September 22
“To most, even good people, God is a belief. To the saints, He is an embrace.”
-Francis Thompson
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Blog Posts
Sudden Change
September 21
St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
“The other Evangelists, out of respect for Matthew, did not call him by his common name, so they said Levi. But Matthew called himself Matthew and a publican, that he might show his readers that no one ought to despair of salvation … since he himself suddenly changed from a publican to an apostle.”
-St. Jerome on St. Matthew
Will of God
September 20
Feast of Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest and Martyr; Paul Chong Hasang, and Companions, Martyr
“Hold fast to the will of God and with all your heart fight the good fight under the leadership of Jesus; conquer again the diabolical power of this world that Christ has already vanquished.”
-St. Andrew Kim Taegon
I Offered Myself
September 19
“I saw Jesus moving through the world, laden with His Cross, searching for souls to bear it with him; but they all ran away at his approach…so once more I offered myself.”
-Marthe Robin, French Mystic
Custody of the Senses
September 18
God be in my head
And in my understanding;
God be in my eyes
And in my looking;
God be in my mouth
And in my speaking;
God be in my heart
And in my thinking;
God be at my end
And in my departing.
-The Sarum Missal (11th C.)
Reward
September 17
Feast of St. Robert Bellarmine (1542 – 1621)
“Is it not true that you promise those who keep your commandments a reward more desirable than great wealth and sweeter than honey? You promise a most abundant reward, for as your apostle James says: ‘The Lord has prepared a crown of life for those who love him.’ What is this crown of life? It is surely a greater good than we can conceive of or desire, as Saint Paul says, quoting Isaiah: ‘Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him.’”
-St. Robert Bellarmine
Shared Love
September 16
Feast of St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr (D. 253)
and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (D. 258)
“By that shared love which binds us closely together, we are doing all we can to exhort our congregation, to give ourselves unceasingly to fastings, vigils and prayers in common. These are the heavenly weapons which give us the strength to stand firm and endure; they are the spiritual defenses, the God-given armaments that protect us.”
-St. Cyprian in a letter to St. Cornelius
Our Lady of Sorrows
September 15, Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lord and Our Lady
They warned Our Lady for the Child
That was Our Blessed Lord,
And She took Him into the desert wild,
Over the camel’s ford.
And a long song She sang to Him
And a short story told:
And She wrapped Him in a woolen cloak
To keep Him from the cold.
But when Our Lord was grown a man
The Rich they dragged Him down,
And they crucified Him in Golgotha,
Out and beyond the Town.
They crucified Him on Calvary,
Upon an April day;
And because He had been her little Son
She followed Him all the way.
Our Lady stood beside the Cross,
A little space apart,
And when She heard Our Lord cry out
A sword went through Her Heart.
They laid Our Lord in a marble tomb,
Dead, in a winding sheet.
But Our Lady stands above the world
With the white Moon at Her feet.
-Hilaire Belloc
Faithful Cross
September 14
Feast of the Triumph of the Cross
“Faithful Cross, above all other, one and only noble tree…Sweet the wood, and sweet the iron, and thy load, most sweet is He.”
-Venantius Fortunatus
Today's Reflection:
In what one area of my life have I most recently seen the liberating power of Christ’s Cross? Today, I will offer a sacrifice of praise for His gracious mercy.
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Good Resolutions
September 13
Feast of St. John Chrysostom (D. 407)
“When we once begin to form good resolutions, God gives us every opportunity to carry them out.”
-St. John Chrysostom
Today's Reflection:
How is God giving me every opportunity to carry out my good resolutions? Am I doing a good job?
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