Our Morning Offering – 13 April – Wednesday of Holy Week
In Your Hour of Holy Sadness
By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Father & Doctor of the Church
In Your hour of holy sadness
could I share with You, what gladness
should Your Cross to me be showing.
Gladness past all thought of knowing,
bowed beneath Your Cross to die!
Blessed Jesus, thanks I render
that in bitter death, so tender,
You now hear Your supplicant calling,
Save me Lord
and keep from falling from You,
when my hour is nigh.
Amen.
Friday of Passion Week – 8 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Jeremiah 17:13-18, John 11:47-54
“O Lord, deal with us not according to our sins, nor requite us according to our crimes.” – Psalm 102:10
“THE DARKENING OF ONE makes many bright… “It is better,” said Caiaphas, “for one man to die for the people, than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” It is better that One be darkened “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” (Rm 8:3) for the sake of all, than for the whole of mankind to be lost by the darkness of sin; that the splendour and image of the substance of God, should be shrouded in the form of a Slave, in order that a slave might live; that the brightness of eternal Light should become dimmed in the flesh, for the purifying of the flesh; that He, Who surpasses all mankind in beauty (Ps 44:2), should be eclipsed by the darkness of the Passion, for the enlightening of mankind; that He should suffer the ignominy of the Cross, grow pale in death, be totally deprived of beauty and comeliness, that He might gain the Church as a beautiful and comely Bride, without spot or wrinkle (Ep 5:27).
BUT UNDER HIS DARK COVERING (Sg 1:5), I recognise the King… I recognise Him and I embrace Him. For, although He presents this dark exterior… within, is the brightness of Divine life, the beauty of His strength, the splendour of grace, the purity of innocence. But covering it all, is the abject hue of infirmity, His Face, as it were, hidden and despised – “one tempted in every respect, as we are, yet without sinning” (Heb 4:15).
I RECOGNISE HERE ,the image of our sin-darkened nature; I recognise the garments that clothed our first parents after their sin (Gen 3:21). My God has clothed Himself in them by assuming the condition of a Slave and becoming, as men are, He was seen in their likeness (Phil 2:7). Under the skin that Jacob wore (Gen 27:16), symbol of sin, I recognise, both the Hand that committed no sin and the Neck which never bowed to evil; no word of treachery was found in His Mouth. I know, Lord, that You are gentle by nature, meek and humble of heart, pleasing in appearance and lovable in Your ways, “anointed with the oil of gladness above Your companions” (Mt 11:29; Ps 44:8). Why then this disfigured likeness to Esau? Whose haggard image this?… Ah! It is mine! He has taken my likeness, taken on my sin… And beneath the rough skin of my sinfulness, I recognise my God and my Saviour.!” – St Bernard (1091-1153) Cistercian Monk, Great Father and Doctor of the Church (28th Homily on the Song of Songs).
Quote/s of the Day – 26 March – Saturday of the Third Week of Lent – Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62, John 8:1-11
“Go and from now on, sin no more”
“Prepare the way of the Lord
make his paths straight” …
“You do not know
when your last day may come.
You are an ingrate!
Why not use the day, today,
that God has given you
to repent?”
“What are you afraid of, you men of little faith?
That He will not pardon your sins?
But with His own hands He has nailed them to the cross.
That you are used to soft living
and your tastes are fastidious?
But He knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2:7).
That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain?
But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners.
Or perhaps that angered by the enormity
and frequency of your sins,
He is slow to extend a helping hand?
But where sin abounded,
grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20).
Are you worried about clothing
and food and other bodily necessities
so that you hesitate to give up your possessions?
But He knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32).
What more can you wish?
What else is there to hold you back
from the way of salvation? ”
Quote/s of the Day – 25 March – The Annunciation – Isaias 7:10-15, Luke 1:26-38
“He Who is Infinite, Limitless,
came to dwell in your womb;
God, the Child Jesus,
was nourished by your milk.
You are the ever virginal Doorway of God;
your hands hold your God;
your lap is a throne raised up
above the Cherubim…
You are the wedding chamber of the Spirit,
the “city of the living God,
gladdened by the runlets of the stream,”
that is to say, the waves of the Spirit’s gifts.
You are “all fair, the Beloved” of God.”
“And Mary said,
‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be to me according to your word.’”
“The price of our salvation
is offered to you.
