Quote/s of the Day – 7 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Readings: Colossians 2: 6-15; Psalm 145: 1b-2, 8-9-11; Luke 6: 12-19
“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray and he spent the night in prayer to God”
Luke 6:12
“Prayer is the wing, wherewith the soul flies to heaven and meditation, the eye, wherewith we see God.”
St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Ask with tears, seek with obedience, knock with patience.”
St John Climacus (c 525-606) Father of the Church
“[Prayer] is the one means for our purification, the one way to union with God, the one channel by which God may unite Himself with us, that He may do anything with us, for His glory. To obtain the virtues of an apostle, we must pray; to make them of use to our neighbour, we must pray; to prevent our losing them, while we use them in His service, we must pray. The counsel, or rather the commandment: Pray always, seems to me extremely sweet and by no means impossible. It secures the practice of the presence of God …”
St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”
“In silence, He listens to us, in silence He speaks to our souls, in silence we are granted the privilege of hearing His voice –
Silence of the eyes, Silence of the ears, Silence of our mouths, Silence of our minds. In the silence of the heart God will speak.”
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost +2021 Twenty third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Notre-Dame, Folgoët / Our Lady of Folgoët Finistère, Brittany, France (1650) – First Sunday of September:
Known as the “the fool of the woods,” St Salaün (Died1358 – Memorial on1 November) lived in a forest clearing near a spring, over which he enjoyed hanging from an oak branch, immersed to his shoulders, singing “O Maria.” He lived by begging: “Ave Maria! Salaün could eat some bread!” After he died in 1358, aged 48, in the woods near the spring, people found a white lily with “Ave Maria” in gold lettering on its petals — growing from the mouth of the dead fool buried beneath.
The Basilica of Notre-Dame du Folgoët was begun on the spot in 1365, completed in 1419 and consecrated in 1423. Its main Altar is over the spring, channeled into a basin behind the Church. In 1888, a dark stone Virgin was crowned Our Lady of Folgoët, replacing a polychrome wooden Statue which was moved to a side Altar. The Black Virgin is standing, holding the Child with her left arm; both wear large crowns. Her back is flat; the statue may have been on the exterior of the Church before the Revolution, when some Statues were damaged and removed for safekeeping from the marauding mobs of the French Revolution.
Basilica ceiling
In the late 1500s, the big pilgrimage date was 15 August Feast of the Assumption. Three hundred years later, the celebration moved to 8 September, Nativity of the Virgin. Since 1970 the Grand Pardon has been held the first weekend in September, with a succession of processions and Masses in the Breton language.
St Charbel Bl Florent Dumontet de Cardaillac St Genebald of Laon Bl Gendtilis Bl Gerbrand of Dokkum St Guise Hoang Luong Canh Blessed John the Good OSA (c 1168-1249) Bishop Bl Jordan of Pulsano St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1455) Bishop St Obdulia St Phêrô Nguyen Van Tu St Romulus of Rome
St Victorinus of Amiterme St Victorinus of Como Bl William Browne — Martyrs of Armenia – 1,000 saints: A group of up to 1,000 Christian soldiers in the 2nd century imperial Roman army of Trajan, stationed in Gaul. Ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods, they refused and were transferred to Armenia. Ordered again to sacrifice to pagan gods, they refused again. Martyrs. We know the names of three of them, but nothing else – Eudoxius, Macarius and Zeno.
Martyrs of Capua – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred together. Long venerated in Capua, Italy. We know their names, but little else – Arcontius, Donatus and Quintius. They were martyred in Capua, Italy.
Martyrs of Nicomedia – 80 saints: A group of 80 Christians, lay and clergy, martyred together in the persecutions of Valens. We know little more than the names of three of them – Menedemo, Teodoro and Urbano. They were locked on a boat which was then set on fire on the shore of Nicomedia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey) c 370.
Martyrs of Porto Romano – 4+ saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Marcus Aurelius. We know little more than their names – Aconto, Herculanus, Nonno and Taurino. c180 at Porto Romano, Italy.
St Victorinus of Amiterme St Victorinus of Como Bl William Browne — Martyrs of Armenia – 1,000 saints: A group of up to 1,000 Christian soldiers in the 2nd century imperial Roman army of Trajan, stationed in Gaul. Ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods, they refused and were transferred to Armenia. Ordered again to sacrifice to pagan gods, they refused again. Martyrs. We know the names of three of them, but nothing else – Eudoxius, Macarius and Zeno.
Martyrs of Capua – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred together. Long venerated in Capua, Italy. We know their names, but little else – Arcontius, Donatus and Quintius. They were martyred in Capua, Italy.
Martyrs of Nicomedia – 80 saints: A group of 80 Christians, lay and clergy, martyred together in the persecutions of Valens. We know little more than the names of three of them – Menedemo, Teodoro and Urbano. They were locked on a boat which was then set on fire on the shore of Nicomedia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey) c 370.
