Dom Donald's Blog: Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897), Carm...

 Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth week in Ordinary Time

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897), Carmelite, Doctor of the Church

Santa_Teresa_di_Gesu_Bambino-di_Lisieux-BA

Wednesday, 01 October 2014

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897), Carmelite, Doctor of the Church     
 
Poem « Jesus, my beloved, remember ! » ; v. 1, 6-8 

"The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head"

Remember the Father's glory, 
Remember the divine splendor 
You left in exiling yourself on earth 
To redeem all the poor sinners. 
O Jesus! Humbling yourself to the Virgin Mary, 
You veiled your infinite greatness and glory. 
Ah! Your mother's breast 
Was your second heaven, 
Remember… 

Remember that on other shores 
The golden stars and silver moon 
On which I gaze in the cloudless sky 
Delighted and charmed your Infant eyes. 
With your little hand that caressed Mary 
You upheld the world and gave it life, 
And you thought of me, 
Jesus, my little King, 
Remember. 

Remember that you worked in solitude 
With your divine hands. 
To live forgotten was your sweetest task. 
You rejected human learning. 
O You who with just one word could charm the world, 
You took delight in hiding your profound wisdom. 
You seemed unlearned, 
O All-powerful Lord! 
Remember. 

Remember that you wandered as a Stranger on earth. 
You, the Eternal Word, 
You had nothing, no, not even a stone, 
Not a shelter, like the birds of heaven. 
O Jesus! come within me, come rest your Head, 
Come, my soul is truly ready to receive you. 
My Beloved Savior, 
Rest in my heart. 
It is Yours. 

Saint Therese of Lisieux Virgin and Doctor of the Church (1873-1897)         Thérèse Martin was born at Alençon, France on 2 January 1873. Two days later, she was baptized Marie Frances Thérèse at Notre Dame Church. Her parents were Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin. After the death of her mother on 28 August 1877, Thérèse and her family moved to Lisieux.         Towards the end of 1879, she went to confession for the first time. On the Feast of Pentecost 1883, she received the singular grace of being healed from a serious illness through the intercession of Our Lady of Victories. Taught by the Benedictine Nuns of Lisieux and after an intense immediate preparation culminating in a vivid experience of intimate union with Christ, she received First Holy Communion on 8 May 1884. Some weeks later, on 14 June of the same year, she received the Sacrament of Confirmation, fully aware of accepting the gift of the Holy Spirit as a personal participation in the grace of Pentecost.         She wished to embrace the contemplative life, as her sisters Pauline and Marie had done in the Carmel of Lisieux, but was prevented from doing so by her young age. On a visit to Italy, after having visited the House of Loreto and the holy places of the Eternal City, during an audience granted by Pope Leo XIII to the pilgrims from Lisieux on 20 November 1887, she asked the Holy Father with childlike audacity to be able to enter the Carmel at the age of fifteen.         On 9 April 1888 she entered the Carmel of Lisieux. She received the habit on 10 January of the following year, and made her religious profession on 8 September 1890 on the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.         In Carmel she embraced the way of perfection outlined by the Foundress, Saint Teresa of Jesus, fulfilling with genuine fervour and fidelity the various community responsibilities entrusted to her. Her faith was tested by the sickness of her beloved father, Louis Martin, who died on 29 July 1894. Thérèse nevertheless grew in sanctity, enlightened by the Word of God and inspired by the Gospel to place love at the centre of everything. In her autobiographical manuscripts she left us not only her recollections of childhood and adolescence but also a portrait of her soul, the description of her most intimate experiences. She discovered the little way of spiritual childhood and taught it to the novices entrusted to her care. She considered it a special gift to receive the charge of accompanying two "missionary brothers" with prayer and sacrifice. Seized by the love of Christ, her only Spouse, she penetrated ever more deeply into the mystery of the Church and became increasingly aware of her apostolic and missionary vocation to draw everyone in her path.         On 9 June 1895, on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, she offered herself as a sacrificial victim to the merciful Love of God. At this time, she wrote her first autobiographical manuscript, which she presented to Mother Agnes for her birthday on 21 January 1896.         Several months later, on 3 April, in the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday, she suffered a haemoptysis, the first sign of the illness which would lead to her death; she welcomed this event as a mysterious visitation of the Divine Spouse. From this point forward, she entered a trial of faith which would last until her death; she gives overwhelming testimony to this in her writings. In September, she completed Manuscript B; this text gives striking evidence of the spiritual maturity which she had attained, particularly the discovery of her vocation in the heart of the Church.         While her health declined and the time of trial continued, she began work in the month of June on Manuscript C, dedicated to Mother Marie de Gonzague. New graces led her to higher perfection and she discovered fresh insights for the diffusion of her message in the Church, for the benefit of souls who would follow her way. She was transferred to the infirmary on 8 July. Her sisters and other religious women collected her sayings. Meanwhile her sufferings and trials intensified. She accepted them with patience up to the moment of her death in the afternoon of 30 September 1897. "I am not dying, I am entering life", she wrote to her missionary spiritual brother, Father M. Bellier. Her final words, "My God..., I love you!", seal a life which was extinguished on earth at the age of twenty-four; thus began, as was her desire, a new phase of apostolic presence on behalf of souls in the Communion of Saints, in order to shower a rain of roses upon the world.         She was canonized by Pope Pius XI on 17 May 1925. The same Pope proclaimed her Universal Patron of the Missions, alongside Saint Francis Xavier, on 14 December 1927.         Her teaching and example of holiness has been received with great enthusiasm by all sectors of the faithful during this century, as well as by people outside the Catholic Church and outside Christianity.         On the occasion of the centenary of her death, many Episcopal Conferences have asked the Pope to declare her a Doctor of the Church, in view of the soundness of her spiritual wisdom inspired by the Gospel, the originality of her theological intuitions filled with sublime teaching, and the universal acceptance of her spiritual message, which has been welcomed throughout the world and spread by the translation of her works into over fifty languages.         Mindful of these requests, His Holiness Pope John Paul II asked the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which has competence in this area, in consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with regard to her exalted teaching, to study the suitability of proclaiming her a Doctor of the Church.         On 24 August, at the close of the Eucharistic Celebration at the Twelfth World Youth Day in Paris, in the presence of hundreds of bishops and before an immense crowd of young people from the whole world, Pope John Paul II announced his intention to proclaim Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face a Doctor of the Universal Church on World Mission Sunday, 19 October 1997. - Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana

