Most Holy Trinity

O Trinity, O Father, O Word, O Spirit, give your light to your creatures, one by one, so that they may understand their malice; and give me the grace to be able to satisfy for them, even by giving my life when this might be necessary. Oh, why can I not give this light to all? Would that we all together could make reparation for the offenses you receive, even though we could not satisfy for them except by your own goodness...O immeasurable goodness, diffuse yourself in the hearts of your elect!

O eternal Word, when you were nailed to the most hard wood of the Cross, you did not aim at anything else but bringing creatures to you....You said: "I thirst", and you showed that you thirsted not only for those souls then present, but also for those that were yet to come. You suffered thirst, O sweet God, you suffered thirst, O good and all-loving God...O how can it be that One Who relieves His thirst with the very blood of the eternal Word does not relieve Him also of the thirst that He has for His creatures.

Looking at myself, O God of Love, I would never raise my mind and my will to ask for this Comforter. But looking again at Your Being, which is goodness and love, and mercy, I cannot but long for the coming of Your Holy Spirit. I know, though not as I should, that I am not in any way a vessel suitable to receive You. But considering that you are He Who makes suitable every heart that desires this grace, I yearn for you in my inmost heart; and with the offering of the Blood of the Word....which offering I pray the saints to make for me to the Most Holy Trinity....I take courage to ask and beg for this Holy Spirit.



Wherefore I pray you, all you angelic spirits and saintly souls in heaven, in your act of love and through that same continued act of love that is yours, pray for the Holy Ghost that He may come to dwell in my and all other daughters of Mary. Moreover, in asking for this Holy Spirit, I intend to receive the entire Holy Trinity.

St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

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Most Holy Trinity

Belief in God's word is a necessary preliminary to the vision of God. As St Paul says this belief must be at least an explicit or conscious belief in the existence of God and in the fact that God rewards those who seek Him. St Thomas adds that the object of faith also includes the means to happiness which is Incarnation. Therefore, an explicit belief in Incarnation is also necessary. Since the Incarnation cannot be believed in explicitly without believing in the Trinity - for how can a man believe the Second Person of the Trinity became man unless he believes in the mystery of the Trinity - it follows that the belief in the Trinity is also required for the attainment of the vision of God. By accepting these truth in faith man begins to learn to know God as He really is.

after "My Way of Life - The Summa Simplified"

Canticle of Love
Come, kings of the earth, to Love; come and adore my Love
I sing of our Creator's power and glory; come let us adore Him.
For we are the work of His hands, the price of His Blood.
There is no one like to God; come let us adore Him.
Stop not at the things of the earth, for they are nothing; pass to their Maker's praise.
Come, all dwellers on the earth, for they are nothing; pass by the passing things on earth.
And remembering we are only pilgrims, come in adoration to our Father and King.
Fall down before the Creator of all and offer Him your hearts.
praise and bless Him, sing with lips and heart! There is no one like You, Lord.
Let us adore the Trinity, One God, mystery unfathomable;
Three immensities making only one power; come and adore.
His anger is terrible; come, let us adore Him.
The fiercest of wild beast tremble before Him; come, sinners, let us adore Him.
His tenderest goodness is for souls who seek after Him; come , you upright, and adore Him.
All creation bows down with rejoicing before Him; come, all, and adore Him.


O my God, my God! If my eye is going to offend You, pluck it out, or I shall pluck it out myself. If my hands, my feet, my tongue are going to offend you, cut them off. Break my body with pains the most intolerable rather than allow any of my members to offend you.

after "The Thoughts of Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified"

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Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

Consecration to the Holy Trinity
O everlasting and Triune God,
I consecrate myself wholly to you today
Let all my days offer you ceaseless praise,
My hands move to the rythm of your impulses,
My feet be swift in your service,
My voice sing constantly of you,
My lips proclaim your message,
My eyes perceive you everywhere,
And my ears be attuned to your inspirations.
May my intellect be filled with your wisdom,
My will be moved by your beauty,
My heart be enraptured with your love,
And my soul be flooded with your grace,
Grant that every action of mine be done
For your greater glory
And the advancement of my salvation. AMEN

Prayer to the Holy Trinity
Glory be to the Father,
Who by His almighty power and love created me,
making me in the image and likeness of God.