We shall be set free at once, if you consent.
In the eternal Word of God, we all came to be
and behold, we die.
In your brief response,
we are to be remade.
in order to be recalled to life.
… Answer quickly, O Virgin.
Reply in haste to the Angel,
or rather, through the Angel to the Lord.
Answer with a word,
receive the Word of God.
Speak your own word,
conceive the Divine Word.
Breathe a passing word,
embrace the Eternal Word!”
Blessed Shall be Her Name
Anonymous Author
Praise we the Lord this day,
This day so long foretold,
Whose promise shone with cheering ray
On waiting saints of old.
The prophet gave the sign
That those with faith might read;
A Virgin, born of David’s line
Shall bear the promised Seed.
Ask not how this should be,
But worship and adore;
Like her whom Heaven’s majesty
Came down to shadow o’er.
She meekly bowed her head
To hear the gracious word,
Mary, the pure and lowly maid,
The favoured of the Lord.
Blessed shall be her name
In all the Church on earth,
Through whom that wondrous Mercy came,
The Incarnate Saviour’s Birth.
Jesus, the Virgin’s Son,
We praise You and adore,
Who are with God the Father One
And Spirit evermore.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 19 March – St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6, Matthew 1:18-21
“Joseph, son of David ” – Matthew 1:20
REFLECTION – “There is no doubt that Joseph was a very holy and trustworthy man, since the Mother of the Saviour was to be his wife. He was the “faithful and prudent servant” (Mt 24:45), for God established him to be His Mother’s support, the foster father of His flesh and the assistant for His plan of salvation.
We must recall, that he was of the House of David. He was son of David, not only by bonds of the flesh but even more, because of his faith, holiness and piety. God found in him, a second David, to whom He could confidently entrust His plans, even the most hidden. He revealed to him, as to another David, the mysteries of His Wisdom and disclosed to him, what no teacher in the world, could know. He allowed him to see and listen, to things that so many kings and prophets had wished to see and hear but which,, in spite of their desire, they had not been able to see or to hear (Mt 13:7), even more,, He made him carry and guide, embrace, nurture and protect Him. Both Mary and Joseph belonged to David’s race; in Mary was fulfilled the promise once made by the Lord to David, while Joseph was the witness of this fulfilment.” – St Bernard (1090-1153) (Surname de Fontaine) Priest, Cistercian Monk, The Last Father and Doctor Mellifluus (Mellifluous Doctor) (Homily on the “Missus est”, 2, 16).
PRAYER – May the merits of Your most holy Mother’s spouse help us, we beseech You, O Lord, that through his intercession, we may receive what we cannot obtain by our own efforts. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Quote/s of the Day – 26 February – Mary’s Saturday
“Pray, pray a great deal
and make sacrifices for sinners,
for many souls go to Hell
because they have no-one
to make sacrifices
and pray for them.”
“O sinner, be not discouraged
but have recourse to Mary,
in all your necessities.
Call her to your assistance,
for such is the divine Will
that she should help
in every kind of necessity.”
“O Mary, I have not doubt
that whenever we run to you,
we shall obtain all that we desire.
Let those then who have no hope,
hope in you!”
“In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties,
think of Mary, call upon Mary.
Let not her name depart from your lips,
never suffer it to leave your heart.
And that you may obtain the assistance of her prayer,
neglect not to walk in her footsteps.
With her for guide, you shall never go astray;
while invoking her, you shall never lose heart;
so long as she is in your mind,
you are safe from deception;
while she holds your hand, you cannot fall;
under her protection you have nothing to fear;
if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary;
if she shows you favour, you shall reach the goal.”
“It seems unbelievable
that a man should perish
in whose favour Christ said to His Mother:
‘Behold thy son’,
provided that he has not turned a deaf ear
to the words, which Christ addressed to him:
‘Behold thy Mother.’”
“Never do anything
that your heart tells you,
is displeasing to Mary
and, in addition,
never deny her anything
that you know she would welcome
and desire from you.”
“It would be hard to find
a more touching plea.
We ask our heavenly Mother
to intercede for us
now because we have such great need
of her assistance
in this vale of tears and temptations.
May she be always by our side,
to shelter us beneath her mantle”
Quote/s of the Day – 2 February – The Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin
“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,..”
“But what shall we offer, brothers,
what shall we give Him
for all the benefits He has given us?