Martyrs of Porto Romano – 4+ saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Marcus Aurelius. We know little more than their names – Aconto, Herculanus, Nonno and Taurino. c180 at Porto Romano, Italy
One Minute Reflection – 10 March – Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent, Readings: Isaiah 1:10, 16- 20, Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23, Matthew 23:1-12
“Whoever exalts himself will be humble but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” … Matthew 23:12
REFLECTION – “I don’t think there is anyone who needs God’s help and grace as much as I do. Sometimes I feel so helpless and weak. I think that is why God uses me. Because I cannot depend on my own strength, I rely on Him twenty-four hours a day. If the day had even more hours, then I would need His help and grace during those hours as well. All of us must cling to God through prayer. My secret is very simple – I pray. Through prayer I become one in love with Christ. I realise that praying to Him is loving Him. (…)
People are hungry for the Word of God that will give peace, that will give unity, that will give joy. But you cannot give what you don’t have. That’s why it is necessary to deepen your life of prayer. Be sincere in your prayers. Sincerity is humility and you acquire humility only by accepting humiliations.
All that has been said about humility, is not enough to teach you humility. All that you have read about humility, is not enough to teach you humility. You learn humility only by accepting humiliations. And you will meet humiliation all through your life. The greatest humiliation is to know that you are nothing. This you come to know, when you face God in prayer.
Often a deep and fervent look at Christ is the best prayer. I look at Him and He looks at me. When you come face to face with God, you cannot but know that you are nothing, that you have nothing.” … St Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) – No Greater Love
PRAYER – God our Father, help us to teach others about You by our example as well as our words. Teach us Lord to accept the humiliations we suffer, to take the lowest place, to offer our nothingness to You, that we may become like Your divine Son. May His Mother and ours, the Blessed Virgin Mary clothe us in her gentleness and humility. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 29 December – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the Fifth Day of the Christmas Octave
“God, to whom angels submit themselves
and who principalities and powers obey,
was subject to Mary;
and not only to Mary
but Joseph also for Mary’s sake [….].
God obeyed a human creature;
this is humility without precedent.
A human creature commands God;
it is sublime beyond measure.”
St Bernard (1090-1153)
Doctor of the Church
“If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family.”
St Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
“The human family, in a certain sense, is an icon of the Trinity because of its interpersonal love and the fruitfulness of this love.”
Pope Benedict XVI
“By His obedience to Mary and Joseph, as well as by His humble work during the long years in Nazareth, Jesus gives us the example of holiness in the daily life of family and work.”
CCC 564
“The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the procreation and education of children, it reflects the Father’s work of creation….”
Advent Reflection – Saturday of Advent 21 December, Readings: Isaiah 7:10-14, Psalm 24:1-6, Luke 1:26-38
The Lord is at hand, come let us adore Him.
“Mary set out… in haste” … Luke 1:26
REFLECTION – “Our Lady’s strength was her gaiety and joy. This is what made her God, her son’s attentive servant, because as soon as He came to her she “set out in haste.” Joy alone could have given her the strength to set out in all haste across the hill country of Judah to become the servant of her cousin. It is just the same for us. Like her, we must be true servants of the Lord and after holy communion each day we must hurry over the mountains of the difficulties we encounter, offering our service to the poor with all our heart. Give to Jesus in the poor, as a servant of the Lord.
Joy is prayer, joy is strength, joy is love. It is love’s net with which to catch souls. “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). Those who give with joy give twice over. If you meet up with difficulties and accept them with joy, with a big smile, in this, as in many other things, people will realise that your works are good and the Father will be glorified in them. The best way, of showing God and others your gratitude, is to accept everything with joy. A joyful heart comes from a heart that is burning with love.” … St Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) – Founder of the Missionary Sisters of Charity – Jesus, the Word to Be Spoken
MEDITATION –“A soul united to Jesus, is a living smile that radiates Him and, gives Him.” … St Elizabeth of the Trinity (1880-1906)
ADVENT ACTION – “God is interested in even the smallest events in the lives of His creatures – in your affairs and mine — and He calls each of us by name. This certainty that the faith gives, enables us to look at everything in a new light. And everything, while remaining exactly the same, becomes different, because it is an expression of God’s love. Our life is turned into a continuous prayer, we find ourselves with good humour and a peace that never ends and everything we do is an act of thanksgiving, running through all our day. ‘My soul magnifies the Lord,’ Mary sang, ‘and my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.’” …St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) – “To Jesus through Mary,” Christ is Passing By, 144
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.
Thought for the Day – 16 December – Monday of the Third Week of Advent, Year A, Readings: Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17, Psalm 25:4-9, Matthew 21:23-27
“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” … Matthew 21:23
He Loved us First
William of Saint Thierry (c 1075-1148)
Abbot
An excerpt from his On the Contemplation of God
Truly You alone are the Lord. Your dominion is our salvation, for to serve You, is nothing else but to be saved by You! O Lord, salvation is Your gift and Your blessing is upon Your people, what else is Your salvation but receiving from You the gift of loving You or being loved by You? That, Lord, is why You willed, that the Son at Your right hand, the man whom You made strong for Yourself, should be called Jesus, that is to say, Saviour, for He will save His people from their sins and, there is no other, in whom there is salvation. He taught us to love Him by first loving us, even to death on the cross. By loving us and holding us so dear, He stirred us to love Him who had first loved us to the end.
