St. Firminus, Bishop and Martyr, abt. 303
by VP
Posted on Wednesday September 25, 2024 at 01:00AM in Saints
"He was a native of Pampeluna in Spain, initiated in the Christian faith by Honestus, a disciple of St. Saturninus. After a holy youth, he was ordained priest and bishop by St. Honoratus, bishop of Toulouse. A charitable zeal pressed him to preach the gospel to such as were yet in darkness, and he visited many towns in France, and every where with great fruit. He went to Beauvais to comfort the Christians, who were under severe persecution; where, though he suffered much, yet his life was spared. Going afterwards to Amiens, he there chose his residence, having founded there a numerous Church of faithful disciples. He converted there in a short time three thousand souls to the faith of Christ. Upon this, the officers of Dioclesian being exasperated, they beheaded him in prison, to prevent the tumult of the people; and cut his body into pieces, that his relics might not be preserved by the faithful. This is a spirit, which you ought to beseech God to pour forth on all pastors; that they may be zealous for the good of the flock; that they may not think of rest, but of labor; and by daily spending themselves in their duty, sacrifice their lives, without the hand of the executioner.
Learn to be industrious in whatever state you are: be ashamed to be found idle. If you are not obliged to work for bread, work at least for heaven. This is not to be gained but by labor. If a lazy humor ties up your hands from other work, it is to be feared that the same will hinder you from working for heaven. Accustom yourself to be ever employed, that so you may not lay yourself open to the temptations of idleness. Thus you will be in a good way of taking pains in the affairs of your soul. Habitual idleness and intemperance are too common among Christians. Must not you forsake these to be a Christian in earnest? You are not to be invited by the greater number; but to follow the gospel, though the greater number be against you?"The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Fr. John Gother
Our Blessed Lady of Mercy. (Our Lady of Ransom)
by VP
Posted on Tuesday September 24, 2024 at 01:00AM in Saints
Maria de Mercede, fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio (c. 1472)
"The religious Order of our Blessed Lady of Mercy for the redemption of captives, was projected by St. Peter Nolasco, in the thirteenth century, for a constant supply of men and means for carrying on so charitable an undertaking. The design met with great obstacles in its execution; but the Blessed Virgin, the true mother of mercy, appearing to St. Peter Nolasco, to James, king of Arragon, and to St. Raymund of Pennafort, in distinct visions on the same night, encouraged them to prosecute the holy scheme, under the assurance of her patronage and protection. St. Raymund was the spiritual director both of St. Peter and of the king, and a zealous promoter of this charitable work. The king declared himself the protector of the Order, and assigned them a large quarter of his own palace for their abode. When St. Raymund went to Rome, he obtained from Pope Gregory IX., in the year 1225, the confirmation of this Order, and of its rules and constitutions. Almighty God was pleased to extend this Order greatly through the Blessed Virgin Mary. It flourished by the influence of many holy men, distinguished for their piety and charity, who collected alms of the faithful, and applied them to redeem poor captives out of the hands of infidels,
often even giving themselves up to procure liberty for others.
In order
that due thanks may be given to God, and his Holy Mother for the great benefit of this holy institution, the holy see has appointed this festival to be observed throughout the Church, Comply with the order of the Church, in returning thanks to God, and his Holy Mother; and heartily pray his infinite Majesty to have compassion on all those unhappy Christians who are in captivity.
Remember likewise all those who are slaves to sin and the world; and though you can bring no relief to those wretched souls, who by death have consummated their slavery, and are past all redemption; still look upon them in their state of despair, and from the sight of their misery, learn to fear all that would lead to it." The Catholic Year by Fr. Gother
"Blessed be thou, O Mary, the honor and
the joy of your people! On the day of your glorious Assumption you took
possession of your queenly dignity for our sake, and the annals of the
human race are a record of your merciful interventions. The captives
whose chains you have broken, and whom you have set free from the
degrading yoke of the Saracens, may be reckoned by millions. We are
still rejoicing in the recollection of your dear birthday, and your
smile is sufficient to dry our tears and chase away the clouds of grief.
