Discovering love, discovering oneself...

 "Christ is the only way to the Father,

and those who see Christ see the Father also.

Those who are nourished by Christ's body 

are at the same time extending the graces 

that flow from the indwelling

of the Father and the Holy Spirit.

 

 

The Blessed Sacrament is not a mystery that 

separates itself from the Trinity in Heaven

and comes down to earth for the love of man. 

The Blessed Sacrament is Christ,

and Christ is God, and God is undivided.

It is when a man discovers Christ that

he discovers the Father and the Holy Spirit.

It is also then that he discovers love and 

discovers himself."- Dom Hubert van Zellar

The gift of the Queen...

  When I said, "My foot is slipping," 

your love, O Lord, supported me. 

When anxiety was great within me,

your consolation brought joy to my soul. 

Psalm 94:18,19

“Eucharistic Heart of Jesus,

reign over the afflicted;

become their consolation

through this consecrated Bread,

the gift of the Queen of Sorrows.”

Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey 

Remembering...

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

September 15

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 "In martyrs, the intensity of their love 

mitigated their sufferings,

but with Mary it was different;

the more she loved, the more she suffered,

and the greater was her martyrdom." 

Richard of Saint Victor (+1173)

The Seven Sorrows of Mary:

* at the prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:35);
* at the flight into Egypt (Matt 2:13);
* having lost the Holy Child at Jerusalem (Luke 2:48);
* meeting Jesus on His way to Calvary;
* standing at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25);
* Jesus being taken from the Cross;
* at the burial of Christ. 

Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows

Click here: The Seven Sorrows Rosary - YouTube (21:30 mins)
Click here: Our Lady’s Seven Sorrows, Seven Promises, and Fatima’s Connection | ncregister.com

O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above;
Make my heart with thine accord.

Make me feel as thou hast felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ our Lord.

(Excerpt: Sabat Mater sequence)

Click here: Stabat Mater dolorosa (full text)

How splendid the cross of Christ!...

    "Blest is the wood through which 

justice comes about." 

 Wisdom 14:7

Exquisite mosaic ~ Tree of Life, Holy Cross (detail) ~ San Clemente - Roma

“The event of the Cross and Resurrection

abides and draws everything toward life.” (CCC 1085)

Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross

September 14

"How splendid the cross of Christ! It brings life, not death; light, not darkness; Paradise, not its loss. It is the wood on which the Lord, like a great warrior, was wounded in hands and feet and side, but healed thereby our wounds. A tree has destroyed us, a tree now brought us life." - St Theodorus the Estudite

 

Painting (detail) The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Luigi Gregori

Spes Unica: (Our) only Hope

"Recognize in this bread what hung on the cross, and in this chalice what flowed from His side... whatever was in many and varied ways announced beforehand in the sacrifices of the Old Testament pertains to this one sacrifice which is revealed in the New Testament.

Receive in this bread that which was hanged on the cross; receive in this cup that which was poured from Christ's side. For he will gain death, not life, who thinks Christ is a liar." - St Augustine

"On the Cross human misery and divine mercy meet. ...The Cross is planted in the earth and would seem to extend its roots in human malice, but it reaches up, pointing as it were to the heavens, pointing to the goodness of God.  By means of the Cross of Christ, the Evil One has been defeated, death is overcome, life is given to us, hope is restored, light is imparted. O Crux, ave spes unica!…"- St John Paul II, homily 09.14.03

Click here: Exaltation of the Holy Cross - YouTube (3 mins)

Click here: Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Roodmas)

Click here: Crucifixes and Crosses
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"He who runs away from one cross,

will meet a bigger one on his road."- St Philip Neri

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O Jesus, Jesus, I no longer feel my cross 
when I think of yours!"- St Bernadette Soubirous

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Crucifixes on rosaries, worn around one's neck and in one's home
serve as enduring and endearing reminders of the magnitude

of Christ's love and serve as focal points for private prayer.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen summarized the reason
for using a crucifix instead of an empty cross when he said,
“Keep your eyes on the crucifix,
for Jesus without the cross is a man without a mission,
and the cross without Jesus is a burden without a reliever.”

We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee

because by Thy holy Cross 

Thou hast redeemed the world! AMEN!

Heaven bound...

  "The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, 

but we do not fear drowning, for we  stand firmly upon a rock.  

Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock.  Let the waves rise, 
they cannot sink the boat of Jesus." - St John Chrysostom

St John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, in a homily on the words of Eucharistic institution at the Last Supper in Matthew 26, speaks most powerfully on the reality of the Body and Blood of Christ. ... Imagine the great bishop standing in the cathedral church of Constantinople before the altar and saying the following:

"How many there are who still say, "I want to see His shape, His image, His clothing, His sandals.'  Behold you do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him!  You want to see His clothing.  He gives Himself to you, not just to be seen but to be touched, to be eaten, to be received within.

Let all of you be ardent, fervent, enthusiastic.  If the Jews stood, shoes on, staff in hand, and eating in haste, how much more vigilant should you be. They were about to go Palestine; you are about to go to heaven."  (Homily 82 on the Gospel of Matthew)

Excerpt from In the Presence of Our Lord:

The History, Theology and Psychology of Eucharistic Devotion

- Fr Benedict J Groeschel, CFR, and James Monti

St John Chrysostom

Chrysostomos - 'golden-mouthed'

Syria ~ 347- 407

Archbishop of Constantinople

Doctor of the Church

Patron of orators and preachers

Feast Day - September 13

Photo: Victory Angel (Sussex)

"The bee is honored more than other animals, 
not because she labors, but because
she labors for others.”  - St John Chrysostom

  Click here: Saint John Chrysostom - YouTube (25 mins - excellent!)  

Click here: Early Church Fathers: St. John Chrysostom - YouTube (4 mins)

St John Chrysostom, pray for us!