text:
|Mystical ecstasy: elevation of the spirit to God in such a way that
the person is aware of this union with God both internal and external senses
are detached from the sensible world.
Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi so generously given this special gift of God that she is called the "ecstatic saint."
Today is the feast of St Augustine of Canterbury In England and Wales; see May 28, his date in the general calendar.
Saint of the Day May 26 Séptimo Kaléndas JúniiToday we remember all pious and Orthodox Christians
Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас! (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
CAUSES OF SAINTS April 2014
who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and also recall the dread Day of Judgment.
May Christ our God be merciful to them, and to us.
May 26 - Our Lady of Caravaggio (Italy, 1432) - St Philip Neri (d. 1594)
Would you like to know if this is the Virgin Mary?
Saint Philip Neri was often consulted by bishops to judge the authenticity of mystics. The practice of humility and obedience allowed him to infallibly test false mystics, because the devil is proud and independent. One day in 1560, the cardinals were divided about a nun who was having visions. Since they sought his opinion, Philip went to see the young sister. He looked at her warmly and said, "Sister, I didn't want to see you, I wanted to see the saint."And the verdict he gave the Cardinals was, "It's not from God..."
And the nun replied, "But I am the saint!" Philip turned on his heels, retorting,
"Ah, you're the saint? Thank you."
Another time, one of his penitents confided to him that the Virgin had come in the night in her room, filling it with joy and light! So Philip said, "Listen, the next time she comes you should spit in her face." The following night, the apparition spoke to her of God, but remembering the promise she had made to her spiritual director she spat in her face. The apparition immediately disappeared in a cloud of sulphur smoke: it was the devil. That same night, she awoke in the room full of light with a new apparition that smiled at her. This time the figure was not sitting on her bed, she standing in a corner of the room. The seer went over to spit again, but the apparition just said, "You can spit if you want." The apparition was too far to spit on, but she congratulated her for her obedience to her spiritual director! And Father Neri told her that that time it was the Virgin Mary.From the magazine the Etoile Notre Dame, October 2006.
Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List
Acts of the Apostles
Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
How do I start the Five First Saturdays?
Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
1595 Saint Philip Neri Patron of Rome showed the humorous side of holiness known to be spontaneous and
unpredictable, charming and humorous. Would you like to know if this is the Virgin Mary?
| 85 St. Alphaeus
father of St. James the Less, mentioned in Matthew. His legends
were popular in the early Church.
Saint Carpus was one of the Seventy Apostles chosen and sent forth to preach by Christ (Luke 10:1). He was
bishop of Verria in Macedonia.
106 St. Zachary Bishop and martyr of Vienne, Gaul, he was martyred during the reign of Emperor Trajan.
130 St. Quadratus Martyr Apostle of the 70 THE first of the great line of Christian apologists preached the Word of God as Bishop of Athens and at Magnesia (eastern peninsula of Thessaly)
2nd v St. Eleutherius, martyred pope; converted to the Christian faith many noble Romans Sts. Fugatius and Damian
303 St. Felicissimus Martyr with Heraclius and Paulinus. They suffered martyrdom at Todi, Umbria, Italy.
Romæ sanctórum Mártyrum Simítrii Presbyteri, et aliórum vigínti duórum; qui sub Antoníno Pio passi sunt.
At Rome, the holy martyrs Simitrius, priest, and twenty-two others who suffered under Antoninus Pius.
6th v. ST ELEUTHERIUS, ABBOTSt. Dyfan He is also called Deruvianus and Damian Missionary to the Britons sent by Pope St. Eleutherius when a local Briton king requested missionaries from the pope
600 St. Becan 6th century Irish hermit in Cork lived in the time of St. Columba and was known for his sanctity.
604 Saint Augustine was from Italy, and a disciple of St Felix, Bishop of Messana
695 St. Oduvald Scottish abbot native of Scotland entered monastic life became abbot of Melrose, then a great
spiritual center of the era.
800 Saint John Psichaita the Confessor Because of his holy life and deeds, he received from God the gift to cast out
demons and to heal the sick called emperor Leo the Isaurian a heretic
1050 St. Guinizo Benedictine of Spain who was a hermit at Monte Cassino, in Italy. He was greatly revered as a model eremite. 1050 St. Guinizo
1154 ST LAMBERT, BISHOP OF VENICE instructing the people and healing many sick persons by prayer and the laying-on of hands. He was famous for his learning and for his miracles.
1258 Blessed Eva of Liege together w/Blessed Juliana prioress of Mount Cornillon, their enthusiastic purpose was to obtain the institution of a feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament--granted by Pope Urban IV
1293 St. Berencardus Benedictine monk known for his charity. He was a member of the community of St. Papoul Abbey in Languedoc, France.1293 St. Berencardus
1515 George the New Holy Martyr attentively studied the Holy Scriptures pious and chaste refused to accept Islam bright light over his burnt relics
1521 Uncovering Relics of St Macarius of Kalyazin a grave was discovered, exuding an ineffable fragrance. Igumen
Joasaph immediately recognized the grave of the monastery's founder, St Macarius, who reposed in the year 1483 1595 Saint Philip Neri Patron of Rome showed the humorous side of holiness known to be spontaneous and unpredictable, charming and humorous.
1645 St. Mariana de Paredes Solitary and the "Lily of Quito," Ecuador
1747 Bl. Peter Sanz Martyred bishop in China native of Catalonia, Spain Dominican
1861 St. John Hoan Martyr of Vietnam a Vietnamese priest beheaded during the anti-Christian persecutions. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1988.
1861 St. Matthew Phuong Martyr of Vietnam A native catechist and an ardent Christian
|Today we remember
all pious and Orthodox Christians who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and
also recall the dread Day of Judgment. May Christ our God be merciful to
them, and to us.
Two Epistles (Acts 28:1-31, I Thess. 4:13-17) and two Gospels (JN 21:14-25, JN 5:24-30) are appointed to be read at Liturgy. The readings from Acts and the Gospel of St John, which began on Pascha, now come to an end. The book of Acts does not end, as might be expected, with the death of Sts Peter and Paul, but remains open-ended.
In his article "With all the Saints," Fr Justin Popovich says that the Lives of the Saints are nothing less than a "continuation of the Acts of the Apostles." Just as the book of Acts describes the works of Christ which the Apostles accomplished through Christ, Who was dwelling in them and working through them, the saints also preach the same Gospel, live the same life, manifest the same righteousness, love, and power from on High. As we prepare for the Sunday of All Saints, we are reminded that each of us is called to a life of holiness.
On this seventh Saturday of Pascha, St John Chrysostom's "Homily on Patience and Gratitude" is appointed to be read in church. It is also prescribed to be read at the funeral service of an Orthodox Christian.
Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee. I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not
O most Holy trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly.
I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ,
present in all the Tabernacles of the world,
in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended,
and by the infite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
I beg the conversion of poor sinners, Fatima Prayer, Angel of Peace
Saint Carpus
was one of the Seventy Apostles chosen and sent forth to preach by Christ
(Luke 10:1).
He was bishop of Verria in Macedonia.
1st v. St. Alphaeus father of St. James the Less,
mentioned in Matthew. His legends were popular in the early Church.
St Carpos and St Alphaeus were numbered with the Seventy, and ministered to the holy Apostle Paul, journeying with him and conveying his epistles to those to whom they were written. St Carpos became Bishop of Beroea in Thrace, where he endured great tribulations while bringing many of the heathen to holy Baptism, and suffered martyrdom there. St Paul mentions him in 2 Timothy 4:13
The Holy Apostle Alphaeus of the Seventy from the Galilean city of Capernaum father of the Apostles James and Matthew.
According to Tradition, the Holy Martyrs Abercius and Helen were children of the holy Apostle Alphaeus.
For confessing faith in Christ, St Abercius was tied naked to a beehive and died from the bees' sting.
For confessing faith in Christ, St Helen, was pelted with stones.
Abercius_son_of_Apostle_Alphaeus St Helen
|130 St. Quadratus Martyr Apostle of the 70; THE
first of the great line of Christian apologists preached the Word of God
as Bishop of Athens and at Magnesia (eastern peninsula of Thessaly)
Athénis item natális beáti Quadráti, Apostolórum discípuli, qui, in persecutióne Hadriáni, fide et indústria sua cóngregans Ecclésiam grándi terróre dispérsam, librum pro Christiánæ religiónis defensióne, valde útilem et Apostólica doctrína dignum, eídem Imperatóri porréxit.
At Athens, during the persecution of Hadrian, the birthday of blessed Quadratus, a disciple of the apostles, who collected by his zealous work the faithful who had dispersed through terror, and presented to the emperor a book which was an excellent apology of the Christian religion, worthy of an apostle
In Africa sancti Quadráti Mártyris, in cujus solemnitáte sanctus Augustínus sermónem hábuit.
In Africa, St. Quadratus, martyr, on whose feast day St. Augustine preached a sermon..
THE first of the great line of Christian apologists was St Quadratus or Codratus who, as some suppose, became bishop of Athens after the death of St Publius. Eusebius and other ecclesiastical writers speak of a certain Quadratus (who may or may not be identical with the apologist) with special respect, as a prophet and as a holy man who had been the disciple of the Apostles.
When the Emperor Hadrian came to Athens to be present at the Eleusinian games, St Quadratus addressed to him a written treatise in defence of the Christians, which had the effect of checking the persecution, or at least of preventing the promulgation of any fresh decrees against them. The apology was known to Eusebius and possibly to St Jerome, but it has now unfortunately been lost. In it he quotes our Lord's miracles as an evidence of the truth of His teaching, and mentions the fact that he himself had actually known persons who had been healed or raised to life by Jesus Christ. The date of his death is uncertain: it probably occurred about the year 129 or a little later.
The passages from Eusebius and St Jerome upon which we depend for all our knowledge of St Quadratus are quoted in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. vi. Quadratus was not an uncommon name, and it is very doubtful whether the apologist, the bishop of Athens, and the prophet in Asia Minor were one and the same person. See Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur, vol. i, pp. 168—169 ; Harnack in Texte und Untersuchungen, vol. part i, pp. 100 seq.; Harnack, Chronologie der altchristlichen Literatur, vol. i, pp. 269—271 and DTC., vol. xiii, CC. 1429—1431.
He was put to death in Africa and was honored by St. Augustine with a panegyric. Apostle of the 70 preached the Word of God at Athens and at Magnesia (eastern peninsula of Thessaly), and was Bishop of Athens. His biographer called him "a morning star" among the clouds of paganism. He converted many pagans to the true faith in Christ the Savior, and his preaching aroused the hatred of the pagans. Once, an angry mob fell upon the saint to pelt him with stones. Preserved by God, St. Quadratus remained alive, and they threw him into prison, where he died of starvation. His holy body was buried in Magnesia.
