St. John of Egypt, Hermit, A.D. 394.

by VP

Posted on Friday March 27, 2026 at 03:00AM in Saints

"At twenty-five years of age he forsook the world, and put himself under the direction of an ancient holy anchoret with such humility and simplicity as struck the venerable old man with admiration. By him he was inured to obedience and other virtues during about twelve years, when the venerable old man died. When St. John was about forty years of age, he retired to the top of a rock, where he walled up his cell, leaving only a little window, through which he received what was brought him for his support, and spoke to those who visited him for their spiritual comfort and edification. He was reverenced by all of his time, and particularly by the Emperor Theodosius the Great, to whom he foretold his victory over Eugenius. He never eat bread, or any thing prepared by fire. His only food was the fruits of the earth; he never eat till sunset, and then very sparingly. During five days in the week he conversed with God alone: but on Saturdays and Sundays all but women had free access to him for his instructions and spiritual advice. In this manner did he live from about the fortieth to the ninetieth year of his age. He was illustrious for miracles, and a wonderful spirit of prophecy, with the power of discovering to those that came to see him their most secret thoughts and hidden sins. And such was the fame of his predictions, and the lustre of his miracles, which he wrought on the sick, by sending them some oil which he had blessed, that they drew the admiration of the whole world upon him. Having been favoured with a foresight of his death, he would see nobody for the last three days. At the end of this term he sweetly expired, being on his knees at prayer, towards the close of the year 394, or the beginning of 395.

You can more easily admire the saints than imitate them; but ought not this example to be some direction for this time as to recollection and fasting? Can you cut off nothing of your usual dissipations, so to apply your mind to a serious examination of your state, and to the means necessary for your amendment? Can you practice nothing of his solitude and recollection? Solitude is the dwelling of a seraph upon earth, whose sole employment is to correct the disorders of his soul, to forget the world, and converse, as far as possible, with God alone." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother

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Day 38. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: It is necessary to be converted

by VP

Posted on Friday March 27, 2026 at 02:00AM in Lenten Sermons

"No, my dear brethren, let us never forget that in order to receive Holy Communion, it is necessary to be converted and strong in a true resolution to persevere.

When Jesus Christ desired to give His Adorable Body and His Precious Blood to His Apostles, in order to teach them how pure one should be before receiving It, He even went so far as to wash their feet. By that He wishes to show us that we can never be purified enough of our sins, even our venial sins. It is true that the venial sin does not make our Communions unworthy, but it is a cause of our profiting hardly at all by such a great blessing and happiness. The proof of that is very clear when you consider how many times we have received Holy Communion during the course of our lives. And have we become any better? .... No, not at all, and the real cause of that is that practically all the time we are holding onto our bad habits; we do not break ourselves of any one of them more than another. We have a horror of the big sins which kill our souls, but all those little fits of impatience, those grumblings when some worries or troubles befall us, or some disappointments or setbacks -- these mean nothing to us.

You will admit that in spite of so many Confessions and Holy Communions, you are always the same, that your Confessions are nothing else, nor have they been for years, than a repetition of the same sins, which, although venial, are none the less damaging to the merit of your Holy Communions. You have been heard to say, with good reason, that you are no better one day than another, but who is stopping you from correcting your faults?

If you are always the same, it is simply because you do not want to make even small efforts to improve yourself. You do not want to endure anything or to be opposed in anything. You would like everyone to be fond of you and to have a good opinion of you, which is a difficult enough thing. Let us try hard, my dear brethren, to destroy all that could be in the smallest way displeasing to Jesus Christ, and we shall see how our Communions will help us to make great strides towards Heaven. And the more we do this, the more we shall feel ourselves becoming detached from sin and inclining towards God.... This is what I desire for you."

Source: The Sermons of the Cure d'Ars 1960 (Public Domain)

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

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Passion Friday: Our Lady Mother of Sorrows

by VP

Posted on Friday March 27, 2026 at 12:00AM in Prayers

Our Lady of Sorrow, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Dunn, NC ©VP

Our Lady of Sorrow, Sacred Heart Dunn, NC ©CAPG

Our Lady’s Compassion in Passiontide (National Catholic Register)

Prayer: Our Lady, Mother of Sorrows pray for Priests, your special sons. Strengthen their faith and love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, so that they may turn to Him for the grace they need to live a life faithful to their calling. Bring comfort, consolation and courage to those who are suffering under the weight of the Cross. Give them the love of your Son and zeal for the honor and glory of God, and the salvation of souls. Amen

Sabat Mater

Friday in Passion Week: the Seven Dolours of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"The Easter Cycle tells us how the mother of the Savior co-operated in the Mystery of the Redemption.
It shows her in this season of the Passion at the foot of the Cross where Christ is dying (Introit, Sequence, Gospel). "An ineffable union is established between the oblation of the Incarnate Word and that of Mary; the divine blood and the tears of the Mother flow together and are mixed for the redemption of the human race." (The Liturgical Year by Dom Gueranger: Friday in Passion Week).

"The prophecy of Simeon is realized: a sword of grief pierces the most gentle soul of the glorious Virgin Mary: (collect), who by her unequaled love becomes the Queen of Martyrs (Communion).

As Judith had delivered Israel by killing Holofernes (Epistle), the Virgin is our deliverer with Jesus. Wherefore the Gospel shows us, at the foot of the tree of Passion, in a scene which recalls the tree of prevarication, the maternity of Mary with regard to the Church personified by St. John.

"Let us venerate the Transfixion of the glorious Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross, in order to gather the happy fruit of the Passion of her son" (Collect.) Daily Missal with Vespers for Sundays & Feasts by Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, O.S.B. 1925

"Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. Devotion to the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mother - the seven chief occasions of Mary's sorrow being the prophecy of Simeon - that a sword should pierce her heart; the flight into Egypt; the loss of the Child Jesus for three days; Mary's meeting with Our Lord when He bore the Cross; the Mother's presence at the Crucifixion and death of the Son; the time when Jesus' sacred body was placed in Mary's arms after His death, and the burial of Jesus-is undoubtedly of ancient standing, since the Order of the Servites of Mary, an order especially consecrated to Our Lady and to the honoring of her sorrows, was founded in Florence, Italy, as early as 1233." Our Faith and the Facts: Religion's Story, what Catholics Believe.1927

Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows:

Act of Contrition: O, most loving Redeemer, humbly prostrate at the foot of the Cross, I beg pardon from the bottom of my heart for all my sins which were the cause of Thy bitter Passion, and the overwhelming sorrow of Thy most afflicted Mother. O good Jesus, let not Thy Precious Blood be shed for me in vain. Let the sight of Thy Five Sacred Wounds plead ever to Thy Eternal Father, in behalf of my misery: and through the infinite merits of Thy sacred death and the bitter anguish of Thy holy Mother, grant me grace, dearest Lord, to atone for the past, and to persevere in Thy love and friendship for the future. Amen.

1. Let us meditate with profound humility on the first Sorrow of our Lady, when presenting her Son in the Temple, she heard the words of Holy Simeon, that this Child would be a sword to pierce her soul; a prophecy which clearly announced the Passion and Death of Christ our Redeemer.