CAPG's Blog 

St. Lomer

Innocence and Justice. "St. Lomer, a priest and treasurer of the church of Chartres, left the world while still young, and withdrew to a forest of the Perche, where he constructed a rude cabin of twigs, there to devote himself to prayer, and occupy himself solely with preparing for eternity amid the austerities of penance and holy meditations. he was there discovered, and many companions came to embrace this kind of life. But at length, being troubled by the concourse of strangers, he betook himself to another hermitage, in order there to remain unknown. The reputation of his sanctify betrayer him, in spite of all his efforts at concealment, and he found himself constrained to build a monastery. A vast crowd of sick persons always surrounded his cell, for the Lord had bestowed on him the gift of miracles. One day a rich man sent him, by way of alms, several pieces of gold, that he might pray for him and obtain his cure. Lomer took one of them only, and sent the others back, saying: "They are the proceeds of robbery; God does not accept such offerings: you will assuredly die." St. Lomer yielded up his spirit in 594.

Moral reflection: Prayer can never be found acceptable to God when proceeding from one who has committed injustice; hence it is said in Ecclasiasticus:"Be not anxious for goods unjustly gotten, for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity and revenge." (Eccls. v 10)"

Source: Pictorial Half Hours with the Saints by Fr. Lecanu, 1865

"The Conversion of Sinners: Abraham, the solitary, after having disposed of his vast property and distributed the proceeds to the poor, was living in a deep retreat near Edessa, in Mesopotamia, when the bishop of Edessa consecrated him as bishop, and invested him with the mission of converting the inhabitants of a neighboring town, who were still pagans.

Abraham undertook this out of a spirit of obedience, and, God aiding, succeeded in the undertaking, but not without vast efforts, and not without having been thrice on the eve of martyrdom.

He then withdrew to this beloved solitude, but was obliged to leave it once again. A niece whom he tenderly love had abandoned her home, and given herself up to evil courses. When, after two years' seeking and prayer, the pious solitary had at length discovered her abode, he assumed a disguise, and went to visit her. So soon as he made himself known she gave way, while pouring out her sorrow, and, of her own accord, imposed on herself rude austerities which were only to end with her life. St. Abraham died towards 370.

Moral reflection: It is the duty of every Christian to labor for the conversion of sinners, because all partake of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, says the apostle St. Peter: "To declare His virtues, who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. " (1 Peter ii. 9.)"

Source: Pictorial Half Hours with the Saints by Fr. Auguste François Lecanu

"O that we realized the omnipotence of prayer! Every soul was created to glorify God eternally; and it is in the power of every one to add by the salvation of his neighbor to the glory of God. Let us make good us of this talent of prayer, lest our brother's blood be required of us at the last.

"I affectionately entreat you to pray assiduously for the salvation of sinners, for whom I ask of you wrestlings and tearful prayers, that I may satisfy My longing to show them grace and mercy." Revelation to St. Catherine of Siena"

Source: Miniatures Lives of the Saints, for Every Day in the Year, 1883

Novena Prayer for the Return of Lapsed Catholics

O Good Shepherd, you never cease to seek out the lost, to call home the stray, to comfort the frightened, and to bind up the wounded. I ask you to bring (mention names) back to the practice of the Faith, and to remove all obstacles that prevent them from receiving your abundant mercy, which flows sacramentally through the heart of your holy Church.

Through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, their Guardian Angel(s), their Patron Saint(s) and the ever-prayerful St. Monica, may you pardon their sins and unshackle them from whatever hinders their freedom to come Home. For you, O Good Shepherd, loved us to the end and offered yourself to the Father for the salvation of all. Amen.

Prayers for the return of a lapsed Catholic should also be accompanied by sacrificial and secret acts of fasting and almsgiving done in their name.