In the year 126, St. Quadratus wrote an Apologia in defence of Christianity. Presented to the emperor Hadrian (117-138), the Apologia affected the persecution of Christians, since the emperor issued a decree saying that no one should be convicted without just cause. This Apologia was known to the historian Eusebios in the fourth century. At the present time, only part of this Apologia survives, quoted by Eusebios: "The deeds of our Savior were always witnessed, because they were true. His healings and raising people from the dead were visible not only when they were healed and raised, but always. They lived not only during the existence of the Savior upon the earth, but they also remained alive long after His departure. Some, indeed, have survived to our own time."
Troparion of St Quadratus Tone 1 Thy life became radiant with wisdom; thou didst draw down the fire of the Spirit/ and discern the doctrines of life,/ Quadratus, Apostle of Christ./ We cry to thee as to an enlightener:/ Glory to Christ Who has glorified thee; glory to Him Who has crowned thee:/ glory to Him Who through thee works healings for all.
Kontakion of St Quadratus Tone 8 O Lord, the world offers to Thee the Apostle Quadratus as a holy Hierarch and Martyr./ As we hymn his memory we pray Thee/ to grant forgiveness to those who sing: Alleluia.
| 106 St. Zachary Bishop and martyr of Vienne,
Gaul, he was martyred during the reign of Emperor Trajan
Viénnæ, in Gállia, sancti Zacharíæ, Epíscopi et Mártyris, qui sub Trajáno passus est.
At Vienne, St. Zacharas, bishop and martyr, who suffered under Trajan.
| 2nd v. St. Eleutherius, pope and martyr, who converted
to the Christian faith many noble Romans
Item Romæ sancti Eleuthérii, Papæ et Mártyris, qui multos nóbiles Romanórum ad fidem Christi perdúxit, et sanctos Damiánum et Fugátium in Británniam misit, qui Lúcium Regem, cum uxóre ipsíus ac toto fere pópulo, baptizárunt.
Also at Rome, St. Eleutherius, pope and martyr, who converted to the Christian faith many noble Romans. He sent Saints Damian and Fugatius to England, and they baptized King Lucius, his wife, and almost all his people.
Damian and Fugatius Missionaries sent by Pope St. Eleutherius to Britain. They are also listed as Phaganus and Diruvianus Fagan and Deruvian, or as Hager and Dyfan.
in território Antisiodorénsi pássio sancti Prisci Mártyris, qui, cum ingénti multitúdine fidélium Christi, cápite cæsus est.
In the territory of Auxerre, the passion of St. Priscus, martyr, along with a great multitude of other Christians.
THE persecution initiated under the Emperor Aurelian was carried on with peculiar ferocity in Roman Gaul, notably in the town of Besançon. Mindful of the precept "When they persecute you in one city, flee to another", two prominent citizens, Priscus and Cottus, went with a number of other Christians to Auxerre, which was surrounded by forests. They were, however, hunted down and slain by the sword. The bodies of the saints were discovered in the first half of the fifth century by St Germanus, who built two churches in their honour and who propagated a cultus of these martyrs of Auxerre which became very general. Besançon and Sens still celebrate the feast of St Priscus.
Although the legend of these martyrs printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. vi, is comparatively free from extravagance, it cannot be regarded as trustworthy. On the other hand, the insertion of the name of Priscus in the Hieronymianum points to the existence of a genuine and early cultus.
| Romæ sanctórum
Mártyrum Simítrii Presbyteri, et aliórum vigínti
duórum; qui sub Antoníno Pio passi sunt.
At Rome, the holy martyrs Simitrius, priest, and twenty-two others who suffered under Antoninus Pius.
303 St. Felicissimus Martyr with Heraclius and Paulinus. They suffered martyrdom
at Todi, Umbria, Italy
Tudérti, in Umbria, natális sanctórum Mártyrum Felicíssimi, Heráclii et Paulíni.
At Todi in Umbria, the birthday of the holy martyrs Felicíssimus, Heraclius, and Paulinus.
6th v. ST ELEUTHERIUS,
"THE holy man, old father Eleutherius ",is spoken of several times in the Dialogues of St Gregory, wherein are chronicled certain miracles reported of him by his monks. He was abbot of the monastery of St Mark, near Spoleto, and once when lodging at a convent of nuns he was asked to take over the care of a boy who was nightly troubled by an evil spirit. St Eleutherius did so, and for long nothing untoward happened to the boy, so that the abbot said, "The Devil is having a game with those sisters ; but now that he has to deal with the servants of God he daren't come near the child ". As if in rebuke of a speech that certainly savoured of boasting, the boy was at once afflicted by his former trouble. Eleutherius was conscious-stricken, and said to the brethren that stood by, "None of us shall eat food to-day until this boy is dispossessed ". All fell to prayer, and did not cease until the child was cured.
One Holy Saturday St Gregory was ill and could not fast, whereat, he tells us, he was considerably disturbed. "When I found on this sacred vigil, when not only adults but even children fast, that I could not refrain from eating, I was more grieved thereby than troubled by my illness." So he asked Eleutherius to pray for him that he might join the people in their penance, and soon by virtue of that prayer Gregory found himself enabled to abstain from food. St Eleutherius lived for many years in Gregory's monastery at Rome, and died there.
We know practically nothing more about St Eleutherius than St Gregory tells us in his Dialogues, notably in bk , ch. 33 but the story is discussed by the Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum, September, vol. ii.
|600 St. Becan; 6th century Irish hermit in Cork lived in the time of St. Columba and was known for his sanctity.
|604 Saint Augustine
from Italy, disciple of St Felix, Messana Bishop, first Archbishop of Canterbury wonderworker
St. Augustine, bishop Cantuáriæ, in Anglia, natális sancti Augustíni, Epíscopi et Confessóris; qui, una cum áliis, a beáto Gregório Papa missus, genti Anglórum sacrum Christi Evangélium prædicávit., ibíque, virtútibus et miráculis gloriósus, obdormívit in Dómino. Ejus tamen festívitas quinto Kaléndas Júnii recólitur.
At Canterbury in England, St. Augustine, bishop, who was sent there with others by blessed Pope Gregory, and who preached the Gospel of Christ to the English nation. Celebrated for virtues and miracles, he went peacefully to his rest in the Lord. The 28th of May is observed as his feast.
St Gregory Dialogus (March12) chose him to lead a mission of forty monks to evangelize the people of Britain.
They arrived at Ebbsfleet (on the isle of Thanet) in Kent in 597.
King Ethelbert, whose Frankish wife Bertha was a Christian, welcomed them. They were allowed to base their mission at the ancient church of St Martin in Canterbury, which was restored for their use. This church had been built during the Roman occupation of Britain, and the queen often went there to pray. At first, the king was reluctant to give up his pagan beliefs, but he promised not to harm them, and to supply them with whatever they needed. He also promised that he would not prevent them from preaching Christianity. St Augustine later converted the king to Christianity, along with thousands of his subjects. The holy right-believing King Ethelbert is commemorated on February 25.
Bede says that St Augustine was consecrated as Archbishop of Britain by Archbishop Etherius of Arles (others say that it was his successor St Virgilius of Arles [March 5] who consecrated St Augustine). Returning to Britain, he threw himself into the work of evangelizing the country with renewed zeal. St Augustine built Christ Church, predecessor of the present cathedral at Canterbury, and consecrated it on June 9, 603 (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). He also founded the monastery of Sts Peter and Paul east of the city. Here St Augustine, the Archbishops of Canterbury, and the Kings of Kent were buried. The monastery, now in ruins, was later known as St Augustine's Monastery.
The saint was instrumental in founding the dioceses of Rochester and London. In 604 he consecrated St Justus (November 10) and St Mellitus (April 24) as bishops for those Sees. St Augustine also helped the king draft the earliest Anglo-Saxon laws, and founded a school in Canterbury.
Saint Augustine was not completely successful in all his efforts, however. He was not able to achieve unity with the already existing Christian communities who followed Celtic practices. He met with some of their bishops to urge them to abandon their Celtic traditions and to accept the Roman practices. He invited them to cooperate with him in evangelizing the country, but they refused to give up their ancient traditions. Before meeting with St Augustine in 603, the Celtic bishops asked a holy hermit whether or not to accept Augustine as their leader. The hermit replied, "If he rises to greet you, then accept him. If he remains seated, then he is arrogant and unfit to be your leader, and you should reject him." Unfortunately, St Augustine did not rise to greet them. Perhaps St Augustine was, to some degree, a bit tactless and too insistent on conformity to Roman customs. On the other hand, Celtic resentment against Roman authority also contributed to the stormy relationship.
Known in his lifetime as a wonderworker, St Augustine fell asleep in the Lord on May 26, 604. He was laid to rest at the entrance of the unfinished church of Sts Peter and Paul. When the church was dedicated in 613, his holy relics were placed inside. An epitaph was composed for his tomb. In part, it reads: "Here lies the Lord Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, sent here by blessed Gregory, bishop of the city of Rome, who with the help of God, and aided by miracles, guided King Ethelbert and his people from the worship of idols to the Faith of Christ."
St Bede (May 27) gives detailed information about St Augustine's mission to Britain in his HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH AND PEOPLE (Book I, 23-33. Book II, 1-3).
|695 St. Oduvald Scottish abbot native of Scotland entered monastic life became abbot of Melrose, then a great spiritual center of the era.
800 Saint
John Psichaita the Confessor; Because of his holy life and deeds, he received
from God the gift to cast out demons and to heal the sick; called emperor
Leo the Isaurian a heretic
Lived during the end of the eighth or the beginning of the ninth century. In his youth he left the secular world and became a monk in the Psichaita Lavra (in the suburbs of Constantinople).
Because of his holy life and deeds, he received from God the gift to cast out demons and to heal the sick. During this time the heresy of the iconoclasts was raging, and those venerating holy icons were subjected to persecution.
St John was led away for interrogation, and they tried to force him to sign a document renouncing the veneration of holy icons. Instead of renouncing the holy icons, the saint denounced his persecutors, calling the emperor Leo the Isaurian (717-741) a heretic.
Therefore, they sent St John into exile.
He died, having suffered much from the iconoclasts.
|1050 St. Guinizo Benedictine of Spain who was a hermit at Monte Cassino, in Italy. He was greatly revered as a model eremite.
ST LAMBERT, BISHOP OF VENICE instructing
the people and healing many sick persons by prayer and the laying-on of
hands. He was famous for his learning and for his miracles.
