Our Morning Offering – 8 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary”
Cast Upon Us a Look of Mercy
By Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)
O Jesus!
Cast upon us a look of mercy,
turn Your Face towards each of us
as You did to Veronica,
not that we may see it,
with our bodily eyes,
for this we do not deserve
but turn Your Face towards our hearts,
so that, remembering You,
we may ever draw
from this Fountain of Strength,
the vigour necessary to sustain us,
in the combats of life.
Amen
Saint Nestor of Thessalonica, martyr, was a wrestler known for having been the student of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, who instructed Nestor in the Faith. The emperor was visiting Thessaloniki, and he built a high platform in the midst of the city so that a gigantic barbarian named Lyaios could wrestle there, seen by all. Beneath the platform many spears and other sharp weapons were placed pointing upward. When Lyaios defeated his opponents, he threw them down onto the spears. As a method of execution, Christians were killed in this way. When Nestor saw how Emperor Maximian rejoiced over the victories of his champion, he despised his pride. Seeing the miracles of Saint Demetrios, however, he was inspired and went to the prison where the holy martyr was confined, and fell at his feet.
“Pray for me, O Servant of God Demetrios,” he said, “that by your prayers, God may help me to beat Lyaios, and put an end to him who brings reproach upon the Christians.”
The saint, after making the Sign of the Cross over Nestor, told him that he would prevail over Lyaios, and then suffer for Christ. Nestor mounted the platform without fear and exclaimed: “Help me, O God of Demetrios.” After he defeated Lyaios, he hurled him down onto the spears, where he died.
Maximian (co-ruler with Diocletian) became enraged and ordered that both Nestor and Demetrios should be put to death. Saint Demetrios was stabbed with spears, and Saint Nestor was beheaded.
Notre-Dame du Bon Remède / Our Lady of Good Remedy, France (1197) – 8 October:
In 1197, a Sorbonne Doctor of Theology and newly Ordained Priest, Jean de Matha, while saying his first Holy Mass, saw a vision of an Angel with a red and blue cross on his chest and his hands resting on the heads of two captives. The following year, St Jean founded a religious order dedicated to the redemption of Christians held as slaves by Moslems — the Hospitaler Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of Captives, commonly called the Trinitarians. On their habit, Jean placed the Cross he had seen on the Angel,and, as their Patron, he gave them Notre-Dame du Bon Remède, a popular devotion in his Provençal homeland. Now devoted largely to education and evangelisation, for three centuries they raised funds and travelled from Europe into Africa to buy thousands of captives’ freedom with Our Lady’s help. A painting (right) in the Trinitarian Motherhouse of Cerfroid in northern France, shows Our Lady of Good Remedy giving a bag of money to St Jean/John of Matha, while a grateful freedman and St Felix of Valois, look on. The Order celebrates her feast day 8 October.
800 years ago Christians were being captured and sold into slavery by the thousands, and nobody knew what to do about it. Then, in the year 1198, a man had an idea. St. John of Matha founded the Trinitarians to go to the slave markets, buy the Christian slaves and set them free. To carry out this plan, the Trinitarians needed large amounts of money. So, they placed their fund-raising efforts under the patronage of Mary. They were so successful that, over the centuries, the Trinitarians were able to free thousands and thousands of people and to return them safely home. In gratitude for her miraculous assistance, St. John of Matha honoured Mary with the title of “Our Lady of Good Remedy.” Devotion to Mary under this ancient title is widely known in Europe and Latin America and the Church celebrates her feast day on 8 October. Our Lady of Good Remedy is often depicted as the Virgin Mary handing a bag of money to St. John of Matha. When in need – for whatever reason but especially where you have had difficulty obtaining help – invoke the aid of Our Lady of Good Remedy and you will surely experience the power of her intercession.
St Bridget of Sweden (c 1303-1373) Widow, Religious, Mystic, Confessor, Founder of the Bridgettines Nuns and Monks, author of “The Pieta” book of devotions.
Feast day pre-1969 is today 8 October
St Amor of Aquitaine
St Artemon of Laodicia
St Badilo
St Benedicta of Laon
St Benedicta of Origny-sur-Oise
St Evodius of Rouen
St Felix of Como (Died 390) Bishop
St Gratus of Chalons
St Hugh Canefro (1148-1233) Religious of the Order of Malta, Apostle of Charity, Miracle-Worker.
Bl John Adams
Bl John Lowe
St Keyna
St Laurentia
St Nestor of Thessalonica
St Palatias
St Pelagia the Penitent (Fourth or Fifth Century) Recluse. Like St Mary Magdalen and St Mary of Egypt, St Pelagia inspired Christians of the Middle Ages as an enchanting icon of repentance.
St Peter of Seville
Bl Ragenfreda
St Reparata (3rd century) Virgin Martyr in Caesarea, Palestine.