And yet, what sorrows there are still upon the Earth where you yourself
drank such long draughts from the cup of suffering! Sorrows are
sanctifying and beneficial to some, but there are other and unprofitable
griefs springing from social injustice: the drudgery of the factory, or
the tyranny of the strong over the weak, may be worse than slavery in
Algiers or Tunis. You alone, O Mary, can break the inextricable chains
in which the cunning prince of darkness entangles the dupes he has
deceived by the high-sounding names of equality and liberty. Show
yourself a Queen by coming to the rescue. The whole Earth, the entire
human race, cries out to you, in the words of Mardochai: “Speak to the
king for us, and deliver us from death!” (Esther xv. 3)." Dom Gueranger
St. Linus, POPE AND MARTYR, A.D. about 68.
by VP
Posted on Monday September 23, 2024 at 01:00AM in Saints
"ST. LINUS was bishop of Rome, and the immediate successor of St. Peter. He presided over the church twelve years; and having faithfully discharged all the duties of a good pastor, was put to death by the sword, about the year 68. Pray for the present bishop of that holy see, and for all the pastors of the Church, that they may be animated with the primitive spirit, and edify all by word and good example. Beg courage and patience for all that suffer and are in trouble. While you are going on in all the methods of softness and pleasing your
self, and read every day of so many servants of God
renouncing this world and all its charms, laboring to overcome their
interior corruption by generous mortifications, and rejoicing to suffer
for Christ; ought not this to raise in your heart some more noble
resolutions of being no longer a slave to
vice, vanity, sloth, and self-love? Are not you born for a better
world, as well as they? Do not you desire heaven for your inheritance?
Why then are you indulging yourself in lazy sleep, while others are laboring for heaven? Why are you courting the world in all the methods of vanity,
while others are seeking to be glorious in heaven, by renouncing these
shadows? Why do you study your palate, spend your time in idleness,
diversions, and intemperance? This is not the way to a happy eternity. Take then another way, and be ashamed to spend that upon a moment, which might be the purchase of what is eternal. The sufferings of the martyrs often call upon you to pray for courage and patience for yourself and all others in time of trouble. Learn something from such repeated examples. If you cannot so far understand the value of patient suffering, as to seek it; accept however of that part which God shall appoint for you. Be once in earnest, and prepare for embracing your present trial or submitting to the next that comes. What kind of Christian are you, if you are only then patient and in good humour, when you have nothing to try you?" The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
St. Matthew, Apostle
by VP
Posted on Saturday September 21, 2024 at 01:00AM in Saints
Carravagio, St. Matthew's Martyrdom
- Saint Matthew was killed at the altar by the Ethiopian King Hirtacus, while offering the sacrifice of the Mass, for refusing consent to the king's marriage to the virgin Eugenia who was dedicated to God. Source: Explanation of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays and Holy days by Rev. Leonard Goffine 1880, Vol. 25, St. Matthew page 870
- A Galilean by birth, his name before his conversion was Levi; he was a publican. This profession which consisted in collecting the Roman taxes was very odious to the Jews, who were thus reminded of their dependence. Generally harsh and greedy, the publican was considered by the Pharisees the type of the sinner. Wherefore the Church shows us Jesus as the healer of souls which He calls to penance.
- We read in the Gospel, St. Matthew's own account of his conversion. The Epistle describes the famous vision where Ezekiel saw four symbolical animals in which the four Evangelists were recognized from the earliest centuries. St. Matthew is represented by the animal with a human face, because he commences his Gospel by the line of ancestors from whom Jesus descended as man. His object in writing this book, which is stamped by truly divine wisdom (Introit) was to prove that Jesus realized the prophecies relating to the deliverer of Israel and that He is therefore the Messiah.
After Pentecost, the Apostle preached the good news in Palestine and in Ethiopia, where he was martyred. The name of St. Matthew is in the Canon of the Mass in the group of the Apostles. Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the welfare spiritual and temporal of his parishioners.
Daily Missal with Vespers for Sundays & Feasts by Dom Gaspar Lefebvre
- He was called from the receipt of custom, to be an apostle. Beseech God to call you from all your evil ways, and to have mercy on all sinners.
