Don't forget the presence of Christ

When you have to listen to abuse, that means you are being buffeted by
the wind; when your anger is roused, you are being tossed by the
waves. So when the winds blow and the waves mount high, the boat is in
danger, your heart is imperiled, your heart is taking a battering. On
hearing yourself insulted, you long to retaliate; but the joy of
revenge brings with it another kind of misfortune—shipwreck. Why is
this? Because Christ is asleep in you. What do I mean? I mean you have forgotten his presence. Rouse him, then; remember him, let him keep
watch within you, pay heed to him. Now what was your desire? You
wanted to get your own back. You have forgotten that when Christ was
being crucified he said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do. Christ, the sleeper in your heart, had no desire for
vengeance in his. Rouse him, then, call him to mind.
--Augustine of Hippo:

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18 May – Blessed William of Toulouse OSA

 Augustinian Priest, Preacher, apostle of prayer and charity,
spiritual adviser – born in c 1297 in Toulouse, France and died on 18
May 1369 in Toulouse, France of natural causes.

Today we remember a French Augustinian who excelled in preaching the
word of God. By means of his own deep interior life and attentiveness
to Scripture, his influence on the people of his day through this
preaching and pastoral work, as well as through the gift of spiritual direction, was significant and widespread He was loved and admired by
the people, who recognised his holiness and the power of his
intercession.

William was born in Toulouse, France, around the year 1297 At the age
of 19 he entered the Augustinian monastery in his native city and was
sent to study in Paris where he received the title of lector in
theology. Afterwards he devoted himself especially to the ministry of preaching, for which he became well known and respected, and through
which he drew many others to embrace the religious life.

Except for a brief period when he was Prior in Pamiers, he seems to
have spent his whole religious life in Toulouse, in the monastery of Saint’Etienne, where, in 1341, the Order’s General Chapter was held.

William died in Toulouse on 18 May 1369 and was buried in the cemetery
of his monastery Not long after, because of the veneration of the
people who regarded him as a saint and wonder-worker, his remains were transferred to the chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene where he was
accustomed to celebrate Mass  Pope Leo XIII confirmed his cult in
1893.

William’s methodology as a preacher was – pray, contemplate and only
then speak of God, otherwise the preacher’s words will not touch the
heart of his listeners but become lost in the rafters of the church As
a man of prayer and recollection, he was much sought after as a
spiritual director and after his death, his people continued to revere
and pray to him for his intercession.

https://anastpaul.com/2019/05/18/


Saint Quote:
On behalf of Christ crucified I tell you: refuse to believe the counsels of the devil, who would hinder your holy and good resolution. Be manly in my sight, and not timorous. Answer God, who calls you to hold and possess the seat of the glorious Shepherd
St. Peter, whose vicar you have been. And raise the standard of the holy Cross. --Saint Catherine of Siena to Pope Gregory XI

Bible Quote:
But Jesus called them to him, and said: You know that the princes of
the Gentiles lord it over them; and they that are the greater,
exercise power upon them. It shall not be so among you: but
whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister:
And he that will be first among you, shall be your servant. 28. Even
as the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister,
and to give his life a redemption for many.  (Matthew 20:25-28) DRB


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God Our Creator

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power,
because Thou. hast created all things.--(Apoc. iv. 11.)

Why is it that God has such an absolute and all-embracing claim to
ourselves and to all that is ours? It is because we are made by Him,
and not only made, but created. We are His, not only as the statue is
the sculptor's and the picture the painter's, but He made out of
nothing the very materials of which we consist. There is therefore
nothing in us which is not God's. Every sort of excellence, strength,
virtue, talent, beauty, skill, energy, affection--all are God's not our
own.

God created everyone with certain gifts of his own that He did not
give to another, and He gave him those gifts to do a special work that
God had for him to do. He created me with a certain object; from all
eternity He had been planning my soul and body, and providing me with
all that I needed, that both one and the other might serve Him. Have I
on the whole carried out God's plan? Shall I be able to say, when I
come to die: "I have finished the work Thou gavest me to do?"

What a serious thought this is, that God had a plan for my life! He
meant me to occupy a certain position in society and to have certain employments; to influence certain persons for good; to overcome
certain temptations; to practise certain virtues beyond the rest to
attain a certain place in Heaven. Has my life been ordered by God's
holy inspirations; has not my own self-will too often had part in it?

Pray that you may not fail in fulfilling God's intentions concerning you.

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