The mystery of love...

"Jesus (in the Blessed Sacrament) is such a sweet, 

irresistible Lover; how can one fail to love Him with 

one's whole heart and soul?  How can one not wish 

to be wholly absorbed in Him, and consumed in the 

flames of His holy love?" - St Gemma Galgani

godongphoto | Shutterstock

“The Mystery of Love” 

by Archbishop Alban Goodier

You loved me from all eternity, 

therefore You created me.

You loved me after You had made me,

therefore You became man for me. 

You loved me after You became man for me, 

therefore You lived and died for me.

You loved me after You had died for me, 

therefore You rose again for me.

You loved me after You had risen for me, 

therefore You went to prepare a place for me. 

You loved me after You had gone to prepare 

a place for me, therefore You came back to me. 

You loved me after You came back to me, 

therefore You desired to enter into me and be united to me. 

This is the meaning of the Blessed Sacrament. 

The mystery of love. 

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"We become what we love and who we love shapes 

what we become." - St Claire of Assisi

After the great and wonderful prayers...

  No one can lay a foundation other than the one 

that is there, namely, Jesus Christ, alleluia. 

 I Cor 3:11 (Today’s Communion Antiphon)

"You shall see the Levites bringing loaves 
and a cup of wine, and placing them on the table. 
So long as the prayers of supplication and entreaties 
have not been made, there is only bread and wine. 
But after the great and wonderful prayers have 

been completed, then the bread is become the Body, 

and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ.

'And again:'  Let us approach the celebration 

of the mysteries. This bread and this wine, 

so long as the prayers and supplications have 

not taken place, remain simply what they are. 

But after the great prayers and holy 
supplications have been sent forth, the 

Word comes down into the bread and wine 

- and thus His Body is confected." 

-"Sermon to the Newly Baptized" - ante 373 A.D.

St Athanasius

Alexandria ~ c. 297-373

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

 "The Father of Orthodoxy"

Battled against Arianism*  

(*heresy that denies divinity of Christ)

Feast Day - May 2

“You will not see anyone who is really striving after 
his advancement who is not given to spiritual reading.  
And as to him who neglects it, the fact will soon 
be observed by his progress."  - St Athanasius

Click here: Athanasius Contra Mundum: The Courage to Act Alone - Crisis Magazine 

St. Athanasius - YouTube 

Click here: SAINTS SPEAK: St. Athanasius (Holy Repentance) - YouTube (4 mins)

St Athanasius, pray for us!

Picture above: Girl Reading by Candlelight ~ Maedchen

St Joseph the Worker, pray for us!...

We are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind,

ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Therefore, whatever you do, work at it with your whole being.
Do it for the Lord rather than for men. - Colossians 3:23

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Feast Day

St Joseph the Worker

May 1

On May 1, 1955, Pope Pius XII instituted the Feast of St Joseph the Worker -

a day dedicated to the dignity of labor and to honoring workers.   

   

“St. Joseph, who by

the sweat of your brow obtained

the living Bread for your children,

pray for us.”

St. Peter Julian Eymard

 

"What is said about Joseph can be summarized like this:  

accept the mission from God, 

let yourself be led by God, 

embrace the hardship and danger 

in order to save the Savior.  

Joseph saves Mary's reputation, the lineage of Jesus, the 

integrity of the Child, his rootedness in the land of Israel... 

Joseph is also saved from an isolated life, from a life 

that would have been perhaps less turbulent, but that would 

have lacked the consolation of carrying God in his arms." 

- Pope Francis (as Jorge Mario Bergoglio)

"Take courage, all you people of the land, 

says the Lord, and work!
For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts." 

 Haggai 2:4
____________________________

The Office of Readings contains an excerpt from the Vatican II document on the 

modern world: "Where men and women, in the course of gaining a livelihood for 

themselves and their families, offer appropriate service to society, they can be 

confident that their personal efforts promote the work of the Creator, confer 

benefits on their fellowmen, and help to realize God's plan in history" (no. 34).

____________________________

11 Quick Facts about St. Joseph the Worker—Plus a Prayer! – EpicPew

St. Joseph the Worker is the Saint for the Everyday – St. Paul Center (Fr Boniface Hicks, OSB)

St. Joseph the Worker and the value of labor | Angelus News

(Mike Aquilina)

__________________________

 Prayer to St. Joseph for Employment

Dear Saint Joseph, you were yourself once faced with the 

responsibility of providing the necessities of life for Jesus and Mary. 