ST LAMBERT was born at Bauduen, in the diocese of Riez, and became a monk in the abbey of Lérins, where he had lived from his childhood. Though kindly to all and popular with his brethren, he was so great a lover of solitude and study that he never left his cell except when obedience required him to do so. Much against his will he was made bishop of Vence in 1114. For forty years he ruled his diocese, instructing the people and healing many sick persons by prayer and the laying-on of hands. He was famous for his learning and for his miracles. Beloved of all, he died in the year 1154, and was buried in his cathedral church.
The life printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. vi, seems to have been written within ten years of St Lambert's death, but its dullness is only relieved by the narration of some very dubious miracles. A copy of his epitaph has been published in the Revue des Sociétés savantes, vol. iv (1876), p. 196.
|1258 Blessed Eva of Liege enthusiastic purpose
obtain the institution of a feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. --granted
by Pope Urban IV
B 1192 Retinnes, Flanders - 5 April 1258
WHEN Bd Juliana was prioress of Mount Cornillon, one of her closest friends was a holy recluse, Eva, or Heva, of Liège, whom she inspired with her own enthusiastic purpose to obtain the institution of a feast in honour of the Blessed Sacrament. It was in Eva's cell near the church of St Martin that Juliana found refuge when she was driven for the first time from Cornillon, and it was Eva who took up her mission after she died. The accession of Pope Urban IV raised her hopes, for he had formerly shown himself sympathetic when, as Archdeacon James Pantaleon, he had been approached on the subject by Bd Juliana. Eva's hopes were fulfilled. Not only did he institute the festival of Corpus Christi, but he sent to her the bull of authorization as well as the special office for the day which St Thomas Aquinas had compiled at his desire. The cultus of Bd Eva was confirmed in 1902.
Thomas Aquinas had compiled at his desire. The cultus of Bd Eva was confirmed in 1902. The brief authorizing the cultus may be read in the Analecta Ecclesiastica, vol. x (1902), p. 245. See also Demarteau, La premiere auteur wallonne, Eve de Saint-Martin (1898); Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi (1897), pp. 531—532; and cf. the bibliography given under Bd Juliana on April 5.
When Blessed Juliana was prioress of Mount Cornillon, one of her closest friends was a holy recluse, Eva, or Heva, of Liege, whom she inspired with her own enthusiastic purpose to obtain the institution of a feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament.
It was in Eva's cell near the church of St. Martin that Juliana found refuge when she was driven for the first time from Cornillon, and it was Eva who took up her mission after she died. The accession of Pope Urban IV raised her hopes, for he had formerly shown himself sympathetic when, as archdeacon James Pantaleon, he had been approached on the subject by Blessed Juliana. Eva's hopes were fulfilled. Not only did he institute the festival of Corpus Christi, but he sent to her the bull of authorization as well as a special office for the day St. Thomas Aquinas had compiled at his desire. The cultus of Blessed Eva was confirmed in 1902.
|1293 St. Berencardus Benedictine monk known for his charity. He was a member of the community of St. Papoul Abbey in Languedoc, France.
|St. Dyfan He is also called Deruvianus and Damian
Mssioary to the Britons sent by Pope St. Eleutherius when a local Briton
king requested missionaries from the pope
Dyfan is remembered with a church at Merthyr-Dyfan, Britain.
1515 George the
New Holy Martyr attentively studied the Holy Scriptures pious and chaste
refused to accept Islam bright light over his burnt relics
Born into an illustrious Bulgarian family, living in the capital city of Bulgaria, Sredets (now the city of Sofia). St George's childless parents, John and Mary, in their declining years entreated the Lord to send them a child. Their prayer was answered, and they baptized the infant with the name of the holy Great Martyr George (April 23).
Young George received a fine upbringing, he attentively studied the Holy Scriptures, and he was pious and chaste. His parents died when George was twenty-five. At that time Bulgaria found itself under the rule of the Turks, who forcibly converted Christians to Islam. Once, several Moslems tried to convert George. They put a fez on the saint's head. This is a red circular hat which Moslems wear to enter their house of prayer. But George threw the fez on the ground. The Turks brought the martyr to their governor with beatings and abuse.
The governor was impressed with St George's appearance and bearing, and he urged him to accept Islam, promising honors and wealth from Sultan Selim (1512-1520). The saint boldly and steadfastly confessed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and reproached the errors of Islam. The governor in a rage gave orders to beat St George with rods, but the saint persevered in his confession of faith in Christ.
The governor ordered the tortures to be increased. The passion-bearer bore all his sufferings, calling on the Lord Jesus Christ for help. Then they led the martyr through the city to the beat of a drum and shouts: "Do not insult Mohammed nor abase the Moslem faith".
Finally, a large fire was lit in the city, to burn St George. Weakened by his wounds, the saint fell to the ground. They threw him into the fire still alive, and they threw corpses of dogs on top of him so that Christians would not be able to find the relics of the martyr.
Suddenly, a heavy rain fell and extinguished the fire. With the onset of darkness, the place where the body of the martyr was thrown was illumined with a bright light. They gave permission to a certain Christian priest to take the venerable relics of the martyr for burial. Informed about the occurrence, Metropolitan Jeremiah and his clergy went to the place of execution. In the ashes of the fire they located the body of the holy Martyr George and carried it to the church of St George the Great Martyr in the city of Sredets.
1521 Uncovering
of the Relics of St Macarius of Kalyazin a grave was discovered, exuding
an ineffable fragrance. Igumen Joasaph immediately recognized the grave of
the monastery's founder, St Macarius, who reposed in the year 1483
Occurred on May 26, 1521. A merchant from the city of Dmitrov, Michael Voronkov, offered the means for the construction of a stone church to replace the decaying wooden one at the Kalyazin monastery.
The igumen of the monastery, Joasaph, set up a cross at the spot designated for the altar, and gave a blessing to dig the trench for the foundation. During the work a grave was discovered, exuding an ineffable fragrance. Igumen Joasaph immediately recognized the grave of the monastery's founder, St Macarius, who reposed in the year 1483.
The brethren of the monastery and a crowd of people sang a Panikhida during the transfer of the coffin to the church. From that day the incorrupt relics of the saint began to work healings. A report about this was made to Metropolitan Daniel of Moscow (1522-1539), who convened a Council at Moscow. After examining testimony about the sanctity of Macarius, he established a Feast day for the newly-appeared saint. The relics were solemnly transferred to the church of the Holy Trinity.
Theodosius of Tver composed the service for the Uncovering of the Relics. Until 1547, St Macarius was venerated only at this monastery. During the Moscow Council of 1547 under Metropolitan Macarius (1543-1564), St Macarius of Kalyazin was numbered among the saints, and his name added to the calendar of other Russian saints to be celebrated throughout all of Russia.
The Life of St Macarius of Kalyazin is found under March 17, the day of his blessed repose.
| 1595 Saint Philip Neri Patron of Rome showed
the humorous side of holiness
Romæ sancti Philíppi Nérii, Presbyteri et Confessóris, qui Congregatiónis Oratórii Fundátor fuit, ac virginitate, prophetíæ dono, et miráculis éxstitit insígnis.
At Rome, St. Philip Neri, priest and confessor, founder of the Congregation of the Oratory, celebrated for his virginal purity, the gift of prophecy, and miracles.
Born at Florence, Italy, 22 July, 1515; died 27 May, 1595
If one had to choose one saint who showed the humorous side of holiness that would Philip Neri.
ST PHILIP NERI was born in Florence in the year 1515 and was one of the four children of a notary called Francis Neri. Their mother died white they were very young, but her place was well supplied by an excellent stepmother. From infancy Philip was remarkable for his docility and sweet disposition, which caused him to be spoken of as "Pippo buono"—"good little Phil." Indeed, the only time he ever merited and received a reprimand from his elders was when he once pushed away his elder sister because she persisted in interrupting him and his little sister while they were reciting some of the psalms.His father was not successful financially and at eighteen Philip was sent to work with an older cousin who was a successful businessman. During this time, Philip found a favorite place to pray up in the fissure of a mountain that had been turned into a chapel. We don't know anything specific about his conversion but during these hours of prayer he decided to leave worldly success behind and dedicate his life to God.
His first religious teachers were the Dominicans of San Marco, whose instructions and example made a deep and permanent impression. He grew up a pious, attractive, cheerful lad— very popular with all who came in contact with him. When he was eighteen he was sent to San Germano, to a childless kinsman who was supposed to have a flourishing business and who was likely to make him his heir. Philip, however, did not stay there long. Soon after his arrival he passed through a mystical experience which in after years he spoke of as "conversion", and from thenceforth worldly affairs had no more attraction for him. The atmosphere in which he was living became uncongenial, and he set out for Rome, without money and without plans, trusting entirely to the guidance of divine providence. In Rome he found shelter under the roof of Galeotto Caccia, a Florentine customs-official, who provided him with an attic and the bare necessaries of life. It was little enough that Philip needed. His entire fare consisted of bread, water and a few olives or vegetables, which he usually took once a day: and his room was practically bare except for a bed, a chair, some books, and a line on which he hung his clothes. In return for his hospitality Philip gave lessons to his host's two small sons who, if we may accept the testimony of their mother and their aunt, became veritable little angels under his direction.
Except for the hours he devoted to his charges, St Philip seems to have spent the first two years of his residence in Rome almost like a recluse, giving up whole days and nights to prayer in his garret. It proved to be a period of inward preparation, at the close of which he emerged from his retreat, with his spiritual life strengthened and his determination to live for God confirmed, while he proceeded to take up courses of philosophy and theology at the Sapienza and at Sant' Agostino. For three years he worked with diligence and with such success that he was regarded as a promising scholar. Then, quite suddenly—perhaps in response to some intuition or intimation—he threw up his studies, sold most of his books and embarked upon an apostolate amongst the people.
Religion at that time was at a low ebb in Rome, which was very slowly recovering from the effects of the sacking in 1527. There were several contributory causes. Grave abuses had crept into the Church: they had long been generally recognized, but nothing was being done to remove them. Elections to the Sacred College had been controlled by the Medici, with the result that the cardinals, with few exceptions, were princes of the state rather than of the Church. The enthusiasm for classical authors fostered by the Renaissance had gradually substituted pagan for Christian ideals, thereby lowering the moral standard and weakening faith. Indifference, if not corruption, was rife amongst the clergy, many of whom seldom celebrated Mass, let their churches fall into disrepair and neglected their flocks. It was small wonder that the people were lapsing into semi-godlessness. To re-evangelize Rome was to be St Philip's life-work, and he accomplished it with such success as to earn from posterity the title of "the Apostle of Rome".
