WHAT DOES ST ANDREW THE APOSTLE TEACH US?

As in the case of all the apostles except Peter and John, the Gospels give us little about the holiness of Andrew. He was an apostle. That is enough. He was called personally by Jesus to proclaim the Good News, to heal with Jesus’ power and to share his life and death.He was a friend of the Master and his joy was in making Him known.  It was Andrew who introduced the Greeks to Jesus on Palm Sunday. What a wonderful description of a Christian – “to make Jesus known”   And holiness today is no different. It is a gift that includes a call to be concerned about the Kingdom, an outgoing attitude that wants nothing more than to share the riches of Christ with all people.

And we can find no better model than Andrew.

St Andrew Pray for us!

ABANDONMENT

IN GOD'S HANDS

“My God, I do not know what 
must come to me today.
But I am certain that nothing
can happen to me that You have 
not foreseen, decreed and ordained 
from all eternity.
That is sufficient for me.”

– St. Joseph Pignatelli

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF THIS?

CHOOSE THE BEST

The pursuit of God’s wisdom may not lead to riches or earthly honours. In St Catherine’s case, this pursuit contributed to her martyrdom. She was not, however, foolish in preferring to die for Jesus rather than live only by denying Him. All the rewards that her tormentors offered her would rust, lose their beauty, or in some other way become a poor exchange for Catherine’s honesty and integrity in following Jesus Christ.
Each one will die and the things of this world end. It is only the life to come that is without end, the choice seems a simple one, surely?
St Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us all!

SADNESS

THE CROSS

PUT YOUR TRUST IN THE LORD

CHRIST, OUR KING

Lord Jesus Christ, our King,

I love and worship You as the Lord and Master of my life.
Be the King of my heart, my soul my mind and my strength.
Reign over my weakness, my problems, my worries, my hurts,
my fears, my longings, my imperfectionws and my trials.
When my feelings, ideas, passions or emotions threaten to
dominate my life, come swiftly with Your sovereign power.
Make my life one of perpetual obedience and adoration
to God and for You in union with the Holy Spirit.
With longing for the coming of God’s Kingdom,
I offer my intentions (mention your request).
Amen 

PURITY OF HEART

FOLLOWERS OF JESUS

ST JOSAPHAT - NOVEMBER 12

Memorial of St Josaphat – November 12 

He became bishop of Vitebsk at a relatively young age and faced a difficult situation. Most monks, fearing interference in liturgy and customs, did not want union with Rome. By synods, catechetical instruction, reform of the clergy and personal example, however, Josaphat was successful in winning the greater part of the Orthodox in that area to the union. 

But the next year a dissident hierarchy was set up and his opposite number spread the accusation that Josaphat had “gone Latin” and that all his people would have to do the same. He was not enthusiastically supported by the Latin bishops of Poland. Despite warnings, he went to Vitebsk, still a hotbed of trouble. Attempts were made to foment trouble and drive him from the diocese: A priest was sent to shout insults to him from his own courtyard. When Josaphat had him removed and shut up in his house, the opposition rang the town hall bell and a mob assembled. The priest was released but members of the mob broke into the bishop’s home. Josaphat was struck with a halberd, then shot and his body thrown into the river. It was later recovered and is now buried in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. He was the first saint of the Eastern Church to be canonised by Rome. His death brought a movement toward Catholicism and unity but the controversy continued .

MY MORNING PRAYER

KINDNESS

THE POSITIVE SIDE OF PAIN

Look upon each pain as a love token coming to you directly from God in order to unite you to Him.  

ST ELIZABETH OF THE HOLY TRINITY

GOD IS EVERYTHING FOR US

You cannot go a step unless he gives you power to move. You cannot so much as open or shut your eyes without his will and assistance. For, if you do not believe it is he who moves every joint and member of your body, you are no Christian; but if you believe it is from him you receive this favor, and yet, after all, are so impudent as to offend him, I cannot tell what name to give you. If a man were standing on the top of a high tower with a small cord in his hand, and another man hanging at the end of it, do you think that he who should be so near falling down headlong, would dare to give abusive language to the person that held the cord ? Imagine yourself to be in such a condition. You depend on the will of God as it were on a thread; so that, should he forsake you but for one moment, you would be instantly reduced to your first nothing. With what insolence, then, can you dare provoke so dreadful a Majesty, who is so merciful as to support you, even when you sin against him ? 

(via Et Verbum: The Catholic Church Alone. The One True Church of Christ. Part 165.)

HOLY SOULS OF PURGATORY

UNDER THE EYES OF GOD

ASSISTANCE TO THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY

DAILY OFFERING TO GOD

THE CROSS

THE HOLY SOULS

sedlec ossuary

The Sedlec Ossuary also known as the Church of Bones is one of the most unusual chapels you will ever see.


If you think that you saw everything in your life, think again!
The Sedlec Ossuary is nothing spectacular in the outside. It is a small chapel located in Sedlec, in the suburbs of Kutna Hora, in the Czech Republic. You would think that it is just an average old medieval gothic church.
As you enter the Sedlec Ossuary though, you will soon realize why it is one of the most amazing and unique churches in the world.The Sedlec Ossuary is artistically decorated by more than 40.000 human skeletons.
Thus it is also known as the Church of Bones or as the Bone Church.
One of the most fascinating artistic works inside the Sedlec Ossuary is the big chandelier of bones that lies in the center of the Church of Bones. The immense chandelier contains at least one of every human bone.
Another impressive artwork is the coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family that is also made of human bones. While there are other macabre places to visit in Europe like the Paris Catacombe, the Sedlec Ossuary is really unique in nature.
You may wonder how all these bones ended up being craved in a small chapel located in the Czech Republic. It all goes back to 1278 when the King of Bohemia sent the abbot of the Sedlec Cistercian Monastery to Jerusalem.
When the abbot came back he brought with himself a jar of soil from the Golgotha, that was known as the “Holy Soil”. Soon people from all over the places desired to be buried in Sedlec, thus the cemetery there had to be expanded.
In the 15th century a Gothic church was built near the cemetery and its basement was used as an ossuary. The bones stayed there for centuries till 1870 when a woodcarver named Frantisek Rint was appointed to place the bones in order. The result was impressively shocking.
For more interesting facts, check out the page dedicated to the history of Sedlec Ossuary.
If you want to visit this unique masterpiece you can travel to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic and from there you will make a 1 hour trip till Kutna Hora.
Finally, the Sedlec Ossuary may seem a macabre place, but while visiting it, you will most likely not find it to be scary, but peaceful.
Those 40.000 dead people wished to be buried in a holy place, that is why they went to Sedlec in the first place, and now their bones are right in the middle of the chapel.

OFFER A PRAYER TO THE HOLY SOULS OF PURAGATORY

OBEDIENCE

In our world where obedience is regarded as weakness and a lack of self-assertiveness, the example of Our Blessed Lady provides a necessary corrective. She is the beautiful model of obedience. She gladly exalted God’s Will in Her life. We can even say that His Will became Her Will, so much did she yield to it.

In her own stirring example, Mary reminds us that obedience to God is where our treasure and unending happiness lie. By clinging to His Will instead of our own, we grow in Sanctifying Grace, which is the very life of God.
Our Blessed Mother never tired of obeying her Divine Son. She did everything she was asked by God. And all that she did was carried out with intense love for and gratitude to Her benevolent Creator.

The virtue of obedience is within our grasp. We turn to Our Blessed Lady and seek her intercession so that we may behave as she did. Our reward will be like hers: Everlasting Life with the Most Blessed Trinity forever! 

Monsignor Charles M. Mangan