Monday, October 19, 2026

They have drunk His cup...

 "Who are the martyrs? They are Christians won by Christ,
disciples who learned well the meaning of “loving to the end” 
that took Jesus to the Cross. There is no such thing as love in parts, in 
portions. Love is total: and when one loves, one loves to the end." 
Pope Francis



“Let us honor the martyrs of the Lord
chosen out of every class, as soldiers of Christ
who have drunk His cup and were then baptized
with the baptism of His life-bringing death,
to be partakers of His passion and glory…”
St John Damascus
Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, 4, 15
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Remembering today... 


Sts. John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues
and Companions
North American Martyrs ~ +1642-1649*
Six Jesuit priests and two laypersons
Feast Day - Oct. 19

 North-American-Martyrs1.jpg (550×332)

Fr Isaac Jogues gave the original European name to New York's Lake George, 
calling it Lac du St. Sacrement, Lake of the Blessed Sacrament.
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*The North American Martyrs and their entrance into eternal life:

St Rene Goupil - Sept 29, 1642
St Isaac Jogues - Oct 18, 1646
St John de Lalande - October 19, 1646
St Anthony Daniel - July 4, 1648
St John de Brebeuf - March 16, 1649
St Gabriel Lalemant - March 17, 1649
St Charles Garnier - December 7, 1649
St Noel Chabanel - December 8, 1649

Prayer to the Eight North American Martyrs
Let us Pray
Protect our land, O heavenly patrons, which you have bedewed with the rich treasure of your blood. Watch over our Catholic Faith which you helped to establish in this new land. Bring all our fellow citizens to a knowledge and love of the truth. Make us zealous in spreading abroad a knowledge of Catholic teachings, so that we may continue and perfect the work which you have begun with so much labor and suffering. Pray for our homes, our schools, our missions; for vocations, for the conversion of sinners, the return of those who have wandered from the fold, and the perseverance of all the faithful. Amen.
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More on the North American Martyrs... (a must read!)

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Sts. John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues
and Companions, pray for us!

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Unanimous!...

    "If evils increase, the devotion of the people of God
should also increase."- Pope St Paul VI



“All the supreme teachers, the popes, have been 
unanimous in proclaiming that the devotion to the 
Most Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Rosary 
are the hope and salvation of the world 
in our evil and dangerous era.

 
They have endeavored, by word and example, to 
bring the faithful more closely to Jesus Christ in the 
Most Blessed Sacrament and to Our Lady’s Rosary.”
Louis Kaczmarek
The Eucharist and The Rosary: The Power to Change the World
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 Today...also remembering... 
 

St Luke

Evangelist, Martyr

Wrote Gospel and Acts of the Apostles

In Dives in Misericordia, 

St JPII calls Luke: "Gospel of Mercy"

Greek, Physician, Painter

Convert, then fellow-Worker of St Paul

Symbol: winged ox

Patron:  Artists, Physicians and Surgeons

Feast Day – October 18

 

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Dearest St Luke, thank you for 

enlivening our love of Jesus as Friend 

through the holy Gospel!

 

"This is a Friend who will not terrify you, 

who will not abandon you.

Hope in Him, and Heaven is yours! "

St Joseph Cafasso

 

Saint Luke, pray for us!

Saturday, October 17, 2026

Wheat of the Lord...

"The death of the martyrs blossoms in the 
FAITH of the living." - St Gregory the Great

Born in Syria, Ignatius 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



St Ignatius of Antioch, pray for us!

Friday, October 16, 2026

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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 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!


(4 methods)

Thursday, October 15, 2026

Opening the eyes of the soul...

   ...those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. - Ps 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's Bookmark

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"Accustom yourself continually to make many 
acts of love for they enkindle and melt the soul." 
St Teresa of Avila
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St Teresa of Avila, pray for us!