He began in a small way. He would stand about the street-corners and market place, entering into conversation with all sorts of people—especially with the young Florentines employed in the banks and shops of the Sant' Angelo quarter. He had an attractive personality with a notable sense of humour, and he readily won a hearing. Then he would put in a word in season or speak to his audience about the love of God and the state of their souls. In this manner he gradually prevailed upon many to give up evil practices and to reform their lives. His customary greeting, "Well, brothers, when shall we begin to do good?" found them willing enough to respond provided he would show them the way. So he took them with him to wait upon the sick in the hospitals and to visit the Seven Churches—a favourite devotion of his own. His days were given up to men; but towards evening he would retire into solitude, sometimes spending the night in a church porch, sometimes in the catacombs of St Sebastian beside the Appian Way. Here, in the grotte as they were then called, he was fervently praying for the gifts of the Holy Spirit on the eve of Pentecost 1544 when there appeared to him as it were a globe of fire which entered his mouth and which he afterwards felt dilating his breast. Immediately he was filled with such paroxysms of divine love that he rolled upon the ground exclaiming, "Enough, enough, Lord, I can bear no more!"
When he had risen and was more composed, on putting his hand to his heart he discovered a swelling as big as a man's fist, but neither then nor subsequently did it give him pain. From that day, under the stress of spiritual emotion he was apt to be seized with violent palpitations, which caused his whole body to tremble and sometimes the chair or the bed on which he rested to be violently shaken. The fervour which consumed him often obliged him to bare his breast to relieve the heat within and he would ask God to mitigate His consolations lest he should die with love. After his death it was discovered that two of the saint's ribs were broken and had formed an arch which added to the normal space for the beating of his heart.
In the year 1548, with the help of his confessor, Father Persiano Rossa, who lived at San Girolamo della Carità, St Philip founded a confraternity of poor laymen who met for spiritual exercises in the church of San Salvatore in Campo. With their aid he popularized in Rome the devotion of the forty hours and undertook the care of needy pilgrims. This work was greatly blessed and developed into the celebrated hospital of Santa Trinità dei Pellegrini, which in the year of jubilee 1575 assisted no less than 145,000 pilgrims, and afterwards undertook the charge of poor convalescents. Thus by the time he was thirty-four, St Philip Neri had accomplished much but his confessor was convinced that he could do still more as a priest.
Though the saint's humility made him shrink from the idea of taking holy orders, he eventually deferred to his director's wishes. He was ordained on May 23, 1551, and went to live with Father Rossa and other priests at San Girolamo della Carità. His apostolate was now exercised mainly through the confessional. From before daybreak until nearly midday and often again in the afternoon he sat in the tribunal of penance, to which flocked a host of penitents of all ages and ranks. He had a wonderful power of reading the thoughts of those who resorted to him and effected an enormous number of conversions. For the benefit of these penitents he would hold informal spiritual conferences and discussions, followed by visits to churches or attendance at Vespers and Complin. Often they would read aloud the lives of martyrs and missionaries. The account of the heroic career and death of St Francis Xavier so inspired St Philip himself that he was tempted to volunteer for the foreign mission field. However, a Cistercian whom he consulted assured him that Rome was to be his Indies, and the saint accepted the decision.
A large room was built over the nave of San Girolamo to accommodate the increasing numbers of those who attended the conferences, in the direction of which St Philip was aided by several other priests. The people called them Oratorians, because they rang a little bell to summon the faithful to prayers in their oratory, but the real foundation of the congregation so-named was laid a few years later, when St Philip presented five of his young disciples for ordination and sent them to serve the church of San Giovanni, the charge of which had been entrusted to him by his fellow Florentines in Rome. For these young priests, amongst whom was Cesare Baronius, the future historian, he drew up some simple rules of life. They shared a common table and spiritual exercises under his obedience, but he forbade them to bind themselves to this state by vows or to renounce their property if they had any. Others joined them and their organization and work developed rapidly— the more so, perhaps, because it met with opposition and even persecution in certain quarters. However, in 1575, the new society received the formal approbation of Pope Gregory XIII, who afterwards gave to it the ancient church of Sta Maria in Vallicella. The edifice, besides being in a ruinous condition, was far too small, and St Philip decided to demolish it and to rebuild it on a large scale. He had no money, but contributions came in from rich and poor. The pope and St Charles Borromeo were generous in their donations, as were many of the most prominent men in Rome.
Cardinals and princes were amongst his disciples, though he not infrequently disconcerted them by the strange things he did and said—sometimes spontaneously, for he was the most unconventional of saints, but often deliberately in order to conceal his spiritual emotion or to lower himself in the esteem of onlookers. Humility was the virtue which, of all others, he strove to practise himself and to instil into his penitents. He could not succeed, however, in blinding others to his own sanctity or in wholly concealing from them the extraordinary gifts and graces with which he was endowed.
Always a delicate man, he was once cured of a severe attack of stone by our Lady, who appeared to him in a vision. He had been lying in a state of exhaustion when he suddenly rose with outstretched arms exclaiming, " Oh, my beautiful Madonna Oh, my holy Madonna!" A doctor who was present took him by the arm, but St Philip entreated him to let him be. "Would you not have me embrace my holy Mother who has come to visit me ? " he asked. Then, realizing the presence of two physicians at his side, he hid his head in the bedclothes like a bashful child.
Many sick persons were restored by him to health, and on several occasions he prophesied future events—all of which came to pass. He lived in such constant touch with the supernatural that sometimes it was with the greatest difficulty that he could pursue his worldly avocations. He would fall into an ecstasy when saying his office, when offering Mass, or even while he was dressing. Men looking upon his face declared that it glowed with celestial radiance.
By April 1577, work on the Chiesa Nuova, as it was called, had advanced sufficiently for the Congregation of the Oratory to be transferred to the Vallicella, but their superior went on living at San Girolamo as before. He had become attached to the room he had occupied for thirty-three years, and it was not until 1584 that he took up residence at the Chiesa Nuova, in compliance with the pope's expressed wish. Even then he continued to live and have his meals apart from the community, although his spiritual sons had free access to him. So far, indeed, was he from leading the life of a solitary that his room was constantly crowded by visitors of all descriptions.
The Roman people in his later years held him in extraordinary veneration: the whole college of cardinals resorted to him for counsel and spiritual refreshment; and so great was his reputation that foreigners coming to Rome were eager to obtain an introduction. It was thus, in his own room, that he continued his apostolate when increasing age and infirmities precluded him from going about freely. Rich and poor mounted the steep steps that led to his apartment at the top of the house, with its loggia looking out above and beyond the roofs—the holy man always loved open spaces—and to each person he gave advice suited to his special needs.
Towards the close of his life St Philip had several dangerous attacks of illness from which he rallied wonderfully after being anointed. Two years before the end he succeeded in laying down his office of superior in favour of his disciple Bajonius. He also obtained permission to celebrate Mass daily in a little oratory adjoining his room. So enraptured did he become when offering the Holy Sacrifice that it became the practice for those who attended his Mass to retire at the Agnus Dei. Even the server would leave the chapel after extinguishing the candles, lighting a little lamp and placing outside the door a notice to give warning that the Father was saying Mass. Two hours later he would return, relight the candles and the Mass would be continued.
On the feast of Corpus Christi, May 25, 1595, the saint appeared to be in a radiantly happy mood, bordering on exultation, and his physician told him he had not looked so well for ten years. St Philip alone realized that his hour had come. All day long he heard confessions and saw visitors as usual, but before retiring he said, "Last of all, we must die". About midnight he was seized with an attack of haemorrhage so severe that the fathers were called. He was obviously dying, and Baronius, who read the commendatory prayers, besought him to say a parting word, or at least to bless his sons. Though St Philip was past speaking, he raised his hand, and in bestowing his blessing passed to his eternal reward. He was eighty years of age and his work was done. His body rests in the Chiesa Nuova, which the Oratorians serve to this day. St Philip Neri was canonized in 1622.
Abbé Louis Ponnelle and Abbé Louis Bordet, in the best documented and most painstaking life of St Philip which has yet been published (St Philip Neri and the Roman Society of his Times, translated by Father B.. F. Kerr, 1932), devote a preliminary chapter to an exhaustive review of the sources. It is therefore only necessary here to indicate a few of those earlier publications by which Catholics, and more particularly those of English speech, have become familiarized with the lovable personality of the Apostle of Rome. The earliest biography is that of the Oratorian Father Gallonio, written in Latin and published in 1600. It is reproduced in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. vi, together with another by Father Bernabei, probably chosen because it amounts to little more than a summary of the beatification process. The life by Bacci appeared in Italian in 1622, and it was supplemented by G. Ricci in 1678. This standard work was translated into English as part of the Oratorian Series, edited by Father Faber (1847). Another edition, revised by Father Antrobus, was issued in 1902. The life by Cardinal Capecelatro, written in Italian, has also been twice printed in English, in 1882 and 1926. Finally may be mentioned an excellent sketch, in much more compendious form, published by Father V. J. Matthews in 1934; A. Baudrillart's book in the series "Les Saints" (1939) and .T. Maynard's good popular life, Mystic in Motley (1946)—a bad example of American "striking" titles.Born in 1515 in Florence, he showed the impulsiveness and spontaneity of his character from the time he was a boy. In fact one incident almost cost him his life. Seeing a donkey loaded with fruit for market, the little boy had barely formed the thought of jumping on the donkey's back before he had done it. The donkey, surprised, lost his footing, and donkey, fruit, and boy tumbled into the cellar with the boy winding up on the bottom! Miraculously he was unhurt.
After thanking his cousin, he went to Rome in 1533 where he was the live-in tutor of the sons of a fellow Florentine. He studied philosophy and theology until he thought his studies were interfering with his prayer life. He then stopped his studies, threw away his books, and lived as a kind of hermit.
Night was his special time of prayer. After dark he would go out in the streets, sometimes to churches, but most often into the catacombs of St. Sebastiano to pray. During one of these times of prayer he felt a globe of light enter his mouth and sink into his heart. This experience gave him so much energy to serve God that he went out to work at the hospital of the incurables and starting speaking to others about God, everyone from beggars to bankers.
In 1548 Philip formed a confraternity with other laymen to minister to pilgrims who came to Rome without food or shelter. The spiritual director of the confraternity convinced Philip that he could do even more work as a priest. After receiving instruction from this priest, Philip was ordained in 1551.
At his new home, the church of San Girolamo, he learned to love to hear confessions. Young men especially found in him the wisdom and direction they needed to grow spiritually. But Philip began to realize that these young men needed something more than absolution; they needed guidance during their daily lives. So Philip began to ask the young men to come by in the early afternoon when they would discuss spiritual readings and then stay for prayer in the evening. The numbers of the men who attended these meetings grew rapidly. In order to handle the growth, Philip and a fellow priest Buonsignore Cacciaguerra gave a more formal structure to the meetings and built a room called the Oratory to hold them in.
Philip understood that it wasn't enough to tell young people not to do something -- you had to give them something to do in its place. So at Carnival time, when the worst excesses were encouraged, Philip organized a pilgrimage to the Seven Churches with a picnic accompanied by instrumental music for the mid-day break. After walking twelve miles in one day everyone was too tired to be tempted!
