On the Conversion of St. Paul: Homily of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest

 

On the Conversion of St. Paul: Homily of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest

 

He is a perfect man who, going, sells all that he has and gives to the poor, and coming, follows Christ, for he shall have a never- ending treasure in heaven. And hence at Peter's well-chosen question Jesus says to men of this kind, "Amen I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

 

He taught those who labor for His name's sake in this life to hope for a reward in the next; that is, in the regeneration, when they who were born as men into this frail life shall have been regenerated into life eternal by rising again. And truly it is a just reward that they, who here disregard the glory of human greatness for the sake of Christ, who could not be drawn away from following His footsteps by any motive, should there sit With Him as glorified judges.

 

But let no one think that only the twelve apostles (for Matthias was chosen in the place of the apostate Judas) will be judges; just as not only are the twelve tribes of Israel to be judged. Otherwise, the tribe of Levi, which is the thirteenth, would escape judgment. And Paul, who is the thirteenth Apostle, would be deprived of his privilege of judging, although he himself says, "Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more the things of this world?"

 

For you should know that all who, after the example of the apostles, have left all things and followed Christ, are going to sit in judgment with Him, just as every race of mortal men- is to be judged. For since universality is often denoted in Scripture by the number twelve, the great number of all those who are to judge is shown by the twelve seats of the Apostles, just as by the twelve tribes of Israel the universality 'Of all those to bo judged is designated.

 

On the Conversion of St. Paul: Sermon of St. Augustine, Bishop

 

We have heard today from the Acts of the Apostles how the Apostle Paul was changed from a persecutor of the Christians to A preacher of Christ. Christ struck down the persecutor that He might raise him up a teacher of His Church. He struck him and healed him; He slew him and re-enlivened him. For Christ is the Lamb that was slain by the wolves and that now changes the wolves into lambs. In Paul was fulfilled that which was clearly prophesied by the Patriarch Jacob at the time when he blessed hig sons, laying hands on those who were then present, but looking forward to the happenings of the future.

 

Paul tells us himself that he was of the tribe of Benjamin. When Jacob, blessing his sons, came to Benjamin, he said, "Benjamin, a ravenous wolf." What then? Shall Benjamin always be a ravenous wolf? God forbid.  "In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil." This is exactly what was fulfilled in Paul.

 

Now, if it please you, we will consider how he devoured the prey in the morning, and how he divided the spoil at night. Here morning and evening signify beginning and end. So we may read, "In the beginning he shall devour the prey, and in the end he shall divide the spoil." First, then, in the beginning he devoured the prey, as we read that he, having received letters from the chief priests, went forth in order that, if he should find any Christians, he might bring them to the priests for punishment. He went breathing out threats and slaughter; Indeed, he was devouring the prey. When the first martyr, Stephen, was stoned for confessing the name of Christ, Saul gave his consent to the crime, and, as though it were not enough for him to cast stones, he kept the garments of all those who did it, thus venting his rage more than if he had cast stones with his own hands. Thus, in the morning he devoured the prey. How did he divide the spoil in' the evening? Struck down by the voice of Christ from heaven, and receiving from above a prohibition to further raging, he fell upon his face, first to be prostrated, then to be raised up; first to be wounded, then to be healed.

This hymn sufficed nicely for Vespers and Lauds in the Common of Holy Women before the reform of the Breviary. Silvio Cardinal Antoniano, 16th C.,

 

Fortem Virili Pectore

This hymn sufficed nicely for Vespers and Lauds in the Common of Holy Women before the reform of the Breviary. Silvio Cardinal Antoniano, 16th C.,

Fortem virili pectore
Laudemus omnes feminam,
Quae sanctitatis gloria
Ubique fulget inclita.

Haec Christi amore saucia,
Dum mundi amorem noxium
Horrescit, ad caelestia
Iter peregit arduum.

Carnem domans ieiuniis,
Dulcique mentem pabulo
Orationis nutriens,
Caeli potitur gaudiis.

Rex Christe virtus fortium,
Qui magna solus efficis,
Huius precatu, quaesumus,
Audi benignus supplices.