Glory be to the Son, Who by His
Precious Blood delivered me from hell,
and opened for me the gates of heaven.

Glory be to the Holy Spirit,
Who has sanctified me in the Sacrament of Baptism,
and continues to sanctify me
by the graces I receive daily from His bounty.

GLORY BE TO THE THREE ADORABLE
PERSONS OF THE HOLY TRINITY,
NOW AND FOR EVER. AMEN

O MY GOD, TRINITY WHOM I ADORE.

O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely that I may be established in You as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing trouble my peace or make me leave You, O my Unchanging One, but may each minute carry me further into the depths of Your Mystery. Give peace to my soul; make it Your heaven, Your beloved dwelling place. May I never leave You there alone but be wholly present, my faith wholly vigilant, wholly adoring, and wholly surrendered to Your creative Action.
O my Beloved Christ,crucified by love, I wish to be a bride for Your Heart; I wish to cover you with glory; I wish to love You...even to dying of it! But I feel my weekness and I ask You "to clothe me with Yourself", to identify my soul with all the movements of Your soul, to overwhelm me, to possess me, to substitute Yourself for me that my life may be a radiance of Your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Restorer, as Saviour.
O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life listening to You, to become wholly teachable that I may learn all from You. Then, through all nights, all voids, all helplesness, I want to gaze on You always and remain in Your great light. O my Beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may not withdraw from Your radiance.
O consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, "come upon me", and create in my soul a kind of incarnation of the Word: that I may be another humaity in which He can renew His whole Mystery. And You, O Father, bend lovingly over Your poor little creature; "cover her with Your shadow," seeing in her only the "Beloved in whom You are well pleased."
O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, Infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself to You as Your prey. Bury Yourself in me that I may bury myself in ou until I depart to contemplate in Your light the abyss of Your greatness.

Bl Elizabeth of the Trinity "Light, Love, Life"

The main picture is Murillo's painting "The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities"

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Trinity Sunday - click to read more

God is the object of faith in two ways. In faith God is both the object that the mind of man knows and He is the light by which man knows God. When the human eye sees the greenness of the yew tree in daylight, the greenness is what it sees and the sunshine is the light by which it sees it. When a man assents in faith to the divine revelation that God is Three Persons in one nature, the Trinity is what he believes and God's word is the light by which he believes it.

Faith is concerned with truth not naturally accessible to the mind of man. However it is a fact that God has also revealed some truth that human reason could discover, such as the existence of God, the immortality of the human soul, and the like. God has done this because He knows that many men, through lack of talent or opportunity, or even through mere laziness, might never come to the knowledge of these important thruths. Whenever man cannot discover these truths for themselves, it is possible for them to learn these truth through faith in God's word. But primarily faith is concerned with the mysteries of God in Himself and in His actions in the world which men could never discover for themselves.

Faith is then an enlargement of the horizons of the human mind. It lifts the mind of man above the world of nature and sets it free in the limitless world of the DIvine Being. It introduces man to that great mystery of the Divine Life, the Trinity. It makes man aware of God's stupendous entrance into human life through the Incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus Christ. It informs man of the divine generosity in making the vision of God possible for men. It gives man a knowledge of the supernatural means by which he can attain the vision of God. Faith does not impose limitations on the mind of man. It removes them. Through faith the mind of man is no longer subject to the imperfections of the senses or of human reason. Through faith man is given a share in the infinite perfection of God's own knowledge. If man's ultimate goal is the vision of God, then faith, which gives man some knowledge, even though an obscure knowledge, of God as He is in Himself, is a beginning of happiness in human life. It puts man on the road to ultimate happiness.

God, the object of faith is in Himself absolutely simple. But the simple things are often the hardest to understand or explain. For example, if we look at a lever, it is a simple thing, but how many words, sentences or even paragraphs may be necessary to explain its power to lift great weights. So it is with God. Because He is absolutely simple, the human mind, which understands things bit by bit, cannot grasp the Divine Being simply. It must, as it were, go round God slowly, viewing Him now from this angle and now from another angle. It will express each of these different viewsof the one simple object - God - in a separate judgment or proposition. In revealing Himself to man God has taken account of this weakness of the human mind. He has revealed Himself to man bit by bit, sentence after sentence.