   Dom Donald's Blog: Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897), Carm...: Santa_Teresa_di_Gesu_Bambino-di_Lisieux-BA Wednesday, 01 October 2014 Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth week in Ordinary Time Saint ...

Saint Jerome / September 30 Text prepared by the Benedictines of Stanbrook, 1971

An image of Saint Jerome  http://www.spirituality.org/is/194/saint.asp

     

Saint Jerome / Doctor of the Church.

St Jerome was born in Dalmatia about the year 340. He studied in Rome and was later baptised. He then began to lead a life of asceticism. He went to the East and was there ordained priest. Returning to Rome he became secretary to Pope St Damasus and began the task of translating the Bible into Latin, as well as promoting the monastic life. He settled in Bethlehem where he gave great help in the needs of the Church. He wrote many works especially commentaries on the Scriptures. He died at Bethlehem in the year 420.

A Reading from a Letter of St Jerome to Rusticus.

No one is happier than the Christian, for in him is promised the kingdom of heaven: no-one is more toil-worn, for every day he goes in danger of his life. Nothing isstronger than he is, for he triumphs over the devil: nothing is weaker, for

he is conquered by the flesh.

If you wish to be, and not merely seem, a monk, have regard not for your property - you began your vows by renouncing it - but for your soul. Let a coarse tunic prove that you despise the world. Let your fasts be moderate: a frugal, temperate diet is good for both body and soul. Always have a book in your hand and before your eyes; learn the psalms word by word, pray without ceasing, keep your senses on the alert and closed against vain imaginings. Let your mind and body both strain towards the Lord; overcome wrath by patience; love the knowledge of the Scriptures and you will not love the sins of the flesh. Do not let your mind offer a lodging to disturbing thoughts, for if they once find a home in your breast they will become your masters and lead you on into fatal sin. Engage in some occupation, so that the devil will always find you busy. If the apostles who had the power to make the Gospel their livelihood still worked with their hands that they might not be a burden on any man, why should not you provide for your own future wants?

Make creels of reeds or weave baskets of pliant osiers. Hoe the ground and mark it out into equal plots, and when you have sown cabbage seed or set plants in rows, bring water down in channels. Graft barren trees with buds or slips so

that you may, after a little time, pluck sweet fruit as a reward for your labours.

