Well-placed trust...

"You must do your duty and make chaos all night.

Show your Christian joy the Lord gave you to be in the

community who follows Jesus." - Pope Francis upon his arrival

in Krakow at World Youth Day July 27

 

 

"Trust all things

to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

and to Mary, Help of Christians,

and you will see what Miracles are."

 

St John Bosco

 

 

"That is what we too, in the Church, are constantly called to do:

to listen, to get involved and be neighbors,

sharing in people's joys and struggles,

so that the Gospel can spread

ever more consistently and fruitfully:

radiating goodness through the transparency of our lives." 

- Pope Francis - WYD, Krakow, holy Mass 7/30/16

Jesus is...

 And behold I am with you all through the days that are coming,

until the consummation of the world. - Matthew 28:20

 

“He is the Bread sown in the virgin,

leavened in the flesh,

molded in His passion,

baked in the furnace of the sepulchre,

placed in the churches,

and set upon the altars,

which daily supplies 

Heavenly Food to the faithful."

St Peter Chrysologus

Archbishop, Doctor of the Church

Adult convert

Italy - c. 380-450

"Golden-worded"

FEAST DAY - July 30

PHOTO CREDIT of stained glass image: Debbie Scalise

"Anyone who wishes to frolic with the devil
 cannot rejoice with Christ." ~ St Peter Chrysologus   

Click here: St. Peter Chrysologus and the Priesthood of the Christian - YouTube 

(2 mins)

St Peter Chrysologus, pray for us!

Saint Peter Chrysologus is the Doctor of Homilies. His words helped to defeat the attack on Christ's humanity. No doctor said so much in his homilies in fewer words. To hear his sermons after nearly 1500 years is a blessing, each and every time.

Peter was a stalwart witness to the faith. He had a short life but it was long and full of accomplishments. He was the archbishop of Ravenna, Italy, as a young priest and he expended his energies neutralizing the last forces of paganism of his day.

Chrysologus means "The Golden-Worded".  His prayer when he spoke (from Sermon 96):  May our God deign to give me the grace of speaking and you the desire of hearing.  To really benefit fruitfully from any conversation or homily, one's heart and mind must be open to receive the communication.

Peter was filled with all the gifts and fruits of the Spirit but even his best efforts to impart his wisdom and knowledge would not benefit anyone unless his listeners were truly docile to grace through their hearts and attentive with their eyes and minds, both exteriorly and interiorly. Our souls have eyes and powerful perceptions that are drawn to God's message when we are open, sincere and desire to learn.

Homilies can be like sweet music to the ear and joy to the heart. The homily during the Catholic Mass is a vital part of the Liturgy of the Word. It follows the reading of the gospel and is the explanation and elaboration on the celebration of the Word. This part of the liturgical service, offered immediately before the celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, prepares its members to fully enter into the worship of God. It also prepares us to be empowered and enlighten to fully partake of the holy meal. Each liturgical celebration of the Mass is an extension of the "Last Supper" that the Lord shared with His dear friends. He changed Himself during this meal into precious food that fortifies us and enables us to proceed on our spiritual journey. More importantly, this meal strengthens us and enables us by transforming us into Himself. That's right! Imagine being changed into another Christ? When this happens we'll be able to do and say what Christ would do or say Himself. Is that possible? Believe it! It's Catholic theology. (http://www.doctorsofthecatholicchurch.com)

Holy echo...

"The words of Martha, ‘I know that he will rise
again in the resurrection at the last day'

(John 11:24),

echo in our souls as we pray and grieve
for our beloved dead…

 

In what better place could we pray for the dead
than before the Eucharist, where we can

experience Our Blessed Savior Present?”

Susan Tassone

St Martha

Bethany

Sister to Mary and Lazarus

Friend of Jesus

Patroness of servants, innkeepers,

homemakers and cooks

FEAST DAY - July 29 

Jesus entered a village, where a woman named Martha
welcomed him into her home. - Luke 10:38

 

In St Martha's footsteps...

Dorothy Day said: "If everyone were holy and handsome, it would be easy to see Christ in everyone. But it was not Christ's way for Himself.

Ask honestly what you would do when a beggar asked at your house for food. Would you give it on an old cracked plate, thinking that was good enough? Do you think that Martha and Mary thought that the old and chipped dish was good enough for their guest? It is not a duty to help Christ -- it is a privilege."

Click here: St. Martha - YouTube (2 mins)

St Martha, pray for us!

St Martha, say a prayer for me ... To help my heart decide ...

The task I ought to undertake ... With confidence and pride ...

Preserve me from all jealousy ... And help me persevere ...

