Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PURGATORY

Thought for the Day – 3 November – The Pain of Purgatory

Thought for the Day – 3 November – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Pain of Purgatory

“The Tradition of the Fathers and the ordinary teaching of the Church, describe the pains of Purgatory in such a fashion, that they should prompt us to avoid even the smallest sin, not only because it is an offence against the most amiable God but also because, it will be severely punished by Him.
This teaching, moreover, should move us to pity for the poor suffering souls, who are enduring such torments.

St Cyril of Jerusalem states, that the sum total of the sufferings of this world, is nothing in comparison to the sufferings of Purgatory.
He adds, moreover, that the pain of Purgatory is equal to the severity of the torments of Hell; the only difference is that the latter are everlasting, whereas the former, will have an end.
St Athanasius assures us that the least pang of suffering in Purgatory, is sharper than all the torments which it is possible to undergo on earth.
Moreover he adds, in comparison with the fire which afflicts the suffering souls, earthly fire is hardly even real!
St Bede the Venerable tells us, that even if we could imagine all the tortures to which tyrants subjected the Martyrs, such as iron hooks, red-hot pincers, roasting gridirons and boiling pitch, we should still have failed to form any idea of the pains of Purgatory!

But what is the reason for such severe torments?
It is that God loves these souls and desires that they be purified of sins, as soon as possible and be made worthy of infinite happiness.

The fires of Purgatory are nourished by a twofold love – the love of God, Who desires the purification of souls and, the love of these souls, who desire to expiate their faults in order to become worthy of being united to Him forever.

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, In the PRESENCE of GOD, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 October – The Feast of the Divine Maternity – ‘ … This most prudent woman … ‘ St Bede

One Minute Reflection – 11 October – “The Month of The Most Holy Rosary and The Holy Angels” – The Feast of the Divine Maternity –Ecclesiasticus Sirach 24:23-31 – Luke 2:43-51 –

He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them and His mother kept all these things in her heart.” – Luke 2:51

REFLECTION – “Consider the most prudent woman Mary, Mother of true Wisdom, as the pupil of her Son. For she learned from Him, not as from a child or man but, as from God. Yes, she dwelt in meditation on His words and actions. Nothing of what was said or done by Him, fell idly on her mind. As before, when she conceived the Word itself, in her womb, so now, does she hold within her, His ways and words, cherishing them, as it were, in her heart. That which she now beholds in the present, she waits to have revealed with greater clarity, in the future. This practice she followed as a rule and law through all her life.” – St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke).

PRAYER – O God, Who, by the message of an Angel, willed to take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, maybe assisted by her intercession with Thee.Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, The TRANSFIGURATION

Quote/s of the Day – 6 August – The Transfiguration of the Lord

Quote/s of the Day – 6 August – The Transfiguration of the Lord

Lord, it is good for us to be here …”

Matthew 17:4

And lo a Voice out of the cloud, saying:
This is My Beloved Son, in Whom
I Am well pleased, hear ye Him.

Matthew 17:5

He leads them up a high mountain
and shows them His royalty before suffering,
His power before dying,
His glory before being insulted
and His honour before undergoing ignominy.
In this way, when He will be captured and Crucified,
His Apostles will understand
that He did not undergo this because of weakness
but, to consent and willingly so,
for the salvation of the world.”

St Ephrem (306-373)
Father & Doctor of the Church
“The Harp of the Holy Ghost!

By His loving foresight,
He allowed them to taste for a short time,
the contemplation of eternal joy,
so that they might bear persecution bravely.”

The Venerable St Bede (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of PETITION, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS to THE HOLY GHOST, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on MEDITATION, The HEART, The WILL of GOD

Our Morning Offering – 21 July – Almighty God, Open Thou My Heart – A Prayer for Guidance – By St Bede t

One Minute Reflection – 21 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood” – St Praxedes, Virgin (Died 164) – 1 Corinthians 7:25-34 – Matthew 13:44-52 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Almighty God, Open Thou My Heart
A Prayer for Guidance
By St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

ALMIGHTY God,
open Thou my heart
and enlighten me with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
to see those things which are well-pleasing to Thy will.
Direct my thoughts and understanding
to those things which it is proper to meditate upon
and to take in hand;
in such fashion, as by fitting character
and deeds, I might be found worthy
of the eternal joy of heavenly life.
Direct my acts to Thy commandments,
that I might, by labour
so unbrokenly study to bring them to fulfilment,
as to attain to an everlasting reward.
Amen

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HOLY CROSS, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day –10 July – Let God steer uswhere He will.

Quote/s of the Day –10 July – Proverbs 31:10-31 –1Matthew 12:46-50 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

For whoever does
the Will of My Father in Heaven,
is My brother and My sister
and My mother.

Matthew 12:50

Unfurl the sails
and let God steer us
where He will.

St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church

No-one will have any other desire in Heaven
than what God wills and the desire of one,
will be the desire of all and the desire of all
and of each one, will also be the desire of God.

St Anselm (1033-1109)
Archbishop of Canterbury

Happy the soul which detaches itself
from its own pleasure,
from its own will,
from its own understanding.
A sublime lesson is this
and God will teach it,
to all those who place their happiness
in the Cross of Jesus Christ.