He offered the most precious Victim
He possessed for our sake;
in truth, He could not have had
anything more precious.
So let up, too,
do what we can,
let us offer Him the best we have,
that is to say, ourselves!
He offered Himself,
so who are you,
to hesitate to offer yourself?”
Quote/s of the Day – 10 January – “Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus”
“People who associate the name of Christian
with a dishonest life, injure Christ…
If God’s Name, is blasphemed by bad Christians,
it is praised and honoured, on the other hand,
by the good:
“For in every place, we are the aroma of Christ”
(2 Cor,14-15).
And it is said in the Song of Songs:
“Your name is oil poured out” (1,3).”
“The Name of Jesus
is the purest and holiest,
the noblest and most indulgent of names,
the Name of all blessings
and of all virtues,
it is the Name of the God-Man,
of sanctity itself.”
“Sacrilegious tongues blaspheme the God
who preserves their existence!
… you should be damned forever
and, instead of thanking Him for His goodness,
you, at the very time
that He bestows His favours upon you,
YOU blaspheme His Holy Name!”
Quote/s of the Day – 2 January – “Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus”
“And this is his commandment,
that we should believe
in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ … ”
“Nothing so curbs the onset of anger,
so allays the upsurge of pride.
It cures the wound of envy,
controls unbridled extravagance
and quenches the flame of lust.
It cools the thirst of covetousness
and banishes the itch of unclean desire…
For when I Name Jesus,
I set before myself,
a Man Who is meek and humble of heart,
kind, prudent, chaste, merciful,
flawlessly upright and holy
in the eyes of all
and this same Man is the all-powerful God
Whose way of life heals me,
Whose support is my strength.”
(Sermon 15 On the Song of Songs)
“Was it not through the brilliance
and sweet savour of this Name,
that God called us into
His marvellous Light?”
“If thou art bound down by sickness,
if sorrows weary thee,
if thou art trembling with fear,
invoke the name of Jesus.”
Our Morning Offering – 2 January – “Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus” and the Feast of the Holy Name celebrated today (Feast 3 January)
Jesu, Dulcis Memoria
Prayer, Poem, Hymn
By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Doctor Mellifluous
Trans. Fr Edward Caswell C.Orat. (1814-1878)
Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast!
Yet sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy presence rest.
No voice can sing,
no heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find,
A sweeter sound than Jesus’ Name,
The Saviour of mankind.
O hope of every contrite heart!
0 joy of all the meek!
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!
But what to those who find?
Ah! this Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus, what it is,
None but His loved ones know.
Jesus! our only hope be Thou,
As Thou our prize shall be;
In Thee be all our glory now,
And through eternity.
Amen
Jesu, Dulcis Memoria is a celebrated 12th century prayer/hymn by St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), Doctor Mellifluous. The entire hymn has some 42 to 53 stanzas depending upon the translation. Parts of this hymn are used for the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus on 3 January.
Quote/s of the Day – 30 December – The Sixth Day in the Christmas Octave, Readings: 1 John 2:12-17, Psalm 96:7-10, Luke 2:36-40
“She [Anna] spoke about the child to all
who were awaiting
the redemption of Jerusalem…”
“He has come down to earth
to take you to heaven,
He became mortal
that you might become God
and put on your original beauty.”
“The Angel said to the shepherds,
“This is a sign for you” (Lk 2: 12),
you who are humble,
you who are obedient,
you who are not haughty (Rom 12: 16),
you who are keeping vigil
and meditating on God’s law,
day and night (Ps 1:2).
“This is a sign for you,” he said.
What is this sign?
The sign the Angels promised,
the sign the people asked for,
the sign the prophets foretold,
the Lord Jesus has now made
and He shows it to you. …”
“Listen! the reason He is called Saviour
is because, for all those
to whom He is united,
He gains salvation.
Now salvation means,
to be delivered from all ills and,
at the same time,
to find all blessings forever –
Life instead of death,
Light in place of darkness
and, instead of the slavery
of the passions and unworthy deeds,
the complete freedom granted
to all those, who are united to Christ,
Saviour of all beings.
Thus they will possess,
without being able to lose it,
all joy, all happiness, all blessedness (…)
that that none can ever know,
or conceive, or see,
if not sincerely and ardently
attached to Christ.”
