He provides, we trust



"If Christ did not want to dismiss the Jews without

food in the desert for fear that they would collapse

on the way, it was to teach us that it is dangerous to

try to get to heaven without the Bread of Heaven."

St Jerome

Father of the Church, Doctor of the Church

Biblical scholar and translator

c. 331- 420
FEAST DAY - September 30

"Catch, then, O catch the transient hour;

Improve each moment as it flies!"~ St. Jerome

Ste Jerome, ora pro nobis!

Feast of Stes Michael, Gabriel and Raphael



"O, angelic spirits, who guard our tabernacles,

wherein lies the adorable treasure of the

Holy Eucharist,defend it from profanation

and preserve it for our love."

St Josemaria Escriva

 

 

A Sermon of Pope Saint Gregory
From: Third Nocturne of Matins - feast of St Michael the Archangel

We speak of nine orders of Angels, because we know, by the testimony of Holy Scripture, that there are the following: Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim. It must be realized that "Angel" is the name of their office, not of their nature. For the holy Spirits of the heavenly homeland are always Spirits, but they cannot always be called Angels; they are Angels only when they are announcing something. Those who announce less important things are called Angels, and those who announce the highest things are called Archangels. And so not any Angel but the Archangel Gabriel was sent to Mary; for this ministry, it was fitting to have the highest Angel, since he was to announce the greatest news of all. These Archangels are also given special names to describe their particular virtue. For Michael means "Who is like to God?" Gabriel means "Strength of God," and Raphael "Medicine of God."

Whenever something is to be done needing great power, Michael is sent forth so that from his action and his name we may understand that no one can do what God can do. Hence that old enemy who through pride desired to be like God is shown at the end of the world, left to his own strength and about to undergo the final punishment, as destined to fight with Michael the Archangel, as John says, "There was a battle with Michael the Archangel." Similarly, Gabriel was sent to Mary; he who is called "Strength of God" came to announce Him who deigned to appear in humility to conquer the powers of the air. And Raphael is interpreted, as we said, "Medicine of God," for when he touched the eyes of Tobias to do the work of healing, he dispelled the "night of his blindness."

 

Stes Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels -

pray for us and defend us in battle!

Making amends...



Lord, I am not worthy to receive You,

but only say the Word and I shall be healed.

 

"I am Yours, O Jesus.

You have good reason to complain about me,

yes, because I have offended You.

And, undeserving as I am, I should be obliged

to give back to the Altar so many stolen Breads,

and so much precious Blood.

But I promise You that I will make amends."

 

St Gemma Galgani

Going to Jesus from Jesus



St Vincent de Paul was praying before the Eucharist one time and,

after a man told him about a poor person on the street needing help,

Vincent said:

"I am going to Jesus from Jesus."

 

St Vincent de Paul

Priest, Co-Founder of Daughters of Charity

Founder - Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians)

1580-1660 ~ France

FEAST DAY - September 27

“Extend mercy towards others, so that there can be no one in need

whom you meet without helping. For what hope is there for us

if God should withdraw His mercy from us?” ~ St. Vincent de Paul

 Ste Vincent de Paul ora pro nobis!

Peace and Balm



 

"O heavenly bliss!

Delight past all expression!

How consoling, how sweet,

the presence of Jesus

to the longing, harassed soul!

It is instant peace and balm

to every wound!"

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Nowhere more welcomed, more loved



“Through Mary, the cause of our joy,

you discover that

nowhere on earth are you more welcomed,

nowhere on earth are you more loved,

than by Jesus, living and truly present

in the Most Blessed Sacrament . . .

He is really there in Person

waiting just for you.”

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

The Living Heart



"Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

is the Living Heart

of each of our parishes."

Pope Paul VI

Marvelous effects



 

"Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion,

produces in our souls marvelous effects,

abundant spiritual and material graces

which we, ourselves, do not know...

It is easier for the earth to exist without the sun

than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!"

St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Priest, Stigmatist, Mystic

Italy (1887-1968)

Feast Day - Sept. 23

 “When I am close to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,

I feel as if my heart is bursting out of my chest.” ~ St Padre Pio

Ste Padre Pio, ora pro nobis!

Holy Preparation, Holy Fruit

 

“The Hour of Adoration prepares one

for Holy Mass and Holy Communion.

Frequent encounters and

familiar conversation with Jesus

produce friendship,

resemblance, and identity

of thought, of feeling

and of willing with Jesus.”

