Commemoration of Saint Paul
by VP
Posted on Monday June 30, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Saint Paul, Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh NC.
Prayer to Saint Paul: O Glorious Saint Paul, after persecuting
the Church you became by God's grace its most zealous Apostle. To carry
the knowledge of Jesus, our divine Savior, to the uttermost parts of
the earth you joyfully endured prison, scourgings, stonings, and
shipwreck, as well as all manner of persecutions culminating in the
shedding of the last drop of your blood for our Lord Jesus Christ.
May your example inspire our parish priests today to be zealous in
their service to God's people. Obtain for our priests the grace to labor
strenuously to bring the faith to others and to accept any trials and
tribulations that may come their way. Help them to be inspired by your
Epistles and to partake of your indomitable love for Jesus, so that
after they have finished their course they may join you in praising him
in heaven for all eternity. Amen.
St. Theobald of Provins, 1066
by VP
Posted on Monday June 30, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
THE FORCE OF EXAMPLE.-Thibault, son of Count Arnold of Champagne, was taken with a love for the cœnobitic life through reading the lives of the hermits of the Thebaid, and began to initiate himself therein from early childhood. While still a youth he secretly left the paternal roof, accompanied by a friend, named Walter, with whom he proceeded to Suabia, exchanging on the road their rich garments for humble attire. They took up their abode in a forest, and, subsequently, in a wild solitude near Vicenza. They gained their livelihood by the labour of their hands, returning to their quiet cell to support themselves on the proceeds, amid the most rigorous austerities. Walter dying while in this retirement, Thibault, now left alone, forthwith redoubled his fervour of life. His virtue having attracted the attention of the public, the Count and Countess de Champagne succeeded at length in finding their son. They came to seek him, and, overcome with admiration at the angelic life he was leading, prostrated themselves at his feet. The count would have remained with him had not urgent affairs precluded him from so doing. The countess, however, stayed with her son, who built a cell for her, and soon after died at the age of thirty-three. Alexander III. inscribed his name among the saints.
MORAL REFLECTION.-Thus may the example of the saints influence people living in the world, and even thus may youth "be formed from the pattern shown."-(Exod. xxv. 40.)
Feast of Saint Peter and Paul
by VP
Posted on Sunday June 29, 2025 at 12:00AM in Prayers
These two apostles, having been great sinners, the one by denying his Master, and the other by persecuting His Church, and yet being raised to the dignity of pillars in the Church of Christ, commend the infinite goodness of God, and give you sufficient reason never to despair, but always confide in His mercy. Praise Him therefore, adore Him, and place your hopes firmly in Him.
Having faithfully laboured in the vineyard, and by their sufferings and miracles given proof of the doctrine which they taught; they were both put to death on the same day, at Rome, under the Emperor Nero; St. Peter being crucified, and St. Paul finishing his martyrdom by the sword. Pray for the prelates and pastors of Christ's Church; that as they receive the power of these apostles, they may act with their spirit; that by watching, preaching, mortification, and continual labours, they may seek the good of their neighbour, and venture their lives for his salvation.
In these two apostles, we have all reason to give praise and adoration to God, and admire the wonders of His power, who making choice of so weak vessels, has by them confounded all the wisdom of men, overthrown the empire of the devil, and established an eternal kingdom, which shall abide for ever. Consider the great weakness of our nature, our self-love, and the fear we have of suffering; and then compare it with the zealous labours of these apostles, with their resolution and patience under all kinds of persecutions, hated by Jews, reproached by the Gentiles, condemned by magistrates, opposed by princes, and yet preaching the faith without fear; neither tired with their labours, nor discouraged by torments, nor terrified with death, but victorious against all opposition; and you will easily discover such wonderful effects of the divine power and goodness in them, as to oblige you to pour forth your soul this day in praise and thanksgiving for the infinite mercies shown to these His servants for the good of all succeeding ages. On the other side, they will teach you how great a confidence you ought at all times to repose in God, notwithstanding all your infirmities and weakness. For though to work out your salvation be a work of difficulty, on account of the many enemies before you; yet upon reflecting how very little proportion there is between your difficulties and the discouragements which the apostles had, how great reason have you to place your trust in God, and hope that He, who so powerfully assisted them, as to give them victory over all the powers of darkness confederated against them, will likewise stand by you in those much weaker attempts, which shall be made against you.