Who lives in Love, loves least to live
and long delays doth rue,
if Him he love by Whom he lives,
to Whom all praise is due,
Who for our love did choose to live
and was content to die,
Who loved our love more than His life
and love with Life did buy.
Let us in life, yea with our life
requite His Living Love,
for best we live when least we live,
if Love our life remove.
Mourn, therefore, no true lover’s death,
life only him annoy
and when he taketh leave of life
then Love begins his joys.
Quote/s of the Day – 20 December – Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent, Readings: Isaiah 7: 10-14; Psalm 24: 1-6; Luke 1: 26-38
“And Mary said,
‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be to me according to your word.’”
“The price of our salvation
is offered to you.
We shall be set free at once, if you consent.
In the eternal Word of God, we all came to be
and behold, we die.
In your brief response,
we are to be remade.
in order to be recalled to life.
… Answer quickly, O Virgin.
Reply in haste to the Angel,
or rather, through the Angel to the Lord.
Answer with a word,
receive the Word of God.
Speak your own word,
conceive the Divine Word.
Breathe a passing word,
embrace the Eternal Word!”
Ashes of paper, ashes of a world
Wandering, when fire is done:
We argue with the drops of rain!
Until one comes Who walks unseen
Even in elements we have destroyed.
Deeper than any nerve
He enters flesh and bone.
Planting His truth, He puts our substance on.
Air, earth and rain
Rework the frame that fire has ruined.
What was dead is waiting for His Flame.
Sparks of His Spirit spend their seeds, and hide
To grow like irises, born before summertime.
These blue thinas bud in Israel.
The girl prays by the bare wall
Between the lamp and the chair.
(Framed with an angel in our galleries
She has a richer painted room, sometimes a crown.
Yet seven pillars of obscurity
Build her to Wisdom’s house, and Ark and Tower.
She is the Secret of another Testament
She owns their manna in her jar.)
Fifteen years old –
The flowers printed on her dress
Cease moving in the middle of her prayer
When God, Who sends the messenger,
Meets His messenger in her Heart.
Her answer, between breath and breath,
Wrings from her innocence our Sacrament!
In her white body God becomes our Bread.
It is her tenderness
Heats the dead world like David on his bed.
Times that were too soon criminal
And never wanted to be normal
Evade the beast that has pursued
You, me and Adam out of Eden’s wood.
Suddenly we find ourselves assembled
Cured and recollected under several green trees.
Her prudence wrestled with the Dove
To hide us in His cloud of steel and silver:
These are the mysteries of her Son.
And here my heart, a purchased outlaw,
Prays in her possession
Until her Jesus, makes my heart
Smile like a flower in her blameless hand.
Fr Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Trappist Monk and Priest. Thomas Merton expressed his vision in his poetry, novels, essays, devotionals and autobiographical writings.
Quote/s of the Day – 12 December – “Gaudete Sunday” – Readings: Zephaniah 3: 14-18; Psalm Isaiah 12: 2-6; Philippians 4: 4-7; Luke 3: 10-18
“Gaudete in Domino semper”
“Rejoice in the Lord always”
“The very Son of God,
Older than the ages,
the Invisible,
the Incomprehensible,
the Incorporeal,
the Beginning of beginning,
the Light of light,
the Fountain of Life and Immortality,
the Image of the Archetype,
the Immovable Seal,
the Perfect Likeness,
the Definition and Word of the Father:
He it is, Who comes to His Own Image
and takes our nature, for the Good of our nature
and unites Himself to an intelligent soul
for the good of the soul,
to purify like by Like.”
“Awake, you who lie in the dust,
awake and give praise.
Behold, the Lord comes with salvation.
He comes with salvation,
He comes with unction,
He comes with glory.
Jesus cannot come without salvation,
Christ cannot come without unction,
nor the Son of God without glory.
For He Himself is salvation,
He is unction,
He is glory,
as it is written,
‘A wise son is the glory of his father.‘”
Our Morning Offering – 9 December – Thursday of the Second week of Advent
Let Your goodness, Lord, Appear to Us
An Advent Prayer
By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Father and Mellifluous Doctor
Let Your goodness, Lord,
appear to us,
that we, made in Your image,
conform ourselves to it.
In our own strength
we cannot imitate
Your majesty, power and wonder,
nor is it fitting for us to try.