Deo Patri sit gloria,
Eiusque soli Filio,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito,
Et nunc, et in perpetuum. Amen.

 

High let us all our voices raise,
In that heroic woman’s praise;
Whose name, with saintly glory bright,
Shines in the starry realms of light.

Fill’d with a pure celestial glow,
She spurn’d all love of things below;
And heedless here on earth to stay,
Climb’d to the skies her toilsome way.

With fasts her body she subdued;
But fill’d her soul with prayers’ sweet food;
In other worlds she tastes the bliss,
For which she left the joys of this.

O Christ, the strength of all the strong!
To whom all our best deeds belong!
Through her prevailing prayers on high,
In mercy hear thy people’s cry.

To God the Father, with the Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
Be glory while the ages flow,
From all above, and all below.

The First Martyrs of Rome

 The First Martyrs of Rome

First Martyrs of the Church of Rome

Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

June 30: First Martyrs of the Church of Rome—Optional Memorial

Died c. 64

Quote:
At Rome, in the time of Nero, the commemoration of many holy martyrs, who were accused of having set fire to the city, and cruelly put to death in various manners by the emperor’s order. Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts and lacerated by dogs; others were fastened to crosses, others again were delivered to the flames to serve as torches in the night. All these were disciples of the Apostles, and the first fruits of the martyrs, which the Roman Church, a field so fertile in martyrs, offered to God before the death of the Apostles. ~Roman Martyrology

Reflection: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fifth Roman Emperor who reigned from 54–68 A.D. He was known to be extravagant, impulsive, tyrannical, violent, and a madman. He murdered his first wife and even his own mother. In the year 64, when Nero was twenty-seven and had been Roman emperor for ten years, a fire broke out in Rome. The fire burned for nine days, destroying most of the city. Many believe that Nero himself had the fire set to make room for a new palace. When people started to question him, he blamed the Christians for the fire. At that time, Christians were a small minority within Rome and were seen as a menace and disruption to the traditional Roman way of life and the traditional Roman gods. Nero then systematically had as many Christians as he could arrested, tried, and murdered in the most brutal ways. One ancient pagan historian from that time named Tacitus recounts it this way:

Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace…Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.

Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty, that they were being destroyed.

These first Christian martyrs in the city of Rome are remembered and honored by the Church today. Saints Peter and Paul were among them, but numerous unknown others also gave their lives. Some of them were sewn into the bellies of animals while still alive and then fed to wild dogs to be torn to pieces. Others were coated with wax and lit on fire at night as torches in Nero’s gardens while he entertained guests. Still others were crucified like our Lord. These persecutions went beyond mere execution for a crime. They manifested an evil of the most diabolical nature.

Though these martyrdoms were expected to eliminate Christianity from the Roman Empire, those expectations were never realized. Instead, the courageous witness of these men and women planted and watered the seeds of faith that would continue to grow, blossom, and produce an abundance of good fruit.

For nearly three centuries, the persecution of Christians varied under different Roman Emperors. The most severe persecutions within the empire would occur two centuries later during the reigns of Emperors Decius (249–251) and Diocletian (284–305). It was not until the year 313, when Emperor Constantine the Great legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan, that imperial persecutions ceased.

Today’s feast is strategically placed just one day after the Church honors Saints Peter and Paul, the two most notable martyrs during this Neronian persecution. By celebrating Saints Peter and Paul first, followed by a feast for every other martyr who died alongside them, the Church invites us to place ourselves not only in the shadow of Saints Peter and Paul, but also to join with these many unknown Christians who shed their blood for their faith. Though the physical shedding of one’s blood for Christ is a rare occurrence today, the depth of resolve Christians must have is the same. Every Christian, of every time and circumstance, must be so completely devoted to Christ that nothing, not even martyrdom, must deter us from our resolve.