He was the first who wrote the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray that this may be written in your heart, to be the rule of your life. Pray for all who read it, that it may lead them into all truth.
Having preached the gospel in Ethiopia with great fruit, he was at length put to death by the enemies of his faith. Pray for all who succeed in his function, that they may be accompanied with the same spirit, and blessed with success in the good of souls.
On this day of a publican and oppressor of the poor becoming an apostle, all sinners have reason to hold up their heads, and hope for mercy from him, who publicly declares that he comes to call sinners to repentance. If you are but ready to obey his call, you have no reason to doubt of his part: for if he had no desire to receive you, he would never call upon you to return. But see that your return be like that of St. Matthew, by forsaking whatever evil you have been engaged in. Matthew, an apostle, is no more a publican; because that profession was unlawful, and not consistent with the spirit of Christ. Thus it ought to be with every sinner who thinks in earnest of following Christ. He is to examine into his profession, and the practice of his life; he is obliged to be sorry for whatever he observes contrary to the law of God, and humbly acknowledge it before a minister of Christ. And thus far common practice carries the Christian on without much difficulty; for he easily calls his sins to remembrance; he conceives some trouble upon this review, and though nature be something averse to Confession, yet it generally costs not much to overcome. But the principal point is yet to come; and that is, whether that sorrow and repentance, with which he has proceeded, has been so sincere, as to work a change in his heart, and separate him from that, which his conscience tells him, has before separated him from God. For if this be not the effect of his repentance and Confession, he has too just reason to fear that there was no sincerity in what he did.
Now though we may hope that the repentance is not always insincere, which is followed by a relapse; yet there is reason enough to fear it; and there more especially, where, after Confession, there is little or no care taken to prevent it. For how can he be supposed to be heartily sorry for having offended God, who uses no means to prevent his offending him again? Is any one heartily troubled for being sick, who will do nothing for his cure? Since therefore, the motions of the soul are so uncertain, and we may be easily mistaken in the judgment which we form of them, we cannot do better than to examine into the effects, and guess of the tree by the fruit. Therefore it is the business of a penitent to consider how solicitous he is, and what pains he takes, that he may not fall again into those disorders, which he has acknowledged to be displeasing to God. He must examine whether he uses due endeavors for overcoming those passions of ill habits, to which he is subject, and to separate himself from those occasions which led him into sin. This is the work, in which his sorrow for past offenses necessarily engages him; and if it was sincere before Confession, he will undertake it after Confession. But if his Confession be followed with little diligence and endeavors, or even none, he has more reason to suspect all that is past of being counterfeit and insincere, than to judge favorably of it; and must not be surprised, if absolution be afterwards for some time denied him, till he can give better proof of his being truly in earnest in a matter of this concern. This is the rule, by which all habitual sinners are to judge of their repentance, as to all the sins of drunkenness, uncleanness, injustice, passion, cursing and swearing, neglect of family, or other duties, and the rest. For if after Confession they go on without endeavors for amendment, what hopes are there of their having any part in the mercy of this day, whilst being publicans before, they are publicans still, and quit not their injustice to follow Christ?" The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Rev. Fr. John GOTHER 1861
St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Priest and martyr
by VP
Posted on Friday September 20, 2024 at 01:00AM in Saints
Father Kim Taegon Holy Name Cathedral, Raleigh NC
- "No matter how fiercely the powers of this world oppress and oppose the Church, they will never bring it down. Ever since His ascension and from the time of the apostles to the present, the Lord Jesus has made His Church grow even in the midst of tribulations." From the final exhortation of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon priest and martyr
- "Why do you practice this religion contrary to the king's orders? Give it up."
"I practice my religion because it is true; it teaches me to know God, and brings me to eternal happiness: I know of no such thing as apostasy."
The torture was then applied to me, and the judge said, "If you do not apostatize you shall die under the blows."