But Your mercy reaches from the heavens
through the clouds to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child
but You have brought us
the greatest of all gifts,
the gift of eternal love.
Caress us with Your tiny hands,
embrace us with Your tiny arms
and pierce our hearts
with Your soft, sweet cries.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 6 December – Monday of the Second Week of Advent, Readings: Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalms 85:9 and 10, 11-12, 13-14, Luke 5:17-26
“Thy sins are forgiven thee …
Arise and walk.”
“Rise, you who were lying fast asleep…
Rise and hurry to the Church:
here is the Father,
here is the Son,
here is the Holy Spirit.”
“Then the righteous shall shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.”
“So from now on, run well (cf. Gal 5:7)
and may the devil not bewitch you (cf. Gal 3:1)
nor hinder you! …
May mercy, peace, charity,
freedom from envy,
from jealousy and ostentation
come upon you, docility, friendly speech,
solidarity, compassion
towards each other, humility.”
“What are you afraid of, you men of little faith?
That He will not pardon your sins?
But with His own hands He has nailed them to the cross.
That you are used to soft living
and your tastes are fastidious?
But He knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2:7).
That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain?
But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners.
Or perhaps that angered by the enormity
and frequency of your sins,
He is slow to extend a helping hand?
But where sin abounded,
grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20).
Are you worried about clothing
and food and other bodily necessities
so that you hesitate to give up your possessions?
But He knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32).
What more can you wish?
What else is there to hold you back
from the way of salvation? ”
My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.”
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 4 December – “Month of the Immaculate Conception” – Saturday of the First Week of Advent – Readings: : Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26; Psalm 147: 1-6; Matthew 9:35-10:1,5a,6-8
“At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” – Matthew 9:36
REFLECTION – “From now on we are celebrating, with all our hearts, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and this is nothing other than what we ought to do, since He has not just come TO us but FOR us. As for the Lord, He has no need of good things from us: the greatness of the grace He has shown us, clearly manifests the depth of our need. We assess the gravity of a sickness by what it costs to cure it …
So we needed a Saviour to come to us, for the state in which we found ourselves, rendered His presence indispensable. May the Saviour come quickly, then! May He come to live in our midst, by faith, with all the wealth of His grace. May He come to draw us out of our blindness and free us from our infirmities, taking control of our weakness! If He is within us, who can lead us astray? If He is on our side, what can we not do in Him, Who is our strength? (Phil 4:13). “If he is for us who can be against us?” (Rm 8:31). Jesus Christ is an unfailing Advocate who can neither be deceived not deceive; He is a powerful Helper Whose Strength can never be spent … . He is the very Wisdom of God, the very Strength of God (1 Cor 1:24) … So let us all run together to such a Master, in every undertaking implore His aid, in the midst of our struggles entrust ourselves to so certain a Defender. If He has come into the world, already it is to live in our midst, WITH us and FOR us.” – St Bernard (1091-1153) Cistercian Monk and the last Father and Doctor of the Church – 7th Sermon for Advent
PRAYER – Lord, to free man from his sinful state, You sent Your only Son into this world. Grant to us, who in faith and love, wait for His coming, Your gift of grace and the reward of true freedom. Be born in us O Lord! We ask our most pure Virgin Mary to guide us in her ways. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 2 December – Thursday of the First week of Advent – Readings: Isaiah 26: 1-6; Psalm 118: 1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27; Matthew 7: 21, 24-27
“Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven
but only the one,
who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
“On each occasion I say:
‘Lord, Thy will be done!
It’s not what this, or that one, wants
but, what You want me to do.’
This is my fortress,
this is my firm rock,
this is my sure support.”
“He who is his own master
is a scholar under a fool.”
“Obedience unites us so closely to God
that, in a way, it transforms us into Him,
so that we have no other will but His.
If obedience is lacking,
even prayer cannot be pleasing to God.”
“Love Him, then, keep Him as a friend.
He will not leave you as others do,
or let you suffer lasting death.
Sometime, whether you will or not,
you will have to part with everything.
Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death,
trust yourself to the glory of Him,
Who alone can help you
when all others fail.“
Quote/s of the Day – 3 November – Readings: Romans 13: 8-10; Psalm 112: 1b-2, 4-5, 9; Luke 14: 25-33
“… Anyone of you
who does not renounce
all his possessions,
cannot be my disciple.”