In order to guide his followers, Philip made himself available to everyone at any hour -- even at night. He said some of the most devout people were those who had come to him at night. When others complained, Philip answered, "They can chop wood on my back so long as they do not sin."
Not everyone was happy about this growing group and Philip and Buonsignore were attacked by the priests they lived with. But eventually Philip and his companions were vindicated and went on with their work. In 1555, the Pope's Vicar accused Philip of "introducing novelties" and ordered him to stop the meetings of the Oratory. Philip was brokenhearted but obeyed immediately. The Pope only let him start up the Oratory again after the sudden death of his accuser. Despite all the trouble this man had caused, Philip would not let anyone say anything against the man or even imply that his sudden death was a judgment from God. One church, for Florentines in Rome, had practically forced him to bring the Oratory to their church. But when gossip and accusations started, they began to harass the very people they had begged to have nearby! At that point, Philip decided it would be best for the group to have their own church. They became officially known as the Congregation of the Oratory, made up of secular priests and clerics.
Philip was known to be spontaneous and unpredictable, charming and humorous.
He seemed to sense the different ways to bring people to God. One man came to the Oratory just to make fun of it. Philip wouldn't let the others throw him out or speak against him. He told them to be patient and eventually the man became a Dominican. On the other hand, when he met a condemned man who refused to listen to any pleas for repentance, Philip didn't try gentle words, but grabbed the man by the collar and threw him to the ground. The move shocked the criminal into repentance and he made a full confession.Humility was the most important virtue he tried to teach others and to learn himself.
Some of his lessons in humility seem cruel, but they were tinged with humor like practical jokes and were related with gratitude by the people they helped. His lessons always seem to be tailored directly to what the person needed. One member who was later to become a cardinal was too serious and so Philip had him sing the Misere at a wedding breakfast. When one priest gave a beautiful sermon, Philip ordered him to give the same sermon six times in a row so people would think he only had one sermon.Philip preferred spiritual mortification to physical mortification.
When one man asked Philip if he could wear a hair shirt, Philip gave him permission -- if he wore the hair shirt outside his clothes! The man obeyed and found humility in the jokes and name-calling he received.Philip was very serious about prayer, spending hours in prayer.
There were unexpected benefits to his lessons in humility. Another member, Baronius, wanted to speak at the meetings about hellfire and eternal punishment. Philip commanded him instead to speak of church history. For 27 years Baronius spoke to the Oratory about church history. At the end of that time he published his talks as a widely respected and universally praised books on ecclesiastical history!
Philip did not escape this spiritual mortification himself. As with others, his own humbling held humor. There are stories of him wearing ridiculous clothes or walking around with half his beard shaved off. The greater his reputation for holiness the sillier he wanted to seem. When some people came from Poland to see the great saint, they found him listening to another priest read to him from joke books.
He was so easily carried away that he refused to preach in public and could not celebrate Mass with others around. But he when asked how to pray his answer was, "Be humble and obedient and the Holy Spirit will teach you."
Philip died in 1595 after a long illness at the age of eighty years.Prayer: Saint Philip Neri, we take ourselves far too seriously most of the time. Help us to add humor to our perspective -- remembering always that humor is a gift from God. Amen
In his footsteps: We often worry more about what others think that about what God thinks. Our fear of people laughing us often stops us from trying new things or serving God. Do something today that you are afraid might make you look a little ridiculous. Then reflect on how it makes you feel. Pray about your experience with God.
May 26, 2010 St. Philip Neri (1515-1595)
Philip Neri was a sign of contradiction, combining popularity with piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy, the whole post-Renaissance malaise. At an early age, he abandoned the chance to become a businessman, moved to Rome from Florence and devoted his life and individuality to God. After three years of philosophy and theology studies, he gave up any thought of ordination. The next 13 years were spent in a vocation unusual at the time—that of a layperson actively engaged in prayer and the apostolate.
As the Council of Trent was reforming the Church on a doctrinal level, Philip's appealing personality was winning him friends from all levels of society, from beggars to cardinals. He rapidly gathered around himself a group of laypersons won over by his audacious spirituality. Initially they met as an informal prayer and discussion group, and also served poor people in Rome. At the urging of his confessor, he was ordained priest and soon became an outstanding confessor, gifted with the knack of piercing the pretenses and illusions of others, though always in a charitable manner and often with a joke. He arranged talks, discussions and prayers for his penitents in a room above the church. He sometimes led "excursions" to other churches, often with music and a picnic on the way.
Some of his followers became priests and lived together in community. This was the beginning of the Oratory, the religious institute he founded. A feature of their life was a daily afternoon service of four informal talks, with vernacular hymns and prayers. Giovanni Palestrina was one of Philip's followers, and composed music for the services. The Oratory was finally approved after suffering through a period of accusations of being an assembly of heretics, where laypersons preached and sang vernacular hymns! (Cardinal Newman founded the first English-speaking house of the Oratory.)
Philip's adv ice was sought by many of the prominent figures of his day. He is one of the influential figures of the Counter-Reformation, mainly for converting to personal holiness many of the influential people within the Church itself. His characteristic virtues were humility and gaiety.
Comment: Many people wrongly feel that such an attractive and jocular personality as Philip's cannot be combined with an intense spirituality. Philip's life melts our rigid, narrow views of piety. His approach to sanctity was truly catholic, all-embracing and accompanied by a good laugh. Philip always wanted his followers to become not less but more human through their striving for holiness.
Quote: Philip Neri prayed, "Let me get through today, and I shall not fear tomorrow."
St. Mariana de Paredes Solitary and the "Lily of Quito," Ecuador
In civitáte Quiténsi, Æquatoriánæ Ditiónis, sanctæ Maríæ Annæ a Jesu de Parédes Vírginis, e tértio Ordine sancti Francísci, austeritáte et in próximum caritáte præcláræ, quam Pius Papa Duodécimus sanctárum Vírginum catálogo adnumerávit.
In the city of Quito in Ecuador, St. María Ana de Jesù de Paredes, a third order Franciscan, well known for her austerity and charity towards her neighbour. Pope Pius XII numbered her in the book of Virgins.
1645 ST MARIANA OF QUITO, VIRGIN the recipient of many spiritual favours and was endowed with the gifts of prophecy and miracles.
THE present capital of Ecuador was a Peruvian town in 1618, the year which saw the birth of its famous citizen, Mariana Paredes y Flores, "the Lily of Quito".
Her parents, who came of noble Spanish stock, died when she was very young, leaving her to the care of an elder sister and brother-in-law, who loved her as they did their own daughters. She was remarkable for her piety almost from infancy and, when a mere child, liked to engage her nieces, still younger than herself, in saying the rosary or making the stations of the cross, and she would manufacture disciplines for her own use from thorn bushes or prickly leaves. So precocious did she appear that her sister obtained permission for her to make her first communion at the then unusually early age of seven. When she was twelve she decided to start off with a few companions to convert the Japanese, and after that scheme had been frustrated she inspired them with the idea of living as hermits on a mountain near Quito. Somewhat perturbed at the adventurous turn her piety was taking, her relations proposed placing her in a convent to try her vocation. But although on two occasions all preparations were made, her departure was prevented at the last moment by what appeared to be some special interposition of Providence. Mariana accordingly remained at home, and, under the direction of her Jesuit confessor, entered upon the life of a solitary in her brother-in-law's house, which she never again left except to go to church.
Gradually she embarked upon a succession of austerities which can only be regarded as horrifying when practised by a frail young girl delicately reared, and one cannot but ask why her spiritual adviser did not restrain her. She kept a coffin, in which she spent each Friday night: at other times it contained the semblance of a corpse, as a constant reminder of death. Chains bound her arms and legs, and besides a wire girdle, she wore a hair shirt. Every Friday she put on two crowns, the one of thorns and the other of spiked iron, followed by other practices whose recital hardly tends to edification. She is said never to have slept more than three hours, the rest of her time being employed in religious exercises, according to a detailed time-table which was found after her death. Little by little she reduced her food until she came to subsist on a small portion of bread taken once a day. Towards the end of her life she deprived herself of drink in order the better to realize our Lord's thirst on the cross; to add to her sufferings she would raise a glass of water to her parched lips in very hot weather and would then withdraw it untasted. She was, we are told, the recipient of many spiritual favours and was endowed with the gifts of prophecy and miracles.
In 1645 Quito was visited by earthquakes, followed by an epidemic which swept away many of the inhabitants. On the fourth Sunday in Lent Mariana, after listening to an eloquent sermon preached by her confessor in the Jesuit church, was moved to offer herself publicly as a victim for the sins of the people. We read that the earthquakes ceased immediately, but that as soon as the epidemic began to abate, Mariana was seized with a complication of maladies which soon brought her to the grave. She died on May 26, 1645, at the age of twenty-six. The whole city mourned for one whom they regarded as their saviour. St Mariana was canonized in 1950, ninety-six years after her beatification.
There is a life in Italian and in French by Father Boero (1854), and in Spanish others by J. Moran de Betrôn (1854) and A. Bruchez (1908).She was born Mariana de Paredes y Flores and called herself Mariana of Jesus. Born in Quito she was a hermitess in her brother-in-law's residence. Mariana offered herself as a victim for the city during an earthquake in 1645 and died. She was canonized in 1950.
| 1747 Bl. Peter Sanz Martyred bishop in
China native of Catalonia, Spain Dominican
Peter entered the Dominicans in 1697 and was sent to the Pacific. In 1712 he arrived in the Philippines and then went to China the following year.
Nominated a vicar apostolic in 1730, he later became the titular bishop of Mauricastro. Arrested by anti-Christian forces in 1746, he was imprisoned and finally beheaded. He was beatified in 1893.
IT is one of the glories of the Church of Christ that so many of her sons in the prime of life have always been eager to surrender all that the world prizes in order to risk persecution and death on the foreign mission field. Amongst the number must be reckoned the five Dominican priests who were martyred in the Chinese province of Fu-kien in the years 1747 and 1748. Their names were Peter Martyr Sanz, Francis Serrano, Joachim Royo, John Alcober and Francis Diaz: all five were Spaniards and all five from early youth were inflamed with the desire to spread the gospel of Christ amongst the heathen. Their future leader, Peter San a native of Asco in Catalonia, was sent in 1714 to the Chinese province of Fu-kien, where he laboured successfully until 1730 when he was named bishop of Mauricastro i.p.i. and vicar apostolic of Fu-kien, with the general supervision of the whole mission.