"As you please, but I will never abandon my God. Do you wish to hear the truth of my religion? Listen. The God whom I worship is the Creator of heaven and earth, of men and of everything that is: He punishes sin and rewards virtue, etc. Whence it follows that all men are bound to do homage to Him. For my part, I thank thee, O mandarin, for making me suffer these tortures for His love. May my God reward you for this benefit, and raise you to a higher rank." Gloriaromanorum.blogspot
- " This is my last hour of life, listen to me attentively: if I have held communication with foreigners, it has been for my religion and for my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death, because God has eternal chastisements in store for those who have refused to know Him." Last words of St. Andrew Kim (Archdiocese of Toronto)
Prayer:
O God, who have been pleased to increase your adopted children in all the world, and who made the blood of the Martyrs Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gon and his companions a most fruitful seed of Christians, grant that we may be defended by their help and profit always from their example. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
Saint Januarius, and companions, Martyrs , A.D. 305.
by VP
Posted on Thursday September 19, 2024 at 01:42AM in Saints
The Martyrdom of St Januarius, by Artemisia Gentileschi (1636)
Prayer to St. Januarius
O holy martyrs, and thou especially, O Januarius, the leader no less by thy courage than by thy pontifical dignity, your present glory increases our longing for heaven; your past combats animate us to fight the good fight; your continual miracles confirm us in the faith. Praise and gratitude are therefore due to you on this day of your triumph; and we pay this our debt in the joy of our hearts.
In return, extend to us the protection, of which the fortunate cities placed under your powerful patronage are so justly proud. Defend those faithful towns against the assaults of the evil one.
In compensation for the falling away of society at large, offer to Christ our King the growing faith of all who pay you honor. The Liturgical Year: Time after Pentecost by Dom Prosper Guéranger
"Saint Januarius was bishop of Benevento in Italy, when the persecution of Dioclesian broke out. He was apprehended, and with several other Christians exposed to be devoured by beasts in the amphitheater: but none of the savage animals could be provoked to touch them. The people were amazed, but imputed their preservation to art-magic: and the martyrs were condemned to be beheaded. The city of Naples was so happy as to obtain possession of the relics of St. Januarius. That city has often owed its preservation from the fiery eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, to the intercession of the saint. His body still lies in the great church at Naples; where some of his congealed blood is kept in a phial, which being brought in presence of his head, begins to melt and grow fresh, as if newly spilt. Of this, great numbers of travelers have been frequent witnesses.
Adore the power and goodness of God, who is never wanting to his servants in the day of their distress. Let the help which they found, raise up your heart to an entire confidence in your God, as to all present troubles, and whatever are yet to come.
Trust in him; and though he seems to defer his help, yet be assured that he will not forsake you; but will either deliver you, or give you strength to suffer. Leave it to him to do what he knows best. It is his will that you should go through many trials: be not tired, nor faint under them: for by these rough ways he brings his servants to everlasting rest.
While you admire the courage of the martyrs, fail not to follow it. Live peaceably with all, whatever their persuasion be; and only then separate, when something is required which is contrary to your faith. Keep up a good correspondence, and be in charity with all neighbors; but never join in religious worship with those who are separated from the true Church; because it would in fact be acknowledging what your faith will not allow. Courage is necessary for this; but if you have principles, live up to them. Fear not what the world will say; if some revile, the more sober will commend your constancy." The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Rev. Fr. John Gother
St. Joseph of Cupertino, CONFESSOR, A.D. 1663.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday September 18, 2024 at 01:38AM in Saints
Ludovico Mazzanti (1686-1775)
"Mary, thou refuge of sinners, be mindful of me" St. Joseph of Copertino By Angelo Pastrovicchi
"The parents of this saint were poor, but virtuous. From his infancy he gave signs of extraordinary virtue. He was very attentive to the divine service, wore a hair shirt, and mortified his body by various austerities. Having finished his novitiate among the Franciscans near Cupertino, he made his vows as a lay brother. Though employed in the meanest offices, he performed them with perfect fidelity. He redoubled his fasts and austerities, prayed continually, and slept only three hours every night. His humility, sweetness and love of mortification and penance gained him so much veneration, that he was admitted among the religious of the choir, that he might qualify himself to receive Holy Orders.