But as the triumphs of these apostles are sufficient to raise up your dejected and sinking spirits, and fill them with hopes; so they ought to be a reproach to you of your great cowardice and general weakness, who are so often tired with ordinary difficulties, afraid of mortifications, impatient in sufferings, dejected with temptations, and so frequently overcome in small assaults. For if you would but seriously again compare your difficulties with theirs, the self-denials required of you, with their perpetual contradictions to sense and nature, in watching, nakedness, thirst, and a total renunciation of whatever the world approves; if you would contrast your sufferings with their persecutions, prisons, chains, and repeated deaths, the very little that you do, with what they did for the love of Jesus; it is to be feared that this consideration would require greater courage to support you from sinking under it than you usually show on other occasions; and that instead of celebrating the glory of these apostles with joy, you would find forcible reasons to spend this day in sighs and tears, bewailing your unworthiness, the contradiction of your life to theirs, and that professing yourself a disciple of the same master, you can scarcely produce anything whereby to make out this title.
This thought seems to invert the order of this solemnity; which being appointed for joy and thanksgiving, is thus put into mourning, and looks with the severity of Ash-Wednesday, or Good Friday. This however we cannot avoid: for though we are all obliged to give thanks for the graces, by which these apostles were raised to that eminent degree of all Christian virtues, and likewise to rejoice in their victories and glory; it must be owned that there is something very mortifying in their festival, and those of all other saints. There is something that casts a damp upon our spirits, and more strongly moves us to penance, than the ashes of the most penitential days. For when we consider the glory which they enjoy, and reflect on the method of their
lives, and all those labours, by which they arrived at that
unchangeable state; we cannot but condemn ourselves for our great
stupidity and neglects, who are not only so unmindful of our God, but so easily diverted from all those exercises, which can be the only means of obtaining
a happy eternity. How forcibly does this bring to our mind all our
sloth and indevotion, our impatience and vanity, our self-love, and
seeking our ease, our solicitude for this world, and all those
innumerable sins, by which we have provoked God, condemned His mercies,
and been rebellious against His will. And what can follow hence, but
lamentation and tears, contrition and resolution of doing penance, to redeem the time that is lost, to make some reparation for past follies and neglect, and lay a foundation of more solid hopes of one day being admitted into the fellowship and glory of the saints?
This, O God of infinite mercy, we desire may be the happy effect of the solemnity observed this day. We beg most earnestly that the virtues of these apostles may be a continual spur to our dull souls; that their rejoicing in chains may cure us of all impatience; that their continual labours may make us detest all sloth; that their sincere love of Jesus may be a perpetual reproach to us of all self-love, and love of the world; that their willingness to suffer for their Master may carry us on through all difficulties with cheerfulness; and that the consideration of their happiness may permit our souls to find no rest but in those things, which may lead us to the participation of the same bliss. Grant us this request, O Jesus, that our souls may be saved.
And for the public, we beseech thee that the spirit of these apostles may descend on all those who succeed in their function, and particularly on that prelate, who sits in the chair of St. Peter, and has the care of the whole flock. Assist all other pastors of thy Church, that being zealous for virtue and truth, they may faithfully discharge every part of their duty. Direct all believers by thy grace, that by the observance of thy law, they may be all living members of thy mystical body. And for all those, who through error or infidelity are out of thy Church, have compassion on them, O Jesus, who didst come to seek the lost sheep. Open their eyes by thy heavenly light, remove all obstinacy and blindness, and lead them into the way of truth; that being united to thee by faith, they may become a part of thy fold, and be qualified to inherit thy promises. And you, O holy apostles, join with us in our prayers; and let that charity of yours, which began this work, be now the happy means of finishing it." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Prayer:
O holy apostles, Peter and Paul, I choose you this day and for ever to be my special patrons and advocates; thee, St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, because thou art the Rock, upon which Almighty God hath built His Church; thee, St. Paul, because thou wast forechosen by God as the Vessel of election and the Preacher of truth in the whole world. Obtain for me, I pray you, lively faith, firm hope and burning love; complete detachment from myself, contempt of the world, patience in adversity, humility in prosperity, attention in prayer, purity of heart, a right intention in all my works, diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life, constancy in my resolutions, resignation to the will of God and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death; that so, by means of your intercession and your glorious merits, I may be able to overcome the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and may be made worthy to appear before the chief and eternal Shepherd of souls, Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth for endless ages, to enjoy His presence and love Him forever. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be
