Explosion of Divine power...

Second Sunday of Lent

"Christ showed His disciples the glory of His radiance
to which He configures those who are His." - St Thomas Aquinas

Fra Angelico

"Through your Transfiguration, O Christ, you returned Adam's nature 

to its original splendor, restoring its very elements 

to the glory and brilliance of Your divinity." - Byzantine Liturgy

"Christian faith's steady gaze upon Jesus transforms us here and now." - 

Fr Hans Urs von Balthasar

Excerpt below from:  Letters To A Brother Priest (pg 9) 

Co-authors:  Rev Fr Vincent Martin Lucia/Rev Msgr Josefino Ramirez

"Peter, James and John witnessed the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor. The whole world will witness the glorious transfiguration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. 

It will have the exact opposite effect of the bombing of Nagasaki. At the transfiguration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, there will be an explosion of divine energy which will release the power of His love and renew the face of the earth. Then the world will see Real Power! All will be made well. All will belong to His Heart. All will be  made one.

In the meantime, there are five graces we receive each time we visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. By His glorious wounds we are the ones who are transfigured and changed through His healing love. 

Restoration, sanctification, transformation, reparation and salvation are the graces being poured out graciously upon us with each holy hour we make.

Like Peter... this is why we should exclaim in His Divine Presence, 

'Lord, how good it is for us to be here!'"

"The Blessed Sacrament is the first and supreme 
object of our worship. We must preserve in the depths

of our hearts a constant and uninterrupted,
profound adoration of this precious pledge 

of Divine Love." - St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

Click here: The Cross is a Fruit-Bearing Tree – A Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent - 

Secure in the Father's justice...

First Sunday of Lent 

"Very few people believe in the devil these days, which suits the devil very well.  
He is always helping to circulate the news of his own death.  
The essence of God is existence, and He defines Himself as: 'I am Who am.'  
The essence of the devil is the lie, and he defines himself as:  'I am who am not.'  
Satan has very little trouble with those who do not believe in him; 
they are already on his side." - Ven Fulton J Sheen, Life of Christ

"What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist? 

It is God who, as our Savior, 

 offers Himself each day for us to His Father's justice.

If you are in difficulties and sorrows,
He will comfort and relieve you. 

If you are sick,

He will either cure you

or give you strength to suffer so as to merit Heaven.

If the devil, the world, and the flesh

are making war upon you,

He will give you the weapons with which to fight,

to resist, and to win victory.

If you are poor,

He will enrich you with all sorts of riches

 for time and eternity.

Let us open the door of His sacred and adorable Heart, 

and be wrapped about for an instant by the flames of His love, 

and we shall see what a God who loves us can do. 

O my God, who shall be able to comprehend?"

St. John Vianney

"The Holy Eucharist is the perfect expression
of the love of Jesus Christ for man." - St. Maria Goretti

His glance follows us...

"Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us 

from our lethargy." - Pope Francis

“Make use of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

as a means of persevering in the practice of virtue. 

Let us go to Him toward evening

and tell Him about our shortcomings,

let us ask Him for help and forgiveness. 

Our Lord loves us, constantly, and His glance

follows us every moment of the day.”

Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val

Servant of God

"... when the door starts closing a bit because of our weakness and sins, 

confession reopens it." - Pope Francis

 

 "Put aside your hatred and animosity. Take pains to refrain from sharp words.

If they escape your lips, do not be ashamed to let your lips produce the remedy,

since they have caused the wounds. Pardon one another so that later on

you will not remember the injury. The recollection of an injury is itself wrong.
It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin and hates what is good.  It is a rusty arrow 

and poison for the soul. It puts all virtue to flight."— St. Francis of Paola

Blessings flow! ...

 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, 
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. - 2 Cor 4:5

Invoked for the healing of throat diseases, St. Blaise wrote:

“Father of mercy and God of all consolation, 

graciously look upon me and impart to me the 
blessing which flows from this Holy Sacrament [the Eucharist].  Overshadow me with Your loving kindness, 

and let this divine Mystery bear fruit in me." 

 St Blaise

Armenia + 316

Physician, Bishop, Martyr

Patron of Throat Diseases

and the Wool Trade

Feast Day – Feb 3

 Image above:  Lamb of God surrounded by the four Evangelists by Fr Raphael Pfisterer, OSB
Detail from mural (1927-1931) at St Anselm College ~ Manchester, New Hampshire - USA

At first he was a doctor who … Attended human life … And then he ministered to souls … In spiritual strife … A bishop in Armenia … St. Blaise acquired fame … By many healings he performed … In God’s most holy name … Especially the little child  … Who nearly choked to death … And through St Blaise’s prayers returned  … To free and normal breath … And that is why one day each year … His saintliness we note … And ask his prayers to guard us from … Diseases of the throat … And even more important to … St Blaise’s great renown … Is all the torture he endured … To earn his martyr’s crown. 

Protect our throats, St Blaise, from all … Those sicknesses today … And from the utterance of words … That we should never say … Lend wisdom to our voice, St Blaise … And pray that we may be … Forever steadfast in our faith … For God eternally.

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

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

Today's blessing:  Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, 

bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from 

every disease of the throat and from every other illness. 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.

St Blaise, pray for us!