Being ordained priest, he celebrated his first Mass with inexpressible sentiments of faith, love, and respect. He chose a retired cell that was dark and inconvenient. He divested himself of every thing that was allowed by his rule, and cried out, prostrate before his crucifix: "Behold me, O Lord, bereft of all earthly things: be thou, I beseech thee, my only good; I look upon every other thing as a real danger, and as a loss to my soul."
After having received the priesthood, he increased his austerities; and his desire of mortification made him invent different instruments of penance. He suffered many interior trials and severe temptations; and was treated with great harshness and severity by the superior of the convent at Assisium, where he was sent by the general of his order. But he soon experienced a return of heavenly consolations. His raptures were as frequent, as extraordinary. He had a singular talent for converting the most obdurate sinners, and quieting the minds of those who labored under any trouble. He explained the most profound doctrines of our faith with the greatest clearness; and this sublime knowledge he owed to the intimate communication which he had with God in prayer. His miracles were not less remarkable than the other extraordinary favors which he received from God. Many sick owed their recovery to his prayers.
The saint falling ill of a fever, foretold that his death was near at hand. The day before his death, he received the holy Viaticum, and after it Extreme Unction. He was heard often to repeat those aspirations of a heart inflamed with the love of God: "O that my soul was freed from the shackles of my body, to be reunited to Jesus Christ! Praise and thanksgiving be to God! The will of God be done! Jesus crucified, receive my heart, and kindle in it the fire of thy holy love." He died on the 18th of September, 1663, at the age of sixty. His body was exposed in the church, and the whole town came to visit it with respect; he was afterwards buried in the chapel of the Conception at Osimo, where he died; and his sanctity was attested by many miracles." The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Rev. Fr. John GOTHER 1861
Ember Wednesday: the day Christ was betrayed
by VP
Posted on Wednesday September 18, 2024 at 01:00AM in Saints
Prayer for Priests Who Have Become Unfaithful to Their Vocation
Divine Savior Jesus Christ, Thou are the
Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. Oh, be in a very
special way the Good Shepherd of those poor lost priests who are also
appointed by Thee to be leaders of Thy people, but who have broken the
oath of their holy ordination and have become unfaithful to their
exalted calling. Bestow upon these poorest of the poor the very fullness
of that pastoral solicitude with which Thou dost so faithfully seek the
sheep that are lost! Touch their hearts with the irresistible ray of
grace which emanates from Thine all-merciful love! Enlighten their minds
and strengthen their wills, that they may turn away from all sin and
error and come back to Thy holy altar and to Thy people. O most
compassionate Savior! Remember that Thou didst once redeem the souls of
Thine erring priests with Thy Precious Blood and in infinite
preferential love didst impress upon them the indelible character of the
priesthood. Put wholly to shame those miserable helpers of Satan who
lay snares for the virtue of priests and endanger the holy ideal of the
priesthood. Most graciously accept our prayers and sacrifices for poor
priests who have gone astray and hear our earnest petition. Amen
St. Anthony of Padua, defender of the Holy Eucharist, obtain for us holy priests.
St. John-Mary Vianney, model of sacerdotal holiness, obtain for us holy priests.
St. Francis Xavier, patron of missionary priests, obtain for us holy priests.
St. Therese of the Child-Jesus and of the Holy Face, victim offered for the sanctification of priests, obtain for us holy priests.
Saints and Servants of God, obtain for us holy priests.
Imprimatur - Bishop John F. Null (April 18, 1948)
Source: Cure d'Ars Prayer Group DevotionsSaint Hildegard of Bingen, Benedictine and Doctor of the Church
by VP
Posted on Tuesday September 17, 2024 at 01:00AM in Saints
Saint Hildegard of Bingen, (Public Domain)
Under an allegorical image Hildegard condemns the sins and corruption of Church officials.
