Quenching our thirst...

 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways

inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things

such as silver or gold, but with the Precious Blood of Christ,

like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. -I Peter 1:18-19


Albrecht Durer ~ The Crucifixion

"He opened up for us

in His most sacred wounds
four founts:  

a fount of mercy, a fount of peace,

a fount of devotion, a fount of love

and summons all 

to quench their thirst there."

St Bernard of Clairvaux  

_______________________________

The Anima Christi The Anima Christi dates back to the 14th century. It is a prayer inviting us to ask our Lord for comfort, strength and guidance in our pursuit of holiness. It remains widely used after receiving the precious Body and Blood of Our Lord in Holy Communion.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me  Body of Christ, save me  Blood of Christ, inebriate me  Water from Christ's side, wash me Passion of Christ, strengthen me O good Jesus, hear me Within Thy wounds hide me Suffer me not to be separated from Thee From the malicious enemy defend me In the hour of my death call me And bid me come unto Thee That I may praise Thee with Thy saints  and with Thy angels Forever and ever Amen

Cor mundum crea in me, Deus...

 Cor mundum crea in me, Deus.

Create a clean heart in me, O God. -  Psalm 51:10

COMMUNION Antiphon (Today's Liturgy)

The Lamb who is at the center of the throne

will lead them to the springs of the waters of life. - Rev 7:17

PRAYER after COMMUNION (Today's Liturgy)

 O God, who bestowed on blessed Saint Maria Goretti

a crown among the Saints
for her twofold triumph of virginity and martyrdom,
grant, we pray, through the power of this Sacrament,
that, bravely overcoming every evil, 
we may attain the glory of heaven.  Through Christ our Lord.

St Maria Goretti

Italy ~ 1890 -1902

Martyr at age 12 in defense of her virginity

Patron of Youth and Victims of Rape

Feast Day - July 6

 

"Even if she had not been a martyr,

she would still have been a saint,
so holy was her everyday life." - Cardinal Salotti

Click here: St. Maria Goretti - YouTube   (2 mins)

Click here: Spiritualdirection.com |  Saint Maria Goretti 

 St Maria Goretti, pray for us! 

_______________________

"Parents can learn from her story how to raise their God-given 
children in virtue, courage and holiness; they can learn to train

them in the Catholic faith so that, when put to the test,

God's grace will support them and they will come through

undefeated, unscathed and untarnished."

 Pope Ven Pius XII

homily, canonization Mass of St Maria Goretti (1950)

Prayer Before a Dance or Party
Prayer Before a Date
MODESTY PLEDGE OF THE FRIENDS OF ST. MARIA GORETTI USA, INC.

Unfurl your flags...

 Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

One dismissal formula option for the Order of the Mass. Another:
Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

"Unfurl your flags

for Jesus Crucified

is about to send you

to proclaim everywhere

the vital energy of the Spirit."

St Anthony Mary Zaccaria

Italy ~ 1502- 1539

Physician, Priest
Powerful preacher - in Church, on the streets

Reformer, promoter of Eucharistic Adoration

Introduced bells of Church to ring at 3 PM on Fridays

Founder of Barnabites (men) and Angelics (women)
Incorrupt

Feast Day - July 5

"Come on, Brothers! let us run like madmen 
not only toward God but 
toward our neighbor, as well.  
It is our neighbor alone that can receive what 
we cannot give God, who does not need 
anything from us."- St Anthony Mary Zaccaria

Click here: Saint Anthony Zaccaria - YouTube

(by Barnabite Order, 6 mins - excellent)

Click here: St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria - YouTube

(Apostleship of Prayer - 2 mins)

St Anthony Zaccaria, pray for us!

Verso l'alto - "To the heights!"...

  ...everlasting joy will crown their heads. 

Gladness and joy will overtake them, and 

sorrow and sighing will flee away. - Isaiah 35:10

"I urge you with all the strength of my soul
to approach the Eucharist Table
as often as possible.

Feed on this Bread of the Angels
from which you will draw the strength
to fight inner struggles."

Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati
Italy ~ 1901-1925
"Man of the Eight Beatitudes"
Patron of World Youth Days
Incorrupt
Motto:  Verso l'alto - "To the heights!"
Feast  Day – July 4

“To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend,

without a steady struggle for truth, that is not living,

but merely existing; we must never just "exist". 

Bl Pier-Giorgio

*To this day, Frassati's body remains incorrupt:   

"When they opened Pier Giorgio´s tomb in 1981, 

his body was perfectly preserved,"recalled one witness. 

"He had a smile on his face and a rosary in his hands.

It was like meeting him for the first time."

_____________________________________

Click here: OFFICIAL USA WEBSITE  BL PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI

Click here: Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati (July 4) - YouTube (6 mins)

Click here: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati - YouTube (2 mins)

Click here: The Prayer of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati - YouTube (4 mins)

Click here: Pier Giorgio Frassati: A commentary by Fr. Barron - YouTube

Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us!

____________________________________

4th of July: Blessed Independence Day:

Let freedom ring !

 

Today we make again our own

The hope which Christ, our life, has sown:

In fertile fields and streets of stone,

Let freedom ring!

Where Justice works amid the weed

Of rampart want and choking greed,

To loose the voice of human need,

Let freedom ring!

Where Mercy's fingers, slashed and torn,

Untangle love from twisted thorn

Of anger, disbelief and scorn,

Let freedom ring!

Where hearts imprisoned toil and weep,

Our founders' dreams still trouble sleep

With harvests we have yet to reap:

Let freedom ring!

In Christ, we tend what God has planned,

With justice, mercy, truth in hand

Till joy sings out through all the land:

Let freedom ring!

" I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, 

as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, 

as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. 

It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade...

Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent 

to the other from this Time forward forever more."  - John Adams

___________________________

"Everyone has the right to Freedom of opinion and Expression.

This right includes freedom to hold opinions 

without interference and to seek, receive and impart information

and ideas through any Media and regardless of frontiers.

My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again

be seen as the last best hope of earth."  - Abraham Lincoln

"My Lord and my God!"...

   How right they are to adore you! 

 Song of Songs 1:4

“Is not this gazing upon the Eucharistic Saviour

a magnificent profession of our faith in the

Divinity of Christ, such as was made by

the incredulous Thomas?  When St. Thomas said,

‘My Lord and my God!’ (see John 20:24-28)

we may be sure he did not keep

his eyes cast down, but looked with open
and sincere gaze into the eyes of his Master." 

Servant of God, Fr. Lukas Etlin, O.S.B. (+1927)

Detail - The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (Caravaggio)

St Thomas the Apostle
Apostle, Martyr (+74)
Carried/fearlessly preached the Gospel to India
SW coast of India call themselves: 

"Christians of St Thomas"
Martyred in India: pierced from swords of four soldiers
Feast Day - July 3

Besides tradition, we have the witness of Saints and Fathers of the Church that St. Thomas preached in India. The following powerful quote is from St. Ephraim the Syrian, in a writing on the devil. He discusses the power of the Apostles through Christ from the devil's perspective:

"The evil one wails, "Where then can I flee from the righteous? I incited Death to kill the apostles as if to escape from their scourges by their death. More than ever now I am scourged harshly. The apostle I killed in India (has come) to Edessa before me. Here is he and also there. I went there, there he is. Here and there I found him, and I am gloomy. Did that merchant carry the bones? Or perhaps, indeed, they carried him!"  

Click here: St. Thomas the Apostle - YouTube (2 mins) 

 St Thomas the Apostle, pray for us!