Saint Martin, Pope and Martyr, A.D. 655.
by VP
Posted on Monday November 11, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
"He was bishop of Rome, and faithful in all the duties of his pastoral charge. Having laboured for some time to reclaim Paul, patriarch of Constantinople, from the errors of the Monothelites, but without effect, he at length, in a council at Rome of one hundred and five bishops, condemned him; and by this drew upon himself the fury of the Emperor Constans. The emperor sent an order either to cause St. Martin to be massacred, or to send him a prisoner into the East. But the officer who had undertaken to murder the holy pope, was struck with blindness, and could not see him. The emperor then sent another to seize him, who carried him off at midnight; and after long delay and great sufferings, he was brought to Constantinople. There he was cast into a dungeon for nearly three months; after which he was dragged about the city with an iron collar round his neck, and then thrown into prison with murderers. Here he continued in great suffering for three months; at the end of which he was banished to Chersonesus, where having no other comfort but what came from heaven, he surrendered his soul to God, in the year 655.
Pray for the present bishop of that holy See, that God would assist him with all blessings necessary for so great a charge. Pray for all pastors of the Church,
that they may be zealous against all errors and abuses. And learn from
this prelate, not only to suffer reproaches, but all extremities, rather
than favour, or comply with, what is unlawful, or unjust. Suffering here cannot be long: but suffering hereafter may be eternal. It is worth your trouble to prevent one by the other. Your present uneasiness will be your comfort at the hour of death. Be upon the watch, neither to flatter those who raise slanders and false reports, nor to join with them in believing, or spreading their calumnies. Suspend all judgment and assent, as to what you hear against others; that you may escape the too common guilt of rashly judging, or helping to defame your neighbour." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Eleventh Day: Our Duty to Relieve the Souls in Purgatory
by VP
Posted on Monday November 11, 2024 at 12:00AM in Meditations
"In bestowing charity upon any person, we are usually guided by the degree of his poverty; but who is in such great need as he who possesses absolutely nothing, owes a heavy debt, is unable to labor or gain any merit; or even to beg, and must nevertheless suffer the most excruciating torments until the last farthing has been paid! There is a universal law to assist the needy, which extends even to strangers; but here the obligation is greater, because among these souls in Purgatory are such as were intimately connected with us, who suffer perhaps, for having loved us excessively. Among the sufferers are our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends. How exceedingly painful for them to be forgotten and deserted even by those whose happiness they promoted during their sojourn on earth; to see the possessions left to their children foolishly squandered, they themselves not receiving the benefit of the least farthing thereof. What proofs of extreme coldness and ingratitude! Were any of these persons afflicted with the least pain upon earth we would do all in our power to relieve them, but, as it is, we are devoid of all sympathy, and leave them in their terrible suffering and anguish."
Prayer: Have mercy, O Lord, upon the suffering souls in Purgatory, and mitigate the severity of Thy judgment, that they, who during their earthly lives, believed in Thee, hoped in Thee, and loved Thee, may receive the crown of justice in Heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Priests in Purgatory: My Jesus, by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden, in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns, in the Way to Calvary, in Thy Crucifixion and Death, have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory, especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them. I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me, the priests my heart has never forgotten, and for those that I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory. Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.
Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen
Special Intercession: Pray for the souls of those who are suffering for their negligence in prayer for the souls in Purgatory.
Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (three times)
Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!
Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907