As we ponder these unnamed heroes of our faith, prayerfully unite yourself to them. Look to Saints Peter and Paul as your chief inspiration and then resolve to become one of these unnamed witnesses who follow behind them. In Heaven, every sacrifice will be known and will become a cause for the glory of God. For now, many of our sacrifices are hidden and known only to us and to God. Rejoice in your own hidden sacrifices and know that those sacrifices unite you with those whom we honor today.

Prayer: Holy First Martyrs of Rome, you each endured much torment, hatred, and abuse, ultimately shedding your blood as the result of your deep courage and love of Christ. Please pray for me, that I may be counted among your numbers in Heaven by manifesting the same depth of love and courage that you did. First Martyrs of Rome, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Félix María Arocena Solano

 

The Presence of Mary in the Mystery of Worship (La presencia de María en el misterio del culto)

Félix María Arocena Solano

To the offering of Christ are united not only the members still here on earth, but also those already in the glory of heaven. In communion with and commemorating the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, the Church offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ (Catechism of the Catholic Church: 1370).

The Blessed Virgin Mary is intimately united both to Christ and to the Church and is inseparable from both. She, therefore, is united in that which constitutes the very essence of the liturgy: the sacramental celebration of Salvation for the glory of God and the sanctification of man. Mary is present at the liturgical action because she was present at the salvific event.

She is next to every baptismal font where the members of the Mystical Body are born to the divine life, in faith and in the Holy Spirit, since it was through faith and the power of the Spirit that their divine Head, Christ, was conceived. She is found next to each altar where the memorial of the Passion and Resurrection is celebrated since she was present, adhering with all her being to the plan of the Father, in the historical-salvific fact of the Death of Christ. She is close to every cenacle where, through the laying on of hands and the holy anointing, the Spirit is granted to the faithful, since with Peter and the other Apostles, with the nascent Church, she was present in the Pentecostal effusion of the Spirit. With Christ, the High Priest, the Church, the liturgical   community, Mary is incessantly united with both, Christ and the Church, in the saving  event and in the liturgical memorial.

So St. John Paul II said: “In the celebration of the annual cycle of the mysteries of Christ, the holy Church venerates with special love the blessed Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, united to her with an indissoluble bond to the saving work of her Son”.

Mary in the liturgy: she is "united with an indissoluble bond to the salvific work of her Son". It is an expression pregnant with meaning that deserves a quiet pause of contemplation and reflection in the light of the theology of the Sacrosanctum Concílium. The text offers a unique appreciation of the association of Mary to the Mystery of the Incarnation, as a principle and foundation of the totality of her association with the saving Economy. Following the thread of the words of the Pope, it can be said that the one who participated in the historical mysteries of his Son intérfuit mystériis is now present in the mysteries made present in the liturgical memorial adest in mystériis.

Hence, the presence of Mary in the saving events of the life of Jesus are the presuppositions for understanding the presence of Mary in the mysteries of the celebrated historical events of the life of her Son, renewed in the liturgy. The mysterious presence of Mary in the liturgy depends on the fact that Christ himself wanted to assume as the constituent element of his salvific action (the theandric act) the action of the Virgin (purely human act). In this case, the act of the Virgin, insofar as assumed by the Word and constitutively inserted in her salvific action, is, therefore, subsistent in Him and, hence, susceptible of being mysteriously re-presented in the liturgical celebration. This hypothesis is based on a double theological intuition.

A)    The first is built on the basis that the saving acts of Christ have been assumed to glory; carried out in history, they remain alive and effective meta-history. It is a theological argument collected in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "In the Liturgy of the Church, Christ means and performs mainly his paschal mystery. During his earthly life Jesus announced with his teaching and anticipated with his acts the paschal mystery. When his time came (cf. Jn 13, 1; 17, 1), he experienced the only event in history that does not just happen: Jesus dies, is buried, rises from the dead and sits on the right hand of the Father "once for all "(Rm 6, 10; Hb 7, 27; 9, 12). It is a real event, it happened in our history, but absolutely unique: all other events happen once, and then pass and are absorbed by the past. The paschal mystery of Christ, on the contrary, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is and all that he did and suffered for men participates in divine eternity and dominates thus all times and in them it remains permanently present. The event of the Cross and of the Resurrection remains and attracts

B)    The second intuition refers to the fact that not only the historical acts of Jesus have been assumed to glory, but also those of his Mother. The latter have been so insofar as they are indissolubly linked to the very acts of Christ (Sacrosanctum Concílium, 103). The historical acts of Mary, inserted in the same economy of the Salvific Event, inseparable from it insofar as the Event had not occurred in its salvific historicity without the presence and cooperation of the Mother of the Lord who always worked in communion with her Son and in the synergy of the Holy Spirit they also remain forever.