And this is clearly the reason – You first loved us so that we might love You—not because You needed our love but because, we could not be what You created us to be, except by loving You.
In many ways and on various occasions You spoke to our fathers through the prophets. Now in these last days You have spoken to us in the Son, Your Word, by Him the heavens were established and all their powers came to be, by the breath of His mouth.
For You to speak thus in Your Son, was to bring out, in the light of day, how much and in what way You loved us, for You did not spare Your own Son but delivered Him up for us all. He also loved us and gave himself up for us.
This, Lord, is Your Word to us, this is Your all-powerful message – while all things were in midnight silence (that is, were in the depths of error), He came from His royal throne, the stern Conqueror of error and the gentle Apostle of love. Everything He did and everything He said on earth, even enduring the insults, the spitting, the buffeting—the cross and the grave—all of this, was actually You speaking to us in Your Son, appealing to us by Your love and stirring up our love for You.
You know that this disposition could not be forced on men’s hearts, my God, since You created them, it must rather be elicited. And this, for the further reason, that there is no freedom, where there is compulsion and where freedom is lacking, so too is Righteousness.
You wanted us to love You, then, we, who could not with justice have been saved, had we not loved You, nor could we have loved You except by Your gift. So, Lord, as the Apostle of Your Love tells us and, as we have already said, You first loved us – You are first to love all those who love You.
Thus we hold You dear by the affection You have implanted in us. You are the one supremely good and ultimate goodness. Your love is Your goodness, the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son! From the beginning of creation it was He who hovered over the waters—that is, over the wavering minds of men, offering Himself to all, drawing all things to Himself. By His inspiration and holy breath, by keeping us from harm and providing for our needs, He unites God to us and us to God.
William of Saint Thierry (c 1075-1148), was a twelfth century French Benedictine Abbot of Saint-Thierry, theologian and mystic who became a Cistercian monk and writer. William wrote throughout all of his abbatial career as a Benedictine and his final years as a Cistercian monk. His earliest works reflect a monk seeking God continually and investigating, the various and best ways of furthering the soul’s ascent to God in spiritual union, William’s ultimate goal. When read chronologically, one can discern the development and evolution of William’s thought. Besides his letters to St Bernard and others, William wrote several works – there were twenty two works by William (twenty one extant), all written in Latin between c 1121 and 1148. William’s writings were widely read in the later Middle Ages. However, they were frequently attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux – a sign of their quality and also another reason for their continued popularity. Only in the early twentieth century, did interest in William as a distinct writer, begin to develop again and was his name correctly attached to all of his own writings.
“At this Christmas, when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent, by loving and serving others, with God’s own love and concern.”
St Mother Teresa (1910-1997) (Love-A Fruit Always in Season)
Quote/s of the Day – 15 October – Monday of the Twenty Eighth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 11:29–32
“Our Saviour’s words are not of a nature to be heard once and no more but that to understand them, we must feed upon them and live in them, as if by, little and little, growing into their meaning.”
Saint John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
One Minute Reflection – 10 September – Tuesday of the Twenty third week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 6:12-19 and the Memorial of St Ambrose Barlow (1585-1641) Martyr
“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray and he spent the night in prayer to God” … Luke 6:12
REFLECTION – “Contemplatives and ascetics of every age and every religion have always sought God in the silence and solitude of deserts, forests and mountains. Jesus Himself lived for forty days in complete solitude, spending long hours in intimate converse with the Father in the silence of the night.
We, too, are called to withdraw into a deeper silence from time to time, alone with God. Being alone with Him – not with our books, our thoughts, our memories but in complete nakedness, remaining in His presence – silent, empty, motionless, waiting.
We cannot find God in noise and restlessness. Look at nature, the trees, flowers, grasses all grow in silence; the stars, the moon, the sun all move in silence. The important thing is, not what we are able say but what God says to us and what He speaks to others through us. In silence, He listens to us, in silence He speaks to our souls, in silence we are granted the privilege of hearing His voice –
Silence of the eyes,
Silence of the ears,
Silence of our mouths,
Silence of our minds.
In the silence of the heart
God will speak.
… Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) – No Greater Love
PRAYER – Our Father who art in heaven, almighty and eternal God, teach us to pause often during our active lives and recollect ourselves. Let us put away the problems of life and commune with You in prayer and meditation. St Ambrose Barlow, amidst your life of constant threat and charity to all, you renewed your courage and strength in silence. Pray for us that we may be inspired to turn to our God for strength, in this vale of tears. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit,God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 5 September – The Memorial of St Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Excerpt from the
Beatification Homily of St John Paul II
of Mother Teresa of Calcutta
World Mission Sunday Sunday, 19 October 2003
Mother Theresa was Canonised 4 September 2016 by Pope Francis
“The whole of Mother Teresa’s life and labour bore witness to the joy of loving, the greatness and dignity of every human person, the value of little things done faithfully and with love and the surpassing worth of friendship with God. But there was another heroic side of this great woman that was revealed only after her death. Hidden from all eyes, hidden even from those closest to her, was her interior life marked by an experience of a deep, painful and abiding feeling of being separated from God, even rejected by Him, along with an ever-increasing longing for His love. She called her inner experience, “the darkness.” The “painful night” of her soul, which began around the time she started her work for the poor and continued to the end of her life, led Mother Teresa to an ever more profound union with God. Through the darknes,s she mystically participated in the thirst of Jesus, in His painful and burning longing for love and she shared in the interior desolation of the poor.