V. Thous shalt make them princes over all the earth,
R. They shall be mindful of Thy Name, O Lord.
Let us pray
O God, whose right hand raised up blessed Peter, when he walked upon the water and began to sink, and thrice delivered his fellow-Apostle Paul from the depths of the sea, when he suffered shipwreck: graciously hear us and grant, by the merits of them both, that we also may attain unto everlasting glory: Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Source: The Raccolta, — A Manual of Indulgences by Sacred Penitentiary Apostolic, Benziger Brothers, Inc. , 1957Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Doctor of the Church
by VP
Posted on Saturday June 28, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Saint Irénée ; Vitraux de Lucien Bégule (1901), Église Saint-Irénée.
"This Saint was born about
the year 120. He was a Grecian, probably a native of Lesser
Asia. • His parents, who were Christians, placed him under
the care of the great St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. It was
in so holy a school that he learned that sacred science
which rendered him afterward a great ornament of the Church
and the terror of her enemies. St. Polycarp cultivated his
rising genius, and formed his mind to piety by precepts and
example; and the zealous scholar was careful to reap all
the advantages which were offered him by the happiness of such
a master. Such was his veneration for his tutor's sanctity that
he observed every action and whatever he saw in that holy
man, the better to copy his example and learn his spirit. He
listened to his instructions with an insatiable ardor, and
so deeply did he engrave them on his heart that the
impressions remained most lively even to his old age. In
order to confute the heresies of his age, this father made
himself acquainted with the most absurd conceits of their
philosophers, by which means he was qualified to trace up
every error to its sources and set it in its full light.
St.
Polycarp sent St. Irenaeus into Gaul, in company with some
priest ; he was himself ordained priest of the Church of
Lyons by St. Pothinus. St. Pothinus having glorified God by
his happy death, in the year 177, our Saint was chosen the
second Bishop of Lyons. By his preaching, he in a short
time converted almost that whole country to the faith. He
wrote several works against heresy, and at last, with many
others, suffered martyrdom about the year 202, under the
Emperor Severus, at Lyons. (Pictorial lives of the saints : with reflections for every day of the year, by Shea, John Gilmary, 1824-1892)
"For where is the Church is, there likewise is the Spirit of God. And where the Spirit of God is, there likewise is the Church, there all grace." Against Heresies 3:24:1 St. Irenaeus
"Woe to them who alienate themselves from her! They suck not in life from the nourishing breasts to which their Mother invites them, they slake not their thirst at the limpid Fount of the Lord's Body: but, afar from the rock of unity, they drink the muddy waters of cisterns dug in fetid slime where there is not a drop of water of truth." The Liturgical Year: Time after Pentecost (v. 11, 3rd ed.) By Prosper Gueranger
"O God, who didst vouchsafe unto blessed Irenaeus, Thy martyr and bishop, by his strenuous teaching of the truth, utterly to confute heresies, and happily to establish peace in Thy Church: grant unto us Thy people, we beseech Thee, to be steadfast in the practice of our holy religion, and in all our days to enjoy that peace which is from Thee."
God, the author and lover of peace, to know Whom is to live, and to serve Whom is to reign, protect us Thy suppliants from all assaults, that we, who trust in Thy defense, by the intercession of blessed Irenaeus, Thy martyr and bishop, may not fear the arms of any of our foes. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever."