These truth or judments about God, which God has revealed, make up the content of faith. They are many and they were revealed to man over long period of time, from Adam to Christ and His Apostles. Because God is absolutely one and absolutely simple, some of these truths are contained implicitly in others. From the point of view of the human mind which accept these truths in faith, we may reduce all the revealed truths about God to the mysteries of the Trinity - God as He is in Himself - and the Incarnation - God as He enters the world supernaturally to accomplish the salvation of man.

after "My Way of Life - The Summa Simplified"

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Saturday, Day of Our Lady

...Christ possess the fullness of all grace. His soul is intimately and substantially united to God in the Person of the Son of God. Because it is more closely united to God, the source of divine grace, than anyone else, it receives the greatest outpouring of grace. Since Christ is to communicate the grace of God to others, He must possess the greatest degree of grace. It might be well to remark here that Christ possessed an absolute fullness of grace. We say of Mary, His Mother, and of some of the saints that they also were full of God's grace. In their case we are referring to a relative fullness of grace; they possessed as much grace as they needed to perform the work God gave them to do. But Christ had most stupendous task of all: He had to redeem the whole human race; He had to restore grace to the whole human race. Hence He had to possess an absolute fullness of grace.

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Ember Days after Pentecost

In the Traditional Catholic calendar, the 'Ember Days' are observed for particular sanctification of the seasons with the fast and abstinence during the third week of Advent, the first full week of Lent, the week after Pentecost, and the third full week in September.On Wednesday and Saturday the abstinence is only partial, meaning meat may be eaten at the main meal. Ember Fridays are similar to Good Friday's devotion, with fast and abstinence from all meat.

For Spiritual readings - please follow links:

SATURDAY

FRIDAY

WEDNESDAY

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The Church of Christ

"If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of charity, if any society of the spirit, if any bowels of commiseration: Fulfill ye my joy, that you may be of one mind, having the same charity, being of one accord, agreeing in sentiment. Let nothing be done through contention, neither by vain glory: but in humility, let each esteem others better than themselves: Each one not considering the things that are his own, but those that are other men's". (Phil 2:1-4)

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The Spirit of Christ - click to read meditation

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St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi about Our Lady - click to read

Our Lady of Mt Carmel statue from the Carmelite Church of Buen Suceso, Seville, Spain.

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St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, Virgin, Carmelite (1566-1607)

Spiritual Bouquet:
Blessed are those servants whom the master, on his return, shall find watching. St. Luke 12:37

Saint Mary Magdalene of Pazzi was the only daughter of the illustrious Camille de Pazzi, related to the Medicis of Florence. She was born in the year 1566, and was baptized with the name of Catherine. As a child she loved to go into solitary places to enter into prayer with God, who revealed Himself to her from her tender years without the aid of teachers, as her Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. She made a crown of thorns one day, and wore it for an entire night, enduring great pain. She received her First Communion at ten years of age; at twelve years, she made a vow of virginity and took great pleasure in teaching Christian doctrine to poor children.
Her father, not knowing of her vow, wished to give her in marriage, but she persuaded him to allow her to become a religious, and chose the Carmelites, because there the nuns received Communion frequently. She entered in the year of the death of Saint Teresa of Avila, 1582, at the age of sixteen. It had been more difficult to obtain her mother’s consent; while she was a novice, her mother sent a portrait artist to the convent, with instructions that her daughter be portrayed in lay clothing. The Sisters complied with her request, and the portrait can still be seen in the Convent. She became professed at eighteen years of age in the Carmelite monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence, May 17, 1584, Feast of the Holy Trinity. She changed her name of Catherine to that of Mary Magdalene on becoming a nun, and took as her motto, “Either suffer or die.”

Her life thereafter was one of penance for sins not her own, and of love for Our Lord, who tried her in ways fearful and strange. She was obedient, observant of the Rule, humble and mortified, and had great reverence for the religious life. One day, when she seemed to be at the last hour of her life, she rose from her sickbed and hastened everywhere throughout the convent, saying during her ecstasy, “O Love! O Love! No one knows You, no one knows You, no one loves You!” For five years she was tormented by demons with fearful temptations of pride, sensuality, gluttony, despair, blasphemy; they became so violent that she said, “I do not know whether I am a reasonable creature or one without reason; I see nothing in myself but a little good will never to offend the divine Majesty.”

