Saint David, Wales and Saint Albinus, Brittany (Bishops)
by VP
Posted on Thursday February 29, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
"From his tender years, he gave great proofs of the fear and love of God, which increased in him as he grew up, together with a love of purity, and a diligent application to sacred literature: and such was the progress he made in virtue and learning, that he was judged worthy of being advanced to the priesthood. He exercised his talents in preaching the word of life, and propagating the kingdom of Christ among the Britons. He gained innumerable souls to God, by word and example. He also collected a great number of disciples, desirous to aspire to Christian perfection in a monastic life; in favour of whom he founded twelve religious houses, under a most excellent rule and institute.
Whilst he was thus conducting many holy souls to Christian perfection, he was invited by St. Dubritius to a national synod of British bishops, assembled at Brevi, in Cardiganshire, against the Pelagian heresy. At the conclusion of the synod, St. Dubritius resigned his archbishopric to St. David, who removed the metropolitan see to Menevia, now called St. David's.
Such was the life and conversation of this holy archbishop, that he was looked upon as the glory of Britain, and the father of his country. He has ever since been honored as the principal patron of Wales, on account of his eminent sanctity, and the great miracles, for which he was renowned, both in his life and after his death. He was a mirror and pattern to all; instructing all, both by word and example; an excellent preacher in words, but more excellent in works. He was an instruction to all, a model to the religious, life to the poor, support to orphans, defence to widows, father to the fatherless, a rule to monks, and a model to teachers; becoming all to all, to gain all to God.
St. David having founded several monasteries, and been the spiritual father of many saints, died about the year 544, at a very advanced age. Pray for all bishops in Christ's Church. Pray for your country; that God would in his mercy remove from it all errors and schisms, and establish it in the unity of its primitive faith. And let the ancient Britons have this day a part in your prayers.
It being the first day of the month, consecrate it by a sincere oblation of yourself to God, and his service. Beg his blessing on yourself, and all who belong to you; and beseech him to accompany you in the discharge of all your duties, and preserve you from temptation and sin." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
"Saint David, son of Sant, Prince of Cardigan and of Non, was born in that country in the fifth century, and from his earliest years gave himself wholly to the service of God. He began his religious life under Saint Paulinus, a disciple of St. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, who had been sent to Britain by Pope Saint Celestine to stop the ravages of the heresy of Pelagius, at that time abbot, as it is said, of Bangor. On the reappearance of that heresy, in the beginning of the sixth century, the bishops assembled at Brevi, and, unable to address the people that came to hear the word of truth, sent for St. David from his cell to preach to them. The Saint came, and it is related that, as he preached, the ground beneath his feet rose and became a hill, so that he was heard by an innumerable crowd. The heresy fell under the sword of the Spirit, and the Saint was elected Bishop of Caerleon on the resignation of St. Dubricius ; but he removed the see to Menevia, a lone and desert spot, where he might, with his monks, serve God away from the noise of the world. He founded twelve monasteries, and governed his Church according to the canons sanctioned in Rome. At last, when about eighty years of age, he laid himself down, knowing that his hour was come. As his agony closed, Our Lord stood before him in a vision, and the Saint cried out, “ Take me up with Thee,” and so gave up his soul on Tuesday, March 1, 561."
Saint Albinus, Bishop. Saint Albinus was of an ancient and noble family in Languidic Vannes, Brittany, and from his childhood was fervent in every exercise of piety. He ardently sighed after the happiness which a devout soul finds in being perfectly disengaged from all earthly things. Having embraced the monastic state at Tintillant, near Angers, he shone a perfect model of virtue, living as if in all things he had been without any will of his own; and his soul seemed so perfectly governed by the spirit of Christ as to live only for Him. At the age of thirty-five years he was chosen abbot, in 504, and twenty-five years afterwards Bishop of Angers. He everywhere restored discipline, being inflamed with a holy zeal for the honor of God. His dignity seemed to make no alteration either in his mortification or in the constant recollection of his soul. Honored by all the world, even by kings, he was never affected with vanity. Powerful in works and miracles, he looked upon himself as the most unworthy and most unprofitable among the servants of God, and had no other ambition than to appear such in the eyes of others as he was in those of his own humility. In the third Council of Orleans, in 538, he procured the thirtieth canon of the Council of Epaone to be revived, by which those are declared excommunicated who presume to contract incestuous marriages in the first or second degree of consanguinity or affinity. He died on the 1st of March, in 549.
