Wheat of the Lord...

   "The death of the martyrs blossoms in the FAITH of the living." 

Pope St Gregory the Great

Born in Syria, Inatius converted to Christianity and eventually became bishop of Antioch. In the year 107, Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy. Ignatius would not deny Christ and thus was condemned to be put to death in Rome.

Ignatius is well known for the seven letters he wrote on the long journey from Antioch to Rome. Five of these letters are to Churches in Asia Minor; they urge the Christians there to remain faithful to God and to obey their superiors. He warns them against heretical doctrines, providing them with the solid truths of the Christian faith. The sixth letter was to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who was later martyred for the faith. 

The final letter begs the Christians in Rome not to try to stop his martyrdom. Ignatius bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus.

 

"I am writing to all the Churches and I enjoin all, that I am dying willingly for God's sake, if only you do not prevent it. I beg you, do not do me an untimely kindness.   The only thing I ask of you  is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God. I am the wheat of the Lord; may I be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ."- St Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans

St Ignatius of Antioch

First Century - d. 107

Bishop, Martyr, Church Father

Disciple of St John the Evangelist
First to use term "Catholic" Church

Feast Day - October 17

 

"My desire is to belong to God." 

 St Ignatius of Antioch

Click here: Matthew Leonard On St. Ignatius of Antioch - YouTube (3:30 mins)

Click here: St. Ignatius of Antioch - YouTube (2 mins)

Ignatius of Antioch: successor of the apostles and witness to the Gospel (d. 117) - 1000 reasons to believe

St Ignatius of Antioch, pray for us!

No progress in prayer?...

   "Cling to God and leave all the rest to Him: 

He will not let you perish.  Your soul is very dear to Him, 
He wishes to save it." - St Margaret Mary Alacoque 

"Are you making no progress in prayer?

Then you need only offer God the prayers
which the Savior has poured out for us in the 
sacrament of the altar.  Offer God His fervent
love in reparation for your sluggishness."

St Margaret Mary Alacoque

France ~ 1647-1690
Visitation Sister
Saint of the Sacred Heart

Feast Day - October 16

 "I need nothing but God, 

and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus."

 St Margaret Mary Alacoque

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Click here: St. Margaret Mary - YouTube (1:20 mins)

Click here: TOP 25 QUOTES BY MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE 

 St Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us!

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The Twelve Promises of Jesus to St Margaret Mary

for those devoted to His Sacred Heart:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour

Enthronement and Consecration of the Sacred Heart as King of the Family

WHEN WE ENTHRONE JESUS IN OUR HOMES,  WE PLACE A PICTURE OF HIS SACRED HEART  IN A PROMINENT PLACE TO FOREVER REMIND US OF HIS GREAT LOVE FOR US  AND HOW WE SHOULD GRATEFULLY LOVE HIM  FOR HIS GOODNESS EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES. This act in faith and love will change your home! Click here: Enthronement of the Sacred Heart www.wf-f.org/SacredHeart_BurkeII.html How to enthrone the Sacred Heart in your home (and heart) (4 methods)

Opening the eyes of the soul...

 ...those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. 

 Psalm 34:10b

"After having received the Lord, since you have the 
Person Himself present, strive to close the eyes of the body 
and open those of the soul and look into your heart.
For I tell you again, and would like to tell 
you many times that you should 
acquire the habit of doing this every time 
you receive Communion 
and strive to have such a conscience that you 
will be allowed to enjoy this blessing frequently.

Though He comes disguised, the disguise as I have said, 
does not prevent Him from being recognized 
in many ways, in conformity with the desire we have 
to see Him. And you can desire to see Him so much 
that He will reveal Himself to you entirely." 

 St. Teresa of Avila: Way of Perfection 34:12.

  St Teresa of Avila

 Spain ~ 1515-1582

Carmelite Contemplative, Reformer, Mystic,

Prolific Writer*

*Way of Perfection, Interior Castle,

The Life of Teresa of Jesus (Autobiography)

DOCTOR of the CHURCH

Feast Day - October 15 

Painting: St Teresa of Avila Receiving Communion - Claudio Coello

"Trust God that you are exactly 
where you are meant to be." - St Teresa of Avila

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"Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. 
All things are passing. God does not change. 
Patience wins all things. For God alone suffices." 
St Teresa of Avila (her Bookmark)

Click here: St. Teresa of Avila - YouTube (2 mins)
Click here: Discovering our Saints - St Theresa of Avila  (2:22 mins)

St Teresa of Avila, pray for us!

Saintward bound...

 "God would never inspire me 

with desires which cannot be realised; 

so in spite of my littleness I can 

hope to be a saint." - St Therese of Lisieux

"As believers, all of us are called to 

live our lives for and from the Eucharist 

because then we will be 

living our lives for and from Jesus. 

These graces, these principles, 

were and are the building blocks we see 

in the lives of all the saints.  They can 

be found in every single biography 

of every single saint." 

Fr Barry Braum 

That I May See:  Journeying from 

Spiritual Confusion and Blindness

to the Radiance of the Eucharist

Make haste to help me...

Be pleased, O God, to deliver me!

O Lord, make haste to help me! - Psalm 70:1

“Our Lord came to the aid of each great tribulation with 

a special devotion. The present and future tribulations 

of the Church and of nations are greater than at any other 

period, and this persecution is more dangerous 

than those of previous times. Hence, the devotion which 

God sends to the succor of His Church and of the nations at the 

present time is the devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist. 

It is the highest of all devotions.”  - Pope Leo XIII (+1903)