The previous year persecution had broken out against the Christians and it had required great circumspection on the part of the bishop to escape capture. The storm had died down, but in 1746 it began again on a much greater scale. A man at Fogan, who had applied to the bishop for money and been refused, drew up a formal indictment of the European missionaries who, as he complained, were infringing the laws and winning thousands in the city to the Catholic faith. The case came before the viceroy, a bitter enemy to Christianity, and stern measures were adopted. Bishop Peter, Father Royo and Father Alcober were imprisoned. After some time they were transferred, loaded with chains and emaciated by hunger, to the city of Foochow, where their patience under barbarous ill-treatment won the admiration even of their enemies. For a year they languished in prison under appalling conditions, and then Bd Peter was beheaded. His last words to his companions were: "Be of good courage: must we not rejoice that we are to die for the law of our God?"
The other four captives-Father Serrano and Father Diaz had by now joined their brethren in prison-had not very long to wait. The arrival of a document appointing Father Francis Serrano coadjutor to Bishop Sanz, the news of whose death had not yet reached Rome, sealed their fate. Father Serrano--bishop elect of Tipasa i.p.i.-Father Royo, Father Alcober and Father Diaz were cruelly executed in prison. They were all beatified in 1893.
See M. J. Savignol, Les Martyrs Dominicains de la Chine au XVIIIe siècle (1894); A. Marie, Missions Dominicaines dans l'Extrême Orient (1865); Monumenta 0. P. historica, vol. xiv, pp. 128 seq. Wehofer, Die Apostel Chinas (1894).
|1861 St. John Hoan Martyr of Vietnam a Vietnamese priest beheaded during the anti-Christian persecutions. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1988.
On Death and Life
"Man Needs Eternity -- and Every Other Hope, for Him, Is All Too Brief"
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!
(Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
Month by Month of Saintly Dedications
The Rosary html Mary Mother of GOD -- Her Rosary Here
Mary Mother of GOD Mary's Divine Motherhood: FEASTS OF OUR LADY
of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
May 9 – Our Lady of the Wood (Italy, 1607)
Months of Dedication
January is the month of the Holy Name of Jesus since 1902;
March is the month of Saint Joseph since 1855;
May, the month of Mary, is the oldest and most well-known Marian month, officially since 1724;
June is the month of the Sacred Heart since 1873;
July is the month of the Precious Blood since 1850;
August is the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary;
September is the month of Our Lady of Sorrows since 1857;
October is the month of the Rosary since 1868;
November is the month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory since 1888;
December is the month of the Immaculate Conception.
In all, five months of the year are dedicated to Mary.
The idea of dedicating months came from Rome and promotion of the month of Mary owes much to the Jesuits. arras.catholique.fr
Pray that the witness of 40 Days for Life bears abundant fruit, and that we begin again each day to storm the gates of hell until God welcomes us into the gates of heaven.
either when one patiently suffers much, or when one suffers things which one is able to avoid and yet does not avoid.
Christ endured much on the cross, and did so patiently, because when he suffered he did not threaten;
he was led like a sheep to the slaughter and he did not open his mouth.-- St. Thomas Aquinas
We begin our day by seeing Christ in the consecrated bread, and throughout the day we continue to see Him in the torn bodies of our poor. We pray, that is, through our work, performing it with Jesus, for Jesus and upon Jesus.-- Mother Teresa
The poor are our prayer. They carry God in them. Prayer means praying everything, praying the work.We meet the Lord who hungers and thirsts, in the poor.....and the poor could be you or I or any person kind enough to show us his or her love and to come to our place.
Because we cannot see Christ, we cannot express our love to Him in person.
But our neighbor we can see, and we can do for him or her what we would love to do for Jesus if He were visible.
I believe,
I adore, I trust
and I love
I beg pardon
for those who do
not believe, do not
adore, do not love
O most
Holy trinity,
Son and Holy
I adore Thee profoundly.
I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended,
and by the infite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
I beg the conversion of poor sinners, Amen Fatima Prayer, Angel of PeaceMary's Divine Motherhood
Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI { 2013 } Catholic Church In China { article here}
1648 to1930 St. Augustine Zhao Rong and 120 Companions Christianity arrived in China by way of Syria -- 600s.
Depending on China's relations with outside world,
Christianity for centuries was free to grow or forced to operate secretly.
Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary AlacoqueHow do I start the Five First Saturdays?
From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).
Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.
"The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord's humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ."
voice of the
Father is
heard, the Son
enters the
water, and
the Holy Spirit
appears in
the form of a dove.
THE spirit and example of the world imperceptibly instil the error into the minds of many that there is a kind of middle way of going to Heaven; and so, because the world does not live up to the gospel, they bring the gospel down to the level of the world. It is not by this example that we are to measure the Christian rule, but words and life of Christ. All His followers are commanded to labour to become perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, and to bear His image in our hearts that we may be His children. We are obliged by the gospel to die to ourselves by fighting self-love in our hearts, by the mastery of our passions, by taking on the spirit of our Lord.
These are the conditions under which Christ makes His promises and numbers us among His children, as is manifest from His words which the apostles have left us in their inspired writings. Here is no distinction made or foreseen between the apostles or clergy or religious and secular persons. The former, indeed, take upon themselves certain stricter obligations, as a means of accomplishing these ends more perfectly; but the law of holiness and of disengagement of the heart from the world is geeral and binds all the followers of Christ.
Feasts of Our Lady.html January to December ICONS
breviary.net/martyrology/mart05 26 stlukeorthodox.com/html/saints/ usccb.org ewtn.com St Patricks 05 26
domcentral.org/life/martyr Nov syriac oca.org glaubenszeugen.de/tage/kai/05 26 Serbian http://www.copticchurch.net Melkite
Monthly Saints with pics here http://www.stfrancisenid.com/memorials.htm antiochian.org/AW-WomenSaints--wonderful icons
Lutheran Saints One Saint per day stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/index.htm stjohndc.org God's Humourous Saints
Join Mary of Nazareth
help us build
the International
Center of Nazareth
THE EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY TO BE BELIEVED POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATIONMorning Prayer and Hymn Meditation of the Day Prayer for Priests Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List Here
There are over 10,000 named saints beati from history
and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources
Miracles by Century 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 Miracles_BC Lay Saints
|We are called upon with
the whole Church militant
on earth
to join
in praising
and thanking
God for
the grace
and glory
he has bestowed
on his saints.
At the
same time we
implore Him to
exert His almighty
and mercy in
raising us from
our miseries
and sins, healing
the disorders
of our souls
and leading
us by the path
of repentance
to the company of
His saints, to which
He has called
They were once what we are now, travellers on earth they had the same weaknesses, which we have. We have difficulties to encounter so had the saints, and many of them far greater than we can meet with; obstacles from kings and whole nations, sometimes from the prisons, racks and swords of persecutors. Yet they surmounted these difficulties, which they made the very means of their virtue and victories. It was by the strength they received from above, not by their own, that they triumphed. But the blood of Christ was shed for us as it was for them and the grace of our Redeemer is not wanting to us; if we fail, the failure is in ourselves.
THE saints and just, from the beginning of time and throughout the world, who have been made perfect, everlasting monuments of God's infinite power and clemency, praise His goodness without ceasing; casting their crowns before His throne they give to Him all the glory of their triumphs: "His gifts alone in us He crowns."
"The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: 'But as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God....' Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory" Exposition of the Orthodox Faith
Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).
Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.
Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart ... From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to me, His unworthy slave, if I mistake not:
"I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under my displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, my divine Heart making itself their assured refuge at the last moment."
Margaret Mary was inspired by Christ to establish the Holy Hour and to pray lying prostrate with her face to the ground from eleven till midnight on the eve of the first Friday of each month, to share in the mortal sadness.
He endured when abandoned by His Apostles in His Agony, and to receive holy Communion on the first Friday of every month. In the first great revelation, He made known to her His ardent desire to be loved by men and His design of manifesting His Heart with all Its treasures of love and mercy, of sanctification and salvation.
He appointed the Friday after the octave of the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart; He called her "the Beloved Disciple of the Sacred Heart", and the heiress of all Its treasures. The love of the Sacred Heart was the fire which consumed her, and devotion to the Sacred Heart is the refrain of all her writings. In her last illness she refused all alleviation, repeating frequently: "What have I in heaven and what do I desire on earth, but Thee alone, O my God", and died pronouncing the Holy Name of Jesus.
With regard to this promise it may be remarked: (1) that our Lord required Communion to be received on a particular day chosen by Him; (2) that the nine Fridays must be consecutive; (3) that they must be made in honor of His Sacred Heart, which means that those who make the nine Fridays must practice the devotion and must have a great love for our Lord; (4) that our Lord does not say that those who make the nine Fridays will be dispensed from any of their obligations or from exercising the vigilance necessary to lead a good life and overcome temptation; rather He implicitly promises abundant graces to those who make the nine Fridays to help them to carry out these obligations and persevere to the end; (5) that perseverance in receiving Holy Communion for nine consecutive First Firdays helps the faithful to acquire the habit of frequent Communion, which our Lord eagerly desires; and (6) that the practice of the nine Fridays is very pleasing to our Lord He promises such great reward, and all Catholics should endeavor to make nine Fridays.
| How do I start the Five
First Saturdays?
Fr. Tom
On July 13,1917, Our Lady appeared for the third time to the three children of Fatima an showed them the vision of hell and made the now - famous thirteen prophecies. In this vision Our Lady said that 'GOD WISHES TO ESTABLISH IN THE WORLD DEVOTION to Her Immaculate Heart and that She would come TO ASK FOR THE COMMUNION OF REPARATION ON THE FIRST SATURDAYS...' Eight years later, on December 10, 1925, Our Lady did indeed come back. She appeared (with the Child Jesus) to Lucia in the convent of the Dorothean Sisters in Pontevedra.
The Child Jesus spoke first:
Our Lady then said: 'MY DAUGHTER LOOK AT MY HEART SURROUNDED WITH THORNS WITH WHICH UNGRATEFUL MEN PIERCE IT AT EVERY MOMENT BY THEIR BLASPHEMIES AND INGRATITUDE. YOU, AT LEAST, TRY TO CONSOLE ME, AND SAY THAT I PROMISE TO ASSIST AT THE HOUR OF DEATH WITH ALL THE GRACES NECESSARY FOR SALVATION, ALL THOSE WHO, ON THE FIRST SATURDAY OF FIVE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS GO TO CONFESSION AND RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION, RECITE FIVE DECADES OF THE ROSARY AND KEEP ME COMPANY FOR A QUARTER OF AN HOUR WHILE MEDITATING ON MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY, WITH THE INTENTION OF MAKING REPARATION TO ME.'