Reflection.— With whatever virtues a man may be endowed, he will discover, if he considers himself attentively, a sufficient depth of misery to afford cause for deep humility; but Jesus Christ says, “ He that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, 1894
St. Oswald, Archbishop of york, confessor, A.d. 992.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday February 28, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
"He was nephew of St. Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, and by him educated, and made dean of Winchester; but passing into France, he took the monastic habit at the famous abbey of Fleury. His life and conversation in this monastery were so perfect, that he was fit to instruct in all religious virtues even those by whom he came to be instructed. He was wonderfully patient, humble, mild, and full of charity. He was sparing in sleep, mortified in diet, discreet in speech, and assiduous in prayer. St. Dunstan had so great an esteem for him, that he procured his nomination to the bishopric of Worcester. He was no sooner placed in that see, than he began to labour to reform the manners of his clergy and people. He preached everywhere a holy life, and confirmed what he taught by his own example.
St. Oswald was afterwards prevailed on by St. Dunstan, much against his will, to accept the archbishopric of York; and began to discharge with the same zeal and piety all the duties of a good pastor in that archdiocese. He was particularly remarkable for his great humility, and extraordinary charity to the poor, of whom he entertained twelve everyday, and would wash their feet, and wait upon them
and serve them at table with his own hands, which was his constant
practice to his dying day. The day before his happy death, he was observed to stand for a long time with his eyes fixed on heaven. Being asked what he saw, he answered that he was looking to that place whither he was going, and that the morrow's sun would not set before his Lord would bring him to it, as he had promised him. He then called together the religious, and desired them to give him the viaticum of our Lord's body, and the extreme unction. The night following he assisted in the church at the divine office, and spent the remainder of it in the praises of God. The next day he washed the feet of the poor, as usual, and recited his usual fifteen psalms, at the end of which he added, Glory be to the Father, and gave up his spirit into the hands of Christ, quietly expiring on his knees at the feet of the poor. He died on the 29th of February, 992. Pray that all pastors may inherit the spirit of this saint: and that your country may receive blessings through his intercession." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
The Martyrs of Alexandria, A.D. 261.
by VP
Posted on Tuesday February 27, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
" These were many holy priests, deacons, and laymen, who when the city of Alexandria, for its sins, lay under the scourge of a most severe plague, in the third century, exposed their lives for the service and comfort of those who were infected. There was not a single house in that great city which entirely escaped the pestilence, or had not to mourn for some dead. All places were filled with groans, and the living appeared almost dead with fear. This sickness was the greatest of calamities to the Pagans, but an exercise and trial to the Christians, who shewed on that occasion, how contrary the spirit of charity is to the interested spirit of self-love. In the time of this public calamity, most of them, regardless of their own lives, visited, relieved, and attended the sick, and comforted the dying. They closed their eyes, and buried them; and the charity of many of them being rewarded by death, the Church has thought proper to honour their memory, making but little difference between so glorious a death, and that of the martyrs. Thus," adds St. Dionysius, "the best of our brethren have departed this life; some of the most valuable both of priests, deacons, and laics; and it is thought that this kind of death is nothing different from martyrdom."
St. Leander, Bishop of Seville, Confessor, A.D. 596.
by VP
Posted on Monday February 26, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
"He entered into a monastery very young, where he lived many years, and attained to an eminent degree of virtue and sacred learning. These qualities occasioned his being promoted to the see of Seville; but his change of condition made little or no alteration in his method of life, though it brought on him a great increase of care and solicitude for the salvation of those whom God had placed under his care, as well as for the necessities of the whole Church, and particularly of the Church of Spain. He was a man of that eminent piety and public spirit, that he forgot himself, when the service of God and his flock was before him. His great affliction was the errors of the Visigoths, who were all generally infected with Arianism. But his prayers and tears were so powerful with the divine mercy, that God in a short time made him the instrument of converting to the Catholic faith Hermenegild the king's son, who died a martyr by his father's cruelty. He also afterwards so far prevailed with the father, that the care of his other son was committed to him; by which means the whole nation soon after renounced its errors, to the great comfort of this prelate, and of the whole Church. Having seen the fruit of his labours, he departed this life, full of joy, in the sixth century.
