Ever present, as He said...

  Going  from there, he saw two other brothers, 

James son of Zebedee and his brother John.  

They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing 

their nets.  Jesus called them, and immediately 

they left the boat and their father and followed him. 

Matthew 4:21, 22

"And just as He appeared before the holy Apostles 

in true flesh, so now He has us see Him in the Sacred 

Bread. Looking at Him with the eyes of their flesh, 

they saw only His Flesh, but regarding Him with the 

eyes of the spirit, they believed that He was God.

In like manner, as we see bread and wine with our 

bodily eyes, let us see and believe firmly that it is 

His Most Holy Body and Blood, True and Living.  

For in this way our Lord is ever present among 

those who believe in Him, according to what He said: 

"Behold, I am with you all days even to the 

consummation of the world" (Mt. 28, 20). 

 St. Francis of Assisi

Painting above: Christ calling the Apostles James and John ~ Edward Armitage

Saint James (the Greater)

Apostle and Martyr

Son of Zebedee and Salome

Brother of apostle John

Dubbed 'Son of Thunder'

Patron of Spain and laborers
Shrine: Santiago de Compostela

+42 AD 

Feast Day - July 25

 

"Accept the help that the Virgin 

and the saints offer you.

Promise that you will press forward on 

your way to join them." - St Francis de Sales

Click here: St. James the Greater - YouTube (2 mins)

St James, pray for us!

Complete offering, in imitation...

 "Nothing created has ever been able

 to fill the heart of man. God alone can 

fill it infinitely." - St. Thomas Aquinas

"In 1875 Fr Sharbel was granted permission to live as a hermit nearby his monastery at St. Peter and Paul hermitage. His 23 years of solitary life were lived in a spirit of total abandonment to God. Sharbel's companions in the hermitage were the Sons of God, as encountered in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist, and the Blessed Mother. The Eucharist became the center of his life. He consumed the Bread of his Life and was consumed by it. Though this hermit did not have a place in the world, the world had a great place in his heart. Through prayer and penance he offered himself as a sacrifice so that the world would return to God. It is in this light that one sees the importance of the following Eucharistic prayer in his life: 

Father of Truth, behold Your Son 

a sacrifice pleasing to You, 

accept this offering of Him who died for me... 

On December 16, 1898 while reciting the "Father of Truth" prayer at the Holy Liturgy Sharbel suffered a stroke. He died on Christmas Eve at the age of 70. Through faith this hermit received the Word of God and through love he continued the Ministry of Incarnation."  

From  http://www.catholicculture.org/

 St Sharbel Makhluf

Lebanon ~ 1828-1898

Priest and Hermit

Perfume of Lebanon

Incorrupt

More miracles attributed to his intercession 

than any other saint

Feast Day - July 24

When Sharbel was canonized (1977), Bsp Francis Zayek, 

head of the U.S. Diocese of St. Maron, wrote a pamphlet 

entitled “A New Star of the East.” Bishop Zayek wrote:

“St. Sharbel is called the second St. Anthony of the Desert, 

the Perfume of Lebanon, the first Confessor of the East to be 

raised to the Altars according to the actual procedure of the 

Catholic Church, the honor of our Aramaic Antiochian Church, 

and the model of spiritual values and renewal. Sharbel is like a 

Cedar of Lebanon standing in eternal prayer, on top of a mountain.”

____________________________

Click here: St. Sharbel Makhlouf - YouTube (2mins)

How St. Charbel attracts pilgrims across the world (Photos)

https://saintcharbel.net.au/miracles/st-charbel-heals-people-from-various-countries-religions-and-backgrounds/

St Sharbel, pray for us!

***************************************

Lord, infinitely Holy and Glorified in Your Saints,

You have inspired Charbel, the saint monk,

to lead the perfect life of a hermit.

We thank You for granting him the blessing

and the strength to detach himself from the world

so that the heroism of the monastic virtues of poverty,

obedience, and chastity, could triumph in his hermitage.

We beseech You to grant us 

the grace of loving and serving You,

following his example.

Almighty God, Who has manifested

the power of St. Charbel’s intercession

through his countless miracles and favours, grant us ...

[Mention your intention here]

through his intercession.

Amen.

*********************************************

Remedy and consolation for our souls...

    "Blessed may you be, my Lord Jesus Christ. 

For our salvation you allowed Your side and heart 

to be pierced with a lance and from that side water 

and Your precious blood flowed out abundantly 

for our redemption.” - St. Bridget of Sweden

"Oh Jesus! Sweetness of hearts,

delight of the spirit, by the 

bitterness of the vinegar and gall which

Thou didst taste on the Cross of Love for us,

grant us the grace to receive worthily

Thy Precious Body and Blood during our life

and at the hour of our death,

that they may serve as a remedy

and consolation for our souls.  Amen.”

St Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden

Wife, Widow, Religious, Foundress

Mystic and Visionary

1303-1373

Patroness: Sweden.  Co-patroness: Europe

Mother of eight, including St Catherine of Sweden

Founded religious order, Brigittines*

*distinctive skull cap over veil

Feast Day – July 23

Artist unknown for sketch

 

"The world would have peace if only 

men of politics would follow the Gospels."

- St. Bridget of Sweden

Click here: St. Bridget of Sweden - YouTube (2 mins)

TOP 9 QUOTES BY BRIDGET OF SWEDEN | A-Z Quotes

St Bridget of Sweden, pray for us!

Burning with love and great heartedness...

May my prayer be set before you like incense; 

may the lifting up of my hands be 

like the evening sacrifice.  - Psalm 141:2

____________________________

"St Mary Magdalene seeks the Lord, and when she finds 

Him, she adores Him ... Adoration takes first place.  

Mary Magdalene reminds us of the need 

to recover the primacy of adoration in the 

life of the Church and in the liturgical celebration."

- Cardinal Robert Sarah, Essay on Saint Mary Magdalene

 "Yes, I am happy, perfectly happy; 

and do you wish to know where I find true happiness?

 At the feet of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. …

I would strongly urge that, even as the Magdalene 

anointed the Lord’s feet with tears and perfumed oil, you 

too would pour out the perfume of constant prayer 

and contemplation at the foot of the tabernacle.

I should like the Eucharist to become a burning flame

for your soul, so that, immersed in that flame, it might 

emerge burning with love and great-heartedness. 

I should like to see this Eucharistic altar, on which 

Jesus is sacrificed, accept your offering too, so that 

you may become a victim of love, whose perfume 

rises to the throne of the Eternal God!"

Fr Augustine Mary of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Carmelite priest  (1821 to 1871)

Photo:  St Joseph Catholic Church ~ Ogden, Utah. USA

Remembering ...
St Mary Magdalene

Disciple of Jesus

"Apostle to the Apostles"

"apostola apostolorum"(in Latin)

first formally used by St Thomas Aquinas

Feast Day – July 22

    “The story of Mary of Magdala reminds us all of a fundamental truth.
A disciple of Christ is one who, in the experience of human weakness,
has had the humility to ask for His help, has been healed by Him 
and has set out following closely after Him, becoming a witness of the 

power of His merciful love that is stronger than sin and death.”

 Pope Benedict XVI

___________________________________

Click here: St. Mary Magdalene - YouTube

St. Anselm’s beautiful prayer to St. Mary Magdalene

15 Modern women celebrate St. Mary Magdalene - (2016)

A must read! - Saint Mary Magdalene, 

Prophetess of Eucharistic Love
- Fr Sean Davidson (2017) - Ignatius Press

Painting:  Forgiven - Daniel Gerhartz  

St Mary Magdalene, pray for us!

A privilege indeed!...

"The privilege of receiving the Holy Eucharist  from the Hands of Jesus Himself was experienced by a number of saints, including St Lawrence of Brindisi, a Capuchin, whose unusual talents and rare virtue were called upon by Pope Clement VIII for several unusual missions.  One of these was his chaplaincy to the Imperial army of Prague. ...

With the Turks still menacing nearby Christian countries, the Imperial army of 18,000 men assembled to do battle with the Turks, who numbered 80,000.  Vastly outnumbered, the Christians appealed to St Lawrence for advice and encouragement.  After delivering a rousing discourse, the saint, despite his mature years, mounted a horse and with the cross held high in his hands led the troops against the infidels.  The crushing defeat of the Turks was attributed by all to the prayers and inspiration of the saint. 

It is told that on his return from the campaign he joined his brethren at Gorizia, where Our Lord appeared to them and gave them all Holy Communion with His own Hand."  From Eucharistic Miracles - Joan Carroll Cruz

St Lawrence of Brindisi

1559-1619 ~ Italy
Capuchin priest
Preached in 8 languages fluently

Doctor of the Church

Feast Day - July 21

"All things are possible for him who believes, 

more to him who hopes, 

even more to him who loves."

St Lawrence of Brindisi

Click here: St. Lawrence of Brindisi - YouTube  (2 mins)
Click here: Feast of St Lawrence of Brindisi (13:49 mins)

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=2977

St Lawrence of Brindisi, pray for us!