During the last years of her life, despite increasingly severe health problems, Mother Teresa continued to govern her Society and respond to the needs of the poor and the Church. By 1997, Mother Teresa’s Sisters numbered nearly 4,000 members and were established in 610 foundations in 123 countries of the world. In March 1997 she blessed her newly-elected successor as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity and then made one more trip abroad. After meeting Pope John Paul II for the last time, she returned to Calcutta and spent her final weeks receiving visitors and instructing her Sisters. On 5 September Mother Teresa’s earthly life came to an end. She was given the honour of a state funeral by the Government of India and her body was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Her tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people of all faiths, rich and poor alike. Mother Teresa left a testament of unshakable faith, invincible hope and extraordinary charity. Her response to Jesus’ plea, “Come be My light,” made her a Missionary of Charity, a “mother to the poor,” a symbol of compassion to the world and a living witness to the thirsting love of God.”
Less than two years after her death, in view of Mother Teresa’s widespread reputation of holiness and the favours being reported, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of her Cause of Canonisation. On 20 December 2002 he approved the decrees of her heroic virtues and miracles. … Vatican.va
Quote/s of the Day – 5 September – Thursday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Year C and The Memorial of St Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
..And immediately she rose and served them.”
Luke 4:39
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love….. God doesn’t require us to succeed, He only requires that we try……. I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot, together we can do great things.”
“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By Faith, I am a Catholic Nun. As to my calling, I belong to the World. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”
“The so-called right to abortion has portrayed the GREATEST of GIFTS a CHILD as a competitor an intrusion and an inconvenience.”
“How sad it is, when someone comes to you, looking for Jesus and all they see. is you.”
“You must first learn to forget yourself so that you can dedicate yourself to God and to neighbour alike!”
One Minute Reflection – 5 September – Thursday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 5:1–11 and the Memorial of St Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ... Luke 5:8
REFLECTION – “This is the first decisive step of Peter along the path of discipleship, of the disciple of Jesus, accusing himself: ‘I am a sinner.’ This is Peter’s first step and also the first step for each one of us, if you want to go forward in the spiritual life, in the life of Jesus, serving Jesus, following Jesus, must be this, accusing oneself, without accusing oneself you cannot walk in the Christian life.
There are people who go through life talking about others, accusing others and never thinking of their own sins. And when I go to make my confession, how do I confess? Like a parrot? ‘I did this, this…’ But are you touched at heart by what you have done? Many times, no. You go there to put on make-up, to make-yourself up a little bit in order to look beautiful. But it hasn’t entered completely into your heart, because you haven’t left room, because you are not capable of accusing yourself. Do I do this? It’s a good question to get to the heart.
Today, let us ask the Lord for the grace, the grace to find ourselves face-to-face with Him, with this wonder that His presence gives and the grace, to feel that we are sinners but concretely and to say with Peter – ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinner.” … Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 6 September 2018
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help us to be holy in the way that You have laid out for all of us. Grant us good Lord, the courage, faith and understanding, to see our own failings and to present ourselves to You for forgiveness, knowing always, that a repentant heart You do not spurn. May the prayers of St Mother Teresa assist us in using the gifts You have given us, for the Glory of God. We make our prayer through our Lord, Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 5 September – Thursday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of St Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
St Mother Teresa’s Daily Prayer “Radiating Christ” By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Dear Jesus,
help me to spread Your fragrance
wherever I go.
Flood my soul
with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess
my whole being so utterly,
that my life may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through me
and be so in me,
that every soul I come in contact with
may feel Your presence in my soul.
Let them look up
and see no longer me
but only Jesus!
Stay with me
and then I shall begin to shine as You shine,
so to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from You,
none of it will be mine.
It will be You,
shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise You
the way You love best,
by shining on those around me.
Let me preach You without preaching,
not by words but by my example,
by the catching force
of the sympathetic influence of what I do,
the evident fullness
of the love my heart bears to You.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 18 August – Saturday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 19:13–15 and the Memorial of St Clare of the Cross of Montefalco (c 1269-1308)
“Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”…Matthew 19:14
REFLECTION – “Begin and end the day with prayer. Go to God as a child turns to its mother. If words don’t come spontaneously to you then say, for example: “Come, Holy Spirit, guide me, protect me, enlighten my thoughts so I can pray.” Or even better, if you speak to the Virgin Mary, say – “Mary, Mother of Jesus, be a mother to me now and help me to pray.” … Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
PRAYER – God almighty Father, grant that we may be instruments of welcome and of that love with which Jesus, Your Son, embraces the littlest ones. May we be a society of love and of holy parenting of all children, especially those most in need. Holy Mother, teach us and guide us in prayer and love of God and neighbour. St Clare of the Cross, pray for us. We make our prayer through Christ, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 28 June – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests
“We, Christians, are the true Israel which springs from Christ, for we are carved out of His Heart, as from a Rock!”