"Gregory was a Roman of noble birth, and while still young was governor of Rome. On his father's death he gave his great wealth to the poor, turned his house on the Coelian Hill into a monastery, which now bears his name, and for some years lived as a perfect monk. The Pope drew him from his seclusion to make him one of the seven deacons of Rome ; and he did great service to the Church for many years as what we now call Nuncio to the imperial court at Constantinople. While still a monk the Saint was struck with some boys who were exposed for sale in Rome, and heard with sorrow that they were pagans. “ And of what race are they?” he asked. “They are Angles.” “Worthy indeed to be Angels of God,” said he. “And of what province ?” “Of Deira,” was the reply. “ Truly must we rescue them from the wrath of God. And what is the name of their king ?” " He is called Ella." “ It is well,” said Gregory; "Alleluia must be sung in their land to God.” He at once got leave from the Pope, and had set out to convert the English when the murmurs of the people led the Pope to recall him. Still the Angles were not forgotten, and one of the Saint's first cares as Pope was to send from his own monastery St. Augustine and other monks to England. On the death of Pope Pelagius II., Gregory was compelled to take the government of the Church, and for fourteen years his pontificate was a perfect model of ecclesiastical rule. He healed schisms; revived discipline ; saved Italy by converting the wild Arian Lombards who were laying it waste ; aided in the conversion of the Spanish and French Goths, who were also Arians; and kindled anew in Britain the light of the Faith, which the English had put out in blood. He set in order the Church's prayers and chant, guided and consoled her pastors with innumerable letters, and preached incessantly, most effectually by his own example. He died A.D. 604, worn out by austerities and toils ; and the Church reckons him one of her four great doctors, and reveres him as St. Gregory the Great.

Reflection.—The champions of faith prove the truth of their teaching no less by the holiness of their lives than by the force of their arguments. Never forget that to convert others you must first see to your own soul. 

Source: Lives of the Saints: With Reflections for Every Day in the Year. 1894

More on Saint Gregory: New liturgical Movement

Prayer to Saint Gregory, Pope and Confessor

O invincible defender of Holy Church's freedom, Saint Gregory of great Renown by that firmness thou didst show in maintaining the Church's rights against all her enemies, stretch forth from heaven thy mighty arm, we beseech thee, to comfort her and defend her in the fearful battle she must ever wage with the powers of darkness.

Do thou, in an especial manner, give strength in this dread conflict to the venerable Pontiff who has fallen heir not only to thy throne, but likewise to the fearlessness of thy mighty heart; obtain for him the joy of beholding his holy endeavors crowned by the triumph of the Church and the return of the lost sheep into the right path.

Grant, finally, that all may understand how vain it is to strive against that faith which has always conquered and is destined always to conquer: "this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith." This is the prayer that we raise to thee with one accord; and we are confident, that, after thou has heard our prayers on earth, thou wilt one day call us to stand with thee in heaven, before the eternal High Priest, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen.

Source: CAPG

St. Eulogius pray for our Bishops

Prayer for Holy Bishops

Lord, according to Your promise that the Gospel should be preached throughout the whole world, raise up men fit for such work. The Apostles were but soft and yielding clay till they were baked hard by the fire of the Holy Ghost. So, Good Lord, do now in like manner again with Thy Church Militant; change and make the soft and slippery earth into hard stones; set in Thy Church strong and mighty pillars, that may suffer and endure great labors, watching, poverty, thirst, hunger, cold and heat; which also shall not hear the threatenings of princes, persecution, neither death but always persuade and think with themselves to suffer with a good will, slanders, shame, and all kinds of torments, for the glory and laud of Thy Holy Name. By this manner, good Lord, the truth of Thy Gospel shall be preached throughout all the world. Therefore, merciful Lord, exercise Thy mercy, show it indeed upon Thy Church.

Saint John Fisher (Sermon in 1508) from Saint John Fisher Forum

The Forty Martyrs of Sebace

"Reward and punishment: During the persecution of Licinius, in the year 320 of the Christian era, forty soldiers of the garrison of Sebaste seceding from their comrades, who, in compliance with the emperor's orders, had gone to sacrifice to the idols, proclaimed themselves Christians.
The torments by fire and sword being ineffectual to conquer their constancy, they were exposed, devoid of covering, upon a frozen pool, there to pass the night within sight of a tepid bath, kept ready for such as might apostatize. All remained firm, however; their keeper meanwhile, who was watching them, beheld angels hovering above them with thirthy-nine crowns. While seeking to explain the reason of this number, one of the intended martyrs apostatized and rushed towards the bath, but on entering was struck with death. The keeper, converted by this miracle, went forward and took his place. As all outlived the sufferings of that cruel night, they were huddled into carts, and carried to the stake. Thus the victors received their crown, and the apostate found death and everlasting perdition, instead of the life he had promised himself.