The Five Reasons
Lucia once asked this question of Our Lord and received as an answer: 'MY DAUGHTER, THE MOTIVE IS SIMPLE, THERE ARE FIVE KINDS OF OFFENCES AND BLASPHEMIES UTTERED AGAINST THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY: (1) BLASPHEMIES AGAINST THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: (2) BLASPHEMIES AGAINST HER VIRGINITY: (3) BLASPHEMIES AGAINST HER DIVINE MATERNITY: (4) BLASPHEMIES OF THOSE WHO OPENLY SEEK TO FOSTER IN THE HEARTS OF CHILDREN INDIFFERENCE OR EVEN HATRED FOR THIS IMMACULATE MOTHER: (5) THE OFFENCES OF THOSE WHO DIRECTLY OUTRAGE HER IN HOLY IMAGES.'
From the above, it is easy to see that each of the Five Saturdays can correspond to a specific offence. By offering the graces received during each First Saturday as reparation for the offence being prayed for, the participant can hope to help remove the thorns from Our Lady's Heart.
What Do I Have To Do?
The devotion of First Saturdays, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima, carries with it the assurance of salvation. However, to derive profit from such a great promise of Our Lady, the devotion must be properly understood and duly performed.
The requirements as stipulated by Our Lady are as follows:
(1) CONFESSION, (2) COMMUNION, (3) FIVE DECADES OF THE ROSARY, (4) MEDITATION ON ONE OR MORE OF THE ROSARY MYSTERIES FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES, (5) TO DO ALL THESE THINGS IN THE SPIRIT OF REPARATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, and (6) TO OBSERVE ALL THESE PRACTICES ON THE FIRST SATURDAY OF FIVE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS.
(1) CONFESSION: A reparative confession means that the confession should not only be good (valid and licit), but also be offered in the spirit of reparation, in this case, to Mary's Immaculate Heart. This confession may be made on the First Saturday itself or some days before or after the First Saturday within the preceding octave would suffice.
(2) COMMUNION: The communion of reparation must be sacramental duly received with the intention of making reparation. This offering, like the confession, is an interior act and so no external action to express the intention is needed.
(3) THE ROSARY: The Rosary mentioned here was indicated by the Portuguese word 'terco' which is commonly employed to denote a Rosary of five decades, since it forms a fourth of the full Rosary of 20 decades. This too must recited in a spirit of reparation.
(4) MEDITATION FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES: Here the meditation on one mystery or more is to be made without simultaneous recitation of the Rosary decade. As indicated, the meditation may be either on one mystery alone for 15 minutes, or on all 20 mysteries, spending about one minute on each mystery, or again, on two or more mysteries during the period. This can also be made before each decade spending three minutes or more in considering the mystery of the particular decade. This meditation has likewise to be made in the spirit of reparation to the Immaculate Heart.
(5) THE SPIRIT OF REPARATION: All these acts, as said above, have to be done with the intention of offering reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the offences committed against Her. Everyone who offends Her commits, so to speak, a two-fold offence, for these sins also offend her Divine Son, Christ, and so endanger our salvation. They give bad example to others and weaken the strength of society to withstand immoral onslaughts. Such devotions therefore make us consider not only the enormity of the offence against God, but also the effect of sins on human society as well as the need for undoing these social effects even when the offender repents and is converted. Further, this reparation emphasises our responsibility towards sinners who, themselves, will not pray and make reparation for their sins.
(6) FIVE CONSECUTIVE FIRST SATURDAYS: The idea of the Five First Saturdays is obviously to make us persevere in the devotional acts for these Saturdays and overcome initial difficulties. Once this is done, Our Lady knows that the person would become devoted to Her immaculate Heart and persist in practising such devotion on all First Saturdays, working thereby for personal self-reform and for the salvation of others.
Unless Russia is converted, the movement against God and for sin will continue to spread, promoting wars and persecutions, and making the attainment for peace and justice impossible for this world. One means of obtaining Russia's conversion is to practise the Fatima Message. The stakes are so great that to encourage Catholics to practise the devotion of the First Saturdays, Our Lady has assured us that She will obtain salvation for all those who observe the first Saturdays for five consecutive months in accordance with Her conditions.
At the supreme moment the departing person will be either in the state of grace or not. In either case Our Lady will be by his side. If in the state of grace, She will console and help him to resist whatever temptations the devil might put before him in his last attempt to take the person with him to hell. If not in the state of grace, Our Lady will help the person to repent in a manner agreeable to God and so benefit by the fruits of redemption and be saved.
Dear Lord, grant us a spirit that is not bound by our own ideas and preferences. Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves. O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory. Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heaven: only saints are allowed into heaven. The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
There are over 10,000 named saints beati from history
and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources
Patron_Saints.html Widowed_Saints html Indulgences The Catholic Church in China
LINKS: Marian Shrines India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East Lourdes 1858 China Marian shrines 1995
Kenya national Marian shrine Loreto, Italy Marian Apparitions (over 2000) Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
Links to Related MarianWebsites Angels and Archangels Saints Visions of Heaven and Hell
Widowed Saints html
Doctors_of_the_Church Acts_Of_The_Apostles Roman Catholic Popes Purgatory Uniates Chalcedon
| Mary the
Mother of
Miracles_BC Lay Saints
Miracles by Century 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
Miracles 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 Lay Saints
The POPES HTML
Pius IX 1846--1878 • Leo XIII 1878-1903 • Pius X 1903-1914• Benedict XV 1914-1922 • Pius XI 1922-1939 • Pius XII 1939-1958 • John XXIII 1958-1963 • Paul VI 1963 to 1978 • John Paul • John Paul II 10/16/1975-4/2/2005 Benedict XVI
Pope St. Clement: Since all things lie open to His eyes and ears, let us hold Him in awe and rid ourselves of impure desires to do works of evil, so that we may be protected by His mercy from the judgement that is to come.
Which of us can escape His mighty hand?
"The answers to many of life's questions can be found by reading the Lives of the Saints. They teach us how to overcome obstacles and difficulties, how to stand firm in our faith, and how to struggle against evil and emerge victorious." 1913 Saint Barsanuphius of Optina
The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR benefit of others.
Non est inventus similis illis
God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heaven.
Popes mentioned in articles of Saints today
Pope Urban IV Pope Urban IV (c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope from 1261 to 1264.The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR benefit of others.
1258 Blessed Eva of Liege enthusiastic purpose obtain the institution of a feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. --granted by Pope Urban IV
735 Venerable St. Bede born near St. Peter and St. Paul monastery at Wearmouth-Jarrow, England Doctor of the Church {Pope Leo XIII 1878-1903}
"I have loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile." Pope Gregory the VII 1073-1085
1085 Pope Gregory VII At Salerno, the death of blessed , a most zealous protector and champion of Church liberty.
At Assisi in Umbria, the translation of St. Francis, confessor, in the time of Pope Gregory IX 1227-1241.
Non est inventus similis illis
Let us look to Mary, let us contemplate the Holy Mother of God. I suggest that you all greet her together, just like those courageous people of Ephesus, who cried out before their pastors when they entered Church: "Hail, Holy Mother of God!" What a beautiful greeting for our Mother. There is a story – I do not know if it is true – that some among those people had clubs in their hands, perhaps to make the Bishops understand what would happen if they did not have the courage to proclaim Mary "Mother of God"! I invite all of you, without clubs, to stand up and to greet her three times with this greeting of the early Church: "Hail, Holy Mother of God!" Pope Francis; Homily, Holy Mass on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Vatican Basilica, January 1, 2015
Pope's Prayer in PompeiiVirgin of the Holy Rosary, Mother of the Redeemer, our earthly Lady raised above the heavens, humble servant of the Lord, proclaimed Queen of the world, from the depth of our miseries we turn to you. With the faithfulness of children we look to your sweet gaze.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Crowned with twelve stars, you bring us to the mystery of the Father, you shine the splendor of the Holy Spirit, you give us our Divine Child, Jesus, our hope, our only salvation in the world. Comforted by your Rosary, you invite us to be fixed to his gaze. You open to us His heart, abyss of joy and sorry, of light and glory, mystery of the son of God, made man for us. At your feet in the footsteps of the saints, we feel as God's family.
Mother and model of the Church, you are our guide and secure support. Make us one heart and one mind, a strong people on the way towards the heavenly homeland. We entrust our miseries, the many streets of hate and blood, the thousands of ancient and new poverties and above all, our sins. To you we entrust ourselves, Mother of Mercy: grant us the forgiveness of God, help us to build a world according to your heart.
O Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain that ties us to God, chain of love that makes us brothers, we will not leave you again. You will be in our hands a weapon of peace and forgiveness, star that guides our path. And the kiss to you with our last breath, we plunge into a wave of light, in the vision of the beloved Mother and the Son of God, the desire and joy of our heart, with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
"Where there is no honor for the elderly, there is no future for young people." Pope Francis:"It Is a Mortal Sin When Children Don't Visit Their Elderly Parents."
By Deborah Castellano Lubov VATICAN CITY, March 04, 2015 (Zenit.org) –
"Where there is no honor for the elderly, there is no future for young people."During his weekly General Audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis made this strong statement while continuing his catechesis on the family, with this and next week focusing on the elderly. Confining this week's address to their problematic current condition, the Holy Father said the elderly are ignored and that a society that does this is perverse.
While noting that life has been lengthened thanks to advances in medicine, he lamented that while the number of older people has multiplied, "our societies are not organized enough to make room for them, with proper respect and concrete consideration for their fragility and their dignity."
"As long as we are young, we are led to ignore old age, as if it were a disease to be taken away. Then when we become older, especially if we are poor, sick and alone, we experience the shortcomings of a society planned on efficiency, which consequently ignores the elderly."
He went on to quote his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, who, when visiting a nursing home in November 2012, "used clear and prophetic words: 'The quality of a society, I would say of a civilization, is judged also on how the elderly are treated and the place reserved for them in the common life.'" Without a space for them, Francis highlighted, society dies.
Cultures, he decried, see the elderly as a burden who do not produce and should be discarded.
"You do not say it openly, but you do it!" he exclaimed. "Out of our fear of weakness and vulnerability, we do not tolerate and abandon the elderly," he said. "It's sickening to see the elderly discarded. It is ugly. It's a sin. Abandoning the elderly is a mortal sin."
"Children who do not visit their elderly and ill parents have mortally sinned. Understand?"
The Pope expressed his dismay at children who go months without seeing a parent, or how elderly are confined to little tables in their kitchens alone, without anyone caring for them. He noted that he observed this reality during his ministry in Buenos Aires. Unwilling to accept limits, society, he noted, doesn't allow elderly to participate and gives into the mentality that only the young can be useful and enjoy life.
The whole society must realize, the Pope said, the elderly contain the wisdom of the people.
The tradition of the Church, Pope Francis reaffirmed, has always supported a culture of closeness to the elderly, involving affectionately and supportively accompanying them in this final part of life. The Church cannot, and does not want to, Francis underscored, comply with a mentality of impatience, and even less of indifference and contempt towards old age.