Blessed James Alberione

The convincing power of Truth

 

"Let us continue our vigil of prayer

by preparing to encounter Christ,

present among us

in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Together, in the silence of our common adoration,

let us open our minds and hearts to

His presence, His love,

and the convincing power of His truth."

 Pope Benedict XVI

Hyde Park Vigil

September 19, 2010

 

St Matthew

"And he got up and followed Him" (Mt 9:9b)

Apostle and Evangelist

FEAST DAY - September 21

 

Ste Matthew, ora pro nobis!

Imitate Matthew - get up and follow Jesus.

Then invite sinners to meet Him.

"What reason can the Teacher have for eating with tax collectors

and those who disregard the law?" —Matthew 9:11

Cause heaven to rejoice (Luke 15:7).

The Eucharist makes the Church

"It is not sufficient to say that the Eucharist is

at the center of the Church, because actually,

the Eucharist makes the Church!  It builds it from

within and weaves it round itself like a robe. 

It is said that two sacraments in particular

"make" the Church:  baptism and the Eucharist. 

But whereas baptism makes the Church

grow quantitatively, as it were, in size and number,

the Eucharist makes her grow qualitatively,

in strength, because it transforms her ever

more deeply into the image of Christ, her Head."

Raniero Cantalamessa

The Eucharist, Our Sanctification

The Great Presence

“A cloud of incense was rising on high; the people suddenly all bowed low; what could it mean? 

The truth flashed on him, fearfully yet sweetly; 

it was the Blessed Sacrament – it was the Lord

Incarnate who was on the altar, who had come

to visit and bless His people.  It was the

Great Presence, which makes a Catholic Church

different from every other place in the world,

which makes it, as no other place can be – holy.”

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman,

Loss and Gain:  The Story of a Convert

Beatified - September 19, 2010

Bl John Henry Newman, ora pro nobis!

Love alone

"In the evening of this life,

we will be judged on love alone."

St John of the Cross

Photo:  St Michael's Catholic Church, Stillwater, MN

Go, then, and partake

"The Bread of Life, the Bread of the angels, is not offered only for our adoration and homage, but was given to us as food.  Let us go, then, and partake of this Food to nourish and fortify our souls."     St Robert Bellarmine  Italy ~ 1542-1621 Jesuit theologian, writer, and cardinal Key voice and action in Counter-Reformation Doctor of the Church FEAST DAY - September 17     From his treatise On the Ascent of the Mind to God:    "May you consider truly good whatever leads to your goal and truly evil whatever makes you fall away from it."     Ste Robert Bellarmine, ora pro nobis!

Truth Himself

GODHEAD HERE IN HIDING /ADORO TE DEVOTE

Words: St Thomas Aquinas, Translation: Gerard Manley Hopkins S.J.

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas, Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas; Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit, Quia te contemplans totum deficit. Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur, Sed auditu solo tuto creditur. Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius; Nil hoc verbo veritátis verius. In cruce latebat sola Deitas, At hic latet simul et Humanitas, Ambo tamen credens atque confitens, Peto quod petivit latro pœnitens. Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor: Deum tamen meum te confiteor. Fac me tibi semper magis credere, In te spem habere, te diligere.  O memoriale mortis Domini! Panis vivus, vitam præstans homini! Præsta meæ menti de te vívere, Et te illi semper dulce sapere. Pie Pelicane, Jesu Domine, Me immundum munda tuo sanguine: Cujus una stilla salvum facere Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere. Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio, Oro, fiat illud quod tam sitio: Ut te revelata cernens facie, Visu sim beátus tuæ gloriæ. Amen

Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore, Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more, See, Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art. Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived: How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed; What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do; Truth Himself speaks truly or there's nothing true. On the cross Thy godhead made no sign to men, Here Thy very manhood steals from human ken:  Both are my confession, both are my belief, And I pray the prayer of the dying thief. I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see, But can plainly call thee Lord and God as he; Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move, Daily make me harder hope and dearer love. O thou our reminder of Christ crucified, Living Bread, the life of us for whom he died, Lend this life to me then: feed and feast my mind, There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find. Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican; Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what Thy bosom ran Blood whereof a single drop has power to win All the world forgiveness of its world of sin. Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below, I beseech thee send me what I thirst for so, Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light And be blest for ever with Thy glory's sight. Amen.