St Justin Martyr (100-165)
Father of the Church and Martyr
“If the Jewish High priest carried the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on his shoulders and on his breast, how much more Christ, our High Priest, carries our names written on His Heart”
St John of Avila (1500-1569)
Doctor of the Church
“When the Church, in the days immediately succeeding her institution, was oppressed beneath the yoke of the Caesars, a young Emperor saw in the heavens across, which became at once the happy omen and cause of the glorious victory, that soon followed. And now, to-day, behold, another blessed and heavenly token is offered to our sight- the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a cross rising from it and shining forth with dazzling splendour amidst flames of love. In that Sacred Heart all our hopes should be placed and from it, the salvation of men is to be confidently besought. …. there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another…”
Pope Leo XIII
ANNUM SACRUM (Holy Year) ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART 25 MAY 1899
” I wish to serve the Sacred Heart of Jesus, today and always. I want my devotion to His Heart to be the measure of all my spiritual progress. I desire to do everything in intimate union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”
St Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)
“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By Faith, I am a Catholic Nun. As to my calling, I belong to the World. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”
“Do not let the past disturb you – just leave everything in the Sacred Heart and being again with joy!”
Our Morning Offering – 19 May “Mary’s Month” The Fifth Sunday of Easter, C
O Mary, Give us a Heart like Yours By St Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
O Mary, give us a heart
as beautiful, pure
and spotless as yours.
A heart like yours,
so full of love and humility.
May we be able to receive Jesus
as the Bread of Life,
to love Him
as you loved Him,
to serve Him
under the mistreated face of the poor.
We ask this through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 16 May – Thursday of the Fourth week of Easter, C, Gospel: John 13:16–20
“Whoever receives the one I send, receives me..”
John 13:20
“In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship but to keep her on her course.”
St Boniface (672-754)
“The Church exists, for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose.”
C S Lewis (1898-1963)
“How sad it is, when someone comes to you, looking for Jesus and all they see. is you.”
Lord, help us to see in Your Crucifixion and Resurrection an example of how to endure and seemingly to die in the agony and conflict of daily life, so that we may live more fully and creatively. You accepted patiently and humbly the rebuffs of human life, as well as the tortures of your Crucifixion and Passion. Help us to accept the pains and conflicts that come to us each day, as opportunities to grow as people and become more like You. Enable us to go through them patiently and bravely, trusting that You will support us. Make us realise that it is only by frequent deaths of ourselves and our self-centred desires, that we can come to live more fully, for it is only, by dying with You, that we can rise with You.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
(A Gift for God – prayers and meditations)
Daily Meditation: The Journey Begins
God has revealed Himself in Christ. Let us praise His goodness and ask Him from our hearts:
Remember us, Lord, for we are Your children.
Teach us to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Church,
– that it may be more effective for ourselves and for the world as the sacrament of salvation.
Lover of mankind, inspire us to work for human progress,
– seeking to spread Your kingdom in all we do.
May our hearts thirst for Christ,
– the fountain of living water.
Forgive us our sins,
– and direct our steps into the ways of justice and sincerity.
Closing Prayer:
Lord,
Let everything I do this day and in this season of Lent
come from You, be inspired by You.
I long to be closer to You.
Help me to remember, that nothing is important in my life
unless it glorifies You in some way.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day of my life and keep saying,
“Tomorrow, I will spend more time in prayer”
but now my longing meet Your love and I want to do it now.
Help me to rely on You for help.
Please, Lord, remind me that “perfection”
isn’t the crazy, “successful” way I try to live my life
but a perfection of my most authentic, real self.
My “perfection” might be holding my many flaws in my open hands,
asking You to help me accept them.
Make me whole Lord and help me to find You in the darkness of my life.
Let me reach out in this darkness and feel Your hand and love, there to guide me.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Our Morning Offering – 30 December – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This is a very appropriate prayer as the Church focuses on Family Life.
Nazareth Prayer for the Family By St Mother Teresa(1910-1997)
Heavenly Father,
You have given us the model of life
in the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Help us, O Loving Father,
to make our family another Nazareth
where love, peace and joy reign.
May it be deeply contemplative,
intensely eucharistic, received with joy.
Help us to stay together in joy
and sorrow in family prayer.
Teach us to see Jesus
in the members of our families,
especially in their distressing disguise.
May the Eucharistic heart of Jesus
make our hearts humble like His
and help us to carry out our family duties
in a holy way.
May we love one another
as God loves each one of us,
more and more each day,
and forgive each others faults
as You forgive our sins.
Help us, O Loving Father,
to take whatever You give
and give whatever You take with a big smile.
Immaculate Heart of Mary,
cause of our joy, pray for us.