Make hives for bees, for to them the Proverbs of Solomon send you, and by watching the tiny creatures learn the ordinance of a monastery and the discipline of a kingdom. Twist lines too for catching fish, and copy out manuscripts, so that your own hand may earn your food and your soul be satisfied with reading. 'Everyone that is idle is a prey to vain desires.'

The task is hard, and great and difficult; but great also are the rewards.

Letter CXXV. ET: F.A. Wright.

(Text prepared by the Benedictines of Stanbrook, 1971)

St. Jerome Priest and Doctor of the Church Sept. 30

St. Jerome (or Jerome) Priest and Doctor of the Church     Sept. 30

Stridone (border between Dalmatia and Pannonia), ca. 347 - Bethlehem, 420 He studied and encyclopedic but led to asceticism, he retired to the desert at Antioch, living in penance.Became a priest on condition of preserving its independence as monaco, began an intense literary activity.In Rome he worked with Pope Damasus, and, at his death, he returned to Jerusalem where he participated in numerous disputes through faith, founding not far from the Church of the Nativity, the monastery where he died. Of fiery character, especially in his writings, he was a mystic and provoked controversy or consensus, castigating vices and hypocrisies. Indefatigable writer, great scholar and excellent translator, he was responsible for the Latin Vulgate Bible, to which he added the comments, still as important as those on the books of the Prophets. Patronage: archaeologists, librarians, scholars Etymology: Jerome = name of the sacred, from the greek Emblem: Hat Cardinal Leone Martyrology: Memory of St. Jerome, priest and doctor of the Church, was born in Dalmatia, in today's Croatia, a man of great literary culture, he made ​​all his studies in Rome and was baptized here; then abducted by the charm of a life of contemplation, he embraced the ascetic life and, when he went to the East, he was ordained priest. Back in Rome, he became secretary of Pope Damasus, and then settled at Bethlehem in Judah, he retired to monastic life. He was an outstanding doctor in translating and explaining the Scriptures and was a participant in a wonderful way the different needs of the Church. Finally arrived at an advanced age, he rested in peace.

Then you will generously be granted entrance
into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

SECOND READING

From the prologue of the commentary on Isaiah by Saint Jerome, priest
(Nn. 1. 2: CCL 73, 1-3)

Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ

I interpret as I should, following the command of Christ: Search the Scriptures, and Seek and you shall find. Christ will not say to me what he said to the Jews: You erred, not knowing the Scriptures and not knowing the power of God. For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.

Therefore, I will imitate the head of a household who brings out of his storehouse things both new and old, and says to his spouse in the Song of Songs: I have kept for you things new and old, my beloved. In this way permit me to explain Isaiah, showing that he was not only a prophet, but an evangelist and an apostle as well. For he says about himself and the other evangelists: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news, of those who announce peace. And God speaks to him as if he were an apostle: Whom shall I send, who will go to my people? And he answers: Here I am; send me.

No one should think that I mean to explain the entire subject matter of this great book of Scripture in one brief sermon, since it contains all the mysteries of the Lord. It prophesies that Emmanuel is to be born of a virgin and accomplish marvelous works and signs. It predicts his death, burial and resurrection from the dead as the Savior of all men. I need say nothing about the natural sciences, ethics and logic. Whatever is proper to holy Scripture, whatever can be expressed in human language and understood by the human mind, is contained in the book of Isaiah. Of these mysteries the author himself testifies when he writes: You will be given a vision of all things, like words in a sealed scroll. When they give the writings to a wise man, they will say: Read this. And he will reply: I cannot, for it is sealed. And when the scroll is given to an uneducated man and he is told: Read this, he will reply: I do not know how to read.

Should this argument appear weak to anyone, let him listen to the Apostle: Let two or three prophets speak, and let others interpret; if, however, a revelation should come to one of those who are seated there, let the first one be quiet. How can they be silent, since it depends on the Spirit who speaks through his prophets whether they remain silent or speak? If they understood what they were saying, all things would be full of wisdom and knowledge. But it was not the air vibrating with the human voice that reached their ears, but rather it was God speaking within the soul of the prophets, just as another prophet says: It is an angel who spoke in me; and again, Crying out in our hearts, Abba, Father, and I shall listen to what the Lord God says within me.

RESPONSORY
See 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Proverbs 28:7

All Scripture is inspired by God and is valuable
for teaching and for showing the way to holiness,
– so that the man of God might be fully qualified and equipped for every good work.