Feast of the Sacred Heart
by VP
Posted on Friday June 27, 2025 at 12:00AM in Tradition
"If it is true that by contemplating Christ, sinners learn from Him the “sorrow for sins” needed to bring them back to the Father, this is even more the case for sacred ministers. How can we forget, in this regard, that nothing causes more suffering for the Church, the Body of Christ, than the sins of her pastors, especially the sins of those who become “thieves and robbers” of the sheep (cf. Jn 10:1 ff.), lead them astray by their own private teachings, or ensnare them in the toils of sin and death? Dear priests, the summons to conversion and to trust in God’s mercy also applies to us; we too must humbly, sincerely and unceasingly implore the heart of Jesus to preserve us from the terrifying risk of endangering the very people we are obliged to save." -- Pope Benedict XVI, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 19 June 2009
Prayer for Priests: O
Jesus, eternal High Priest, divine Sacrificer, Thou who in an
unspeakable burst of love for men, Thy Brethren, didst cause the
Christian Priesthood to spring forth from Thy Sacred Heart, vouchsafe to pour forth upon Thy priests continual living streams of infinite love. Live
in them, transform them in to Thee; make them, by Thy Grace, fit
instruments of Thy mercy; do Thou act in them and through them, and
grant, that they may become wholly one with Thee by their faithful
imitation of Thy Virtues; and, in Thy name and by the strength of Thy
spirit, may they do the works which Thou didst accomplish for the
salvation of the world.
Divine
Redeemer of souls, behold how great is the multitude of those who still
sleep in the darkness of error; reckon up the number of those
unfaithful sheep who stray to the edge of the precipice; consider the
throngs of the poor, the hungry, the ignorant and the feeble who groan
in their abandoned condition.
Return
to us in the person of Thy priests; truly live again in them; act
through them and pass once more through the world, teaching, forgiving,
comforting, sacrificing and renewing the sacred bonds of love between the Heart of God and the heart of man. Amen.St. Pius X (Raccolta 1907, Prayer 614. Rescript in his own hand. March 3, 1905 )
Allegory of the Holy Eucharist by Miguel Cabrera, 1750 pd
"Out
of devotion to the Holy Eucharist and the Passion of Christ grew the
devotion to the Sacred heart of Jesus with its feast and that of the S.
Priesthood of Christ (Octave of Corpus Christi), and the more recent
feast (1921) of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus on the Thursday following
the third Sunday after Easter. (American Ecclesiastical Review V 68, 1923 page 470)
"This
devotion does not substantially differ from the ordinary devotion to
the Sacred Heart. It merely emphasizes the act of supreme love of the
Heart in bestowing the gift of the Holy Eucharist upon us." The Raccolta
On
9 November 1921, Pope Benedict XV instituted the feast of the
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to be celebrated on the Thursday within the
Octave of the Sacred Heart with a Proper Mass and Office. The feast
continues to be celebrated in some places. In instituting the feast,
Pope Benedict XV wrote: "The chief reason of this feast is to
commemorate the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the mystery of the
Eucharist. By this means the Church wishes more and more to excite the
faithful to approach this sacred mystery with confidence, and to inflame
their hearts with that divine charity which consumed the Sacred Heart
of Jesus when in His infinite love He instituted the Most Holy
Eucharist, wherein the Divine Heart guards and loves them by living with
them, as they live and abide in Him. For in the sacrament of the Holy
Eucharist He offers and gives Himself to us as victim, companion,
nourishment, viaticum, and pledge of our future glory." The Raccolta
"122. It is likewise Our most fervent desire that all who profess themselves Christians and are seriously engaged in the effort to establish the kingdom of Christ on earth will consider the practice of devotion to the Heart of Jesus as the source and symbol of unity, salvation and peace. Let no one think, however, that by such a practice anything is taken from the other forms of piety with which Christian people, under the guidance of the Church, have honored the divine Redeemer. Quite the opposite. Fervent devotional practice towards the Heart of Jesus will beyond all doubt foster and advance devotion to the Holy Cross in particular, and love for the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. We can even assert - as the revelations made by Jesus Christ to St. Gertrude and to St. Margaret Mary clearly show - that no one really ever has a proper understanding of Christ crucified to whom the inner mysteries of His Heart have not been made known. Nor will it be easy to understand the strength of the love which moved Christ to give Himself to us as our spiritual food save by fostering in a special way the devotion to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, the purpose of which is - to use the words of Our predecessor of happy memory, Leo XIII - "to call to mind the act of supreme love whereby our Redeemer, pouring forth all the treasures of His Heart in order to remain with us till the end of time, instituted the adorable Sacrament of the Eucharist."(122) For "not the least part of the revelation of that Heart is the Eucharist, which He gave to us out of the great charity of His own Heart."(123). (Encyclical Haurietis Aquas Pope Pius XII May 15, 1956).