With love for every neighbor and ... For our Lord Jesus dear. 

 (Composed by James J Metcalfe - Poem Portraits of the Saints - 1956)

Unchangeable beauty...

"Through all things, by day and by night, in clear light or in darkness, 

let us live like the Magdelen, always under the eyes 

of Unchangeable Beauty... - Bl Elizabeth of the Trinity

"In the Eucharist there is a beauty, a hidden loveliness, beyond the beauty of all art.  The Lamb of God comes to the altar of His Bride in the glory of the Father and the Holy Spirit, invisibly escorted by the angels.  Only humble accidents veil the radiance of His flesh. 

Christ is beauty, and He becomes present to make us beautiful.  ...Christ in all His matchless beauty is substantially present in the Eucharist, and His Church strives to worship that beauty with all the accidental beauty of her sacred art - by vestments and vessels, by chant and icons, by the consecrated space of her temples.  The bride knows that no human art can be worthy of her Spouse, who is the eternal Son and Splendour of the Father.  ... the hidden beauty is always greater than the visible forms."

John Saward

From The Beauty of Holiness and the Holiness of Beauty

Live differently...

"One who has hope, lives differently." - Pope Benedict XVI

 

 

"If the poison of pride is swelling in you, turn to the Eucharist; 

and that Bread, Which is God humbling and disguising Himself,

will teach you humility.

 

If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on this Bread;

and you will learn generosity.

 

If the cold wind of coveting withers you, hasten to the Bread

of Angels; and charity will come to blossom in your heart.

 

If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with

the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic self-control

during His earthly life; and you will become temperate.

 

If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things,

strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent.

 

Lastly, if you feel scorched by the fever of impurity,

go to the banquet of the Angels; and the

spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste. 

 

St Cyril of Alexandria

 

 

Let us together pray for World Youth Day Pilgrims

World Youth Day - www.krakow2016.com/en/

 

Fidelity...

  Let us praise Joachim and Anne, to whom, in their generation, 
the Lord gave Him who was a blessing for all the nations. 
- Entrance Antiphon (Today's Liturgy)

"Let every knee bend before Thee,

O greatness of my God,

so supremely humbled in the Sacred Host.

May every heart love Thee,

every spirit adore Thee

and every will be subject to Thee!"

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Remembering ...
Sts Joachim and Anne
Parents of the Virgin Mary 
Patron of Grandparents

Feast Day - July 26

Click here: Discovering our Saints - Sts Ann and Joachim - YouTube (3 mins)

Click here: A Reflection on St Joachim and St Anne - Grandparents of Jesus - YouTube (5 mins)

O God, who willed that your Only Begotten Son should be born from 
among humanity so that by a wonderful mystery humanity 
 might be born again from you, we pray that, in your kindness,
you may sanctify by the spirit of adoption those you have fed
with the Bread you give your children.  Through Christ our Lord. 
(Prayer after Communion, Today's Liturgy)

Sts Joachim and Anne, pray for us!

Ever present, as He said...

Going on 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

Christ calling the Apostles James and John ~ Edward Armitage

"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

  

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

+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!

Graces are flying forth...

"The very words we use, a 'visit to the Blessed Sacrament,'

reminds us that we go to a living person, and that He is

no other than our blessed Savior." - Fr Francis A. Spencer, O.P

 

"The life of our dear Lord in the sacred Host is most active.

He remains still in the tabernacle, it is true, but graces are

flying forth from His Heart in inconceivable abundance.

From the tabernacle, Our Lord works miracles both

on souls and bodies, as He did of old in Galilee and Judea."   ...

 

 

 

"Before the tabernacle great saints have

communed with God upon the heights which we may never reach;

there, too, sinners have come,

and touched by the grace that goes out from Him,

found the contrite and humbled heart which He will never despise.

 

Think of the millions of the faithful

who day by day come into the house of God to pray.

Think of the religious to whom this very presence is as the air they breathe,

the very life and sustenance of their souls.

 

 

 

No one shall every know all

that this adorable Sacrament is for human souls,

raising all our hearts

to that one Heart

which is the center and source of grace and love."

Fr. Francis Aloysius Spencer, O.P.

Bottom painting: Giotto

Remedy for 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

 

"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)

St Bridget of Sweden, pray for us!

Burning with 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

"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

Remembering...  

St Mary Magdalene

Disciple of Jesus

"Apostle to the Apostles"

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 ANSELM's prayer to MARY MAGDALEN

Click here: St. Mary Magdalene - YouTube

15 Modern women celebrate St. Mary Magdalene -

Painting> Mary Magdelene ~ Sandro Botticelli

St Mary Magdalene, pray for us!