It is in this sense that I have just noted where we find a "pre-understanding" of that other important text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "The Marian dimension of the Church precedes its Petrine dimension". [CCC, 773.] From the Petrine dimension, certainly, elements as substantial as its fundamental hierarchical structure emerge for the Church ... but, at the same time, the Church is original and constitutively Marian. Mary is present in the consilium salutis from the first moment, as a person actively involved in it. Consilium, project, plan of which She is, at the same time, fruit and cooperatively active with a personal uniqueness, unique and unrepeatable. Thus, the Marian dimension of the Church and, therefore, of its liturgy is not something merely devotional, demanded for affective reasons or sentimental pietism. The Second Vatican Council, confirming the teaching of the whole tradition, recalled that in the hierarchy of holiness, precisely the woman, Mary of Nazareth, is a figure of the Church. She "precedes" everyone on the path of holiness; in her person the Church has already reached the perfection with which she exists immaculate and without blemish. "[ Eph 5, 27.  In this sense affirms John Paul II in an Apostolic Letter it can be said that the Church is, at the same time, "Marian" and "apostolic-petrine". Carta Apostólica Mulieris dignitatem, 27]

But le us return to our theme: Mary's mystic presence in the liturgy. In the Roman Canon, Mary Most Holy is preceded by the significant adverb imprimis, (especially, in a particular way ...) which refers to the singularity of the presence of the Virgin, unparalleled with the angelic presence or with others in the communion of the Saints, because of the glorious and celestial condition of the person of Mary in body and soul.

The questions that we proposed at the beginning of our reflection were of this tenor: can we speak of a presence of Mary in the celebration of Christian worship? In what sense? On what theological bases can we dispose? How much of analogy and distinction? The answers must necessarily be sober. Answers that illustrate but do not exhaust all that the questions they intend to cover. Mary is present in the liturgy in a way "analogous" to how her Son is present. This word "analogous" is taken from the analogy fidei, from the analogy mysteriorum, and points to the nexus of unity of all the mysteries in relation to the unique Mystery of Christ.

In line with these final paragraphs, I take the opportunity to highlight two liturgical testimonies, the one patristic and the other offered by J. Castellano, which could corroborate, each from their own angle, the question we are dealing with: the mysterious presence of Mary Most Holy in the liturgy. They are two different witnesses who, in their respective fields, point to the same feeling:

The first consists in the very significant Byzantine liturgical use, according to which, during the preparation of the gifts, the priest takes a particle of bread not consecrated and says: "In honor and memory of the most blessed, glorious and sovereign Mother of God and ever Virgin Mary and through her intercession, welcome, Lord, this sacrifice that we present on your altar. " The priest then takes that particle of unsacred bread, places it on the right of the consecrated Bread and says: "Standing at your right is the Queen, bejeweled with gold from Ophir, dressed in pearls and brocade (Ps 44)" [ ] M.B. ARTIOLI, Liturgia eucaristica bizantina, Torino, 1988, p. 40-41].

The second testimony is the confession of faith of St. Germain of Constantinople who, through a theology that is simultaneously prayer, during a homily on the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin and while conversing with her, confesses and interprets the faith of the Church in the presence of Mary in the liturgy and, beyond the liturgy, in the life of the People of God:

"O Most Holy Mother of God ... just as when you lived on earth, you were no stranger to the life of Heaven, so you are no stranger either, after your Assumption, to the life of men, rather you are spiritually present to them. .. As in the time you lived bodily with those who were your contemporaries, so now your spirit lives next to us. The protection with which you assist us is a clear sign of your presence in our midst. We all hear your voice and the voice of all of us also reaches your ears ... You watch over us. Even though our eyes are not able to contemplate you, or very happy, You yourself are gladly with us and manifest in different ways to those who are worthy of you”[ S. GERMÁN DE CONSTANTINOPLA, Homilia I de Dormitione, 4; PG 98, 341-348.].

