Reflections – our thoughts and prayers
The prayer to St Michael is recommended for use at this time
Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in the day of battle;
be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil;
may God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the power of God, thrust down to hell Satan, and all wicked spirits
who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.
When participating in Mass online, or at any other appropriate time, do choose to make a good Spiritual Communion:
I wish, my Lord, to receive you, with the purity, humility, and devotion with which your Most Holy Mother received you, and with the spirit and fervour of the saints. Amen.
“A cloud of incense was rising on high; the people suddenly all bowed low; what could it mean? The truth flashed on him, fearfully yet sweetly; it was the Blessed Sacrament – it was the Lord Incarnate who was on the altar, who had come to visit and bless his people. It was the Great Presence, which makes a Catholic Church different from every other place in the world; which makes it, as no other place can be – holy.”
St John Henry Newman 1801 – 1890
A description from St John Henry Newman’s novel ‘Loss and gain’ where Newman seems to be describing his own
experience ….
Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvellous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we, ourselves, do not know … It is easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!
St Pius of Pietrelcina (1887 – 1968)
Good friends find pleasure in one another’s company. Let us know pleasure in the company of our best friend, a friend who can do everything for us, a friend who loves us beyond measure. Here in the Blessed Sacrament we can talk to him straight from the heart. We can open our souls to him, tell him what we need, beg him for powerful graces. We are perfectly free to approach the King of the universe with full confidence and without fear.
St Alphonsus Ligouri, 1696-1787
Having met Jesus and experienced his forgiveness, St Peter & St Paul bore witness to him by living a new life: they no longer held back but gave themselves over completely. They were no longer content with half-measures but embraced the only measure possible for those who follow Jesus: that of boundless love. Let us ask for the grace not to be lukewarm Christians living by half measures, allowing our love to grow cold. Let us rediscover who we truly are through a daily relationship with Jesus and through the power of his forgiveness. Just as he asked Peter, Jesus is now asking us: “Who do you say that I am?”, “Do you love me?” Let us allow these words to penetrate our hearts and inspire us not to remain content with a minimum, but to aim for the heights so that we too can become living witnesses to Jesus.
Pope Francis, St Peter & St Paul 2019, Rome
In the Sacrament of the altar, there are offered for our contemplation the full depths of the mystery of Christ, the Word and the flesh, the divine glory and his dwelling among men. Before this Sacrament, we are sure that God is “with us”, that in Jesus Christ he assumed all the dimensions of our human nature, except sin, emptying himself of his glory to clothe us with it (cf. ibid., 21-23). The invisible face of Christ, the Son of God, is manifest in his Body and Blood in the simplest and, at the same time, the most exalted way possible in this world.
Pope St John Paul II (Corpus Christ, 2014)
Holy Spirit, violent wind of God, blow upon us, blow into our hearts and make us breathe forth the tenderness of the Father! Blow upon the Church and impel her to the ends of the earth, so that, brought by you, she may bring nothing other than you. Blow upon our world the soothing warmth of peace and the refreshing cool of hope. Come, Holy Spirit, change us within and renew the face of the earth. Amen.
Pope Francis, Pentecost, 2019
Regina caeli, laetare! Rejoice, Holy Virgin, because He whom you bore in your womb is risen!
Dear brothers and sisters, let us try to relive the joy of the Resurrection with Mary’s heart. Even in the darkness of Good Friday she prepared herself to receive the light of Easter morning. Let us ask her to obtain for us a deep faith in this extraordinary event, which is salvation and hope for the world.
Pope St John Paul II, Easter 1996
If Jesus is risen, then – and only then – has something truly new happened, something that changes the state of humanity and the world. Then he, Jesus, is someone in whom we can put absolute trust; we can put our trust not only in his message but in Jesus himself, for the Risen One does not belong to the past, but is present today, alive. Christ is hope and comfort in a particular way for those Christian communities suffering most for their faith on account of discrimination and persecution. And he is present as a force of hope through his Church, which is close to all human situations of suffering and injustice.
Pope Benedict XVI, Easter 2012
