Preventing soul trouble...

For he has delivered me from all my troubles,

and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes. 

Psalm 54:7

“What would your wife say if you were a whole month

without showing her any marks of affection? She would say

that you do not love her. You would cause trouble in your home. 

Well, when you do not receive Communion God says to Himself

that you do not love Him. And there is trouble in your soul. ...

Receive Holy Communion often. 

Our Lord cannot refuse you anything 

when He is there in your heart.

You will find strength and solace in this act.”

St. André Bessette

Canada ~ 1845-1937

Holy Cross Brother, porter

Miracle Man of Montreal

Great devotion to Eucharist and St Joseph

Feast Day - January 6

 

"I am only a man, just like you," time after time Br André Bessette reminded petitioners who came to him.  Known as a miracle worker of healing during his lifetime, this humble lay brother insisted on giving all the credit to God, the faith of those healed, and the intercession of St Joseph.  Quietly, he said, 'I will pray for you.'  Time after time, healing came. 

...."He spent his whole life speaking of others to God, and of God to others," said a friend of Br André. "It is difficult to say at what point in his life work began and ended, and at what point prayer started and ended: the two seemed to flow so naturally one into the other."

St. André Bessette, pray for us!

When Alfred (later to be Brother André) Bessette came 

to the Holy Cross Brothers in 1870, he carried with him 

a note from his pastor saying,

"I am sending you a saint." By his death, 

he was receiving 80,000 letters each year 

from the sick who sought his prayers and healing.  

He died in 1937, at age 91.  

A million people filed before his coffin.

“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints

the most exquisitely beautiful pictures."

 St André Bessette
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"Put yourself in God's hands; 

He abandons no one." 

St André Bessette
____________________

"There is so little distance between 

heaven and earth 

that God always hears us. 
Nothing but a thin veil separates us from God."

St André Bessette
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Click here: St. Andre Bessette, C.S.C. - YouTube (3 mins)

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We saw his star at its rising and 

have come to do him homage.  Matt 2:2

 

“The Magi set out because of a deep desire which 

prompted them to leave everything 

and begin a journey.  

It was as though they had always been 

waiting for that star.” - Pope Benedict XVI

 

Solemnity of the Epiphany

Although the date of the Epiphany on the General Calendar of the Church 

is January 6th, in the USA and some other countries it is celebrated 

on the Sunday after January 1st so more Catholics may attend holy Mass. 

This year it was celebrated on January 5.

EPIPHANY: setting out anew from Christ....

 “The Magi set out because of a deep desire which prompted 

them to leave everything and begin a journey.  

It was as though they had always been 

waiting for that star.” - Pope Benedict XVI

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Solemnity of the Epiphany

Although the date of the Epiphany on the General Calendar of the Church 

is January 6th, in the USA and some other countries it is celebrated on the 

Sunday after January 1st so more Catholics may attend holy Mass. 

This year it is celebrated on January 5.

_____________________

“No one, whether shepherd or wise man,
can approach God here below except 

by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem 

and adoring him hidden 

in the weakness of a new-born child.”

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 56

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They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering

the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.

They prostrated themselves and did him homage. 

 Gospel of Matthew 2:10-11

 "Today we must make our own 

the happiness which filled the Wise Men 

on their journey to Christ... 
Above all, we must imitate them as they 

place at the Child's feet not only three gifts,
but also their lives...
We need to 'set out anew from Christ,'
with the zeal of Pentecost, 

with renewed enthusiasm.

To set out from Him above all

in a daily commitment to holiness,

with an attitude of prayer
and of listening to His word.

To set out from Him

in order to testify to His love
by living a Christian life
marked by communion, charity 

and witness before the world."

Saint John Paul II

O, come let us adore Him -

Christ the LORD!

“In returning to their own land by another way

the Magi suggest something of great significance for us. 

Our true country is paradise.  

Having now come to the knowledge of Jesus, 
we are forbidden to return to it 
on the path by which we left it. 

For we left our land by the path of pride, of disobedience,

by following after wealth, by eating forbidden food.  