“Are you able to drink the cup
that I am to drink?”
“Do not rejoice in the Cross only in times of peace,
preserve the same faith in times of persecution.
Do not be a friend to Jesus in times of peace alone,
only to become His enemy in times of war.
You are now receiving forgiveness for your sins
and the spiritual gifts lavishly bestowed by your King so,
when war breaks out, fight valiantly for your King.”
“… There is one Road
and one only,
well secured against all possibility
of going astray
and, this Road is provided
by One Who is Himself
both God and man.
As God, He is the Goal,
as man, He is the Way.”
“May He,
Who is the Track of the runners
and the Reward of the winners,
lead and guide you along it –
He, Christ Jesus!”
“How good and pleasant it is
to dwell in the Heart of Jesus!
Who is there who does not love a heart so wounded?
Who can refuse a return of love
to a Heart so loving?
Amen.”
“Do not live any longer in yourself
but let Jesus Christ live in you in such a way
that the virtue of this Divine Saviour may be resplendent
in all your actions, in order that all may see in you
a true portrait of the Crucified and sense,
the sweetest fragrance of the holy virtues of the Lord,
in interior and exterior modesty,
in patience,
in gentleness,
suffering,
charity,
humility
and in all others that follow.”
Quote/s of the Day – 28 October – Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles and Martyrs – Readings: Ephesians 2: 19-22; Psalm 19: 2-5; Luke 6: 12-16
“Come away by yourselves ,
o a deserted place and rest awhile”
“In those days he departed
to the mountain to pray
and he spent the night
in prayer to God.”
“It says,
“He passed the whole night in prayer.”
A model is given to you.
A form is prescribed
which you must imitate.”
“Rest is in Him alone.
Man knows no peace in the world
but he has no disturbance
when he is with God.”
“It is impossible
to find a Saint
who did not take
the “two P’s” seriously –
Prayer and Penance.”
“To pray,
is to think about Jesus
and love Him.
The more we love,
the better we pray.”
Quotes of the Day – 2 October – The Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
“In every lodging, at every corner,
have reverence for thy Angel.
Do not dare to do in his presence
what you would not dare to do, if I were there.
Or do you doubt that he is present
whom you do not behold?
What if you should hear him?
What if you should touch him?
What if you should scent him?
Remember, that the presence of something
is not proved only by the sight of things.”
“We should show our affection
for the Angels, for one day
they will be our coheirs,
just as here below,
they are our Guardians and Trustees,
appointed and set over us,
by the Father.”
“God is humanity’s
universal Teacher and Guardian
but His Teaching to humanity
is mediated by Angels.”
“When tempted, invoke your Angel.
He is more eager to help you
than you are to be helped!
Ignore the devil
and do not be afraid of him;
he trembles and flees
at the sight of your Guardian Angel.”
MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/02/quotes-of-the-day-2-october-holy-guardian-angels/
Quote/s of the Day – 13 September – Readings: Timothy 2: 1-8; Psalm 28: 2, 7-9; Luke 7: 1-10
“Lord, … I am not worthy
to have you enter
under my roof…
but only say the word …”
‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
“’You can make me clean.’”
“Christ is the artist,
tenderly wiping away
all the grime of sin
that disfigures the human face
and restoring God’s image
to its full beauty.”
“What are you afraid of, you men of little faith?
That He will not pardon your sins?
But with His own hands He has nailed them to the cross.
That you are used to soft living
and your tastes are fastidious?
But He knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2:7).
That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain?
But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners.
Or perhaps that angered by the enormity
and frequency of your sins,
He is slow to extend a helping hand?
But where sin abounded,
grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20).
Are you worried about clothing
and food and other bodily necessities
so that you hesitate to give up your possessions?
But He knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32).
What more can you wish?
What else is there to hold you back
from the way of salvation? ”
“Aspire to God with short
but frequent outpourings of the heart,
admire His bounty,
invoke His aid,
cast yourself in spirit at the foot of His Cross,
adore His goodness,
treat with Him of your salvation,
give Him your whole soul –
a thousand times in the day.”
Our Morning Offering – 17 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart”
Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts
By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
and the last Father of the Church
Jesus, joy of loving hearts,
You Fount of life,
You Light of men,
from the best bliss that earth imparts
we turn unfilled to You again.