Let the blessings which attended this prelate move you to pray that a like spirit may animate the prelates and pastors of God's Church. And let his zeal raise in you a compassion for all those, whose obstinacy in vice and errors keeps them out of the way of salvation. You have a horror of seeing a limb cut off, or witnessing a public execution; but what are these to the consideration of such vast numbers running into hell-fire? Pray that God would remove this blindness. Let no joy remove this misery of your neighbor from your heart; that you may be ever mindful of the compassion and charity due to him." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)
by VP
Posted on Monday February 26, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
"Our Lady's Creed by St. Gabriel:
I believe, O Mary, that thou art the mother of all men.
I believe that thou art our life and, after God, the sole refuge of sinners.
I
believe that thou art the strength of Christians, and their help,
especially at the hour of death; that following thee, I shall not stray;
that praying to thee, I shall not be abandoned; that standing with
thee, I shall not fall.
I believe that thou art ready to aid those
who call upon thee, that thou art the salvation of those who invoke
thee, and that thou art willing to do more good for us than we can
desire; that even when not asked, thou dost hasten to our assistance.
I
believe that in thy name is to be found a sweetness like to that
experienced by Saint Bernard in the name of Jesus - that it is joy to
the heart, honey to the mouth and music to the ears and that, after the
name of Jesus, there is no other name through which the faithful receive
so much grace, so much hope and so much consolation.
I believe that
thou art a co-redemptrix with Christ for our salvation, that all the
graces which God dispenses pass through thy hands, and that no one will
enter heaven except through thee who art rightly called the 'Gate of
Heaven.'
I believe that true devotion to thee is a most certain sign of eternal salvation.
I believe that thou art superior to all tire saints and angels, and that God alone surpasses thee.
I
believe that God has given to thee in the highest possible degree, all
the graces, special and general, with which He can favor His creatures.
I believe that thy beauty and excellence surpass that of all angels and men.
I
believe that thou alone didst fulfill perfectly the precept: 'Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God": and that the very seraphim of heaven can
learn from thy heart how to love God.
I believe that if all the love
which all mothers have for their children, all that all husbands and
wives have for each other, all that all the angels and saints have for
those who are devoted to them, were united in one, it would not equal
the love that thou hast for even one soul."
Chaplet of Our Lady of Sorrows
Prayer to St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows:
Dear Saint Gabriel, your very name recalls your particular devotion to Christ the Man of Sorrows and to Mary the Afflicted Mother. You died young as a Passionist religious but left to us all an example of a life of Christlike sacrifice. Intercede for our seminarians and young religious who are in desperate need of your patronage amid today’s sensual and selfish world. Amen.
"We also remarked in him a tender devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He was truly enamoured of Christ in the Eucharist. Frequently, he spoke to his companions of his sacramental Lord with an emotion and vivacity so intense that he aroused the enthusiasm of those who listened to him. To Christ in the tabernacle his thoughts instinctively turned, and all the impulses of his heart impelled him to go before the altar to pour out his affections. Many times in the day and night, he would send his angel guardian to visit the Blessed Sacrament when his occupations would not permit him to do so in person. And sometimes he would tell his angel to go to the place where Christ was most lonely and forgotten, there to adore and keep vigil with Him.
“When out for a walk, if we entered a church, his first thought was to look for the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, and then to kneel before it in silent adoration. He became all affected and moved when he spoke of the coldness with which so many receive the Holy Eucharist, and of the outrages, profanations and sacrileges committed against It by unbelievers and even by bad Christians. From these insults offered to Jesus he took occasion to admire His patience and mercy; and he would redouble his efforts to make reparation so far as he could.
(...)
The words which, at this time, he addressed to his brother who had just been ordained to the priesthood, may be taken as indicative of the sentiments that actuated his own conduct. "Shun idleness, and apply yourself to study. One of the thoughts that frightens me when I think of becoming a priest is the study it demands, and few are the days on which this reflexion does not occasion me serious thought.”
To Gabriel, study was not merely an occupation, not merely an essential requisite for admission to the priesthood. To him knowledge was power: power, in the first place, that would enable him to discharge the work of the ministry for which he was preparing, not only efficiently, but in the full spirit of the Church, who bids her children learn wisdom from the lips of her priests, and who commands her priests not only to recognize the value of learning, but also to acquire it, and set it in motion in the great combat waged between mere human reason and divine revelation in the arena of human thought and moral responsibility.