Sermon of St. Laurence of Brindisi: Sermon V, Concept. Immac. We can judge the conception of Mary from that of her Son

 

Sermon of St. Laurence of Brindisi:  Sermon V, Concept. Immac. We can judge the conception of Mary from that of her Son

 

The evangelists were guided by no merely human motive when they recorded the sacred events of the gospel for all succeeding ages: they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Now the Holy Spirit would not have them say anything about the Virgin Mary's conception; his will was that they should honor it with respectful silence, as they had honored the creation of heaven and the angels; and he wanted us to gain an understanding of the blessed Virgin's holy birth and immaculate conception from the conception and birth of Christ. The creation of the earth was very like the creation of the heavens, the moon was created in much the same way as the sun, and woman's making was very similar to man's; even though the heavens have more nobility than the earth, the sun more light than the moon, and man a higher rank than woman. In the same way, although Christ's conception is a much nobler thing than the blessed Virgin's and belongs to a much higher category, there is still a very close resemblance between her conception and his, just as there was between Adam's making and Eve's, if we may judge by the text, Let us make him a help like unto himself. Eve was fashioned from Adam's side and was made like him, though less than he; and so it was with Mary, who was fashioned from the side Of Christ. But whereas it was Eve's natural gifts that came from Adam, what Mary derived from Christ was grace.

 

Mary is like Christ in every respect: in nature, in grace and in glory. She is like him in nature: she has the same nature as he has. She is like him in grace because she too is holy, being full of grace, full of the Holy Spirit. She is like him in glory, as the moon is like the sun or as a queen is like her king (At thy right hand stands the queen). And Christ and Mary were alike in their predestination and birth, their life, death and resurrection, their assumption and glorification. They were alike in their predestination because Christ was predestined not as God but as man, as Mary's Son: so that her predestination was bound up with his. Her birth was like his because she was born holy, as he was. Her death was like his because she died through no fault Of her own. Her rising was like his, because she rose in glory and went up to heaven, where she sits at his right hand, supremely honored, above all the choirs of angels. And so, we must assume that her conception too was like his and suppose that like him she was conceived without sin, holy and full of grace; just as the sun and moon and stars—all analogues of her—were created full of light. If the Church has chosen for the feasts of the Conception and Nativity of the blessed Virgin the gospels of Christ's conception and nativity, it is precisely because of the great similarity between the two. And in any case, if Christ really is Mary's Son, Christ's ancestors are Mary's ancestors.

Prayers of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face A Morning Offering

 

Prayers of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face

A Morning Offering

Boston-Carmel_023bO my God!  I offer You all my actions this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to His infinite merits; and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them into the furnace of His merciful love. O my God! I ask You for myself and for those whom I hold dear, the grace to fulfill perfectly Your holy will, to accept for love of You the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in heaven for all eternity.  Amen.

 

 

 

Act of Oblation to Merciful Love

O my God!  Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to Love You and make You Loved, to work for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls on earth and liberating those suffering in purgatory.  I desire to accomplish Your will perfectly and to reach the degree of glory You have prepared for me in Your Kingdom.  I desire, in a word, to be a saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg You, O my God!  To be Yourself my Sanctity! Since You loved me so much as to give me Your only Son as my Savior and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine.  I offer them to You with gladness, begging You to look on me only in the Face of Jesus and in His Heart burning with Love.