The wise son is one who keeps God’s law.
– So that the man of God might be fully qualified and equipped for every good work.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Father,
you gave Saint Jerome delight
in his study of holy scripture.
May your people find in your word
the food of salvation and the fountain of life.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

The Angels by Anscar Vonier

s

Anscar Vonier 2nd Abbot at Buckfast

     Night Office Readings,

SAINT MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS
Feast.

29 September 2015

Gospel Mass John 1:47-51

Alternative Reading

From The Angels by Anscar Vonier (pages 84-89)

It is evident by all the laws of spiritual life that angelic beings must be, in one way or another, a great element in the consti­tution of man's eternal happiness. The bliss of the elect will be essentially this - to possess all truth, to be in contact with all reality, to see all beauty. To see the angels, to behold them, must of necessity constitute a source of happiness greater than anything which the visible world could afford; in fact, it is the supreme created source of happiness; God himself, clearly seen in the beatific vision, being the uncreated source of happiness. To be with the angels, to see them in their glory, is a most legitimate desire in the heart of man, and the saints of God have often given utterance to such a longing. We must always keep alive within us that essentially Catholic principle· of life, that the possession of the supreme Goodness, God himself, never destroys the appetite for created goodness, but, on the contrary, enhances it; to see God face to face produces in the minds of the elect a new capacity to see him in his creatures, and where is he seen to greater advantage than in the world of angels, which mirrors back, with an almost infinite power of radiation, the glory of the invisible God? Moreover, through the communion of supernatural grace man is allied to the angels by the bond of charity, he is not a foreigner but he is a fellow-citizen. There will be this truest exchange of love between man and the heavenly spirits: man, besides beholding the angels in their glory, will hold intercourse with them as citizens of the same kingdom, as the children of the same Father. This intercourse with the heavenly spirits will be the last thing in created love; greater love than that there could not be except man's communion with God himself.

There is, however, something deeper than this association with the angels in vision and love. It is Catholic tradition that the elect of the human race are destined to take the place of the fallen spirits, to fill up the gap made by the apostasies of the rebellious angels. This tradition profoundly modifies man's relationship to the angels; it puts him on a footing of equality with those mighty beings which is the most astonishing of all spiritual exaltations.

That there will be more than mere association of men and angels in the glory of eternity is clear from our Lord's words in speaking of the elect at the resurrection: Neither can they die anymore: for they are equal to the angels and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. This equality is entirely based on grace. Human nature will always remain what it is, vastly inferior to the angelic nature; but such is the power of grace that the inequality of nature is bridged over, and an elect from the human race may truly become, in all literalness of language, the equal of the highest angel.

Then again there are those human beings who will be absolutely superior by the very laws of their predestination to every angelic order; the blessed Mother of God is certainly one such creature.

The all-pervading principle is this: that grace is greater than nature, greater even than the highest spirit nature, and its scope is vaster than the vastest world.

 Sacred Space102fm: September 29th - Feast of the Archangels .. acredspace102.blogspot.com   

On September 29th we honor the three archangels mentioned by name in Scripture, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Michael is mentioned in Daniel and Revelation ...

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The Angels

by Dom Anscar Vonier. OSB

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First published in 1928, this book will satisfy that multitude of questions you have always had about angels and leave you with a happy closeness to those angelic friends of God and man. Subjects covered: Nature, life, sanctity of angels, guardian angels, evil spirits, and ....

Quick Overview

First published in 1928, this book will satisfy that multitude of questions you have always had about angels and leave you with a happy closeness to those angelic friends of God and man. Subjects covered: Nature, life, sanctity of angels, guardian angels, evil spirits, and more..

Luisa Piccarreta. Volume 6. November 23, 1903 There is no beauty that equals suffering for God alone.

29 September 2015

Book of Heaven, Luisa Piccarreta.
Volume 6.

November 23, 1903  

There is no beauty that equals suffering for God alone. 

I felt impressed in my interior by what I had written above, as if it were not according to the truth; so, as soon as I saw blessed Jesus, 

I said: ‘Lord, what I have written is not right; how can there be all this through mere suffering?’  