Proper Prayers for the Mass in the Extraordinary form for the Feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus
Prayer:
Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist, sweet companion in our exile, I adore Thee.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, I adore Thee.
Heart solitary, I adore Thee.
Heart humiliated, I adore Thee.
Heart abandoned, I adore Thee.
Heart forgotten, I adore Thee.
Heart despised, I adore Thee.
Heart outraged, I adore Thee.
Heart ignored by men, I adore Thee.
Heart, lover of our hearts, I adore Thee.
Heart desirous of being loved, I adore Thee.
Heart patient in waiting for us, I adore Thee.
Heart eager to hear us, I adore Thee.
Heart longing to be prayed to, I adore Thee.
Heart source of new graces, I adore Thee.
Heart wrapped in silence, desiring to speak to souls, I adore Thee.
Heart, the sweet refuge of the hidden life. I adore Thee.
Heart, teacher of the secrets of union with God, I adore Thee.
Heart of Him Who sleeps yet ever watches, I adore Thee.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have pity on us,
Jesus, Victim, I desire to console Thee,
I unite myself to Thee, and sacrifice myself with Thee. I
I annihilate myself in Thy presence. I adore Thee.
I would forget myself to be mindful of Thee.
I would be forgotten and despised for love of Thee.
And be neither understood nor love, except by Thee.
I will silence myself to listen to Thee, I will abandon myself to lose myself in Thee.
Grant
that I may thus appease Thy thirst, the thirst for my sanctification
and salvation, and that being purified I am bestow on Thee a pure and
true love. I would not longer weary Thy patience; take possession of me,
I give myself to Thee.
I offer Thee all my actions, my intellect
to be illuminated by Thee, my heart to be guided by Thee, my will to be
made strong, my soul and body to be nourished, my misery to be
lightened. Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, whose blood is the life of my
soul, may it be no longer I that live but do thou alone live in me.
Amen. Blessed Sacrament Book Fr. Francis Xavier Lasance. page 676
Resources:
- The Eucharistic Christ: Reflections and Considerations on the Blessed Sacrament By Fr Albert Tesnière (PDF) 1897
- The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Readings for the Month of June, by Fr. Albert Tesnière 1928
- A Neglected Gem in the Traditional Roman Missal: The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus by Peter Kwasniewski, PhD
June 27 Our Lady of Perpetual Help
by VP
Posted on Friday June 27, 2025 at 12:00AM in Prayers
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Rocky Mount NC
Prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Help for the Church and the Supreme Pontiff
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, O sweet
protector of Christians, when the enemies of your divine Son were
attacking the Church
most violently you appeared in Rome as the protective star of the Holy
See. Therefore, with as much faith as trust, I place myself
at your feet to beg you to defend and protect the holy spouse of Jesus
Christ. Show yourself the all-powerful Mother of the Church
in these days when she is still threatened by a daring impiety.
Protect the sacred person of the Supreme Pontiff, inspire Christians
with the veneration due to the Vicar of Jesus Christ, with submission
to his voice, with the love the Father of all the faithful deserves.
O Mary, see the bitterness with which his heart is filled, the
ineradicable sufferings which make him the visible image of your divine
crucified Son. And if, for the glory of God, his martyrdom must be
prolonged, console him by increasing the number of faithful
Christians, by raising up for your Church apostles and defenders of his
rights. Do not allow iniquity to prevail. Strengthen in Rome
the charity of St. Peter and bind hearts strongly in Catholic unity.
