Category Archives: Saints and Blesseds

Solemnity of the Annunciation . Tuesday

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the Annunciation

The Annunciation heralds the dawn of our salvation. At Mary’s obedient fiat all humanity is wedded to the Divine. The salvation our heart cries out for every day became flesh in the womb of Mary our Mother. We are Christians because of what God announced to Mary : “Hail, full of Grace! the Lord is with you … Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God” ( Luke 1:26 )

Be it done unto me according to your word the virgin Mary whispers. And at that moment the Eternal Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And this living word embodies the gift of redemption. It will mean for all people in all times unending union with Him and his Father. Eternal Life for all who believe in Jesus Christ our Lord..

Source Magnificat

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The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.

The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.

Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.

Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word.

from a homily by St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St Joseph our Spiritual Father

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Saint Joseph . VID

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so prompt, so strong, before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

O Glorious Saint Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in a spirit of penance for the expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations; to work with thankfulness and joy. Amen

Transitus of Saint Benedict . Friday

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The Death of Saint Benedict

St. Gregory the Great was born during the lifetime of St. Benedict. He wrote the first account of St. Benedict. He tells us that the saint predicted his death. He had his tomb made a few days before he died and when his end came, he had himself taken to church and received communion. There he died, standing, his arms outstretched. In his death Saint Benedict conformed himself to the death of Christ, arms outstretched on the cross, as his hope was to rise with Christ to eternal life.

St. Gregory the Great wrote: “he gave orders for his tomb to be opened. Almost immediately, he was seized with a violent fever that rapidly wasted his remaining energy. Each day his condition grew worse until finally, on the sixth day, he had his disciples carry him into the chapel where he received the Body and Blood of our Lord to gain strength for his approaching end. Then, supporting his weakened body on the arms of his brethren, he stood with his hands raised to heaven and, as he prayed, breathed his last.

From St. Gregory the Great, Book Two of the Dialogues

St Joseph Patron of the Church

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The Faithful foster Father and Guardian

There is a general rule concerning all special graces granted to any human being. Whenever the divine favour chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfil the task at hand.

This general rule is especially verified in the case of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of our Lord and the husband of the Queen of our world, enthroned above the angels. He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: “Good and faithful servant enter into the joy of your Lord.”

In him the Old Testament finds its fitting close. He brought the noble line of patriarchs and prophets to its promised fulfilment. What the divine goodness had offered as a promise to them, he held in his arms.

Now we can see how the last summoning words of the Lord appropriately apply to Saint Joseph: “Enter into the joy of your Lord.” In fact, although the joy of eternal happiness enters into the soul of a man, the Lord preferred to say to Joseph: “Enter into joy.” His intention was that the words should have a hidden spiritual meaning for us. They convey not only that this holy man possesses an inward joy, but also that it surrounds him and engulfs him like an infinite abyss.

Remember us, Saint Joseph, and plead for us to your foster-child. Ask your most holy bride, the Virgin Mary, to look kindly upon us, since she is the mother of him who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns eternally. Amen.

St Bernardine of Siena

Solemnity of St Joseph . Wednesday

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Patron of the whole Church

One hundred years ago, Pope Leo XIII had already exhorted the Catholic world to pray for the protection of St. Joseph, Patron of the whole Church. The Encyclical Epistle Quamquam Pluries appealed to Joseph’s “fatherly love…for the child Jesus” and commended to him, as “the provident guardian of the divine Family,” “the beloved inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by his blood.”

Since that time–as I recalled at the beginning of this Exhortation–the Church has implored the protection of St. Joseph on the basis of “that sacred bond of charity which united him to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God,” and the Church has commended to Joseph all of her cares, including those dangers which threaten the human family.

Even today we have many reasons to pray in a similar way: “Most beloved father, dispel the evil of falsehood and sin…graciously assist us from heaven in our struggle with the powers of darkness…and just as once you saved the Child Jesus from mortal danger, so now defend God’s holy Church from the snares of her enemies and from all adversity.”

Pope St John Paul II

Saint Patrick’s Day

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Jeffrey Bruno . Photographer . WEB

The Lorica of Saint Patrick

Also known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate
is a protection prayer St. Patrick wrote in the fourth century.

According EWTN’s Catholic Q&A, “it is believed that St. Patrick and his followers sang this magnificent prayer when traveling to pagan communities.”

“There were Catholics in Ireland when St. Patrick arrived, but he completed the conversion of the entire isle to the Catholic faith. His missionaries then traveled, usually in groups of 12, to England and all over the European continent, bringing the word of God and converting pagans to the Catholic Church.”

We often see the bottom portion of this prayer, but it is much longer than that! Below is the longer version. It is great for daily use!

Lorica of St. Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

Churchpop . WEB

Stations of the Cross

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Stations . WEB

Blessed are the merciful, because they shall obtain mercy
says the Scripture. Mercy is not the least of the beatitudes.

Not even night should interrupt you in your duty of mercy. Do not say: Come back and I will give you something tomorrow. There should be no delay between your intention and your good deed. Generosity is the one thing that cannot admit of delay.

What a marvellous reward there will be: Your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will rise up quickly. Who would not aspire to light and healing.

If you think that I have something to say, servants of Christ, his brethren and co-heirs, let us visit Christ whenever we may; let us care for him, feed him, clothe him, welcome him, honour him, not only at a meal, as some have done, or by anointing him, as Mary did, or only by lending him a tomb, like Joseph of Arimathaea, or by arranging for his burial, like Nicodemus, who loved Christ half-heartedly, or by giving him gold, frankincense and myrrh, like the Magi before all these others.

Let us then show him mercy in the persons of the poor and those who today are lying on the ground, so that when we come to leave this world they may receive us into everlasting dwelling places, in Christ our Lord himself, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

St Gregory Nazianzen

Pillars of Lent

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the Pillars

God hides the prize of Eternal Glory
in our mortifications.

St Jane Frances Chantal

Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity.

Prayer is the articulation of love. It is with the heart rather than the lips that we pray.
He who prays with desire sings in his heart even though his tongue be silent.

St Augustine

It is better to give alms than to store up gold; For almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life; but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.

Book of Tobit

Book . Retreat at Home

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Fr Boniface’s Book . WEB

Reader comments

If you’re looking for a book that takes you outside of the usual Marian consecration and the dredging language in most Marian consecration booklets, look no further. Father Boniface has truly created a work of spiritual art. The daily reflections will leave you in a meditative State of mind and allow you to dwell in the Hermitage of the heart all day. Well this particular book of consecration is a very easy and comfortable read (almost as if you are having a conversation with Father Boniface himself), it is full of meat that will leave you both intellectually and spiritually full. – JD

Beautiful art work and passages. Highly recommend – Lola

Of all the versions of 33 day Marian consecration I think that this one is perhaps the finest. The level of devotion and trustful surrender possible through these beautiful meditations is profound. – CLW 84