 

I offer You, too, all the merits of the saints (in heaven and on earth), their acts of Love, and those of the holy angels.  Finally, I offer to You, O Blessed Trinity! the Love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my dear Mother.  It is to her that I abandon my offering, begging her to present it to You.  Her Divine Son, my Beloved Spouse, told us in the days of His mortal life: “Whatsoever you ask the Father in My name He will give it to you!”  I am certain, then, that You will grant my desires; I know, O my God!  that the more You want to give, the more You make us desire.  I feel in my heart immense desires and it is with confidence I ask You to come and take possession of my soul.  Ah!  I cannot receive Holy Communion as often as I desire, but, Lord, are You not all-powerful?  Remain in me as in a tabernacle and never separate Yourself from Your little victim.

 

I want to console You for the ingratitude of the wicked, and I beg of You to take away my freedom to displease You.  If through weakness I sometimes fall, may Your Divine Glance cleanse my soul immediately, consuming all my imperfections like the fire that transforms everything into itself. I thank You, O my God!  For all the graces You have granted me, especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering.  It is with joy I shall contemplate You on the last day carrying the scepter of Your Cross.  Since You deigned to give me a share in this very precious Cross, I hope in heaven to resemble You and to see shining in my glorified body the sacred stigmata of Your Passion.

 

After earth’s Exile, I hope to go and enjoy You in the Fatherland, but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven.  I want to work for Your Love alone with the one purpose of pleasing You, consoling Your Sacred Heart, and saving souls who will love You eternally.  In the evening of this life, I shall appear before You with empty hands, for I do not ask You, Lord, to count my works.  All our justice is stained in Your eyes.  I wish, then, to be clothed in Your own Justice and to receive from Your Love the eternal possession of Yourself.  I want no other Throne, no other Crown but You, my Beloved!  Time is nothing in Your eyes, and a single day is like a thousand years.  You can, then, in one instant prepare me to appear before You.In order to live in one single act of perfect Love, I OFFER MYSELF AS A VICTIM OF HOLOCAUST TO YOUR MERCIFUL LOVE, asking You to consume me incessantly, allowing the waves of infinite tenderness shut up within You to overflow into my soul, and that thus I may become a martyr of Your Love, O my God!

 

May this martyrdom, after having prepared me to appear before You, finally cause me to die and may my soul take its flight without any delay into the eternal embrace of Your Merciful Love.I want, O my Beloved, at each beat of my heart to renew this offering to You and infinite number of times, until the shadows having disappeared I may be able to tell You of my Love in an Eternal Face to Face!  AMEN.

 

Prayer for Acquiring Humility

O Jesus!  When You were a Pilgrim on earth, You said: “Learn of Me for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls.”  O Mighty Monarch of Heaven, yes, my souls finds rest in seeing You, clothed in the form and nature of a slave, humbling Yourself to wash the feet of Your apostles.  I recall Your words that teach me how to practice humility: “I have given you an example so that you may do what I have done.  The disciple is not greater than the Master… If you understand this, happy are you if you put them into practice.”  Lord, I do understand these words that came from Your gentle and humble heart and I want to practice them with the help of Your grace. …I beg You, my Divine Jesus, to send me a humiliation whenever I try to set myself above others. I know, O my God, that You humble the proud soul but to the one who humbles one’s self You give an eternity of glory.  So I want to put myself in the last rank and to share Your humiliations so as “to have a share with You” in the kingdom of Heaven.But, You know my weakness, Lord.  Every morning I make a resolution to practice humility and in the evening I recognize that I have committed again many faults of pride.  At this I am tempted to become discouraged but I know that discouragement is also pride.  Therefore, O my God, I want to base my hope in You alone.  Since You can do everything, deign to bring to birth in my soul the virtue I desire.  To obtain this grace of Your infinite mercy I will very often repeat: “O Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, make my heart like Yours!”

 

Other Short Prayers

O Jesus, I know well that You do not look so much at the greatness of my actions, as to the love with which I do them.  It is true I am not always faithful, but I shall not lose courage.  I desire to make use of every opportunity to please You.

 

O my God! I ask You for myself and for those whom I hold dear the grace to fulfill perfectly Your holy will, to accept for love of You the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in heaven for all eternity.