Amen
O Mother of Perpetual Help! Protect the Sovereign Pontiff, defend the Holy Church and strengthen the faith of the faithful.
Ladislaus I of Hungary
by VP
Posted on Friday June 27, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Saint Ladislaus Hungarian King 1077-1095
THE CROWN OF THE CHRISTIAN. -Whatever rank or station you hold, ever bear in mind that you are a Christian. Christianity is above all greatness, and baptism is more holy than the unction of kings. Far from being an obstacle to the accomplishment of duty, Christianity is the hallowing thereof. Thus it was that Ladislaus, elected king of Hungary in 1080, understood and knew how to fulfil the high charge confided to him, The most humble of Christ's followers never showed greater zeal in the accomplishment of Christian works or more simple and modest virtues than he. Never did sovereign exhibit more ardour for the reign of justice, or more courage in defending his country. He annexed to his dominions Cracovia and Dalmatia, expelled the Huns, and conquered the Poles, Russians, and Tartars. He was preparing for a great crusade against the infidels, in order to wrest from them possession of the Holy Land, when he died in 1095. His tomb has been illustrated by numerous miracles.
MORAL REFLECTION.-There is no true greatness apart
from religion. "The great man, and the judge, and the mighty is in
honour; but there is none greater than he that feareth God."-(Eccles. x.
27.)" Pictorial Half Hours with the Saints by Abbe Auguste Lecanu
SS. John and Paul, Martyrs, A.D. 362.
by VP
Posted on Thursday June 26, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"Two brothers, bred up in the court of Constantine the Great, and by him appointed to serve his daughter Constantia. They were afterwards invited by Julian the Apostate to accept of places under him: but refusing to serve a prince, who had renounced his faith, they were apprehended. Detesting the idols, which they were commanded to worship, their constancy was rewarded with the crown of martyrdom, they being both beheaded in their own house. These saints glorified God by a double victory: they despised the honours of the world,
and triumphed over its threats and torments. They saw many wicked men
prosper; but they were not dazzled by their example. Pray for those,
whose hearts are opened to all the dangers of the court; that amidst the powerful delusions of that state, they may continue faithful to their God. As strict a guard is necessary for keeping a good conscience there, as for the safety of the sovereign. Learn from these saints, not to hazard your soul for interest, or preferment. A private life, with peace of mind, is much more comfortable and Christian, than exposing conscience for the purchase of honour and revenues. It is better to hazard starving than burning. All the evils of this life are much more tolerable than an eternal separation from God. Therefore, in placing out children, or seeking employment or service for yourself or others, consider not only the temporal advantage, but the eternal also; and refuse all offers where there is not as fair a prospect of gaining the next world, as of succeeding in this. How many are eternally lost by tempting God in this way, in putting themselves in circumstances, where having no convenience of performing the duties of their religion, they come by insensible degrees, into a total forgetfulness of God, and thus live on,
till death carries them away? It is a misery to be lamented, and one
that requires your charity. Pray for remedy, and be watchful that it
never comes to be your case." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
St. William of Montevergine, Abbot and Confessor, A.D. 1142.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday June 25, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"HAVING lost his father and mother in his infancy, he was brought up by his friends in great sentiments of piety. At fifteen years of age, out of an earnest desire of leading a penitential life, he left Piedmont, his native country, and made an austere pilgrimage to Compostella in Spain, to the famous church of St. James the Apostle. He performed this pilgrimage, clothed with only one garment, wearing a double iron girdle, and walking barefoot; and suffered severe cold and heat, hunger and thirst, with great danger of his life. Returning into Italy, he proposed to make another pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem; but was hindered by various impediments permitted to fall in his way by divine Providence, who called him to higher and more holy exercises of piety. He spent two years in a desert mountain, and lived in perpetual contemplation, and rigorous austerities Having here restored sight to a blind man, the fame of this miracle rendered it impossible for him to remain in obscurity; and accordingly he changed his habitation, and built a monastery on the summit of a mountain, called Monte Vergine. Here he collected some religious men to live with him, and instructed them in the gospel rules and counsels, and also in ascetic practices. Thus was laid the foundation of the religious congregation of Monte Vergine. Other monasteries of the same religious institute were afterwards erected. The sanc tity of the holy man became every day more brilliant, and attracted more and more persons to him. He foretold the day of his death to the king of Naples and others, and slept in the Lord on the 25th of June, 1142.