In the second place knowledge, in his eyes, was power that would raise him to higher levels in the sanctity to which he aspired. To him the ultimate purpose of every endeavor was to know God better. He was accustomed to repeat to his companions the saying of one of the wise philosophers of the Middle Ages:
"Logic is good, which teaches us how to separate truth from falsehood; grammar is good, which teaches us to write and speak correctly; rhetoric is good, which teaches us to speak with elegance and to persuade; geometry is good, which teaches us to measure the earth on which we dwell; so is arithmetic, or the art of reckoning, by means of which we can convince ourselves of the small number of our days; and music is good, which teaches us harmonies, and makes us think of the sweet song of the Blessed; and finally, astronomy is good, which makes us consider the heavenly bodies, and the virtues of the stars, darting forth splendor before God. But much better is theology, which alone can be truly called a liberal science, because it frees the human soul from its miseries, and prepares it for the acquiring of virtue.”
And this the study of theology did for Gabriel. The sublime and amazing truths it unfolded before his mind - of God, His nature and His attributes - brought the divine Majesty closer to him and by its very beauty and splendor, enraptured his soul until, entirely overwhelmed by the divine attractiveness, his soul surrendered itself to God in completest love and profoundest homage. Thus his studies were for him an act of worship.
“He directed his attention chiefly to his interior, stripping his heart of its vices and clothing it with the opposite virtues.
He kept before his eyes his own nothingness and misery; his former life in the world, his propensity to evil, his weakness and selfishness. With all these motives he was deeply penetrated, especially during the time of meditation; and by this means he attained such a lowly opinion of himself that he greatly feared and distrusted self, relying in all things solely on the assistance of God's grace. He often said: 'Of myself I can do nothing. Of myself, I am capable only of sin, yes, even of the greatest crimes.' He spoke thus because he was thoroughly convinced that what he said was true."
Source: Saint Gabriel, Passionist by Father Camillus J Hollobough, C.P., 1923
St. Alexander, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA, CONFESSOR, A.d. 326.
by VP
Posted on Sunday February 25, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
Alexander of Alexandria, patriarch and bishop (313-326)
Having recommended to God all the pastors of his Church, and besought him to pour forth upon them the spirit of this holy prelate, cast your eyes then on yourself, and see how far you are faithful in satisfying the many duties of your own state. Sloth, cowardice, neglect and bad example are very pernicious in all conditions; and bring a heavy weight of consequences on those who should be more watchful and regular. There are great mischiefs in families, as well as in the Church. You are unhappy, if you are the Arius there; and criminal still if your neglect is favourable to any other that is so. A true disciple of Christ, by a sincere spirit of humility
and distrust in himself, is submissive to all authority appointed by
God, in which he finds his peace, security, and joy. This happy
disposition is his secure fence against the illusions of self-sufficiency and pride, which easily betrays men into the most fatal errors." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
Blessed Domenico Lentini, The Angel of the Altar. (1770-1828)
by VP
Posted on Saturday February 24, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
"In the south Italian province of Basilicata lies the little town of Lauria in the diocese of Policastro. Here was born on November 20, 1770, the Blessed Dominic Lentini. On account of the extreme poverty of his parents the boy met with great difficulties in completing his studies. After his ordination Lentini became a professor in the Lyceum of his native town. He strove particularly to enlighten the young as to the false principles of the philosophy of the day by means of many discourses of a philosophy-apologetic kind.
In 1779 a liberty tree had been erected in Lauria. When the revolution reached its climax, the cooler hears desired to pull it down, but a crowd of furious revolutionists ranged themselves before it, ready to strike down any one who should dare to touch it. A great uproar ensued. Then the young priest Lentini stepped out before the crowd and resolutely ordered them to pull down the tree and bring it to the nearest hill. They involuntary obeyed him. Then he mad them fashion the wood into a cross and raise it aloft. Beneath it he addressed them with burning eloquence, telling them: "This is the tree of freedom and of salvation. We shall honor no other." Contrite and with hearts redeemed to the ancient Faith, the crowd dispersed. Lentini died on February 16, 1828. His grave continually attarcts many pilgrims because of the extraordinary things which take place there."