Moral reflection: Such an example is a confirmation of the words of the Gospel, which a Christian cannot have too much in mind: "He that preferreth his life, shall lose it; and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it." Pictorial half hours with the saints, by Rev. Auguste François Lecanu, 1865

Prayer: "Valiant Soldiers of Christ who meet us, with your mysterious number, at this commencement of our Forty Days’ Fast, receive the homage of our devotion. Your memory is venerated throughout the whole Church, and your glory is great in Heaven. Though engaged in the service of an earthly prince, you were the Soldiers of the Eternal King: to Him were you faithful, and from Him did you receive your crown of eternal glory. We, also, are His soldiers. We are fighting for the kingdom of Heaven. Our enemies are many and powerful but, like you, we can conquer them if, like you, we use the arms which God has put in our hands. Faith in God’s word, hope in His assistance, and humility and prudence —with these we are sure of victory.

Pray for us, Holy Martyrs, that we may keep from all compromise with our enemies, for our defeat is certain if we try to serve two masters. During these Forty Days we must put our arms in order, repair our lost strength and renew our engagements. Come to our assistance and get us a share in your brave spirit.

A crown is also prepared for us: it is to be won on easier terms than yours, and yet we will lose it unless we keep up within us an esteem for our vocation. How many times, in our past lives, have we not forfeited that glorious crown? But God in His mercy has offered it to us again, and we are resolved on winning it. Oh, for the glory of our common Lord and Master, make intercession for us!" The Liturgical Year by Dom Gueranger.

Litany to Saint Edmund by the Society of St. Edmund

"Not only was the power of the Crown opposed to him, with its haughty pretensions and impatience of ecclesiastical control, not only were the rude and overbearing barons bent on defying his authority, but, harder still to be borne, the spirit of the world had invaded the Church herself. Relaxation of discipline had crept into the cloister and was fast undermining the monastic life. Mercenary foreigners, intruded into English benefices, sought only their own gain, instead of feeding the flock of Christ. The people were burdened with heavy taxation, the prelates and clergy being further crippled by the heavy subsidies levied on them to relieve the Pope's necessities.

When a man of Edmund's simple rectitude and elevation of character saw himself face to face with such abuses, he must needs attack and grapple with them. At the time of his elevation to the primacy (1233) Henry III had just escaped from the trammels of a long minority. He loved to surround himself with foreigners, with whom he constantly endeavored to fill every office in Church and State. Although he was far from possessing the ungovernable temper of his grandfather, or the irreligious and sad disposition of his father, he was weak and wilful, and, like them, determined to stretch the royal prerogative, and usurp rights which brought him into conflict with the Church. The Archbishop addressed to him a strong remonstrance on his neglect of his subjects, the preference he showed for aliens, his practice of keeping episcopal sees and benefices vacant, and otherwise despoiling the Church. By a threat of excommunication, he compelled him to dismiss Peter des Roches, his unworthy counselor, together with his adherents.

When the King found that the primate was not to be moved from the attitude he had at the outset assumed of defending the rights of clergy and laity against royal oppression, he took the resolution of asking the Pope to send a legate to England. He rightly calculated that the straits to which the Holy Father was driven by the Emperor Frederick would naturally lead him to conciliate the King of England as much as possible, in order that he might consent to the demand of a tenth of the ecclesiastical revenues which was made on behalf of the see of Rome.

(...)

His chief motive in desiring the Legate to be sent was the idea that his superior ecclesiastical authority would act as a counterpoise to the archbishop's influence, and serve to nullify his opposition to the royal measures. St. Edmund entered an energetic protest against the presence of the Legate. It proved, as he anticipated, no small embarrassment to him. Although the Legate acted with discretion, yet his authority in virtue of his office enabled him to supersede the archbishop's authority, to annul his decisions and revoke his sentences. At one time when the difficulties of his position pressed hard upon St. Edmund, it was said that St. Thomas of Canterbury appeared to him, bidding him be steadfast and act manfully. Taking his hand, he passed it over  his head, that he might feel the scar of his fatal wound, bidding Edmund suffer death as he did, rather than relinquish any of the liberties and franchises of Holy Church.

