Recognize... and Receive

 Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,

Till all the world adore His sacred Name.

Sebastiano Ricci

“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. ... With the cross we are freed from the restraint of the enemy and we clutch on to the strength of slavation." ~ St Theodorus the Estudite

"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

 

O Jesus, Jesus, I no longer feel my cross

when I think of yours!"

St. Bernadette Soubirous

 "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 - From homily 09/14/03

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

Click here: Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Roodmas)

 

Crucifixes in your home serve as powerful reminders of the immensity

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

 

 

 Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,

Till all the world adore His sacred Name.

Recognizing His power

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus

  While the assisting priest places the reserved Sacrament back into the tabernacle, the celebrant continues to genuflect.

"The wise men adored this body when it lay

in the manger; ... they prostrated themselves before it

in fear and trembling. ... Now you behold the same body

that the wise men adored in the manger,

lying upon the altar; ...

you also know its power."

 

St John Chrysostom

Chrysostomos - 'golden-mouthed'

Syria ~ 349 - 407

Archbishop of Constantinople

Doctor of the Church

Patron of orators

FEAST DAY ~ September 13

 

   

"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!

O name of Mary!

"O name of Mary! Joy in the heart, honey in the mouth,

melody to the ear of Her devout clients!" - St Anthony of Padua

 

  

 Feast of the Most Holy Name

of the Blessed Virgin Mary

September 12

O amor mei nomen matris Dei ~ St. Anselm

"Oh name of the mother of God, thou art my love."

We venerate that name of Mary because it belongs to her who is the Mother of God, the holiest of creatures, the Queen of heaven and earth , the Mother of Mercy.

In accordance with Jewish custom our Lady's parents named her eight days after her birth, and were inspired to call her Mary. The feast of the Holy Name of Mary follows that of her Birthday, as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus follows Christmas. Our salvation begins when an archangel speaks the name of Mary.  To be Christian is to carry on that Annunciation unceasingly.  

Jan Hey - Annunciation 

"I want what is good for myself; I beg the same for you. Now there is no other way to bring this about than to ask the Virgin Mary constantly to come to you with her glorious Son. Be bold! Ask her to give you her Son, who in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar is truly food of your soul.  ...  

Readily will she give Him to you, still more readily will He come to you, giving you strength to make your way fearlessly through this dark wood.  In it large numbers of our enemies lie in wait, but they cannot reach us if they see us relying on such powerful help. "  ~ St. Cajetan

 

"God the Father gathered all the waters together and called them the seas or maria [Latin, seas]. He gathered all His grace together and called it Mary or Maria . . .This immense treasury is none other than Mary whom the Saints call the 'treasury of the Lord.' From Her fullness all men are made rich." ~ St. Louis de Montfort (+1716)

"This most holy, sweet and worthy name was 'eminently fitted to so holy, sweet and worthy a virgin. For Mary means a bitter sea, star of the sea, the illuminated or illuminatrix. Mary is interpreted Lady. Mary is a bitter sea to the demons; to men She is the Star of the sea; to the Angels She is illuminatrix, and to all creatures She is Lady ." ~ St. Bonaventure (+1274)

 “Well may all, shepherds and flock alike, fly with fullest confidence to the protection of the Blessed Virgin. Let them not fail to call upon her name with one voice, beseeching her as God’s mother, publicly and in private by praise, by prayer, by the ardour of their desire: ‘Show thyself our Mother.’ ~ Pope Leo XIII - Adiutricem populi, Sept. 5 1895

"Saint Bernard says, and we say with him:  Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary ... in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary.  May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart ...  If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err.  If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination." ~ Benedict XVI, address at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, 9 September 2007

More on the Name of Mary...

Click here: ~ The Most Holy Name of Mary Devotion ~

Click here: THE HOLY NAME OF MARY

Pray the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Mary.

Jesus - Mary - Jesus - Mary - Jesus - Mary 

"The invocation of the sacred names of Jesus and Mary is a short prayer which is as sweet to the mind, and as powerful to protect those who use it against the enemies of their salvation, as it is easy to remember." ~ St. Thomas a Kempis

Like a river in a flood...

Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch. - Luke 5:4

 

 

"The Eucharist is the food of the soul

that maintains, mends, increases,

and gladdens the life of grace in the soul,

because it gives to it the very Author of grace. 

 

The divine life can enter into us by other doors,

but it is by Holy Communion that it

inundates our souls like a river in a flood." 

 

Blessed Columba Marmion

1858-1923

 

Sending messages... often!

Lord, open my lips.

- And my mouth will declare your praise

Invitatory Psalm

“Wherever I may be I will often think of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.  I will fix my thoughts on the holy Tabernacle – even when I happen to wake up at night  - adoring Him from where I am, calling to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, offering up to Him the action I am performing.

I will install one telegraph cable from my study to the Church, another from my bedroom, and a third from our refectory; and as often as I can, I will send messages of love to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Venerable Andrew Beltrami (+1897) 

Salesian priest