St Joseph, pray for us.
Holy Guardian Angels,
be always with us,
guide and protect us.
Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 15 December – Saturday of the Second week of Advent
“Into this world, this demented inn in which there is absolutely no room for Him at all, Christ comes uninvited.”
Thomas Merton OCSO (1915-1968)
“At this Christmas, when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent, by loving and serving the others, with God’s own love and concern.”
Quote/s of the Day – 18 September – Today’s Gospel: Luke 7:11–17, Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Juan Macias O.P. (1585-1645) and St Joseph of Cupertino O.F.M. Conv. (1603-1663)
Speaking of: Living the Word
“The Christian should be an ‘alleluia’ from head to foot.
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
“It is no use walking somewhere to preach, unless our walking is our preaching.”
St Francis of Assisi (c 1181-1226)
“To convert somebody, go and take them by the hand and guide them.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
“Cook the truth in charity, until it tastes sweet.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
“We must speak to them with our hands before we try to speak with our lips.”
St Peter Claver (1580-1654)
“Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses, than to teachers and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
Blessed Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)
“The only way to win audiences, is to tell people about the life and death of Christ. Every other approach is a waste.”
Ven Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
“Stay where you are – find your own Calcutta.”
St Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
“Your faith will grow, only in the measure, that you give it away.”
Thought for the Day – 5 September – The Memorial of St Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
Mother Teresa, in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defence of human life, those unborn and those abandoned and discarded. She was committed to defending life, ceaselessly proclaiming that “the unborn are the weakest, the smallest, the most vulnerable”. She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity, she made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognise their guilt for the crime – the crimes! – of poverty they created. For Mother Teresa, mercy was the “salt” which gave flavour to her work, it was the “light” which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering.
Her mission to the urban and existential peripheries remains for us today an eloquent witness to God’s closeness to the poorest of the poor. Today, I pass on this emblematic figure of womanhood and of consecrated life to the whole world of volunteers, may she be your model of holiness! I think, perhaps, we may have some difficult in calling her “Saint Teresa”, her holiness is so near to us, so tender and so fruitful that we continual to spontaneously call her “Mother Teresa”.
May this tireless worker of mercy help us increasingly to understand that our only criterion for action is gratuitous love, free from every ideology and all obligations, offered freely to everyone without distinction of language, culture, race or religion. Mother Teresa loved to say, “Perhaps I don’t speak their language, but I can smile”. Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer. In this way, we will open up opportunities of joy and hope for our many brothers and sisters who are discouraged and who stand in need of understanding and tenderness…… Excerpt from the Homily of His Holiness, Pope Francis on the Canonisation of St Teresa of Calcutta, Sunday, 4 September 2016 (it was also the Jubilee of Workers of Mercy and Volunteers)
Virgin Mary, Queen of all the Saints, help us to be gentle and humble of heart like this fearless messenger of Love. Help us to serve every person we meet with joy and a smile. Help us to be missionaries of Christ, our peace and our hope. Amen!…
One Minute Reflection – 5 September – Today’s Gospel: Luke 4:38-44 – Wednesday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them….Luke 4:40
REFLECTION – “Having come to earth to proclaim and to realise the salvation of the whole man and of all people, Jesus shows a particular predilection for those who are wounded in body and in spirit: the poor, the sinners, the possessed, the sick, the marginalised. Thus, He reveals Himself as a doctor both of souls and of bodies, the Good Samaritan of man. He is the true Saviour: Jesus saves, Jesus cures, Jesus heals. Each one of us is called to bear the light of the Word of God and the power of grace to those who suffer and to those who assist them — family, doctors, nurses — so that the service to the sick might always be better accomplished with more humanity, with generous dedication, with evangelical love, with tenderness.”… Pope Francis – Angelus, 8 February 2015
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love…..God doesn’t require us to succeed, He only requires that we try…….I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” ….St Mother Teresa of Calcutta
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help us to be holy in the way that You have laid out for all of us. Let us carry out the duties of our state in life to the full and so attain the holiness proper to each one. May the prayers of St Mother Teresa assist us in using the gifts You have been given us, for the Glory of God. We make our prayer through our Lord, Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 5 September – The Memorial of St Mother Teresa of Calcutta M.C. (1910-1997) This is a very appropriate prayer as the Church focuses on Family Life.
Nazareth Prayer for the Family By St Mother Teresa(1910-1997)
Heavenly Father,
You have given us the model of life
in the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Help us, O Loving Father,
to make our family another Nazareth
where love, peace and joy reign.
May it be deeply contemplative,
intensely eucharistic, received with joy.
Help us to stay together in joy
and sorrow in family prayer.
Teach us to see Jesus
in the members of our families,
especially in their distressing disguise.
May the Eucharistic heart of Jesus
make our hearts humble like His
and help us to carry out our family duties
in a holy way.
May we love one another
as God loves each one of us,
more and more each day,
and forgive each others faults
as You forgive our sins.
Help us, O Loving Father,
to take whatever You give
and give whatever You take with a big smile.
Immaculate Heart of Mary,
cause of our joy, pray for us.