St. Edmund's persistent protests were unavailing. "Seeing," says the Chronicler, Matthew Paris, "the Church in England to be day by day more trodden underfoot, robbed of her possessions, despoiled of her liberties, life became unsupportable to him, and he could not endure to see the evils which were upon the land.' Mortified and baffled on every side; persecuted by the bad; misrepresented by the good;  supported by hardly any, even of those who were bound by their sacred office to support him; opposed by the monks, who sought to emancipate themselves from episcopal jurisdiction, and by the bishops, who resisted his attempts to make a visitation of the diocese of London, he presently withdrew from the unequal contest. Like St. Thomas and Stephen Langton, he took refuge within the abbey of Pontigny (France), which thus for the third time opened its hospitable portals to shelter a persecuted archbishop of Canterbury, forced to exile himself from his native land. Death followed quickly on his flight; he expired at Soissy within twelve months after quitting these shores."
A Short History of the Catholic Church in England Bp. William Robert Bernard Brownlow Catholic Truth Society, 1895 page 230

Prayer to Our Lady and St. John by St. Edmund

"O happy and spotless and blessed for ever; O matchless and incomparable virgin, Mother of God, Mary, most acceptable temple of God, sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, gate of the kingdom of Heaven,  through whom, after God, the whole world lives; inclines the eyes of thy compassion to my unworthy prayers, and be to me, a sinner, compassionate and helpful in all things. O most blessed John, familiar friend of Christ, who by the same our Lord Jesus Christ was chosen as a virgin and loved  by Him above all the rest, who was made partaker, beyond all others, of heavenly secrets, who didst become His glorious apostle and evangelist; I call upon thee also along with Mary, mother of the same Savior, that thou wouldst deign along with her to bestow thine aid on me.

O ye two heavenly jewels, Mary and John together! O ye two luminaries glittering with Divine Splendor in God's presence! by your beams dissipate the mists of my vices. Ye are the twain in whom God the Father, by His only Son built up a house for Himself; in whom also the only-begotten Son of God the Father, out of regard for undefiled virginity, confirmed the special privilege of His love. Whilst hanging on the Cross, He said to the one: "Woman, behold thy son!" Then He said to the other, "Behold thy mother!" In the tenderness of that most holy love whereby, at that time, ye were united together as mother and son, according to the Divine pronouncement, I, a sinner, on this day, commend to you both my body and my soul; that, every hour and every moment, you would deign to be my steadfast protectors within and without, and to be my kind mediators with God. For I firmly believe and undoubtedly confess that your will is God's will; and what you will not, that God does not will. Hence, whatever you ask of God, that you obtain without delay.

Through that most powerful efficacy which belongs to you of right ask for me health of body and soul. Be it your care, I entreat, to obtain for me by your invincible prayers that the sweet Spirit may visit my heart and deign to dwell there; that He may cleanse it from all defilement of sin; that He may adorn it with all virtues; that He would cause me to stand perfect and to persevere in the love of God and my neighbor; and that, after this life's course is run, He would bring me to the joys of His elect. This I ask of the generous Paraclete, the best Bestower of graces, who, consubstantial and co-eternal with Father and Son, with Them and in Them, liveth and reigneth, Almighty God, in the midst of His saints. Amen."

Life of St. Edmund of Canterbury by Rev. Fr. Wilfrid Wallace  1893

"St. Martin, who occupied the Roman See from A.D. 649 to 655, incurred the enmity of the Byzantine court by this energetic opposition the the Monothelite heresy, and the Exarch Olympius went so far as to endeavor to procure the assassination of the Pope as he stood at the altar in the Church of St. Mary Major; but the would-be murderer was miraculously struck blind, and his master refused to have any further hand in the matter. His successor had no such scruples: he seized Martin, and conveyed him on board a vessel bound for Constantinople. After a three months' voyage the island of Naxos was reached, where the Pope was kept in confinement for a year, and finally in 654 brought in chains to the imperial city. He was then banished to the Tauric Chersonese, where he lingered on for four months, in sickness and starvation, till God released him by death on the 12th of November, 655.

