his own shift until his co-worker’s wife regained her strength and he could return to work.
REFLECTION: ”Follow me! In July 1958 the young priest Karol Wojtyla began a new stage in his journey with the Lord and in the footsteps of the Lord. Follow me – Karol Wojtyla accepted the appointment, for he heard in the Church’s call the voice of Christ. And then he realised how true are the Lord’s words: “Those who try to make their life secure will lose it but those who lose their life will keep it” (Lk 17:33). Our Pope – and we all know this – never wanted to make his own life secure, to keep it for himself; he wanted to give of himself unreservedly, to the very last moment, for Christ and thus also for us. And thus he came to experience how everything which he had given over into the Lord’s hands came back to him in a new way. His love of words, of poetry, of literature, became an essential part of his pastoral mission and gave new vitality, new urgency, new attractiveness to the preaching of the Gospel, even when it is a sign of contradiction.”…Pope Benedict
Let us Pray:
O Holy Trinity, we thank You for having given to the Church Pope John Paul II and for having made him shine with Your fatherly tenderness, the glory of the Cross of Christand the splendour of the Spirit of love.
He, trusting completely in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, has shown himself in the likeness of Jesus the Good Shepherd and has pointed out to us the way of holiness as the path to reach eternal communion with You Grant us, through his intercession, according to Your will, the grace that we implore,
………………….. [state your intention here].
Continue, beloved St John Paul, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God’s people. We praise and thank You Father that St John Paul has been numbered among Your saints and make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God forever.
Totus Tuus, Amen.
Quote Day Two: “Mary is ‘the Mother of the Son of God.
As a result she is also the favourite daughter of the Father
and the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Because of this gift of sublime grace,
she far surpasses all other creatures,
both in heaven and on earth.”
(REDEMPTORIS MATER – 1987)
Quote/s of the Day – 11 August – The Memorial of St Clare of Assisi
“He, Christ, is the splendour of eternal glory, “the brightness of eternal light and the mirror without cloud.” Behold, I say, the birth of this mirror. Behold Christ’s poverty even as he was laid in the manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes. What wondrous humility, what marvellous poverty! The King of angels, the Lord of heaven and earth resting in a manger! Look more deeply into the mirror and meditate on His humility, or simply on His poverty. Behold the many labours and sufferings He endured to redeem the human race. Then, in the depths of this very mirror, ponder His unspeakable love which caused Him to suffer on the wood of the cross and to endure the most shameful kind of death. The mirror Himself, from His position on the cross, warned passers-by to weigh carefully this act, as He said: “All of you who pass by this way, behold and see if there is any sorrow like mine.” Let us answer His cries and lamentations with one voice and one spirit: “I will be mindful and remember and my soul will be consumed within me.”
Gerard Seghers – St. Clare and St. Francis of Assisi in adoration before the Child Jesus.
“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.”
St Clare’s second letter to Blessed Agnes of Prague
“ Blessed be You, O God, for having created me. ”
St Clare’s Last Words
“Cling to His most sweet Mother, who carried a Son whom the heavens could not contain; and yet she carried Him in the little enclosure of her holy womb and held Him on her virginal lap.”
“Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him. ….Totally love Him, Who gave Himself totally for your love.”
“They say that we are too poor but can a heart which possesses the infinite God be truly called poor? We should remember this miracle of the Blessed Sacrament when in Church. Then we will pray with great Faith to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist: ‘Save me, O Lord, from every evil – of soul and body.’”
St Clare of Assisi
St Pope John Paul II said of Saint Clare:
“her whole life was a Eucharist because … from her cloister she raised up a continual ‘thanksgiving’ to God in her prayer, praise, supplication, intercession, weeping, offering and sacrifice.
She accepted everything from the Father in union with the infinite ‘thanks’ of the only begotten Son.
Saint of the Day – 29 May – St Ursula Ledóchowska (1865-1939) religious name – Maria Ursula of Jesus – Religous and Foundress of the Institute of Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Agony (17 April 1865 at Loosdoor, Austria as Julia Ledóchowska – 29 May 1939 in the Gray Ursuline convent, Via del Casalet, Rome, Italy of natural causes) . Canonised 18 May 2003 by Pope John Paul II at Vatican Basilica. Her body is incorrupt, it was transferred to the Gray Ursuline motherhouse in Pniewy, Poland on 29 May 1989.
Born in Austria, Julia was born into a privileged family, the daughter of a Polish count and a Swiss noblewoman. She was one of five children born into the family. Her elder sister, Blessed Maria Teresa Ledóchowska, founded the Missionary Sisters of Saint Peter Claver and is affectionately known as the “Mother of Africa.”
Julia (at left), her mother, and sisters
Julia’s uncle, the Cardinal Mieczyslaw Ledóchowski, the Primate of Poland, was persecuted and imprisoned for his opposition to the policies of the Prussian “culture war.” For this reason and for reasons of finances, Julia’s father moved the family back to his native Poland, where he fell ill. Before his death, he gave his daughter his blessing to enter the Convent of Ursuline Sisters in Krakow. Taking the name of Maria Ursula of Jesus, she dedicated herself to service of those in need. Sister Maria Ursula was especially drawn to youth, specifically young women who were in need of education. She founded the first Polish residence for female university students and both watched over them and assisted them in their spiritual and academic studies.