We taste You,
O You living Bread,
and long to feast upon You still.
We drink of You, the Fountainhead,
and thirst our souls from You to fill.
O Jesus, ever with us stay,
make all our moments calm and bright;
chase the dark night of sin away,
shed o’er the world Your holy light.
Amen, Amen
Our Morning Offering – 27 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”
Jesu Dulcis Memoria
By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor
Jesus, the very thought of Thee
with sweetness fills my breast,
But sweeter far Thy face to see
and in Thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
a sweeter sound than Jesus’ name,
O Saviour of mankind.
O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek
to those who fall, how kind Thou art,
how good to those who seek!
But what to those who find?
Ah this nor tongue nor pen can show,
the love of Jesus, what it is none
but His loved ones know.
Jesus our only joy be Thou
as Thou our prize wilt be.
Jesus, be Thou our glory now
and through eternity.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 22 July –“Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Feast of St Mary of Magdala -– Readings: Song of Solomon 3:1-4, Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9, John 20:1-2, 11-18
“Do not touch me ”
“Noli me tangere”
“He [Christ], protects their faith
and gives strength to believers,
in proportion to the TRUST,
that each man,
who receives that strength,
is willing to place in Him.”
“By His rights as Lord,
He demands wholly
our hearts, tongues and heads.
He wishes to be the object
of our thought and understanding,
our belief and reading,
our fear and love. . . ”
Above Poem 10, from The Poems of St. Paulinus of Nola,
“And yet He could be touched
but by the heart, not by the hand;
by desire, not by the eye;
by faith, not by the sense. …”
“To magnify her Royal Lover still further,
the soul must have eyes only for Him,
in other words,
with an ever-growing, anxiously eager attentiveness.
the soul must study all the details of His beauty,
His perfections,
must keep on discovering motives
for finding ever-increasing gratification
in the ineffable Beauty with which it is in love.”
“Place all your trust in God,
let Him be your fear and your love.
He will answer for you,
He will do what is best for you.
You have here no lasting home.
You are a stranger and a pilgrim
wherever you may be
and you shall have no rest,
until you are wholly united with Christ.
Why do you look about here
when this is not the place of your repose?”
O God, send forth Your Holy Spirit
By St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church
O God,
send forth Your Holy Spirit
into my heart
that I may perceive,
into my mind,
that I may remember,
and into my soul,
that I may meditate.
Inspire me to speak
with piety,
holiness,
tenderness
and mercy.
Teach, guide and direct my thoughts
and senses, from beginning to end.
May Your grace,
ever help and correct me,
and may I be strengthened now
with wisdom from on high,
for the sake of Your infinite mercy.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 22 July –“Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Feast of St Mary of Magdala – Readings: Song of Solomon 3:1-4, Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9, John 20:1-2, 11-18
“Whom do you seek?” – John 20:15
REFLECTION – “Only the hearing that catches the Word possesses the truth … “Do not touch me,” says the Lord. He meant: – depend no longer on this fallible sense, put your trust in the Word, get used to faith. Faith cannot be deceived. With the power to understand invisible truths, faith does not know the poverty of the senses; it transcends even the limits of human reason, the capacity of nature, the bounds of experience. Why do you ask the eye to do what it is not equipped to do? And why does the hand endeavour to examine things beyond its reach? What you may learn from these senses is of limited value. But faith will tell you of Me without detracting from My greatness. Learn to receive with greater confidence, to follow with greater security, whatever faith commends to you.
“Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father.” As if, after He had ascended, He wished to be, or could be, touched by it! And yet, He could be touched but by the heart, not by the hand – by desire, not by the eye; by faith, not by the senses. “Why do you want to touch Me now?” He says … “Do you not remember that, while I was still Mortal, the eyes of the disciples could not endure, for a short space, the glory of My Transfigured Body that was destined to die? I still accommodate Myself to your senses by bearing this form of a servant (Phil 2:7) which you are accustomed to seeing. But this glory of Mine is too wonderful for you … Defer your judgement, therefore, … With its fuller comprehension, faith will define it more worthily and more surely … They, therefore, will touch Me worthily, who will accept Me as being seated with the Father (Mk 16:19; Ps 110[109]:1), no longer in lowly guise but in My own flesh, transformed with heaven’s beauty. Why wish to touch what is ugly? Have patience, that you may touch Me in My Beauty.” – St Bernard (1091-1153) – Cistercian Monk and Doctor of the Church – Sermons on the Song of Songs, no. 28, 9-10
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ made Mary of Magdala the first herald of Easter joy. Grant that, following her example and helped by her prayers, we may, in this life, proclaim the living Christ and come to see Him reigning with You in glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 13 July – “Month of the Precious Blood”
Act of Spiritual Communion
By St Bernard (1090-1153
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
As I cannot this day enjoy the happiness
of assisting at the Holy Mysteries, O my God,
I transport myself in spirit to the foot of Your Altar.