 

O my God, You see how easily I lose heart at the thought of my imperfections.  Nevertheless, I shall continue to strive after virtue.  Gladly will I forego all consolation in order to offer to You the “fruit” of all my efforts.  I wish to make profit out of the smallest actions and do them all for love.

 

Eternal Father, since You have given me for my inheritance the Adorable Face of Your Divine Son, I offer it to You and I ask You, in exchange for this infinitely precious Coin, to forget the ingratitude of souls who are consecrated to You and to pardon poor sinners.

 

O Jesus, my whole strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; these are my invincible weapons, and experience has taught me that the heart is won by them rather than by words.

 

Yes, O my God,  I am happy to feel little and weak in Your Presence, and my heart remains in peace…I am so glad to feel so impefect and to need Your mercy so much! When we calmly accept the humiliation of being imperfect, Your grace , O Lord , returns at once.

 

O Jesus, You offer me a cup so bitter that my feeble nature cannot bear it.  But I do not want to draw back my lips from the cup Your hand has prepared. …You teach me the secret of suffering in peace.  The word peace does not mean joy, at least felt joy; to suffer in peace, it is enough to will whatever You will.  To be Your spouse, Jesus, one must be like You, and You are all bloody, crowned with thorns!

 

How consoling it is to remember that You, the God of might, knew our weaknesses, that You shuddered at the sight of the bitter cup, the cup the earlier You had so ardently desired to drink.

 

O Lord, to me You have granted Your infinite mercy; and through it I contemplate and adore Your other divine perfections!  All of these perfections appear to be resplendent with love, even Your justice–and perhaps this even more so than the others–seems to me clothed in love.  What a sweet joy to think of You, O God, are just, that is, that You take into account our weakness, that You are perfectly aware of our fragile nature.  What should I fear then?  Must not You, the infinitely just God who deigned to pardon the faults of the prodigal son with so much kindness, be just also to me who am with You always?

 

I know one must be most pure to appear before You, God of all holiness, but I know too that You are infinitely just; and it is this justice, which frightens many souls, that is the basis of my joy and trust.  To be just means not only to exercise severity in punishing the guilty, but also to recognize right intentions and to reward virtue. I hope as much from Your justice, O God, as from Your mercy, because You are compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy.  For You know our weakness and You remember we are but dust.

 

“Draw me, Lord, we shall run.”  …O Jesus, I ask You to draw me into the flames of Your love, to unite me so closely to You that You live and act in me.  I feel that the more the fire of love burns within my heart, the more I shall say: “Draw me,” the more the souls who will approach me…will run swiftly in the odor of Your ointments.

 

O Jesus, what it costs to give You what You ask!..Far from complaining to You of the crosses You send me, I cannot fathom the infinite love which has moved Yo to treat me so. O Lord, do not let me waste the trial You send me, it is a gold mine I must exploit. I, a little grain of sand, want to set myself to the task, without joy, without courage, without strength, and all these conditions will make the enterprise easier; I want to work for love. …and even if by an impossibility, You should not be aware of my affliction, I should still be happy to bear it, in the hope that by my tears I might prevent or atone for one sin against the faith.

 

O Lord,…When I find no occasions,  at least I want to keep telling You That I love You; it is not difficult and it keeps the fire of love going; even if that fire were to seem wholly out, I should throw little bits of straw on the ashes, little acts of virtue and of charity; and I am sure that, with Your help the fire would be enkindled again.

 

On The Wonderful Effects of Divine Love—A Meditation

This chapter within Book Three from The Imitation of Christ, was a favorite of St. Therese.  She had memorized most, if not all, of this classic work of Thomas a Kempis.

 

The Disciple. O Heavenly Father, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, blessed be your name forever…You are my glory and the joy of my heart; for you are my hope, and my refuge in time of trouble.

 

As yet my love is weak, and my virtue imperfect, and I have great need of Your strength and comfort. Therefore visit me often, I pray, and instruct me in Your holy laws. Set me free from evil and heal my heart; that healed and cleansed in spirit, I may be able to love, strong to endure, and steadfast to persevere.