So we must now return another way:

by way of tears, by way of obedience, 
by contempt of the world, by restraining the 
desires of the flesh.” - St Gregory the Great

Photo Image above: Christ Our Life Conference, Des Moines, IA ~ USA (2014)

 

Chalking the Door: Blessing Your Home for Epiphany –

Balm to every wound...

   Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. 

Get up and take care of your mat." - Acts 9:34

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton received great solace

by bringing her sorrows to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

and speaking heart to heart with Him there:

"How sweet, the presence of Jesus

to the longing and harassed soul!

He is instant peace and balm 

to every wound."

St Elizabeth Ann Seton

United States ~ 1774-1821

Convert to Catholicism
Three basic points led her to become Catholic: 

1) belief in the Real Presence
2) devotion to the Blessed Mother,
3) conviction that the Catholic Church led back 
to the Apostles and Christ

Mother, Widow, Educator, Musician, Linguist, Religious

 Established schools and orphanages

Foundress of Sisters of Charity
Two great devotions: 
1) Abandonment to God's Will
2) Ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

Feast Day - January 4

"The accidents of life separate us from 

our dearest friends, but let us not despair. 

God is like a looking glass in which souls see each other. 
The more we are united to Him by love, the nearer we are 
to those who belong to Him. - St Elizabeth Ann Seton

Click here: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - YouTube (3 mins)

Click here: Mother Seton: Servant of the Good Teacher | Crisis Magazine

St Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us!

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Eleventh Day of Christmas

The power of His Name...

Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

January 3

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At every Mass, before the priest begins the Eucharistic prayer,

we pray: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

St Paul proclaims: "God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him 
the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus 
every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
to the glory of God the Father.  - Phil 2:9-11

"There are two things that make it easy for souls to adore Our Lord in the Sacrament of His Love: they can seek His Human Face, though it be veiled by the appearance of the Sacred Host; and they can call upon Him by His Human Name.

These are the two things that people crave in a relationship: knowledge of a face and of a name. From these, one experiences the heart of the other, and so a relationship becomes a communion, an exchange in which one finds fulfillment, that is, joy and a response to one's love in the other. ... 

Come close to Him, then, who has made Himself so close to us. ..

This knowledge of Him -- of His Name and of His Face -- comes through Word and Sacrament in His Holy Catholic Church. Only there can souls come to experience Him as the Risen One with whom they can enter into a relationship so real that it is consummated in a Holy Communion, in partaking of His Body and Blood, and in becoming one with Him, even as He is one with His Father. ...

The Sacred Name and Sacred Face of Jesus are fire and light in this world that is becoming colder and darker by the day. In the end, the darkness will be forever vanquished by the fire of His Name and by the light of His Face, and then there shall be peace in His Kingdom fully revealed, and in the company of His saints who will sing praise to His Name and adore His Face, shining more brightly than a thousand suns, and this unto the ages of ages."

Dom Mark Daniel Kirby 
 Silverstream Priory 

Thoughts of St. Bernard of Clairvaux who wrote hymn "Iesu Dulcis Memoria"- sung today on the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus:

"The sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affections. All spiritual food leaves the soul dry, if it contain not that penetrating oil, the Name Jesus. When you take your pen, write the Name Jesus: if you write books, let the Name of Jesus be contained in them, else they will possess no charm or attraction for me; you may speak, or you may reply, but if the Name of Jesus sounds not from your lips, you are without unction and without charm. Jesus is honey in our mouth, light in our eyes, a flame in our heart. This name is the cure for all diseases of the soul. Are you troubled? think but of Jesus, speak but the Name of Jesus, the clouds disperse, and peace descends anew from heaven. Have you fallen into sin? so that you fear death? invoke the Name of Jesus, and you will soon feel life returning. No obduracy of the soul, no weakness, no coldness of heart can resist this holy Name; there is no heart which will not soften and open in tears at this holy name. Are you surrounded by sorrow and danger? invoke the Name of Jesus, and your fears will vanish."

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Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus:   
http://www.fisheaters.com/holyname.html 
Wonders of the Holy Name of Jesus:  
http://www.olrl.org/pray/wonders.shtml
Spreading devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus:
http://www.nahns.com/
  
  Click here: Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus - YouTube (9:30 mins)

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Tenth Day of Christmas

Linked in life and in death...