God raised her to elevated states of prayer and gave her rare gifts, enabling her to read the thoughts of her novices, and filling her with wisdom to direct them. She was twice chosen mistress of novices, and then made Superior. On her deathbed she asked her Sisters to love only Our Lord Jesus Christ, to place all hope in Him, and be perpetually ardent with desire to suffer for love of Him. God took her to Himself on May 15, 1607. Her body remains incorrupt.

Reflection.
Saint Mary Magdalene of Pazzi was so filled with the love of God that her Sisters saw it in her love for them, and called her “Mother of Charity,” and “the Charity of the Monastery.”

Her incorruptible body lies in a beautiful glass casket in the Carmelite Monastery of St Maria degli Angeli, Florence

credit: www.magnificat.ca

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Week of St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi - click to read

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Feast of St Mary Magdalene de Pazzi - click to read

"Holy Spirit, I see You coming down into the soul like the sun which, finding no obstacle, no impediment, illumines everything; I see You descending like a fiery thunderbolt which, in falling, goes up to the lowest place it finds and there it reposes, never stopping on the way nor resting on the mountainous or high places but rather in the center of the earth. Thus You, O Holy Spirit, when You come down from heaven with the fiery dart of Your divine love, You do not repose in proud hearts or in arrogant spirits, but You make Your abode in souls that are humble and contemptible in their own eyes" (St. Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi).

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Preparation for pentecost - from OLRL

Why is the Holy Ghost called the Paraclete?
Through the apostles and disciples whom He made so eloquent and so courageous that they intrepidly professed and preached Christ to be the Son of God, and the true Messiah. This doctrine He confirmed by astounding miracles, and sealed it by their blood which they shed in its defense The Holy Ghost still gives testimony of Christ through the Church, that is, the clergy, through whom He speaks, and who must, therefore, be listened to reverently. We must also give testimony of Christ and profess by our lives, by patience in crosses and afflictions that He is our Teacher, our Lord, and our God; for if we do not thus acknowledge Him in this world He will deny us before His Father in heaven. (Matt 10: 33)

Did the Jews sin in persecuting and putting to death the apostles?
Undoubtedly; for although they erroneously believed they were doing God a service, their ignorance and error were very sinful and deserving of punishment, because they could easily have known and been instructed in the truth.

Those Christians who neglect all religious instruction hardly know what is necessary for salvation, and make light of many things which are grievous sins; as also those who are in doubt whether they justly or unjustly possess certain goods, and yet through fear of being compelled to make restitution, neglect to settle the doubts such are in culpable ignorance.

What must every Christian know and believe in order to be saved?
That there is but one God, who has created and governs all things; that God is a just judge, who rewards the good and punishes the wicked; that there are in the Deity three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; that the Son of God became man for love of us, taught us, and by His death on the cross redeemed us; that the Holy Ghost sanctifies us by His grace, without which we cannot become virtuous or be saved; that man's soul is immortal.

PETITION

Send us, O Lord Jesus ! the Paraclete, that He may console and strengthen us in all our afflictions. Enlighten us by Thy Holy Spirit that we may learn and live in accordance with the truths of faith. Amen.

INSTRUCTION ON SCANDAL
These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. (John 16:1)

How is scandal given?
By speaking, doing or omitting that which will be, to others an occasion, of sin: Scandal is given in different ways, for instance: if you dress improperly, speak improper words, or sing bad songs; by which you can see, that your neighbor will be tempted to think, desire or act wrongly; or what is worse, if you act sinfully, in the presence of, others, or bring bad books, books against good morals, or against the holy faith, among people; if you incite others to anger, cursing, and vengeance, or if you prevent them from attending church, the sermon, or catechetical instruction, etc. In all these things you become guilty of scandal, as well as of all the sins to which it gives rise.