Order and good discipline
are necessary, not only for religious houses, but likewise for all other
families. Where these are neglected, there unavoidably follows a
proportioned decay of Christianity. So that, without rash judgment, it may be concluded that those families which are not orderly, are not virtuous, or at least will not long be so. If you have the care of a family, consider your charge, and forget not that the eternal welfare of those under your care much depends on your example and management." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
The Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
by VP
Posted on Tuesday June 24, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Daily Missal with Vespers for Sunday
"He was sanctified in his mother's womb. A good instruction for mothers, to pray for their children before they are born. Very much depends on their natural constitution and temper; the difference of inclinations is very observable. Why then should not they pray for such as may lead to virtue and happiness?
St. John was the forerunner of Christ, and proclaimed Him to the world, preparing His way before Him, by preaching penance and conversion from sin. Pray that you may hear his voice, and enter into those holy dispositions which he requires. Prepare your soul, as he directs, that Christ may follow, and take up his abode in your heart.
We have it from the mouth of Christ himself, that amongst all born of women there is none greater than St. John Baptist. And yet we find nothing in him which the world esteems great; his whole life being a contempt of the world, and an entire renunciation of all that which is reputed valuable in it. For, his habitation being a desert, his clothing being of camel's hair, and his food locusts and wild honey, it is evident that neither riches, nor honour, nor pleasures, nor the satisfaction of any sense, nor any sort of vanity, had place in him. Making no further use of the world than necessity required, he renounced all that which could contribute to these common objects of human greatness. His greatness therefore, was in the contempt of all these things; and this was necessary in him, who was to be the precursor of the Messias; that so not only in words, but by example too, he might teach the world to prepare the ways of the Lord, and make good what he said of himself: I am a voice. For thus was he a voice, whilst all that he did carried with it the same instruction with what he said.
This instruction we are to receive this day, by learning from St. John the only methods of preparing the ways of Christ, and obtain some degrees of that greatness, which rendered him the just subject of our Redeemer's love and praise. This instruction has but one point, and that is, forsaking or contemning the world and ourselves. This is the lesson which he teaches: and the case is plain. For as to prepare for the world, and seek its greatness, there is a necessity of pursuing all those ways which the world
values, and are calculated to raise its admiration and esteem; and
since to be great in our own eyes, there is a necessity of observing the dictates of self-love; -so, to prepare the ways of Christ, and obtain some part of that greatness which he commends, there is a like necessity of contemning
what he disesteems, and walking in all those ways which he approves and
teaches, as ways that lead to Him. And since he has declared the world to be his enemy; since the great things of the world are the very things which he has rejected; since we are taught that all its ways are vanity, and that self-love is the root of all evil; it is no less than demonstration, that the only means of preparing the ways of our Lord, and being great with him, is to forsake or despise the world and ourselves. Not that all are bound to retire into a desert with St. John, or confine themselves to the rigours of his eating or clothing; but that in all these particulars, whilst great allowances are granted, in consideration of health and education, degrees and custom, great care likewise ought to be had by Christians, not to seek themselves or the world, any more than the Baptist did, who renounced them all. Because, whatever we do, pushed on by the love of the world or ourselves, we do not in this prepare the ways of Christ; nor can we by such ways become great with him. By frequent selfdenial, a Christian comes near to the spirit of St. John. And is not this the only means for preparing the ways of our Lord, and arriving at that greatness, which he commends? This indeed is contrary to what the world expects; but since the world is opposite to Christ, the ways of Christ must necessarily be opposite to those of the world; and there can be no engaging in the one, but by forsaking the other.
