thoughtfully catholic

During His last agony Jesus found space in His mind and heart and on His lips for thought of His mother Mary. In imitation of Him we should do the same. We are more likely to remember her in the hour of our death if we do so in every other hour. In this too we will imitate Jesus.

'On The Harmony of Law and Cosmos' A reflection on, among other things, why the line- "The heavens declare the glory of God" rightly belongs to the same Psalm as the line- "The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul" thoughtfullycatholic.wordpre…

Under the old dispensation 21 October was the Feast of the Martyrdom of St Ursula and her 11 000 virgin companions.

And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, And for the resurrection of many in Israel, And for a sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, That, out of many hearts, Thoughts may be revealed.

October 6, the Feast of St Bruno founder of the Carthusians, is nearly upon us. I expect most of you have already planned for the big day but if not my top tips are- -stay off social media -pray a lot -read a lot -go for a walk -be still and silent.

And if you both wish to commemorate Our Lady of Sorrows and practise deep contemplative prayer you might like to try out 'Hesychasm and the Seven Sorrows of Mary'. thoughtfullycatholic.wordpre…

Thy nativity, O Virgin Mother of God, announced joy to the whole world: for from thee arose the Sun of justice, Christ our God; who, loosing the curse, gave a blessing, and confounding death, bestowed on us life everlasting. Magnificat Antiphon for the Nativity of Mary

I've been reading 'The Cloud of Unknowing' and, reflecting upon it, have developed a form of contemplative prayer based upon it, one that is theologically orthodox. I might write about it in more detail if there is a public appetite for such a thing.

It's not just the Joyful Mysteries that are everyday events- "..the experience of Mary is a template of universal human experience. We go through what she went through, save that..it was linked through her to the Logos of God." thoughtfullycatholic.wordpre…

And don't forget the bees- "Rita was baptized as an infant and surprisingly on the following day after she was baptised, a swarm of white bees surrounded her, buzzing in and out of her mouth without hurting her..."

With apparitions like those at Fatima Catholics should never be ashamed or apologetic about saying that such things *could* happen. We are not obliged to believe that they did happen on this or that occasion but that they might have done is of the faith.

May 13 is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. "My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God."

Saturday is particularly dedicated to Mary in memory of her sorrows on the day between the death of her Son and His Resurrection. One of her titles is 'Our Lady of Perseverance' and it is particularly appropriate to invoke her in this capacity on this day.

Rowan Williams again- "We treasure with perhaps a particular intensity the martyrdom of the contemplative, because the contemplative who knows how to enter into the silence and stillness of things is, above all, the one who knows how to...resist fashion and power"

"Joseph, of royal blood, united by marriage to the greatest and holiest of women, reputed the father of the Son of God, passed his life in labour, and won by the toil of the artisan the needful support of his family." Pope Leo XIII, #StJosephtheWorker papalencyclicals.net/leo13/1…

Lord, unmake me, and break the hardness of my heart, that I be not a tool which spoils Thy works! #StCatherineofSiena

There is no sin nor wrong that gives a man such a foretaste of hell in this life as anger and impatience. St Catherine of Siena

The most important things about #StGeorge are not his nationality and/or ethnicity. What matters is that he *was* a Christian and a martyr for the faith and he *is* a saint in heaven who can intercede on behalf of those who request his aid.