"In the year 1170 lying for a long time in my sickbed, fully awake in body and soul, I saw an exceedingly beautiful image of a woman. She was so delightful and so beautiful that the mind of man could never comprehend it, and in stature she reached from the earth to the heavens. She was clothed in a garment of dazzling white silk, over which was a cloak set with precious stones - with emeralds, sapphires, and pearls - and on her feet were shoes of onyx. But her face was smudged with dirt, and her dress was torn on the right side. Moreover, her cloak had lost its exquisite beauty, and the tops of her shoes were soiled.
She cried out in a loud, mournful voice to the heights of heaven: Give heed, O heavens, because my face has been smudged, and mourn, O earth because my garment has been torn, and tremble, O abyss, because my shoes have been soiled. "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests" (Matt. 8,20), but I have no one to help or console me, and no staff to lean on for support.
And again she said: I lay hidden in the heart of the Father until the Son of Man, who was virginally conceived and born, shed His blood. And I was betrothed to Him through that blood, and dowered, so that through a pure, unsullied regeneration of spirit and of water, I could give new life to those who had been diseased and contaminated by the venom of the serpent.
Those who nurtured me - the priests, that is to say - were supposed to make my face glow like the dawn, my clothes flash like lighting, my cloak gleam like precious stones and my shoes to shine brightly. Instead, they have smeared my face with dirt, they have torn my garment, they have blackened my cloak, and they have soiled my shoes. The very ones who were supposed to beautify me with adornments have all failed miserably. This is the way they soil my face: They take up and handle the body and blood of my Bridegroom while defiled by the uncleanliness of their lustful morals, poisoned by the deadly venom of fornication and adultery, and corrupted by the avaricious rapine of buying and selling improper things. (That is, Church Offices, the sin of simony) They encompass His body and blood with filth, like someone putting a child in the mud among swine. For just as man became flesh and blood when God created him from the slime of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life (cf. Gen. 2,7), so too at the words of the priest, when he invokes the divinity over the altar, that same power of God turns the offering of bread, wine, and water into the real flesh and blood of Christ, that is, of my Bridegroom. But man cannot see this phenomenon with his physical eyes because he was blinded at Adam's fall.
As long as the wounds of man's sins gape open, my Bridegroom's wounds remain fresh and open. And the priests, who are supposed to make me resplendent, and serve me in the resplendence, are contaminating these wounds of Christ by running from church to church in their great avarice. They are tearing my garment because they are perverters of the law and the gospel and their own priesthood. In this way they are blackening my cloak because they are completely neglecting the precepts established for them. Moreover, they do not fulfill those precepts with good will and perfect work through abstinence (that is, the emerald), nor through generous distribution of alms (that is, the sapphire), nor with other good and upright works that brings honor to God (that is, the other kinds of gems). And they soil the tops of my shoes by not following the straight paths of righteousness, that is, those difficult and arduous ways. Furthermore, they do not set good examples for their subordinates, despite the fact that I preserve the splendor of truth below in my shoes, as in my secret place. False priests are self-deceived, because they want to have the honor of the priesthood without its work. This cannot be, because no one will receive the reward unless he has completed the work (cf. Cor 3.8) But when the grace of God touches a person, it causes him to perform his task so that he may receive his reward.
And so let heaven rain down all kinds of calamities upon mankind in the vengeance of God, and let a cloud cover the whole earth, so that its viridity withers and its beauty fades. And let the abyss tremble because, along with heaven and earth, it will be whipped into a frenzy in vengeance and grief. O you priests! you who have neglected me thus far, the princes of the earth and the rash mob will rise up against you, cast you out, and put you to flight. They will take your riches away from you, because you have not attended to your priestly office. And they will say about you: "Let us cast these adulterers and robbers of the Church, for they are full of every kind of wickedness." And in doing this, they believe that they have been obedient to God, for they say that the Church has been contaminated by you. This is why the Scripture says: " Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together" (Ps. 2.1-2). For with God's permission many nations will begin to rage in their judgments against you, and many people will devise vain things against you, and will count your priestly office and your consecration as worthless. Then, the kings of the earth will aid them in casting you out, because they are greedy for earthly things, and the princes who will be your lords will agree in casting you out of their territory, for by your wicked deeds, you have put the innocent Lamb to flight."