If at the Last judgment we will be unable to give an account of our own sins, how, then can we answer for the innumerable sins caused by, he scandal we have given? Therefore Christ pronounces a terrible, woe upon those who give scandal. Woe to that man, He says, by whom the scandal cometh! It were better for him, that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matt. 18)

How do parents give scandal?
By giving their children bad example; by excessive anger, cursing and swearing; by avarice, injustice and cheating; by discord and quarrels; by gluttony in eating and drinking; by extravagance and vanity in dress; by sneering at religion, good morals, etc.; by not keeping their children from evil company, but sometimes even bringing them into it; by not punishing and endeavoring to eradicate their children's vices. How much parents sin, through such scandals, cannot be expressed; at the Day of judgment their children will be their accusers!

How do masters give scandal to their servants and those under their care?
In the same way as parents do to their children; by keeping them away from, or not urging them by their own example or command to attend church on Sundays and holy-days; by giving them meat on fast-days; by commanding them to do sinful things, such as stealing, injuring others, etc.

INSTRUCTION ON PREPARATION FOR PENTECOST

1). We should withdraw, after the example of the Blessed Virgin and the apostles, to some solitary place, or at least avoid, intercourse with others, as much as possible; speak but little, and apply ourselves to earnest and persevering prayer; for in solitude God speaks to man.

2). We should purify our conscience by a contrite confession, become reconciled to our neighbor, if we have lived in enmity; for the Holy Ghost, as a spirit of peace and purity, lives only in pure and peaceful souls. (Ps. 75: 3)

3). We should give alms according to our means, for it is said in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 10) of the Gentile centurion Cornelius, that by prayer and alms-deeds he made himself worthy of the gifts of the Holy Ghost.

4). We should fervently desire to receive the Holy Ghost, and should give expression to this longing by frequent aspirations to God, making use of the prayer: "Come, O Holy Ghost, etc."

From the classic, Fr Goffine "The Church's Year"

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The Holy Spirit - click to read meditation

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Sunday After Ascension

From homily of St. Augustine on the Ascension of Our Lord

The resurrection of the Lord is our hope ; the Ascension of the Lord is our glorification. Today we are keeping the Feast of the Ascension. If, therefore, we are to celebrate this holy day right fittingly, faithfully, devoutly, and in a holy and religious manner, we must in mind likewise ascend, and lift up our hearts, unto the Lord. When we ascend we must not be high-minded, nor flatter ourselves with our good works, as though they were our own. Rather, we must lift up our hearts unto the Lord. When man's heart is lifted up, but not unto the Lord, such lifting up is pride ; to lift up the heart unto the Lord, is to make the Most High our Refuge. Behold, my brethren, a great wonder. God is high, but if thou art lifted up he fleeth from thee ; whereas, if thou humblest thyself , he cometh down to thee. Wherefore? The Lord is high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly ; as for the proud he beholdeth them afar off. To the lowly he hath respect, that he may raise them up ; the proud he knoweth from afar, that he may thrust them down. Christ arose again, to give us hope that this mortal will yet put on immortality. Thereby he hath given us a sure and certain hope, so that no one need die in despair, in the thought that death endeth life. For mankind hath ever been troubled about the future of the soul after death ; but Christ, arising from the grave hath even assured us as to the resurrection of the body also. Believe therefore, that thou mayest be cleansed and made pure. First it behoveth thee to believe, that afterwards by faith thou mayest attain to see God. And wouldest thou see God? Give ear to his own words : Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Think first, then, how to purify thine heart ; take from it whatsoever thou seest in it which displeaseth God.

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Fr Norman Weslin arrested for anti-abortion protest

I am sure many of you have already seen this video, it is very moving to see elderly priest who peacefully protest abortion arrested and humiliated. What is the world we live in, and what kind of message this arrest gives?

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Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta excerpts from the interview - click to read

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Mary's Prayer - click to read

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Feast of Ascension - click to read

"And eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard (saith he) by my mouth. For John indeed baptized with water: but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. They therefore who were come together, asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? But he said to them: It is not for you to know the time or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power: But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments. Who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven."-Acts 1:4-11

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Ascension Novena - click to read

"And eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard (saith he) by my mouth. For John indeed baptized with water: but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. They therefore who were come together, asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? But he said to them: It is not for you to know the time or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power: But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments. Who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven."-Acts 1:4-11

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