Source: The Holiness of the Church in the Nineteenth Century: Saintly Men and Women of our own times ... By Rev. Fr. Konstantin Kempf, S.J.
"Priest of the Diocese of Tursi-Lagonegro (formerly Policastro); b. Nov. 20, 1770, at Lauria, Potenza, Italy;d. there Feb. 25, 1828. The youngest of the five children of Macario Lentini and Rosalia Vitarella, Domenico (Dominic) Lentini studied in the seminary at Salerno and was ordained in 1794. In addition to his ministry in Lauria, he taught literature, philosophy, and theology to young people in his home without monetary compensation. He preached and catechized throughout the diocese and spread the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. He is called the "precursor to the Curé d'Ars" (St. John vianney) because of his willingness to make himself available to hear confessions and his gift of reading hearts. He practiced personal austerity in order to provide charity to the poor, and frequent penances in the spirit of reparation. Lentini was beatified on Oct. 12, 1997 by Pope John Paul II."
Source: Encyclopedia.com
Biography: Blessed Dominic Lentini
Prayer:
O blessed Domenico Lentini listen to the prayers of supplication that we bring you, trusting in your intercession.Help us turn our life towards the Lord, to seek in everything, His taste, His will and His glory.
You were in love with the Crucifix, teach us the way of brotherly love.
Watch over our families, that they may be a place of prayer, peace and life.
Arouse in the hearts of young people the desire to follow Christ and to serve Him in His Church.
Be a refuge, comfort and hope for those experiencing suffering in body and spirit.
Give us, following your example, the ability to abandon ourselves in the hands and heart of the Sorrowful Virgin,
to proceed safely towards eternal life, the final destination of our pilgrimage, where you await us.
Obtain for us the grace that we need the most. Amen
Translated from the Italian with the help of DC
Saint Matthias, Apostle
by VP
Posted on Friday February 23, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
“It behoves us to combat the flesh and
make use of it without pampering it by unlawful gratifications. As to
the soul, we must develop her power by faith and knowledge.” St. Matthias
"He was an apostle: pray for all that are called to that holy function. And as he was chosen by heaven, pray that all of that character may be the choice of heaven.
He was chosen to fill the place of Judas. Conceive an humble distrust of yourself, and tremble at the fall of an apostle. Pray for heavenly strength, that by it you may be secured against the sad effects of human weakness.
Judas having fallen from the apostleship, one is to be chosen to fill his place. Two are proposed, Joseph called Barsabas, surnamed the just, and Mathias. The apostles join in prayer, and beg of God to determine the person; and the lot fell upon Mathias, who was numbered among the eleven. An excellent method and direction left to all succeeding ages, for the choice of persons to ecclesiastical functions, and for all places of trust. What wonder that there are so many abuses in all public employments both in church and state, when justice and duty are so generally neglected, God so commonly forgotten, and all things managed by the direction of private gain and interest?
Either open or secret covetousness is at the root of all evils. It was that which cast Judas from his apostleship, and carried him on to the denial of his Master; and it ought to make all Christians very jealous of themselves, and of all their proceedings, especially where gain and money are in the case. For though he must have renounced all principles of honor, honesty, and justice, who steals and designedly wrongs his neighbor; yet there are so many disguised robberies and palliated injustices, that a man must have a very powerful influence of sincerity, truth, and virtue, to escape being drawn into these snares. For self-love is so very subtle and ingenious in finding out reasons favorable to what it desires, that without great caution, it insensibly leads men, under the cover of pretended right and justice, into a variey of frauds and oppressions. So that even those who have an abhorrence of all such proceedings in their neighbors, are but too often, through an affected partiality, carried beyond all that they have before condemned in others; and when their actions come more particularly to be looked into, are found to have done things which raise wonder in all sober men.
So that the lesson of this day comes to be the common concern of all, as far as they are entrusted with money affairs; as of the wife in regard to her husband; of children, to their parents; of stewards, and servants, to their masters; of lawyers, to their clients; of overseers and collectors, to the poor; and finally, of as many as have any sort of trust, in relation to what they have undertaken. There are none of these, but what are under a great tie of fidelity and justice, and are exposed to many temptations of transgressing their bounds. Here then, let him that thinks himself to stand, take heed lest he fall. Let all beg for a powerful assistance of grace to support them against the power of private interest; that so they may be able to give an account of their stewardship.