 

Love is a mighty power, a great and complete good; Love alone lightens every burden, and makes the rough places smooth. It bears every hardship as though it were nothing, and renders all bitterness sweet and acceptable. The love of Jesus is noble, and inspires great deeds, It moves us always to desire perfection. Love aspires to high things…Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller or better in heaven or on earth; for love is born of God and can only rest in God, above all created things.

 

Love flies, runs, and leaps for joy; it is free and unrestrained. Loves gives all for all, resting in One who is highest above all things, from whom every good flows and proceeds. Love does not regard the gifts but turns to the Giver of all good gifts. Love know no limits, but ardently transcends all bounds. Love feels no burden, takes no account of toil, attempts things beyond its strength. Love sees nothing as impossible, for its feels able to achieve all things. Love therefore does great things; it is strange and effective; while those who lack love faint and fail.

 

Love is watchful, and while resting, never sleeps, weary, it is never exhausted; imprisoned, it is never in bonds; alarmed, it is never afraid. Like a living flame and a burning torch, it surges upward and surely surmounts every obstacle.

 

Whoever loves God knows well the sound of His voice. A loud cry in the ears of God is that burning love of the soul which exclaims, “My God and my love. You are all mine and I am all Yours.”

 

A Prayer

 

Deepen Your love in me, O Lord, that I may learn in my inmost heart how sweet it is to love, to be dissolved, and to plunge myself into Your love. Let Your love possess and raise me above myself, with a fervor and wonder beyond imagination. Let me sing the song of love. Let me follow you into the heights. Let my soul spend itself in Your praise, rejoicing for love. Let me love you more than myself, and myself only for Your sake. Let me love others, as Your law commands.

 

 

 

 

Saint Bonaventure: Mary as Queen; Queenship of Mary: Royal Dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Saint Bonaventure: Mary as Queen; Queenship of Mary: Royal Dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the great King by reason of a noble kind of conception according to the message given her by the Angel. "Behold," he said, "thou shalt conceive and shall bring forth a Son"; and again, "The Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He shall be king over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end." This is as if to say in so many words, "Thou shalt conceive and bear a Son who is King, eternally reigning on the royal throne, and because of this thou wilt reign as the Mother of the King, and as Queen thou wilt be seated on the royal throne." For if it becomes a son to give honor to his mother, it is also fitting that he share his royal throne with her; and so the Virgin Mary, because she conceived Him on whose thigh was written, "King of kings and Lord of lords," was Queen not only of earth but also of heaven as soon as she conceived the Son of God. This is indicated in the Apocalypse where it says, "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars."

 

Mary the Queen outshines all others in glory, as the Prophet clearly shows in the Psalm which particularly concerns Christ and the Virgin Mary. It first says of Christ, "Thy throne, O God, stands forever and ever," and shortly thereafter of the Virgin, "The queen takes her place at Thy right hand," that is, in the position of highest blessedness, for it refers to glory of soul. The Psalm continues, "In garments of gold," by which is meant the clothing of glorious immortality which was proper to the Virgin in her Assumption. For it could not be that the garment that clothed Christ, the garment completely sanctified on earth by the incarnate Word, should be the food of worms. As it was fitting for Christ to grant the fullness of grace to His Mother at her Conception, so it was fitting that He grant her the fullness of glory at her Assumption. And so, we are to hold that the Virgin, glorious in soul and body, is enthroned next to her Son.

 

 Mary the Queen is also the distributor of grace. This is indicated in the book of Esther in the passage, "The little spring which grew into a river and was turned into a light and into the sun." The Virgin Mary, under the type of Esther, is compared to the out- pouring of a spring and of light, because of the diffusion of graces for two uses, that is, for action and for contemplation. For the grace of God, which is a healing for the human race, descends to us through her as if through an aqueduct, since the dispensing of grace is attributed to the Virgin not as to its beginning, but because of her position through merit. By position the Virgin Mary is a most excellent Queen towards her people: she obtains forgiveness, overcomes strife, distributes grace; and thereby she leads them to glory.