St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775)

Posted in BLESSED TRINITY PRAYERS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS to THE HOLY GHOST, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, The HOLY GHOST, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Our Morning Offering – 15 June – Patris et Filii Concordia Come Holy Ghost,Love of Father and Son. By St Bede

Our Morning Offering – 15 June – Trinity Sunday
Patris et Filii Concordi – Pentecost I

Patris et Filii Concordia
Come Holy Ghost,
Love of Father and Son.

By St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

O COME to me, my only Hope,
O Lord my God.
Come to me, true Light,
Father, Almighty God.
Come, Light from Light,
both Word and Son of God,
God Almighty.
Come Holy Ghost, Love of Father and Son,
One God Almighty.
Come One Almighty God,
Father and Son and Holy Ghost.

Teach faith, stir up hope, pour out love.
Thy will is present with me
(yet not from me but from Thee)
to leave the world and the earth
and to seek the Heavens.
But this will is a feeble feather, without Thy help.
Give wings of faith
that I might fly on high to Thee.
Amen

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES for CHRIST, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 13 April – Palm Sunday – Behold the Lamb of God

One Minute Reflection – 13 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Palm Sunday – St Hermenegild (Died 585) Martyr, Confessor – Philippians 2:5-11 – Matthew 26:36-75; 27:1-60 –Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Behold the hour is at hand and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.” – Matthew 26:45

REFLECTION – “To the Lamb of God arise the Hosannas of the people, all those pressing round Him in the crowd, praise Him with one and the same confession of faith: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Mt 21:9). This praise already echoes the choir of Saints, singing: “Salvation comes from our God, Who is seated on the throne and from the Lamb!” (Apoc 7:10). He goes up to where, day-by-day, He will give His last teaching (Lk 20:47). It is there He will accomplish the sacrament of the Jewish Passover, faithfully observed hitherto. He Himself, will bestow a new Pasch of His Own, when, having left for the Mount of Olives, He will be put to the test by His enemies and, the following day, set on the Cross. Of such is the Paschal Lamb, see Him draw near today to the place of His Passion and fulfil the prophecy of Isaias: “Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers” (53:7).

He desires to enter His City five days before His Passion; by this He proves that He is indeed the Lamb without blemish Who comes to take away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29). He is indeed the Paschal Lamb, Who, when sacrificed, will set the new Israel free from its slavery in Egypt (Ex 12). It is truly five days before His Passion when His enemies irrevocably agree on His death. Today He shows us, by this that He is going to redeem us all by His Blood (Apoc 5:9). As from today, He enters God’s Temple amongst the joyful jubilation of those who surround him (Mt 21:12).  The “Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (1Tm 2:5) will suffer for humankind’s salvation – that indeed is why He came down to earth from Heaven – and today, He wills to draw near to the place of His Passion. Thus it will be clear to all that He bears His Passion of His own free will and by no means by force.” (Sermon No 23). St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – OGod, Who didst teach Thy blessed Martyr Hermenegild to choose a heavenly, rather than an earthly crown, grant, we beseech Thee, that we, like him, may so pass through temporal things that we finally miss not those which are eternal. Through esus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CATECHESIS, GOD ALONE!, MODESTY, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on MEEKNESS, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, St Francis de Sales, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN

Quote/s of the Day – 6 March – Lord, I am not worthy …

Quote/s of the Day – 6 March – Ash Thursday – Isaias 38:1-6 – Matthew 8:5-13

And the centurion, making answer, said:
Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst
enter under my roof but only say the word
and my servant shall be healed.

Matthew 8:8

Whoever exalts himself
will be humbled
and whoever humbles himself
will be exalted.

Matthew 23:12

Those who refuse to be humble cannot be saved.
They cannot say with the prophet:
See, God comes to my aid;
the Lord is the helper of my soul.
But anyone who makes himself humble,
like a little child,
is greater in the Kingdom of Heaven.

St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor if the Church

Humility is the mother of many virtues
because, from it are born:
obedience, fear, reverence, patience,
modesty, meekness and peace.
He who is humble easily obeys everyone,
fears to offend anyone,
is at peace with everyone,
is kind to all!

St Thomas of Villanova OSA (1488-1555)

Humility is not just about self-mistrust
but about the entrusting of ourselves to God.
Distrusting ourselves and our own strength
produces trust in God
and from that trust,
generosity of soul is born.

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of Charity

Posted in BLESSED TRINITY PRAYERS, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HOPE, The HOLY GHOST, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Our Morning Offering – 12 February – Patris et Filii Concordia By St Bede

Our Morning Offering – 12 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity”

Patris et Filii Concordia
Come Holy Ghost,
Love of Father and Son.

By St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

O COME to me, my only Hope,
O Lord my God.
Come to me, true Light,
Father, Almighty God.
Come, Light from Light,
both Word and Son of God,
God Almighty.
Come Holy Ghost, Love of Father and Son,
One God Almighty.
Come One Almighty God,
Father and Son and Holy Ghost.