Look down with fatherly compassion upon me in my anxiety 

over my present inability to support my family. 

Please help me to find gainful employment very soon, 

so that this heavy burden of concern will be lifted from my 

heart and that I am soon able to provide for those whom God has

entrusted to my care. Help us to guard against bitterness and 

discouragement, so that we may emerge from this trial spiritually 

enriched and with even greater blessings from God. Amen.

St Joseph the Worker, pray for us!

Liturgy: above all, adoration...

"Christ the Lord hath risen, 

our Joy that hath no end!"

St John of Damascus

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 Blessed be the LORD! ... The LORD is my 

strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts;

so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with

my song I give thanks to him. - Psalm 28:7

 

"The liturgy is, above all, adoration. 
The Church is the work of God, God's action; 
it is recognition of what God does for men.

And the adoration that the liturgy expresses, 

especially the Eucharist, is the acknowledgment of God,

that everything comes from Him,

that everything that belongs to us 

must find Him." 

Cardinal Antonio Cañizares

______________________________

Pope Pius V tirelessly worked to promote the true faith

and Divine Worship.  He standardized the Holy Mass

by promulgating the 1570 edition of the Roman Missal.

Pope St Pius V

Italy  ~ 1504-1572

Dominican*, Church Reformer

"Pope of the Rosary"

*His decision to keep wearing his Dominican habit

led to the custom of the pope wearing a white cassock.

Feast Day - April 30

 

"All the evils in the world are due to

lukewarm Catholics." - St Pius V

St Pius V, pray for us!

More on St Pius V: 

Click here: St. Pius V - YouTube (2 mins)

Probably the act for which Pius V will be longest remembered is his exemplary and unparalleled leadership at the time of the Battle of Lepanto.

In 1565, the Knights of Saint John defended Malta against a tremendous attack by the Turkish fleet and lost nearly every fighting man in the fortress. It was Pope Pius V who sent encouragement and money with which to rebuild their battered city. The pope called for a crusade among the Christian nations and appointed a leader who would be acceptable to all. He ordered the Forty Hours Devotion to be held in Rome, and he encouraged all to say the Rosary.

When the Christian fleet sailed out to meet the enemy, every man on board had received the sacraments, and all were praying the Rosary. The fleet was small, and numerically it was no match for the Turkish fleet, which so far had never met defeat. They met in the Bay of Lepanto on Sunday morning, October 7, 1565.  After a day of bitter fighting, and, on the part of the Christians, miraculous help, the Turkish fleet - what was left of it - fled in disgrace, broken and defeated, its power crushed forever.

Before the victorious fleet returned to Rome, Pope Pius V had knowledge of the victory through miraculous means. He proclaimed a period of thanksgiving, placed the invocation, "Mary, Help of Christians" in the Litany of Loreto and established the feast of Our Lady of Victory (later changed to Our Lady of the Rosary) in commemoration of the victory.

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Day 9 - Final Day

Novena to St Joseph

St. Joseph the Worker Novena

 

Feast Day:  May 1 (Patron of Workers)

St Joseph, pray for us!

Each drop: precious...

  "Love does not stay idle."

 St Catherine of Siena, Letter T82

Precious Blood,

Ocean of Divine Mercy:

Flow upon us! 

Precious Blood,

Most pure Offering:

Procure us every Grace! 

Precious Blood,

Hope and Refuge of sinners:

Atone for us! 

Precious Blood,

Delight of holy souls:

Draw us! Amen.

Prayer of
St Catherine of Siena
Italy  ~ 1347 -1380
Doctor of the Church
Reformer, mystic, writer
Third Order Dominican

CoPatron of Italy and Europe
Incorrupt
Feast Day - April 29

 "I treasure your knowing how to give 

the world a kick." -  St Catherine of Siena

"Be who God meant you to be and you will 

set the world on fire." - St Catherine of Siena

"Proclaim the truth and do not be 
silent through fear." - St Catherine of Siena

Click here: St. Catherine of Siena - YouTube (2 mins)
Click here: St. Catherine of Siena - YouTube (3:23 mins)
Click here: Quotes Catherine of Siena

"Do not be satisfied with little things, because 

God wants great things!" St Catherine of Siena

St Catherine of Siena, pray for us!

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Day 8

Novena to St Joseph

St. Joseph the Worker Novena

 

Feast Day:  May 1 (Patron of Workers)

St Joseph, pray for us!