Teach us therefore, O Jesus thy ways: and may thy holy Baptist obtain
for us that spirit, without which we can have no hopes of coming to thee." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Prayers in Honor of St. John the Baptist
O Glorious St. John the Baptist, of those born of women the greatest of prophets (Luke vii. 28); thou, though sanctified from thy mother's womb and most innocent, didst nevertheless will to retire into the desert, there to practice austerities and penance; obtain for us from Our Lord the grace to be detached, at least in the affections of our hearts, from all earthly treasure, and to practice Christian mortification with interior recollection and a spirit of holy prayer,
Pater, Ave, and Gloria.
Most zealous apostle, who, without working any miracle on others, but solely by the example of thy life of penance and the power of thy words, didst draw after thee crowds, in order to prepare them to worthily receive the Messiah, and listen to His heavenly teaching; grant that it may be given to us also, by the example of a holy life and the practice of good works, to lead many souls to God and, above all, those who have been enveloped in the darkness of error and ignorance, and led astray by vice.
Pater, Ave, Gloria.
O unconquered martyr, who for the honor of God and the salvation of souls, didst, with heroic constancy, and at the cost of life itself, withstand the impious Herod reproving him openly for his bad and dissolute life; obtain for us a brave and generous heart, so that, overcoming all human respect, we may boldly profess our faith, and follow the teaching of our divine master, Jesus Christ.
Pater, Ave, Gloria.
V. Pray for us, St. John the Baptist.
R.That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
O God, Who hast made this day worthy of honor in the nativity (commemoration) of St. John, grant to thy people the grace of spiritual joys, and direct the minds of all the faithful into the way of eternal salvation through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Pius X, Jan 11, 1904 (Indulgences.) Blessed Sacrament Book by Father Francis Lasance p1131)
"A Prophet of the Most High" (Alleluia), St. John is pre-figured by Isaias and Jeremias (Introit, Epistle, Gradual); still more, he was consecrated before birth to announce Jesus (Secret) and to prepare souls for His coming.
The Gospel narrates the prodigies which accompanied his birth. Zachary gives his child the name which St. Gabriel has brought him from heaven, which signifies: The Lord has pardoned. He immediately recovers his speech and, filled with the Holy Ghost, he foretells the greatness of his son: "He shall walk before the face of the Lord to give unto the people the knowledge of salvation." The angel Gabriel had announced to Zachary that "many would rejoice in the birth of St. John the Baptist". Indeed, not only “the neighbors and relations of Elizabeth" solemnized the event, but every year, on its anniversary, the whole Church invites her children to share in this holy joy. She knows that the nativity "of this Prophet of the Most High " at this summer Christmas is intimately connected with the Advent of the Messiah.
After the feast of the Nativity of St. John, the days become shorter, while, on the contrary, after the Nativity of the Savior, of which this feast is the prelude, the days become longer. The Precursor must efface himself before Jesus Who is the true light of souls. "He must increase," says St. John," and I must decrease."
The solstices were the occasion of pagan feasts when fires were lighted to honor the orb which gives us light. The Church Christianized these rites seeing in them a symbol of St. John who was a burning and brilliant lamp." Indeed "she encouraged this kind of manifestation which corresponded so well with the character of the feast. The St. John bonfires happily completed the liturgical solemnity; they showed the Church and the earthly city united in one thought." The name of the Precursor is inscribed in the Canon of the Mass at the head of the Second List.
Formerly, on his feast day three masses were celebrated in his honor, and numerous churches were dedicated to him. Parents loved to give his name to their children.
Paul the Deacon, a monk of Monte Cassino and a friend of Charlemagne, had composed, in honor of St. John the Baptist, the hymn: “Ut queant laxis." In the thirteenth century the Benedictine monk Guy of Arezzo noticed that the notes sung on the first syllables formed the sequence of the first six degrees of the scale. He named each degree by the corresponding syllable: (Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si) and thereby greatly facilitated the study of musical intervals.
"That Thy servants may sing with full voice the marvels of Thy works, purify their sullied lips, O St. John."Immediately Zachary made signs that he wished to call his son John,. he recovered his speech; and lo! a hymn composed in honor of the Prophet, whose voice resounds in the desert, becomes the occasion of a new progress in music. Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the welfare spiritual and temporal of his Parishioners." Daily Missal with Vespers page 1436 1925