Teach faith, stir up hope, pour out love.
Thy will is present with me
(yet not from me but from Thee)
to leave the world and the earth
and to seek the Heavens.
But this will is a feeble feather, without Thy help.
Give wings of faith
that I might fly on high to Thee.
Amen

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, CATECHESIS, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, St JOSEPH, The DIVINE INFANT, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 1 December – ‘Open your heart and run to meet the Sun of Eternal Light …’

Quote/s of the Day – 1 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The First Sunday of Advent

Open wide your door to the One who comes.
Open your soul,
throw open the depths of your heart
to see the riches of simplicity,
the treasures of peace,
the sweetness of grace.
Open your heart
and run to meet
the Sun of Eternal Light
Who illuminates all men.

St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

And the Lord God shall give unto Him
the throne of David, His father
and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever.
And of His Kingdom there shall be no end.

Luke 1:32-33

What is said of the House of David
applies, not only to Joseph but also to Mary.
It was a precept of the law that each man should marry
a wife from his own tribe and kindred.

St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

The day will come when this Child
will no longer be offered in the Temple,
nor in Simeon’s arms
but outside the City
in the arms of the Cross.
The day will come when He
will not be redeemed
by the blood of a sacrifice
but redeem others ,
with His own Blood. …”
That will be the evening sacrifice;
this is the morning sacrifice;
this one is the happiest
but that one is the most complete;
for this one was offered
at the time of birth
and that one will be offered
in the fullness of time,..

St Bernard (1091-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The HEART, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 23 August – Our hearts were made for Thee, O God!

Quote/s of the Day – 23 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – – 1 Corinthians. 4:9-14; Luke 12:32-34 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Sell what you possess and give alms.
Make for yourselves purses
which do not grow old,
a treasure unfailing in Heaven,
where neither thief draws near,
nor moth destroys.

Luke 12:33

For where your treasure is,
there also will your heart be.

Lukr 12:34

Our hearts were made for Thee, O God
And restless must they be
Until, O God, this grace accord,
Until they rest in Thee!”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Where is the heart which loves?
On the thing it loves.
Therefore, where our love is,
there our heart is held captive.
It cannot leave it;
it cannot be lifted higher,
it cannot go either to the right
or the left; see, it is fixed.
Where the miser’s treasure is,
there is his heart and where our heart is,
there is our treasure.
And what is so deplorable is
that the things which hold us in servitude,
are, for the most part,
such unworthy things!

St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

Like St John the Baptist did –
Prepare a path for God
so that He can enter your heart.

St John Baptiste de la Salle (1651-1719)

Almighty God, Open Thou My Heart
A Prayer for Guidance
By St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

ALMIGHTY God,
open Thou my heart
and enlighten me with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
to see those things which are well-pleasing to Thy will.
Direct my thoughts and understanding
to those things which it is proper to meditate upon
and to take in hand;
in such fashion, as by fitting character
and deeds, I might be found worthy
of the eternal joy of heavenly life.
Direct my acts to Thy commandments,
that I might, by labour
so unbrokenly study to bring them to fulfilment,
as to attain to an everlasting reward.
Amen

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of PETITION, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 11 July – Almighty God, Open Thou My Heart A Prayer for GuidanceBy St Bede

Our Morning Offering – 11 July

Almighty God, Open Thou My Heart
A Prayer for Guidance
By St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

ALMIGHTY God,
open Thou my heart
and enlighten me with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
to see those things which are well-pleasing to Thy will.
Direct my thoughts and understanding
to those things which it is proper to meditate upon
and to take in hand;
in such fashion, as by fitting character
and deeds, I might be found worthy
of the eternal joy of heavenly life.
Direct my acts to Thy commandments,
that I might, by labour
so unbrokenly study to bring them to fulfilment,
as to attain to an everlasting reward.
Amen

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PRAYERS TO St Joseph, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, St JOSEPH, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day –10 July – ‘ … Let God steer us where He will.’

Quote/s of the Day –10 July – Proverbs 31:10-31, Matthew 12:46-50 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

For whoever does
the Will of My Father in Heaven,
is My brother and My sister
and My mother.

Matthew 12:50

Unfurl the sails
and let God steer us
where He will.

St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church

No-one will have any other desire in Heaven
than what God wills and the desire of one,
will be the desire of all and the desire of all
and of each one, will also be the desire of God.

St Anselm (1033-1109)
Archbishop of Canterbury

Strive to be faithful
to that which God has called you.

St Angelica de Merici (1474-1540) Virgin

It is impossible, that he could be denied
the favours for which he asks
and which we should request him
to obtain for us.
Let us go to him trustingly
but, let us remember,
that the surest way of being heard by him,
is to imitate his wonderful virtues,
especially his humility,
his spirit of prayer,
his purity and his calm desire always,
to do God’s will.

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 15 December

Our Morning Offering – 15 December

Grant us Your light O Lord

so that the darkness of our hearts

ay wholly pass away

and we may come at last to the light of Christ.

For Christ is that Morning Star

who when the night of this world has passed

brings to His saints the promised light of life

and opens to them everlasting day.

Amen

by St Bede from “On the Apocalypse”

st