And He: “My daughter, do not be surprised.  Indeed, there is no beauty that equals suffering for the love of God alone.  Two arrows come from Me continuously: one from my Heart, which is of love, and wounds all those who are on my lap, that is, those who are in my grace.  This arrow wounds, mortifies, heals, afflicts, attracts, reveals, consoles and continues my Passion and Redemption in those who are on my lap.  The other comes from my throne, and I entrust it to the Angels who, as my ministers, make this arrow flow over any kind of people, chastising them and exciting all to conversion.”  

Now, while He was saying this, He shared His pains with me, telling me: 

“Here in you also, is the continuation of Redemption.”

Br Kentigern Thomas Heenan, 28 September 2015 Patristic Reading of St. Fulgentius

   90th Birthday Wishes to Brother Kentigern   

Sent: Monday, 28 September 2015, 1:20
Subject: Happy 90th Birthday Brother Kentigern

Church Fathers

COMMENT:

Before Mass; the thought of ‘The Holy Sacrifice Mass’ of priests for souls, Redemption.

Mt 7:21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven.
Saint Fulgentius reminds us in the words. 
"What can I offer the Lord that is worthy?...
Therefore those who want to offer God a worthy gift should begin by offering themselves". 

Patristic Lectionary.   

COMMENT: Check the Lectionary: 

Sent: Monday 28, September 2015, 

Subject: St Fulgentius echoing Augustine   iPad random after Night Office

And opens the horizons of 'enlargingtheheart' with Sermons of Fulgentius of Ruspe.   

 https://enlargingtheheart.wordpress.com/category/patristic/fulgentius-of-ruspe/   

Second Reading special in Lectionary...
 the variations of the translation, can be moving in prayer....throughout highlighted "children of God".

     MONDAY

First Reading

Micah 6:1-16

Responsorq       Sir 35:1-2; Ps 4:6

To keep the law is worth many offerings; to heed the command­ments is a peace-offering. t To return a kindness is a grain-offering,

to give alms a thank-offering.

V. Make justice your sacrifice and trust in the Lord. To return ...

Second Reading

From a sermon by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe

Let us reflect together upon the passage from Saint Micah which we have listened to together, and as we reflect on it in words, my friends, may we fulfil it in deeds. For we have listened to the words of a holy man, a righteous man, a devout man, a man concerned for his own salvation, a man who knew he had been created by God and considered himself subject to, a man who awaited the divine Judgment in great fear and trembling, knowing that then, before the tribunal of the just Judge, he would have to give an account not only of his words and deeds but even of his thoughts. And so, pondering on the future judgment of God - which each one of us should also fear and whatever we are doing remember with hearts full of dread - pondering on this, that holy and just man asked what he should do, or rather with what gifts he should implore the divine Judge.

But he knew that almighty God, who created the universe, who made everything from nothing, who made nothing be­cause he felt the pinch of poverty but all from a wealth of goodness, asks not only for our gifts but for our deeds. Or rather he knew that the gifts most pleasing to God and acceptable to him were a holy life and good works. So when he asked what gift one should offer God, he said: What can I offer the Lord that is worthy? But what can be worthy to offer God but the most excellent creature he has made? And assuredly, of all the creatures God has made upon earth none better can be found than the one he created in his own image; and that earthly creature is a human being.

  

Therefore those who want to offer God a worthy gift should begin by offering themselves. For since God made us in his own image he is delighted to be offered that image, and commands us to present it to him pure and innocent. Hence our Saviour’s answer to some who were trying to trap him: Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. In other words, just as you give Caesar his image on a coin, so give God his image in yourself. And when you give your Creator his own image it must be righteous, not evil; humble, not proud; not debased by greed, deformed by rapacity, reduced by vicious anger, worn away be earthly affections, soiled by envy, defiled by debauchery; but kept undiminished by prudent care, pure by true faith, and shining by good habits and deeds. The holy prophet tells us how to give God his own image in ourselves when he says: I will show you what is good and what the Lord requires of you. It is to act justly and righteously, to love mercy, and to walk mindfully with your God.   

  

Sent from my iPad..

Second Reading  From a sermon by Fulgentius of Ruspe.   

When our Lord gave the commandment of love for one's enemies, .......

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Fulgentius of Ruspe, Saint (468-533) Fulgentius left the Roman civil service for the monastic life at the age of twenty-one. In 508 he became bishop of Ruspe in North Africa. A faithful disciple of Saint Augustine, he was the best theologian of his time, and possessed a fluent knowledge of

Greek. Many of his writings were directed against the Arians, from whom he suffered constant persecution.