Reflection: There have been times in the history of Christianity when its truth have seems on the verge of extinction. But there is on Church whose testimony has never failed: it is the Church of St. Peter, the Apostolic and Roman See. Put your whole trust in her teaching!

Source: Little Pictorial, Lives of the Saints with Reflection for every day in the year. 1925

"On the last day of his life, November 10, 1608, Saint Andrew rose to say Mass. He was eighty-eight years old, and so weak he could scarcely reach the altar. He began the Judica me, Deus, the opening prayer, but fell forward, the victim of apoplexy. Laid on a straw mattress, his whole frame was convulsed in agony, while the ancient fiend, in visible form, advanced as though to seize his soul. Then, while the onlookers prayed and wept, he invoked Our Lady, and his Guardian Angel seized the monster and dragged it out of the room. A calm and holy smile settled on the features of the dying Saint and, as he gazed with a grateful countenance on the image of Mary, his holy soul winged its way to God.

Reflection: Saint Andrew, who suffered so terrible an agony, is invoked as special protector from an unprovided and sudden death. Ask this holy priest to be with you in your last hour, and bring Jesus and Mary to your aid." Sanctoral

"This saint was a fit instrument of the Holy Ghost, in directing others in the paths of perfect virtue, because dead to himself, and a man of prayer. He never  spoke of himself, never thought of his own actions except of his weaknesses, which he had always before his eyes in the most profound sense of his own nothingness, baseness, total insufficiency, and weakness. Those who talk often of themselves, discover that they are deeply infected with the disease of the devil, which is pride, or with the poison of vanity, its eldest daughter.They have no other reward to expect, but what they now receive, the empty breath of sinners. Even this incense is only affected hypocrisy. For men, by that base passion which they betray, become justly contemptible and odious to those very persons whose vain applause they seem to court.

St. Teresa advises all persons to shun such directors, as pernicious to souls both by the contagion of self-conceit and vain-glory which they spread, and by banishing the Holy Ghost with his light and blessing; for nothing is more contrary to him than a spirit of vanity and pride. The most perfect disinterestedness, contempt of the world, self-denial,  obedience, and charity, are no less essential ingredients of a  Christian, and especially an ecclesiastical spirit, than meekness and humility."
Rev. Fr. Alban Butler The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints Vol 11 1821 

Prayer
O most glorious saint, whom God has made our protector against apoplexy; Seeing that thou thyself didst die of that disease, we earnestly pray thee to preserve us from an evil so dangerous and so common.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

The Raccolta The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints 1878

"The rage of tyrants who were masters of the world, spread the faith which they vainly endeavored by fighting against heaven to extinguish. The martyrs who died for it, sealed it with their blood, and gave a testimony to Jesus Christ, which was, of all others, the strongest and most persuasive. Other Christians who fled, became the apostles of the countries whither they went. Whence St. Austin compares them to torches, which, if you attempt to put them our by shaking them, are kindled, and flame so much the more. The martyrs, by the meekness and fervor of their lives, and their constancy in resisting evil to death, converted an infidel world, and disarmed the obstinacy of the most implacable enemies of the truth.

But what judgments must await those Christians who, by the scandal of their sloth and worldly spirit, dishonor their religion, blaspheme Christ, withdraw even the faithful from the practice of the gospel, and tempt a Christian world to turn infidel?" The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal saints, Vol 11. Rev. Fr. Alban Butler 1821

Four Crowned Martyrs, who chose to glorify God in martyrdom rather than to honor pagan gods—pray for us!  Faith ND

" For more than eighty years Milan had been without a resident archbishop, and left to the government of a single Vicar, but too often a man of lax discipline, who have but a small portion of his time to the administration of the diocese. All this neglect, added to revolutions, wars, and other calamities of the times, had reduced the vineyard of the Lord to a deplorable condition. Not only was it barren of fruit, but the rank weeds of sin flourished in profusion for the chastisement of the wickedness of men. Ecclesiastical jurisdiction was almost entirely neglected, and in certain points was never exercised. (...) The lives and manners of the clergy were as scandalous as can be conceived, and gave the worst example, for their way of living was altogether worldly, and more sensual by far than that of laymen. They wore the secular dress, carried arms publicly, and lived for the most part in open and habitual concubinage, absenting themselves from their benefices, and neglecting all things appertaining to the service of God. The churches and sacred things were in consequence in a neglected and disgraceful state. So great was the ignorance of many who had cure of souls, that they did not know even the sacramental form of confession, nor that there were such things as reserved cases and censures. In some parts of the diocese ignorance had reached such a pitch that priests having cure of souls never went to confession, believing that they were not bound to do so, because they confessed others. Many other lamentable abuses were seen in the lives of the clergy, whose office was thus rendered contemptible, and little short of hateful, in the eyes of the laity, so that it had become a common saying, "If you want to go to hell, become a priest."

