Thou, O Lord, are my portion...

 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 

surely I have a delightful inheritance. - Psalm 16:6

"God, in His promises to hear our prayers, 

is desirous to bestow Himself upon us;

if you find anything better than Him, ask it; 

but if you ask anything beneath Him,

you put an affront upon Him, and hurt yourself 
by preferring to Him a creature which He framed.

Pray in the spirit and sentiment of love, 

in which the royal prophet said to Him,

'Thou, O Lord, are my portion.'

Let others choose to themselves portions among 

creatures, for my part, You are my portion,You 

alone I have chosen for my whole inheritance."

St Augustine of Canterbury*

*Not to be confused with St Augustine of Hippo

+605

Italian Benedictine monk

sent by Pope Gregory the Great 
as missionary to England

His passionate preaching and witness 

to the Faith converted the king

Established monastery in Canterbury

First Archbishop of Canterbury

Patron of England

Feast Day: May 27

Click here: St. Augustine of Canterbury - YouTube (2 mins)

Click here: Life of St Augustine of Canterbury - YouTube (6mins)
Saint of the Day Quote: Saint Augustine of Canterbury – The American Catholic

In a letter to Augustine, Pope Gregory the Great wrote:

"He who would climb to a lofty height 
must go by steps, not leaps."

St Augustine of Canterbury, pray for us!

The fragrance of Paradise...

"God makes all His own the soul 

that is wholly given to Him." - St Philip Neri

“Can you feel the fragrance of Paradise 
which diffuses Itself from the Tabernacle?"

St Philip Neri

Italy ~ 1515 - 1595

Priest, bears title "Second Apostle of Rome"
Founder - Congregation of the Oratory 

(Oratorians)

Known for his great JOY

Counter-reformer

Advice regarding prayer:  "Be humble 

and obedient and the 

Holy Spirit will teach you."

Feast Day - May 26

 

"The true servant of God acknowledges

no other country but heaven." - St Philip Neri

"Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us 

persevere in a good life.  Therefore the servant of God 

ought always to be in good spirits." - St Philip Neri

Click here: Maxims of St Philip Neri (excellent!) 
Click here: St. Philip Neri - YouTube (2 mins)

 St Philip Neri, pray for us!

Mary, we have recourse to thee...

 The Blessed Virgin Mary, 

Mother of the Church

Memorial

Instituted in 2018 for celebration on Pentecost Monday

_____________________

 

"The veneration of the Virgin Mary has accompanied 

the path of the Church from the beginning; 

Marian feast days began to appear already 

in the fourth century: in some the role of the Virgin

in the history of salvation is exalted; in others the 

principal moments of her earthly life are celebrated." 

Pope Benedict XVI

Prayer After Communion (Today's Liturgy)

Having received the pledge of redemption and of life, 

we humbly pray, O Lord, 

that, with the Blessed Virgin's motherly help,

your Church may teach all nations

by proclaiming the Gospel and, 

through the grace of the outpouring of the Spirit, 

fill the whole earth.

Through Christ our Lord. 

___________________________________________

 

"May the mother of Jesus and our mother, 

always smile on your spirit, 

obtaining for it, 

from her most holy son, 

every heavenly blessing."

St Padre Pio

(Today is the birthday anniversary of St Pio)

_______________________________

“In an instant the Holy Spirit overshadows her, 

making her a living ciborium privileged 

to bear within herself for nine months 

the Guest who is the Host of the world.” 

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Mary, Mother of the Church, and two popes – Catholic World Report

How can Mary be “Mother of the Church”?

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us!

 MEMORIAL DAY - 25 May 2026
Let us HONOR and REMEMBER

Eternal remembrance and gratitude for the innumerable, 

generous, courageous, self-sacrificing and heroic 

acts of service – seen and unseen.

We don't know them all, but we owe them all.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon them.

May their souls and the souls of all of the faithful departed 
through the mercy of God rest in peace. AMEN

Solemnity of Pentecost - Wear RED today to Mass...

     Solemnity of Pentecost

Fifty days after Easter

In honor of the Holy Spirit - wear RED to holy Mass today!

Today is Pentecost. It is not merely a reminder of a past event, but a continuation of the Spirit renewing the face of the earth (Psalm 104:30). Today's Pentecost will not be a shadow of the first Pentecost, rather the first Pentecost is a shadow of today's Pentecost. God's grace is abounding all the more (Romans 5:20). The Spirit is not diminishing His work in our world, but increasing it. It will not be only thousands who come to Jesus today (Acts 2:41), but millions. The waters of the Spirit become deeper as they flow further around the world and into history (Ezekiel 47:5). 

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!

The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world and that 

which contains all things understands what is said, alleluia

-Entrance antiphon, today's liturgy

"The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. 

This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith, 

but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church. 

In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences 

the constant fulfillment of the promise: 

“Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20),

 but in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and 

wine into the body and blood of the Lord, she rejoices in this 

presence with unique intensity. Ever since Pentecost,  

when the Church, the People of the New Covenant, 

began her pilgrim journey towards her heavenly homeland, 

the Divine Sacrament has continued to mark the passing of 

her days, filling them with confident hope." (Introduction, 1)

Pope St John Paul II

Encyclical Letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia

On the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church

  Pentecost image above: Juan Bautista Maino, public domain

https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/feast-weeks-significance-pentecost

 Click here: Pentecost In Two Minutes - Busted Halo

Christ the Giver of the Spirit - The Catholic Thing

_______________________

In the Pantheon in Rome, thousands of rose petals are dropped
from the oculus after the celebration of Pentecost Mass!

  

The Pentecost Sequence, Veni Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;

You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your seven-fold gift descend:

Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end.

---

With the Holy Spirit within us, "it is quite natural for people
who had been absorbed by the things of this world to become 
entirely otherworldly in outlook, and for cowards to become
people of great courage." - St Cyril of Alexandria

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!

The grace which she followed...

“O Mother, Virgin, purest of all lilies, Your heart 

was Jesus' first tabernacle on earth.”

St. Maria Faustina 

“Mary lived in the divine Eucharist,

the center of her love.

All her thoughts, words, 

and actions sprang from It 

like the rays from the sun.

The Eucharist was the oracle

which she consulted, the 

grace which she followed.” 

St. Peter Julian Eymard

 Painting:  Raul Berzosa

__________________________

Day 9

Novena to the Holy Spirit
GOODNESS

 

 

Novena to the Holy Spirit - Pentecost Novena PRAYERS