Sooner or later, we will all be old, he said. If we do not treat the elderly well, he stressed we will not be treated well either.
"We must awaken the collective sense of gratitude, of appreciation, of hospitality, which make them feel the elderly living part of his community."
Concluding his address, Pope Francis noted how old age will come to all one day and reminded the faithful how much they have received from their elders. He also challenged them to not take a step back and abandon them to their fate.
Pope Francis:
"It is very different to try and grow in the faith without Mary's help. It is something else. It is like growing in the faith, yes, but in a Church that is an orphanage. A Church without Mary is an orphanage. With Mary—she educates us, she makes us grow, she accompanies us, she touches consciences. She knows how to touch consciences, for repentance."Pope Francis Speech of October 25, 2014, to the Schönstatt Apostolic Movement
on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its founding .
"Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you shall receive it, and it shall come to you. St. Mark 11:24"
Nazareth is the School of the Gospel (II)
It is first a lesson of silence.
May the esteem of silence be born in us anew, this admirable and indispensable condition of the spirit, in us who are assailed by so much clamor, noise and shouting in our modern life, so noisy and hyper sensitized. O silence of Nazareth, teach us recollection, interiority, disposition to listen to the good inspirations and words of the true masters; teach us the need and value of preparation, study, meditation, personal and interior life, and prayer that God alone sees in secret.
It is a lesson of family life.
May Nazareth teach us what a family is, with its communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, its sacred and inviolable character; let us learn from Nazareth how sweet and irreplaceable is the formation one receives within it; let us learn how primordial its role is on the social level.
It is a lesson of work. Nazareth, the house of the carpenter's son; it is there that we would like to understand and celebrate the severe and redeeming law of human labor; there, to reestablish the conscience of work's nobility; to remind people that working cannot be an end in itself, but that its freedom and nobility come, in addition to its economic value, from the value that finalize it; how we wish to salute here all the workers of the world and show them their great model, their divine brother, the prophet of all their just causes, Christ Our Lord.
Homily of Paul VI in Nazareth January 5, 1964
Pope Francis: The Kingdom of God is found in silence, not in causing a spectacle (Video)
He explained that it can also be found in day to day life By Staff
ROME, November 13, 2014 (Rome Reports) - To view the video click here.
Let me (Pope Francis) just recall the words referring to the mystery we celebrate today: "The immaculate Virgin preserved free from all stain of original sin, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things" (no. 59).
Then towards the end, there is: "The Mother of Jesus in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven is the image and the beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise, she shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come" (no. 68). Pope Francis
Pope's Morning Homily: The Kingdom of God Is Hidden in Everyday Holiness
Says God Also Manifests Himself in Ordinary Life. By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY, November 13, 2014 (Zenit.org) -
The Kingdom of God is a humble seed that grows in greatness by the power of the Holy Spirit. This was the central theme of Pope Francis' homily today at Casa Santa Marta. As reported by Vatican Radio, Pope Francis reflected on today's Gospel from St. Luke, which recounted Jesus' response to the Pharisees' questions on the coming of the Kingdom of God.
"The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you," Jesus says in the Gospel.
"A spectacle! The Lord never says that the Kingdom of God is a spectacle," the Pope noted. "It is a celebration! But that is different. Certainly it is a beautiful celebration. A great celebration. And Heaven will be a celebration, but not a spectacle. However, our human weakness prefers the spectacle."
The Pope said that the Kingdom will show its power at the end of time at the coming of Christ. However, he also said that the Kingdom of God also manifests itself in ordinary life.
"When one thinks of the perseverance of many Christians, who struggle to raise their family - men, women - who care for children, care for grandparents and arrive at the end of the month with only half a euro, but who pray," he said,
"There is the Kingdom of God, hidden, in the holiness of daily life, everyday holiness. Because the Kingdom of God is not far from us, it is near! This is one of its features: it is close to us everyday."
Concluding his homily, the Pope reflected on Jesus' words that before the coming of the Kingdom, the Son of Man "must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation." Pope Francis said that like a seed, the Kingdom is humble yet "becomes great by the power of the Holy Spirit."
"It is up to us to to let it grow in us, without boasting about it," he said. "Let the Spirit come, change our soul and carry us forward in silence, in peace, in tranquility, in closeness to God, to others, in worship of God, without spectacle."
Excerpts from Pope Francis' Post-Lunch Address to Seminar Participants: Wednesday, July 16, 2014
"What you do is very important," the Pontiff told the participants. "Reflecting on reality, but reflecting without fear, reflecting with intelligence. Without fear and with intelligence. And this is a service."
Referring to the themes considered during the seminar, he went on to offer a brief discourse on anthropological reductionism. "I believe that this is the strongest moment for anthropological reductionism," he said.
"What is happening to humanity at the moment is what happens when wine becomes brandy: it passes through a phase of distillation, in organizational terms. It is no longer wine, but it is something else: perhaps more useful, more qualified, but it is not wine!"
He said that for mankind, it is the same: "man passes through this transformational phase and ends up – and I am serious – losing his humanity and becoming a tool of the system, a social and economic system, a system where imbalance reigns. When mankind loses his humanity, what happens to us? What occurs is what I would describe in simple terms as a throwaway policy or sociology: what is no longer useful is discarded, because man is not at the centre. And when man is not at the centre, there is something else in his place and man is at the service of this other thing."
"The idea, therefore, is to save mankind, in the sense of restoring him to the centre: to the centre of society, of thought, of reflection. Restoring mankind to the centre. You do good work. You study, reflect, hold conferences for this reason – so that mankind is not discarded."
"Children are discarded – we all know about today's birth rates, at least in Europe; the elderly are discarded, because they are not 'useful'. And now? An entire generation of young people is discarded, and this is very serious! I have seen a figure: 75 million young people, under the age of 25, without work. The 'neither-nor' young: those who neither work nor study. They do not study because they do not have the opportunity, and the do not work because there is no work."
"Who will be the next to be discarded? Let us stop this in time, please!"
The Pope thanked those present for their work and their initiatives "to restore balance to this imbalanced situation and to recover mankind, restoring him to the centre of reflection and the centre of life. He is the king of the universe!" he exclaimed. "And this is not theology, it is philosophy and human reality."
"Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you shall receive it, and it shall come to you. St. Mark 11:24"
January 5 – Our Lady of Good Counsel (Bergamo, Italy)
Pope Francis: "Place your vocation in her hands"
At the opening of the seminarians' pilgrimage in France, which was held at Lourdes through Monday, November 10, 2014, Pope Francis sent a special message in the form of three pieces of advice:
"Mary accompanied Jesus in his mission. She was present at Pentecost when the disciples received the Holy Spirit. She accompanied the first steps of the Church in a maternal way. During these days in Lourdes, confide in her, place your vocation in her hands, and ask her to make you pastors according to God's own heart. Let her strengthen you on these three key points that I mentioned: brotherhood, prayer, and mission.I wholeheartedly give you my Apostolic Blessing and I ask you to pray for me. Thank you."
Pope Gives 9 Tips to Vatican Employees Francis Urges Them to Devote Time to Their ChildrenBy Deborah Castellano Lubov VATICAN CITY, December 22, 2014
Recalling St. Paul saying that in the Body of Christ, "the eye cannot say to the hand:'I have no need of you'; nor again the head to the feet, 'I do not need you,'" he noted, "this shows that all parts of the Body of the Curia are needed for it to be living and dynamic." From this, he asked them make this Christmas a real opportunity to "cure" every wound. He then encouraged them to examine nine areas.
"Care for your spiritual life, your relationship with God," he said was the first, because "this is the backbone of everything we do and everything we are." "A Christian who is not nourished by prayer, the sacraments and the Word of God, inevitably fades and withers," he added.
Second, care for your family life, "giving to your children and your loved ones not only money, but above all time, attention and love."
Third, heal your relationships with others, transforming faith in life and words into good works, especially for those most in need.
The fourth suggestion of the Pope was to watch how you speak. He stressed the importance of "purifying the language from the offensive words, vulgarity and phraseology of worldly decadence."
The fifth requires "healing the wounds of the heart with the oil of forgiveness," which means forgiving people who have hurt us and medicating wounds we have caused in others.
The sixth exhortation relates to work, he said, which involves doing it "with enthusiasm, humility, skill, passion, and with a soul that knows how to thank the Lord."
The seventh appeal was to avoid envy, lust, hatred and negative feelings "that devour our inner peace and transform us into destroyed and destructive people."
Eighth, he continued, requires the faithful to let go of "the bitterness that brings us to revenge," "the laziness that leads to euthanasia," "the finger-pointing that leads to pride," and "the complaining that constantly leads us to despair."
He added: "I know that a few times, to keep your job, you quarrel with someone, to defend yourselves. I understand these situations, but the road does not end well."
"Rather," he suggested, "ask the Lord for wisdom to bite one's tongue" and "not to say insulting words that afterward leave your mouth bitter."
Ninth, he stressed, is to reach out to the weak, elderly, sick, hungry, homeless and foreigners. For this will determine how we will be judged.
In addition, he called on them to never treat Christmas as "a celebration of consumerism" and useless, extravagant gift-giving, but rather as the "festival of joy to welcome the Lord in the crib and heart."
Acknowledging he had spoken of various areas on which to reflect carefully, the Holy Father called on the Vatican employees to ponder which area they need to address the most.
Here, he stressed taking care of the family, as, "The family is a treasure. Children are a treasure."
He said young parents should never be too busy to find time to play with their children, for such playing is such a beautiful moment, and helps "sow the future."
"Imagine how it would change our world if everyone started immediately, and here, to heal and treat generously their relationship with God and with others," he said.
"Think of all the good," he said, "if we looked at each other, especially the most needy, with eyes of goodness and tenderness, as God looks at us, waiting for us and forgiving us; if we found humility, our strength, and our treasure!"
Gestures of tenderness, he noted, "can warm the icy heart, to encourage the disheartened souls and brighten dull eyes with the light of Jesus' face!"
"With this peace in my heart I would like to greet you and all your family," he said, "I want to say thank you to them and give a hug, especially your children and especially smaller ones!"
"To withdraw into the desert is for Christians tantamount to associating themselves more intimately with Christ's passion, and it enables them, in a very special way, to share in the paschal mystery and in the passage of Our Lord from this world to the heavenly homeland" (#1).
"Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you shall receive it, and it shall come to you. St. Mark 11:24"
Pope St. Clement: Since all things lie open to His eyes and ears, let us hold Him in awe and rid ourselves of impure desires to do works of evil, so that we may be protected by His mercy from the judgement that is to come.
Which of us can escape His mighty hand?