 Let the peoples recount the wisdom of the Saints, 

and let the Church proclaim their praise.  

Their names will live on and on.  - Cf. Sir 44:15, 14

(Entrance Antiphon, Today's Liturgy)

 

    

"Eternal Son of the living God, whom I acknowledge 

here as truly present, I adore You with all the powers 

of my soul!  Prostrate with the angels in the most profound 

reverence, I love You, O my Savior; whom I now behold on 

Your throne of love.  O dread Majesty, O infinite Mercy, 

save me!  Forgive me!  Grant that I may never 

more be separated from You!"

St Basil the Great

Bishop, Doctor of the Church

Father of Eastern Monasticism

His single greatest contribution was his insistence

on the divinity and consubstantiality

of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son

329-379 AD

Feast Day - January 2

 "We should not accept in silence 

the benefactions of God, but return 

thanks for them." - St Basil the Great

__________________

In the life of St. Basil the Great we find one of the first references 

of the Holy Eucharist being reserved for Adoration. 

At Mass, St. Basil divided the Blessed Sacrament into 3 parts: 

the first, he consumed; the second, he gave to his monks; 

the third, he placed in a special golden dove (like a tabernacle) 

in the Church for veneration.
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Click here: The Life of St. Basil the Great - YouTube (3 mins) excellent!

"Why was St. Basil given the name "Great"? Only a few people 
in the world were ever given the magnificent title, "Great"! 

Alexander the Great was so-called because he conquered the world, 

but St. Basil was called "Great" because he conquered 

the hearts and souls of men for Jesus Christ. 
His whole life was dedicated to Jesus and the message of Christianity. 
He had the humility of Moses, the zeal of Elijah, 

the piety of Peter, the eloquence of John the Theologian, 

and the dedication of Paul." - Fr. George Poulos

Tyburn Convent, England

“Let us remain in adoration: and to Him, who, in order 

to save us, humbled Himself to such a degree of poverty 

as to receive our body, let us offer not only 

incense, gold and myrrh, the first as God, the second 

as king, and the third as one who sought death for our sake, 

but also spiritual gifts more sublime than those 

which can be seen with the eyes” (Oratorio).

St Gregory Nazienzen

Bishop, Doctor of the Church

Father of Eastern Monasticism

Esteemed writer and orator

especially on theme of Trinity

aka "the Theologian"

328 -389 AD

Feast Day - January 2

“God accepts our desires as though they were a great value. 

He longs ardently for us to desire and love Him. 

He accepts our petitions for benefits as though we were 

doing Him a favor. His joy in giving is greater than 

ours in receiving. So let us not be apathetic in our asking, 

nor set too narrow bounds to our requests; nor 

ask for frivolous things unworthy of God’s greatness.”

 St Gregory of Nazienzen

Click here: "The Theologian":Gregory of Nazianzus - YouTube (9 mins)

      A sweet tidbit: St. Gregory marveled at the depth of his mother 

Nonna’s faith in God on the altar. While in Our Lord's presence, 

she would never turn her back on the Blessed Sacrament.

Sts Basil and Gregory, pray for us!

Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen are linked in this feast day, as they were in life; they were schoolmates, co-defenders of the orthodox teaching on the Trinity, and dear friends.  Both served as Bishops and suffered hostility from the politically powerful Arians.  In 379 Gregory preached at Basil's funeral:   "Do you, Basil, there also welcome me in your dwelling, when I have departed this life that we may live together and gaze more directly and perfectly at the Holy and Blessed Trinity.  Thus we shall attain the fruition of our desire, and receive the reward of the battles we have fought and the attacks  we have resisted."  - Magnificat - Vol 21, No 11, January 2020

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Ninth Day of Christmas

 

TODAY is the Anniversary of the birth of 

St Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face

St Therese, the Little Flower, please pick for me a rose

from the heavenly garden
and send it to me with a message of love;

ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore and tell 

Him I will love Him each day more and more. Amen.