And because there is a
like danger in all other christian duties; and there is no security, as
St. Bernard observes, either in heaven, or paradise, or on earth; since the angels fell from heaven, Adam from paradise, and Judas from the very school of Christ; let the memory of this day inspire all with a salutary distrust of themselves. Let it put them upon working out their salvation with fear and trembling; and most earnestly on importuning Him to come to their assistance, whose grace alone is able to secure them against the dangers of their own weakness, and of all snares set before them. O Lord, save us, or we perish. Thus let this day's devotion be concluded with acts of most profound humility and fear, and an entire confidence in God." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
Saint Peter Damian, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR, A.d. 1072.
by VP
Posted on Thursday February 22, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
Saint Peter Damian by Andrea Barbiani (1708-1779)
"I might also add, that if blasphemy is a terrible thing, I am not aware that sodomy is any better. The former indeed causes a man to err; the latter brings him to perdition. The one separates the soul from God; the other joins it to the devil. The former expels one from heaven; the latter buries him in hell. The one blinds the eyes of the soul; the other hurls one into the abyss of ruin. And if we are careful to investigate which of these crimes is the weightier in the scales of divine scrutiny, a search of Sacred Scripture will provide a satisfactory answer. There, indeed, we find that the children of Israel who blaspheme God and worshiped idols were taken into captivity; but we notice that sodomites were devoured in the sulfurous flames of a fire from heaven." Source: Saint Peter Damian: Book of Gomorrah
PRAYER OF SAINT PETER DAMIAN:
Holy Virgin, Mother of God, succour those who implore thy aid. O turn towards us. Hast thou, perhaps, forgotten men, because thou hast been raised to so close a union with God? Ah no, most certainly. Thou knowest well in what danger thou didst leave us, and the wretched condition of thy servants; ah no, it would not become so great a mercy as thine to forget such great misery as ours is. Turn towards us then with thy power; for He who is powerful has made thee omnipotent in heaven and on earth. Nothing is impossible to thee, for thou canst raise even those who are in despair to the hope of salvation. The more powerful thou art, the greater should be thy mercy.
Turn also to us in thy love. I know, O my Lady, that thou art all benign, and that thou lovest us with a love that can be surpassed by no other love. How often dost thou not appease the wrath of our Judge, when He is on the point of chastising us! All the treasures of the mercies of God are in thy hands. Ah never cease to benefit us; thou only seekest occasion to save all the wretched, and to shower thy mercies upon them; for thy glory is increased when, by thy means, penitents are forgiven, and thus reach heaven. Turn then towards us, that we also may be able to go and see thee in heaven; for the greatest glory we can have will be, after seeing God, to see thee, to love thee, and be under thy protection. Be pleased then to grant our prayer; for thy beloved Son desires to honour thee, by denying thee nothing that thou askest." The glories of Mary, by st. Alphonsus de Liguori,
Biography:
"He was the youngest of many children, and losing his parents when very young, was very cruelly treated by one of his brothers, and when grown up was sent to keep swine. Another of his brothers however treated him kindly, and gave him an education. He was soon qualified to teach others, which he did with great applause. To arm himself against the allurements of pleasure and the artifices of the devil, he wore a rough hair shirt, and inured himself to fasting, watching, and prayer. At length he resolved entirely to leave the world, and embrace a monastic life; and soon after this, he became a religious of the order of St. Benedict, in an hermitage at the foot of the Apennines. His obedience was so perfect, that the least word of any superior made him run that moment to discharge what was enjoined, with the utmost exactness. After some time he was commanded by his abbot to take upon himself the government of the hermitage, which he governed with great wisdom and sanctity.