St Joseph, pray for us.
Holy Guardian Angels,
be always with us,
guide and protect us.
Amen.
Saint of the Day – 5 September – St Teresa of Calcutta M.C. (1910-1997) (born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) – Consecrated Religious Nun, Founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, Apostle of Charity, Missionary, Nobel Peace Prize Winner 1978, Anti-Abortion Activist – (26 August 1910 in Skopje, Albania (modern Macedonia) – 5 September 1997 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India of natural causes). She was Beatified on 19 October 2003 by St John Paul and Canonised on 4 September 2016 by Pope Francis. Patronages – World Youth Day, Missionaries of Charity, co-Patron of the Archdiocese of Calcutta.
“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.” Small of stature, rocklike in faith, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was entrusted with the mission of proclaiming God’s thirsting love for humanity, especially for the poorest of the poor. “God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor.” She was a soul filled with the light of Christ, on fire with love for Him and burning with one desire.
This luminous messenger of God’s love was born on 26 August 1910 in Skopje, a city situated at the crossroads of Balkan history. The youngest of the children born to Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu, she was baptised Gonxha Agnes, received her First Communion at the age of five and a half and was confirmed in November 1916. From the day of her First Holy Communion, a love for souls was within her. Her father’s sudden death when Gonxha was about eight years old left in the family in financial straits. Drane raised her children firmly and lovingly, greatly influencing her daughter’s character and vocation. Gonxha’s religious formation was further assisted by the vibrant Jesuit parish of the Sacred Heart in which she was much involved.
At the age of eighteen, moved by a desire to become a missionary, Gonxha left her home in September 1928 to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Sisters of Loreto, in Ireland. There she received the name Sister Mary Teresa after St Thérèse of Lisieux. In December, she departed for India, arriving in Calcutta on 6 January 1929. After making her First Profession of Vows in May 1931, Sister Teresa was assigned to the Loreto Entally community in Calcutta and taught at St Mary’s School for girls. On 24 May 1937, Sister Teresa made her Final Profession of Vows, becoming, as she said, the “spouse of Jesus” for “all eternity.” From that time on she was called Mother Teresa. She continued teaching at St Mary’s and in 1944 became the school’s principal. A person of profound prayer and deep love for her religious sisters and her students, Mother Teresa’s twenty years in Loreto were filled with profound happiness. Noted for her charity, unselfishness and courage, her capacity for hard work and a natural talent for organisation, she lived out her consecration to Jesus, in the midst of her companions, with fidelity and joy.
On 10 September 1946 during the train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling for her annual retreat, Mother Teresa received her “inspiration,” her “call within a call.” On that day, in a way she would never explain, Jesus’ thirst for love and for souls took hold of her heart and the desire to satiate His thirst became the driving force of her life. Over the course of the next weeks and months, by means of interior locutions and visions, Jesus revealed to her the desire of His heart for “victims of love” who would “radiate His love on souls.”“Come be My light,” He begged her. “I cannot go alone.” He revealed His pain at the neglect of the poor, His sorrow at their ignorance of Him and His longing for their love. He asked Mother Teresa to establish a religious community, Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to the service of the poorest of the poor. Nearly two years of testing and discernment passed before Mother Teresa received permission to begin. On 17 August 1948, she dressed for the first time in a white, blue-bordered sari and passed through the gates of her beloved Loreto convent to enter the world of the poor.
After a short course with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna, Mother Teresa returned to Calcutta and found temporary lodging with the Little Sisters of the Poor. On 21 December she went for the first time to the slums. She visited families, washed the sores of some children, cared for an old man lying sick on the road and nursed a woman dying of hunger and TB. She started each day in communion with Jesus in the Eucharist and then went out, rosary in her hand, to find and serve Him in “the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for.”After some months, she was joined, one by one, by her former students.
On 7 October 1950 the new congregation of the Missionaries of Charity was officially established in the Archdiocese of Calcutta. By the early 1960s, Mother Teresa began to send her Sisters to other parts of India. The Decree of Praise granted to the Congregation by Pope Paul VI in February 1965 encouraged her to open a house in Venezuela. It was soon followed by foundations in Rome and Tanzania and, eventually, on every continent. Starting in 1980 and continuing through the 1990s, Mother Teresa opened houses in almost all of the communist countries, including the former Soviet Union, Albania and Cuba.
In order to respond better to both the physical and spiritual needs of the poor, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity Brothers in 1963, in 1976 the contemplative branch of the Sisters, in 1979 the Contemplative Brothers and in 1984 the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. Yet her inspiration was not limited to those with religious vocations. She formed the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, people of many faiths and nationalities with whom she shared her spirit of prayer, simplicity, sacrifice and her apostolate of humble works of love. This spirit later inspired the Lay Missionaries of Charity. In answer to the requests of many priests, in 1981 Mother Teresa also began the Corpus Christi Movement for Priests as a “little way of holiness” for those who desire to share in her charism and spirit.