And I heard a voice from heaven saying: This figure represents the Church. Therefore, O man, you who see and hear these mournful words, convey them to the priests, who were established and ordained to rule and teach the people of God, for that which was said to the apostles applies also to them: "Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature" ( Mark 16.15). For when God created mankind, he sealed every creature in him, just as on a single small piece of parchment, one can mark the time and reckoning of an entire year. For this reason God named all creation "mankind."
And again I, a poor little feminine form, saw an unsheathed sword hanging in the air, one edge of which was turned toward the heavens, the other toward the earth. And this sword was stretched out over the spiritual people, just as the prophet had long ago foreseen when he cried out in wonder: "Who are these, that fly as clouds, and as doves to their windows:" ( Is. 60.8)? For these were those who were lifted up from the earth and separated from the common people, and they were expected to live saintly lives in simplicity of morals and their works. And I saw that that sword was cutting off certain monasteries of spiritual men, just as Jerusalem was cut off after the Passion of the Lord. But still I saw that in that adversity God will preserve for Himself many priests who are devout, pure and simple, just as He answered Elijah, saying that there remained to him "seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal" (I King 19.18)
Now may the unquenchable fire of the Holy Spirit so infuse you that you will turn to the better part. (St. Luke 10.42)"
Source: The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen. (149 r. Hildegard to Wener, 1170. Pages 92 to 94)
Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, Pope and Bishop. Martyrs AD 252, 258
by VP
Posted on Monday September 16, 2024 at 01:41AM in Saints
Cornelius From the cloister of the Abbey of Mariawald, German (Lower Rhine), about 1520-1
"St. Cornelius was bishop of Rome, under the Emperor Gallus, and was a man of unblemished character, and virginal purity. He was remarkable for his humility; meek, modest, peaceable, and adorned with all the other virtues. He behaved in his pastoral charge with remarkable zeal and piety, and adhered to his duty in the most perilous times with great courage and steadfastness. St. Cornelius was the fist person apprehended at Rome, in the persecution of Gallus. He was first sent into banishment, and afterwards brought back to Rome, where he suffered death in 252.
St. Cyprian was the illustrious bishop of Carthage, and Father of the Church. By his great charity to the sick and poor, by his zeal in all ecclesiastical discipline, by his faithful discharge of all pastoral duties, and by his learned writings, he has rendered himself eminent to all ages. He was apprehended at Carthage, under Valerian the emperor, and first sent into banishment. There he made a holy preparation for martyrdom, devoting his time to compunction and penance, and making heavenly contemplation his favorite employment. Being recalled to Carthage, he was soon after apprehended, and martyred by the sword, in the year 258.
Pray for his present holiness, and for all the pastors of God's Church, that in zeal for truth, virtue and discipline, they may follow the steps of these their ancient predecessors.
Pray for that vast country Africa, formerly Christian, now Mahometan: a severe scourge. If this be the punishment of sin, how careful ought you to be in all yours ways, that so you may escape the divine rigor, and have no hand in drawing down the like severity on your country or family.
Pray for all in trouble: ask patience for yourself. Though you are not called to martyrdom, yet you have frequent opportunities of suffering for Christ. The cause of truth, justice, and virtue, is the cause of Christ."
The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Rev. Fr. John Gother.
A Prayer for the Church (Holy Face Devotion)
O God, by Thy Holy Name have pity on us, protect us, and save us.
O Good Jesus, in thy sweet Name guard our Sovereign Pontiff; breathe into his soul the spirit of the Comforter.
Jesus, thy Church is menaced with great trials! Holy Father, by the
virtue of thy salutary Name protect the Church of Jesus Christ. This was
the last will of thy Divine Son; it is the holy prayer which love
prompted towards the end of His life. Holy Father, keep in thy Name
those thou hast given me (St. John Chap xxvii 11)
O most holy and worthy Mother, refuge of the Church, intercede for us and save us by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
St. Michael and the Holy Angels, guard the bark of Peter, disperse its enemies by the Holy Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Venerable Marie de Saint Pierre, Holy Face Devotion, Work of Reparation 1885