St. Peter Damian was much employed for twelve years in the service of the Church, by many bishops and by four popes successively. At length Pope Stephen IX. prevailed on him to quit his desert, and made him cardinal bishop of Ostia. Having rendered great services to the Church in this dignity for some years, he begged with great importunity to be allowed to resign it, and return to his solitude. Pope Alexander II. out of affection for the holy man, allowed him to do so. In his retirement he edified the Church by his penance and compunction, and by his numerous writings. God was pleased to call him to the crown of his labours in the year 1072, when he was 83 years old. (...) Those who expect the favours of heaven
are required to fit themselves for them by spending it in a suitable
manner. Our great indispositions are pride and self-love; and these are
best cured by penance and humiliation. There are many kinds of mortification, by which you may answer the design of the Church. Make not this day, at least, a day of liberty and diversion, but let these give place to recollection and prayer." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
Prayer:
"Thy soul was inflamed by the zeal of God's house, O Peter! God gave thee to His Church in those sad times when the wickedness of the world had robbed her of well-nigh all her beauty. Thou hadst the spirit of an Elias within thee, and it gave thee courage to waken the servants of the Lord: they had slept, and while they were asleep, the enemy came, and the field was over-sown with tares. (St. Matt. 13. 25) Then did better days dawn for the bride of Christ; the promises made by our Lord were fulfilled; but who was the friend of the bridegroom? (St. John 3. 29) Who was the chief instrument used by God to bring back to His house its ancient beauty? A saint who bore the glorious name of Peter Damian! In those days, the sanctuary was degraded by secular interference. The princes of the earth said: "Let us possess the sanctuary of God for an inheritance."(Ps. Lxxxii. 13) The Church, which God intended to be free, was but a slave, in the power of the rulers of this world; and the vices, which are inherent to human weakness, defiled the temple But God had pity on the bride of Christ, and for her deliverance He would use humane agency: He chose thee, Peter, as His principal co-operator in restoring order. Thy example and thy labor prepared the way for Gregory, the faithful and dauntless Hildebrand, into whose hands the keys were no sooner placed, than the work of regeneration was completed.
Thou hast fought the good fight; thou art now in thy rest; but thy love of the Church, and thy power to help, are greater than ever. Watch, then over her interests. Obtain for her pastors that apostolic energy and courage, which alone can cope with enemies so determined as hers are. Obtain for her priests the holiness which God demands from them that are the salt of the earth. (St. Matt. v. 13) Obtain for the faithful the respect and obedience they owe to those who direct them in the path of salvation. Thou wast not only the apostle, thou wast moreover the model, of penance in the midst of a corrupt age; pray fro us, that we may be eager to atone for our sins by works of mortification. Excite within our souls the remembrance of the sufferings of our Redeemer, that so His Passion may urge us to repentance and hope. Increase our confidence in Mary, the refuge of sinners, and make us, like thyself, full of filial affection towards her, and of zeal that she may be honored and loved by those who are around us." Source: Saint Peter Damian by Don Gueranger, page 294 The liturgical year 1909
St. Severinus, Bishop and Martyr, a.d. 452.
by VP
Posted on Tuesday February 20, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
"He was bishop of Scythopolis, and a zealous assertor of the Catholic faith against the errors of Eutyches. Theodosius, an ignorant Eutychian monk, and a man of a most tyrannical temper, perverted many among the monks themselves, and obliged Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem, to withdraw. He then unjustly possessed himself of that important see, and in a cruel persecution which he raised, filled Jerusalem with blood. Then, at the head of a band of soldiers, he carried desolation over the country. Many however had the courage to stand their ground; but no one resisted him with greater zeal and resolution than St. Severinus, and his recompense was the crown of martyrdom. The furious soldiers seized him, dragged him out of the city, and put him to death.
The commendation of this prelate was his courage, at a time when heresy had so animated the people, that there needed no other crime than to own the truth, nor any other executioner than their rage. But this was no terror to him, who knew the victory
he had in dying for truth. Give thanks for that grace which
distinguished this pastor from so many others, at that time, who from the cloister and the desert
took part with error: and upon this prospect beg grace to establish you
against all such weakness. In their fall you may see what you are, and
how great your dependence ought to be on heavenly strength. But remember that there is as certain destruction in forsaking the commandments, as in denying the creed: and that your zeal for the one will be of no advantage, if you transgress the other. What then if your faith be sound, is your zeal for virtue so too? Both are equally the precepts of the Gospel.
If you take part with vice, and give encouragement to it by your bad
example, you are at war with heaven; and what comfort will it be in
hell, if you are condemned for sin, and not for obstinacy in error? Let
him who stands beware, lest he fall. Hold fast what you have, lest
another bear away your crown." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