I unite with the Church, which by the hands of the Priest,
offers You, Your adorable Son in the Holy Sacrifice.
I offer myself with Him, by Him and in His Name.
I adore, I praise and thank You,
imploring Your mercy,
invoking Your assistance
and presenting to You,
the homage I owe You as my Creator
and the love due to You as my Saviour.
Apply to my soul, I beseech You, O Merciful Jesus,
Your infinite merits;
apply them also to those
for whom I particularly wish to pray.
I desire to communicate spiritually,
that Your Blood, may purify,
Your Flesh, strengthen
and Your Spirit, sanctify me.
May I never forget that You, my divine Redeemer,
died for me.
May I die to all that is not You,
that hereafter, I may live eternally with You.
Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 3 July – Feast of St Thomas Apostle – Readings: Ephesians 2: 19-22, Psalms 117: 1bc, 2, John 20: 24-29
Jesus said to him,
“Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
“For by your doubting,
I am taught to believe,
by your forked-tongue,
that revealed the Wound
on the Divine Body that was pierced,
I harvest the fruit for myself, without pain!”
“I believe
though I do not comprehend
and I hold by faith,
what I cannot grasp
with the mind.”
“To one who has faith,
no explanation is necessary.
To one without faith,
no explanation is possible.”
“Believing is
an act of the intellect
assenting to the divine truth,
by command of the will,
moved by God through grace.”
Quote/s of the Day – 1 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Genesis 22: 1b-19 Psalms 115: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9,: Matthew 9: 1-8
And Jesus, seeing their faith,
said to the man sick of the palsy:
“Be of good heart, son,
thy sins are forgiven thee.”
“This is the work of God,
that you believe in him
whom he hath sent.”
“Let us become like Christ,
since Christ became like us.
He assumed the worse,
that He might give us the better;
He became poor,
that we through His poverty,
might be rich.”
“Have faith and the One
you cannot see,
is with you.”
“Be joyful and keep your faith and your creed.”
“Rest is in Him alone.
Man knows no peace in the world
but he has no disturbance
when he is with God.”
Quote/s of the Day – 30 June – “The last day of the Month of the Sacred Heart”
“ For where thy treasure is,
there is thy heart also.”
“We, Christians,
are the true Israel which springs from Christ,
for we are carved out of His Heart,
as from a Rock!”
“How good and pleasant it is
to dwell in the Heart of Jesus!
Who is there who does not love a heart so wounded?
Who can refuse a return of love
to a Heart so loving?
Amen.”
“By giving yourself to God,
you not only receive Himself in exchange
but, eternal life as well!”
“Where is the heart that 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.”
“The well-being of souls is only in Christ.
Therefore, let the love of Jesus
be our perfection and our profession,
let us light our hearts
from the eternal flames of love
that radiate from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
Quote/s of the Day – 29 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
“Look at the holy Apostles.
It was by sinful jealousy
that Peter was subjected to tribulation,
not once or twice but many times;
it was in that way, that he bore his witness
before leaving us for his well-earned place in glory.
And Paul, because of jealousy and contention,
has become the very type of endurance rewarded.
… In him we have one of the greatest
of all examples of endurance.
… [And] we too, are in the same arena
and have the same conflict before us.”
Letter to the Corinthians, 5-7
“Nothing escaped the wisdom and power of Christ,
the elements of nature lay at His service,
spirits obeyed Him, angels served Him.
… And yet, out of all the world,
Peter alone was chosen to stand at the head,
for the calling of all the peoples
and the oversight of all the apostles
and Fathers of the Church. .”
“Peter and Paul are our teachers –
they learned the way of life fully
from the One Teacher of all
and continue to teach us today.”
MANY MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/06/29/quote-s-of-the-day-29-june-peter-and-paul/
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