St. Acactus, Bishop and confessor, A.D. about 430.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday April 09, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"ST. Acacius was a holy bishop in Mesopotamia. Seeing the great distress of many thousand Persians, who had been taken prisoners by Theodosius the younger, and were so neglected as to perish with hunger, he summoned his clergy, and represented this great object of charity to them. He obtained their consent for selling the vessels of gold and silver belonging to the Church, for their present relief, and to set them at liberty. Which, when the king of Persia had heard, moved by this charity performed by Christians, whom he had persecuted throughout his kingdom with so much cruelty, he recalled his edicts, and gave peace to the Church.
This was the practice of that charity recommended by St. Paul: "If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink."(Rom. xii. 20.) It is the best you can perform for removing the scourge of God from yourself, from your family and nation; and for making your peace with God, in the pardon of your sins. Let not then the malice of others shut up your bowels of compassion against them; but help them for God's sake and your own, although they may not deserve it. It is very bad management either to lock up, or to magnify your state with that, which if thus employed for the relief of the poor, might open heaven to you. How little do they understand the gospel who are more solicitous to enrich their tables and houses than to feed the poor. Will not that be their anguish at the hour of death, which is now their satisfaction? Rob your walls to clothe the naked: starve your vanity to feed the hungry. This will be your better treasure, and your eternal comfort. The spirit of Christ was the spirit of charity and humility. If He be in His followers, He will carry them on in the same holy method; and this life will give testimony of His spirit residing in them, and that truly they live by Him. But if their lives be quite opposite to the gospel, and to the life of Christ; if pride, ambition and luxury; if seeking themselves and the world be at the root of all that they do; if they make the laws of God give way to their pleasure or interest, it is evident that Christ is not in them, and that they live not by His spirit." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Day 36. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: Clear your minds
by VP
Posted on Wednesday April 09, 2025 at 12:00AM in Lenten Sermons
"If you desire the worship that you give to God to be pleasing to Him and valuable for the salvation of your soul, put it properly into practice.
Begin by preparing for holy Mass as soon as you are awake, uniting yourself to all the Masses which are being said at that moment. When the bell rings to call you to the house of God, consider the fact that it is Jesus Christ Himself calling you. Start out immediately, so that you will have a moment to meditate upon the tremendous act at which you are about to assist.
Do not say, like those people who have no religion, that you have plenty of time, that you will be there soon enough. But say, rather, with the Holy Prophet: "I rejoice when I am told that we are going into the house of the Lord." When you come out from your home, think about what you are going to do and what you are going to ask of God.
Begin by clearing your mind of earthly matters so that you will be thinking of God only. Avoid all sorts of unnecessary conversations which serve no other purpose than to make you hear Mass badly. When you enter the church, recall to yourself what the holy patriarch Jacob said: "How awesome is this place! How holy it is! It is truly the house of God and the gateway to heaven!" When you get to your place, humble yourself profoundly as you think of your own unworthiness and the greatness of your God, Who, nevertheless, in spite of your sins, wishes to suffer you in His holy presence.
Make an act of faith with all your heart. Ask God to give you the grace to lose none of the many favors which He grants to those who come here with good dispositions. Open your heart so that the word of God may enter it, take root in it, and bear fruit there for eternal life.
Before leaving the church, do not fail to thank God for the graces He has just given you and go straight home, fully occupied with the thoughts of what you have seen and heard.
Yes, my dear children, if we conducted ourselves in this manner, we should never come away from the services of the Church without being filled with a fresh desire for heaven and a new disgust for ourselves and the things of this earth. Our hearts and our minds would be given over altogether to God and not at all to the world. Then the house of God would truly be for us the gateway to Heaven. That is what I desire for you"
Source: The Sermons of the Cure of Ars 1960
Prayer for Lent: O Lord who, for our sake, didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may worthily lament and acknowledge our wretchedness, and may obtain perfect remission and forgiveness of Thee, the God of all mercy, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen
Source: Lent with the Cure d'Ars Compiled by the CAPG