Friday, August 31, 2018

What union compares?...

"Our present time and the future of the world
are illuminated by Christ's Eucharistic presence and
are desperate for His action." - Bl James Alberione (+1971)

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"Jesus is present and lives in our midst
in the Eucharist. 
Let us listen to Him for He is truth.
Let us look at Him, for He is the face of the Father.
Let us love Him, for He is love giving Himself to His creatures.

He comes to our soul 
so that it may disappear in Him and become divine.
What union, however great, can compare to this?

St Teresa de Los Andes
(+1920)

Thursday, August 30, 2018

"Come to my help" ...

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
... I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.  - Psalm 69: 1, 3 

 

"Go and find Him when your patience and strength 
run out and you feel alone and helpless.  
Jesus is waiting for you in the chapel. 
Say to Him, 'Jesus, you know exactly what is going on.
You are all I have, and you know all things. Come to my help.' 

And then go, and don’t worry about how 
you are going to manage. That you have told God about it
is enough.  He has a good memory."

St Jeanne Jugan
Sr Mary of the Cross
France ~ 1792 - 1879
Foundress - Little Sisters of the Poor
Feast Day - Aug 30


“God will help us; the work is His.” ~ St Jeanne Jugan


St Jeanne Jugan, pray for us!

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

"the never-ceasing silent appeal of the Tabernacle"...

In him and through faith in him we may approach God
with freedom and confidence. – Ephesians 3:12

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J.R.R. Tolkien's personal piety was simple: Confession before Mass, Mass every day and Rosary before bed. The sole ultimate focus of his devotion was the Blessed Sacrament.

Here is the conclusion of a very moving letter 
he wrote to his son, Michael, in 1941:

''Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth..." (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, no. 43)

In another moving letter, written 22 years later 
to the same son, Tolkien writes:

''But I fell in love with the Blessed Sacrament from the beginning - and by the mercy of God never have fallen out again: but alas! I indeed did not live up to it...Out of wickedness and sloth I almost ceased to practice my religion - especially at Leeds, and at 22 Northmoor Road. Not for me the Hound of Heaven, but the never-ceasing silent appeal of the Tabernacle, and the sense of starving hunger. I regret those days bitterly (and suffer for them with such patience as I can be given); most of all because I failed as a father.

Now I pray for you all, unceasingly, that the Healer (the Hælend as the Saviour was usually called in Old English) shall heal my defects, and that none of you shall  ever cease to cry Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.'' (Ibid. no. 250).


JRR Tolkien

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

God gives His ALL....

 "To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; 
to seek Him, the greatest adventure;
to find Him, the greatest human achievement." - St Augustine 

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"God in His omnipotence could not give more, 
in His wisdom knew not how to give more,
in His riches had not more to give, 
than the Eucharist."

St Augustine
North Africa ~ 354-430
Bishop, Doctor of the Church
Powerful intellect, stirring orator, prolific writer
FEAST DAY - August 28
 
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“If you believe what you like in the gospel, 
and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel
you believe, but yourself. - St. Augustine of Hippo 

Click here: St. Augustine - YouTube  (2 mins)
Click here: 50 Powerful Quotes by Saint Augustine

"In 397, or twelve years after his conversion, Augustine wrote his Confessions, the greatest spiritual autobiography ever written. It is the work of a teacher who  explains, a philosopher who thinks, and a theologian who instructs. It is the  work of a poet who achieves chaste beauty in the writing, and a mystic who pours out thanks for having found himself in peace. " - Ven Fulton J. Sheen in his  biographical work,  St Augustine of Hippo

Confessions by Saint Augustine of Hippo (FULL Audio Book)

Excerpt (Confessions 10.27): "Too late have I loved You, O Beauty
so ancient and so newtoo late have I loved You. You have called to me,
and have cried out, and have shattered my deafness
You have blazed forth with light and have put my blindness to flight!
You have sent forth fragrance, and I have drawn in my breath,
and I pant after You. I have tasted You, and I hunger and thirst after You.
You have touched me, and I have burned for Your peace." 

St Augustine, pray for us!

Monday, August 27, 2018

May it be said... of you and of me...

My heart is steadfast, O God ... - Psalm 108, 1a

 

St Augustine has left us this praise of his mother, St Monica:

"She did not let a day pass
without being present
at the Divine Sacrifice
before Your altar, O Lord."

St Monica
North Africa ~ 333-387
Mother of St Augustine
Patroness of Married women and Mothers
Feast Day - August 27


"Nothing is far from God." - St Monica

As recounted by Augustine... before his mother died she told him:

"There was indeed one thing for which I wished to tarry a little 
in this life, and that was that I might see you a Catholic before I died. 
My God hath answered this more than abundantly, so that I see you 
are now made His servant and spurning all earthly happiness. 
What more am I to do here?"

Prayer for St Monica's intercession
Exemplary mother of the great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray. Amen.
St Monica, pray for us!

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Co-workers of Christ...

“I know I would not be able to work one week 
if it were not for that continual force coming from 
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.” - St Mother Teresa of Calcutta


"Each one of us is a co-worker of Christ 
- we must labor hard to carry Him to the hearts where 
He has not yet been known and loved...
But, unless we have Jesus, we cannot give Him; 
that is why we need the Eucharist. Spend as much time 
as possible in front of the Blessed Sacrament 
and He will fill you with His strength and power." 

St Mother Teresa of Calcutta
nee Albania ~ Anniversary of birth 08/26/1910
Foundress - Missionaries of Charity

Painting above: Artist: Emile Friant


"Joy is prayer -
Joy is strength  - Joy is love - 
Joy is a net of love by
which you can catch souls."

St Mother Teresa of Calcutta