Even the regulars were not exempt from these disorders. From the bad lives of both the secular and regular clergy, there sprang up among the people countless errors , corruptions, and heresies. Numbers having entirely lost all knowledge of God, abandoned, as a natural consequence, the observance of His holy law. The sacraments, especially Confession and Communion, were very lightly esteemed. Many persons neglected them for ten and fifteen years, or even longer. There were to be found men of ripe age who had never made a confession, and who did not even know the meaning of it; whilst those persons who desired to keep up an appearance of Christianity, approached the sacraments once a year from custom rather than true devotion. A very small number were indeed yet to be found, both among clergy and people, who were assiduous in attending the sacred mysteries, whose Christian lives shone out in contrast to those of the majority around them. So much ignorance of the things of God prevailed, especially among the poor, that they had no knowledge of the foundations and principles of the Catholic faith, and were unable to say the Lord's Prayer or the Hail Mary. They did not know the Articles of the Faith or the Precepts of the Church, and could scarcely make the sign of the cross. Holy days were profaned by plays, dances, games, banquetings, and other disorders, as also by servile works, and public fairs and markets. It was as if Festivals had been ordained for the express purpose of multiplying occasions of offending God. Holy places were treated with the utmost irreverence. The business of the markets was carried on in the churches even during the time of the Divine Offices. Men laughed and talked loudly in the assembly of the faithful, walking up and down, as though it were a public lounge. Worse still, in some parts of the diocese banquets and balls were held in the churches; while, at other times, they were used without any scruple for threshing grain, and other profane purposes. Religion was brought so low that men, in a state of semi-intoxication, would actually mock priests by feigning a wish to go to confession. They would even show themselves in the church with masks on, and, under pretense of making their offering, would seize upon the offerings of others. The majority altogether disregarded the observance of fasting days, especially during Lent, when not only milk food, but even flesh meat, was eaten openly and without scruple; and the bacchanalian orgies of the carnival were prolonged for several days of the holy season, during which public feasts, dances, and disorders without number were carried on. The public scandals of adultery and of habitual concubinage were of continual occurrence, together with thousands of others vices and corruptions too numerous to mention. In like manner there was a neglect of discipline and strict observance in convents, the nuns allowing themselves the greatest liberty, coming in and going out at their pleasure, and admitting seculars freely, there being no observance of enclosure. It were needless and distressing to dwell at any length upon the public entertainments, profane dances, and such like disorders of these convents, together with grievous and deplorable scandals which resulted therefrom.

Such was the miserable condition of the Church of Milan before God blessed it with the presence of St. Charles. Often would the saint weep bitterly when on his visits to his diocese he witnessed with his own eyes these miseries. It was not, however, to be wondered at that weeds had overrun the vineyard, which had been so long deprived of a careful husbandman. Prelates and pastors may take warning from the sufferings entailed on their flocks by non-residence. Strict, indeed, will be the account they will have to render to God of all the souls whom their neglect has buried in hell."

Source: The life of st. Charles Borromeo by  Fr. Giovanni Pietro Giussano

Prayer to Saint Charles Borromeo:
O Glorious St. Charles! The father of the clergy, and the perfect model of holy prelates! Thou art that good pastor, who, like thy divine Master, didst give up thy life for thy flock, if not by death, at least by the numerous sacrifices of thy painful mission. Thy sanctified life on earth was a spur to the most fervent, thy exemplary penance was a reproach to the slothful, and thy indefatigable zeal was the support of the Church.

St. Charles, Father and Guide of the Clergy, pray for us
St. Charles, the light and support of the Church, pray for us