Sister Maria Ursula became prioress of the convent in which she lived and later received a request from Monsignor Constantine Budkiewicz, a Polish nobleman living and priest of Saint Catherine’s Church. His wish was for Mother Maria Ursula to found a boarding school in Russia, for Polish girls wishing to study in Saint Petersburg. Having received approval from Pope Saint Pius X, she traveled to Russia and founded a convent there to work among Catholic immigrants. Given the state of Russian politics at that time, the nuns wore lay clothing and conducted themselves appropriately, but were under constant threat and surveillance by the Russian secret police.
As World War I dawned, Mother Ursula was expelled from Russia, given her Austrian birth. Monsignor Budkiewicz was eventually martyred for the faith, during the fall and renaming of Saint Petersburg as Leningrad. Having been expelled from Russia, Mother Ursula fled to Sweden. There, she organised relief efforts for war victims, charitable enterprises for those (like herself) living in exile from Poland. She further founded a monthly Catholic newspaper.
In 1920, Mother Ursula and her growing community made its way back into Poland, bringing with her dozens of orphaned youth. Upon their return, Mother Ursula found that her community had developed a separate and unique identity, mission and charism from the Ursuline community, given their exile and separation and as a result, she founded her own congregation: The Institute of Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Agony. Having obtained Vatican approval, she dedicated herself and her congregation to “the education and training of children and youth and service to the poorest and the oppressed among our brethren.”
From that time on, the Ursulines founded congregations in working class towns, organizing a “Eucharistic Crusade” by which to educate the factory workers and their families in the ways of the faith. With tireless energy and faith, Mother Ursula continued to lead her community until 1939, when she passed away quietly at the general house of her community in Rome. Her incorrupt body was translated to the Gray Ursuline motherhouse in Pniewy, Poland in 1989. She was canonised in 2003 by Pope John Paul II. At her canonization, the pontiff proclaimed:
“Mother Ursula Ledóchowska made her life a mission of mercy for the most deprived. Wherever Providence took her, she found young people in need of instruction and spiritual formation, poor, sick or lonely people, battered by life in various ways, who expected of her understanding and concrete help. In accordance with her means, she never refused help to anyone. Her work of mercy will remain engraved forever in the message of holiness, which yesterday became part of the whole Church.”
Miracles
The first miracle that led to her beatification involved the cure of Jan Kołodziejski on 26 March 1946 while the second miracle leading to beatification involved the cure of the nun (from Ledóchowska’s own order) Magdalene Pawlak (in religious “Maria Danuta”) on 16 April 1946. The decisive miracle that led to her canonisation was the cure of Daniel Gajewski (b. 1982) who avoided electrocution in circumstances where he would otherwise would have been killed had it not been for the late nun whom he saw moments before fading into unconsciousness on 2 August 1996.
At her canonisation ceremony on October 1, 2000, Pope John Paul II said of St. Josephine: “In today’s world, countless women continue to be victimized, even in developed modern societies. In St. Josephine Bakhita we find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation. The history of her life inspires not passive acceptance but the firm resolve to work effectively to free girls and women from oppression and violence and to return them to their dignity in the full exercise of their rights.”
Bakhita knew the reality of being a slave, an immigrant and a spiritual seeker. Even while she was outwardly denied freedom and human dignity, her spirit was free. It was that freedom of spirit that allowed her to follow her heart and live her true vocation. Her body was mutilated by those who enslaved her but they could not touch her spirit. Her Baptism set her on an eventual path toward asserting her civic freedom and then service to God’s people as a Canossian Sister. She who worked under many “masters” was finally happy to address God as “master” and carry out everything that she believed to be God’s will for her.
St Josephine Bakhita Pray for us and for the whole world!
For St John Paul, conversion means returning to God “through evaluating earthly realities in the unfailing light of His truth.” The proof of St Paul’s conversion is his profession: “For me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). Conversion is a conversion to the will and design of God: It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
Let us Pray:
Glorious St Paul,
your conversion is a powerful witness to the world
that God loves us and does not give up on us,
no matter how far we stray.
Help me to live a life of ongoing conversion.
True conversion means converting my life to the
design of God, the plan He has for me right now.
Pray that I will love God’s will and providence for me.
May I learn to truly surrender myself to wisdom and tenderness of God.
Pray that I may love God’s will and providence for me.
In this confidence, I entrust to you, St Paul,
these, my intentions
(mention your request)
I ask this through Christ, Our Lord, amen.
St Paul Pray for us!
There are many ways of “being poor” and in today’s world, the more we have, the poorer we can be. Our Lady of Banneux is a most worthy intercessor to pray on our behalf to our God of such loving mercy, for all the needs of the poor of the world, for so many who are rich in goods but poor in spirit.
As St John Paul said on a visit to Banneux – “The poor today – and there are many ways of being poor! – feel at home in Banneux. They come here to find comfort, courage, hope, union with God in their affliction. I encourage the pilgrims who come here to pray to her, who, always and everywhere in the Church, reflects the face of the Mercy of God.”
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.