During the years of rapid growth the world began to turn its eyes towards Mother Teresa and the work she had started. Numerous awards, beginning with the Indian Padmashri Award in 1962 and notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, honoured her work, while an increasingly interested media began to follow her activities. She received both prizes and attention “for the glory of God and in the name of the poor.”
Mother Teresa, with Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, John Sanness
The whole of Mother Teresa’s life and labour bore witness to the joy of loving, the greatness and dignity of every human person, the value of little things done faithfully and with love and the surpassing worth of friendship with God. But there was another heroic side of this great woman that was revealed only after her death. Hidden from all eyes, hidden even from those closest to her, was her interior life marked by an experience of a deep, painful and abiding feeling of being separated from God, even rejected by Him, along with an ever-increasing longing for His love. She called her inner experience, “the darkness.” The “painful night” of her soul, which began around the time she started her work for the poor and continued to the end of her life, led Mother Teresa to an ever more profound union with God. Through the darkness she mystically participated in the thirst of Jesus, in His painful and burning longing for love and she shared in the interior desolation of the poor.
During the last years of her life, despite increasingly severe health problems, Mother Teresa continued to govern her Society and respond to the needs of the poor and the Church. By 1997, Mother Teresa’s Sisters numbered nearly 4,000 members and were established in 610 foundations in 123 countries of the world. In March 1997 she blessed her newly-elected successor as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity and then made one more trip abroad. After meeting Pope John Paul II for the last time, she returned to Calcutta and spent her final weeks receiving visitors and instructing her Sisters. On 5 September Mother Teresa’s earthly life came to an end. She was given the honour of a state funeral by the Government of India and her body was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Her tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people of all faiths, rich and poor alike. Mother Teresa left a testament of unshakable faith, invincible hope and extraordinary charity. Her response to Jesus’ plea, “Come be My light,”made her a Missionary of Charity, a “mother to the poor,”a symbol of compassion to the world and a living witness to the thirsting love of God.
Less than two years after her death, in view of Mother Teresa’s widespread reputation of holiness and the favours being reported, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of her Cause of Canonisation. On 20 December 2002 he approved the decrees of her heroic virtues and miracles.”…vatican.va
Mother Teresa was Beatified on Sunday, 19 October 2003 by St Pope John Paul II and Canonised by Pope Francis on 4 September 2016.
Little weekly reflections from those ‘minds alive’, our friends and intercessors waiting on our arrival.
Mother, how do we live by example?
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge was a British journalist and media celebrity who did not care much about God and religion. But…he saw compassion actualised before his very eyes through the person of Mother Teresa and that made him do something he had sworn he would never do – he became a Catholic!
Muggeridge had an assignment to write about Mother Teresa. Travelling to India, he thought the trip was just the usual work but the amazing thing was, in the course of his talks and days of observation of the little nun, he experienced a complete conversion of his heart, his mind, his soul, his very being.
He confessed: “Words cannot express how much I owe her, she showed me Christianity in action. She showed me the power of love. She showed me how one loving person can start a tidal wave of love that can spread to the entire world!”
“You must first learn to forget yourself
so that you can dedicate yourself to God and to neighbour alike!”
Our Morning Offering – 30 August – The Memorial of St Jeanne Jugan L.S.P. (Mary of the Cross) (1792 – 1879)
Radiating Christ St Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
Dear Jesus, help us to spread Your fragrance
everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly
that our lives may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through us and be so in us
that every soul we come in contact with
may feel Your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us
but only Jesus.
Stay with us
and then we shall begin to shine as You shine,
so to shine as to be light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from You.
None of it will be ours.
It will be You shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise You in the way You love best
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach You without preaching,
not by words but by our example;
by the catching force –
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love
our hearts bear to You.
Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 27 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Eastertide
“Speaking of: Sin and Suffering”
“The dragon, sits by the side of the road, watching those who pass. Beware lest he devour you. We go to the Father of Souls but it is necessary, to pass by the dragon.”
St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Only those who do not fight are never wounded.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
“The life of each and every one of us has been written. The crucifix is my autobiography. The blood is the ink. The nails the pen. The skin the parchment. On every line of that body, I can trace my life. In the crown of thorns I can read my pride. In the hands that are dug with nails, I can read avarice and greed. In the flesh hanging from him like purple rags, I can read my lust. In feet that are fettered, I can find the times that I ran away and would not let Him follow. Any sin that you can think of is written there.”
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
“My key to heaven is that I loved Jesus in the night.”
Dear Jesus,
help us to spread Your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly
that our lives may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through us and be so in us
that every soul we come in contact with
may feel Your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us,
but only Jesus.
Stay with us
and then we shall begin to shine as You shine,
so to shine as to be light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from You.
None of it will be ours.
It will be You shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise You in the way You love best,
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach You without preaching,
not by words but by our example;
by the catching force –
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to You.
Amen
Our life is turned into a continuous prayer, we find ourselves with good humour and a peace that never ends and everything we do is an act of thanksgiving, running through all our day. ‘My soul magnifies the Lord,’ Mary sang, ‘and my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.’” …St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) – “To Jesus through Mary,” Christ is Passing By, 144
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