Welcoming His love...

Lord, make my heart like unto Thine...

 "Let us live Lent, then, 

as a “Eucharistic” time in which, 

welcoming the love of Jesus, 

we learn to spread it around us 

with every word and deed. 

Contemplating “him whom they 

have pierced” moves us in this way 

to open our hearts to others, 

recognizing the wounds inflicted 

upon the dignity of the human person.

Pope Benedict XVI 
Lenten message 2007

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A vision that leads...

 So I gaze on you in the sanctuary 

to see your strength and your glory.  

For your love is better than life ... 

So I will bless you all my life...Psalm 63:2-4

“Video caelos apertos, St Stephen cried

as they stoned him:  ‘I see the heavens opened’. 

The elevation is the moment at which the eternal

is made manifest in time, in the ‘divine mystery’,

the moment of vision on the Mount of Vision. 

But we are not meant to think of the vision 

as something which, however precious and sublime,

is fugitive, impermanent:  essentially it leads 

on to the moment of communion, and that in 

its turn points onward to the life that is to be 

 led in the world when the Mass is over.”

Gerald Vann, O.P. - The Paradise Tree 

"Therefore, do not lose by saving, 

but gather in by scattering.

Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. 

You will not be allowed to keep what you 

have refused to give to others." 

 St Peter Chrysologus

Stained Glass:  Elevation of host.  Rothenburg, St Jakob (Bavaria).  Artist: Rafael Toussaint 

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Sweet, yes - so sweet...

 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and

deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the 
basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. - Col 2:8

“There is more sweetness in 

one hour of prayer before Jesus 

in the Blessed Sacrament 

than in all the world's crowded theaters,

and brilliant drawing rooms,

and giddy diversions, and social gatherings.”

St Gabriel Possenti

Passionist clerical student

Italy ~1838-1862

Exemplary devotion 

Feast Day: February 27

“Love Mary! She is lovable, faithful, constant. She will never let herself be outdone in love, but will ever remain supreme. If you are in danger, she will hasten to free you. If you are troubled, she will console you. If you are sick, she will bring you relief. If you are in need, she will help you. She does not look to see what kind of person you have been. She simply comes to a heart that wants to love her. She comes quickly and opens her merciful heart to you, embraces you and consoles and serves you. She will even be at hand to accompany you on the trip to eternity." - St Gabriel Possenti

 

Our Lady of Sorrows

Click here: Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (His Resolutions) - YouTube  (4:30 mins) 

St Gabriel is remarkable for he obediently and willingly converted 

in a very short time from a life of excess, devoted to the pleasures of 

this world, to becoming inextricably linked to the Passion of Our Lord. 

He shows us that all are blessed with the graces 

to fall in love with Our Lord, no matter what the cost.

Gabriel died at age 24 of tuberculosis and buried the day of his death. 

A companion in the novitiate, Bernard Mary of Jesus, exclaimed:

“Tears come to my eyes and I am filled with shame for having been 

so far from the virtues that he attained in such a short time.”

Click here: St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

St Gabriel Possenti, pray for us! 

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Receiving greater grace...

 In quietness and trust is your strength... 

Isaiah 30:15

Praying Woman - Kathe Kollwich

"Your watchful care after Communion is no less 

important than your devout preparation before it.  

When we keep good watch over ourselves after 

Communion, it is the best preparation we can make 

for receiving greater grace.  Beware of much talking: 

stay by yourself in some place apart and 

there rejoice in the company of your God; 

there you have Him within you, and the 

whole world cannot take Him from you."

Thomas a Kempis

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Divine explosion: Second Sunday of Lent...

    Second Sunday of Lent

"Christ showed His disciples the glory of His radiance
to which He configures those who are His." - St Thomas Aquinas

Fra Angelico

"Through your Transfiguration, O Christ, 

You returned Adam's nature to its original splendor, 

restoring its very elements to the glory 

and brilliance of Your divinity." - Byzantine Liturgy

_______________________

"Christian faith's steady gaze upon Jesus 
transforms us here and now." - Fr Hans Urs von Balthasar

_____________________

For over all, his glory will be shelter and protection: 
shade from the parching heat of day, 
refuge and cover from storm and rain (Isaiah 4:6).
_______________________

Excerpt below from:  Letters To A Brother Priest

Co-authors:  Rev Fr Vincent Martin Lucia/Rev Msgr Josefino Ramirez

"Peter, James and John witnessed the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor. The whole world will witness the glorious transfiguration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. 

It will have the exact opposite effect of the bombing of Nagasaki. At the transfiguration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, there will be an explosion of divine energy which will release the power of His love and renew the face of the earth. Then the world will see Real Power! All will be made well. All will belong to His Heart. All will be  made one.

In the meantime, there are five graces we receive each time we visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. By His glorious wounds we are the ones who are transfigured and changed through His healing love. 

Restoration, sanctification, transformation, reparation and salvation are the graces being poured out graciously upon us with each holy hour we make.

Like Peter... this is why we should exclaim in His Divine Presence, 

'Lord, how good it is for us to be here!'"

"The Blessed Sacrament is the first and supreme 
object of our worship. We must preserve in the depths

of our hearts a constant and uninterrupted,
profound adoration of this precious pledge 

of Divine Love." - St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, CGS

Community in Mission - Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington  

Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent (Msgr Charles Pope)

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Blessed to be a blessing...

  We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, 

as though Christ were making 

an appeal through us. - II Cor 5:20

Photo credit: Cathopic

 "Make us worthy, Lord,
to serve our fellow men 

throughout the world, who 

live and die in poverty and hunger.
Give them through our hands 

this day their daily bread, 

and by our understanding love,

give peace and joy.  Amen."

Pope St Paul VI

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