St Simeon – The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to St Luke
St Thaïs the Penitent
St Triduna
—
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed José María Ruano López- Marist Martyrs of Barcelona – 46 beati:
• Blessed Ángel Roba Osorno• Blessed Anicet Falgueras Casellas• Blessed Antoni Badía Andale• Blessed Antoni Roig Alembau• Blessed Carles Brengaret Pujol• Blessed Casimir Riba Pi• Blessed Feliciano Ayúcar Eraso• Blessed Felipe Ruiz Peña• Blessed Félix Ayúcar Eraso• Blessed Fermín Latienda Azpilicueta• Blessed Ferran Suñer Estrach• Blessed Florentino Redondo Insausti• Blessed Fortunato Ruiz Peña• Blessed Gregorio Faci Molins• Blessed Isidro Serrano Fabón• Blessed Jaume Morella Bruguera• Blessed Jeroni Messegué Ribera• Blessed Jesús Menchón Franco• Blessed Joan Pelfort Planell• Blessed Joan Tubau Perelló• Blessed José María Ruano López• Blessed José Miguel Elola Arruti• Blessed Josep Ambrós Dejuán
• Blessed Josep Blanch Roca• Blessed Josep Cesari Mercadal• Blessed Josep Mir Pons• Blessed Juan Núñez Casado• Blessed Julio García Galarza• Blessed Leocadio Rodríguez Nieto• Blessed Leoncio Pérez Gómez• Blessed Lucio Izquierdo López• Blessed Lucio Zudaire Armendía• Blessed Mariano Alonso Fuente• Blessed Néstor Vivar Valdivieso• Blessed Nicolás Pereda Revuelta• Blessed Nicolás Ran Goñi• Blessed Pedro Ciordia Hernández • Blessed Pere Sitges Puig• Blessed Ramon Mill Arán• Blessed Santiago Saiz Martínez• Blessed Santos Escudero Miguel• Blessed Segismundo Hidalgo Martínez• Blessed Serafín Zugaldía Lacruz• Blessed Trifón Lacunza Unzu• Blessed Victor Gutiérrez Gómez• Blessed Victoriano Gómez Gutiérrez• Blessed Victoriano Martínez Martín.
One Minute Reflection – – 8 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ps 118:75; 118:120, Ps 118:1, 1 Tim. 5:3-10, Matt 13:44-52
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the just, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things?
Matt 13:44-52
REFLECTION – Know that on the final judgment day the Word my Son will come in my divine majesty to reprove the world with divine power. It will not be like when he was born in poverty, coming from the Virgin’s womb into the stable among the animals, and then dying between two thieves. At that time I had my power in him to allow him to suffer pains and tortures as a man – not that my divine nature was cut off from his human nature, but I let him suffer as a man to atone for your sins. Not so will he come in this end time. Then he will come in power to reprove these people in person.
For the just it will be a cause for reverent fear and great rejoicing. Not that his face will change - for he is one with my divine nature and therefore unchangeable, and even in his human nature his face is unchangeable since it has taken on the glory of his resurrection. But it will seem so to the eyes of the damned. For they will see him with their terribly darkened vision.
A sick eye sees nothing but darkness when it looks into such lightsomeness - and it is no fault of the light that it seems so different to the two; the fault is in the sick eye. So the damned see my Son in darkness, confusion, and hatred, not through any fault of my divine Majesty with which he comes to judge the world, but through their own fault.
The Dialogue of St Catherine of Siena
PRAYER – Lord God and Father, who entrusted the earth to men and each to the other, grant us the grace this day, to see Your Face. Grant us the grace to work faithfully for Your glory, for the salvation of our souls through the light of faith and by the grace which You have given us. We beg the grace of Your love and mercy and the light of love You send with Your Holy Spirit. May the prayers of Mary our Holy Mother, keep us ever in her guiding care. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
A golden hour was my conception, for then began the principle of the salvation of all, and darkness hastened to light.
When I was born, it was not unknown to the demons, but speaking by a certain similitude, they thus thought: “So a certain virgin is born, what shall we do? For it is evident that something wonderful is to take place in her. If we throw around her all the nets of our malice, she will burst them like tow. If we examine all her heart, it is defended by a strong garrison. There is no spot in her for a spear to touch. Therefore, we may fear lest her purity be our torture. Her grace will crush all our strength; her constancy prostrate us beneath her feet.”
But the friends of God, who were in long expectation, said by divine inspiration: “Why grieve we more? We should rather rejoice, for the light is born that is to dispel our darkness, and our desire shall be accomplished.” And the angels of God rejoiced, although their joy was always in the vision of God, saying: “Something desirable is born on earth, and especially beloved by God, whereby true peace will be restored to heaven and earth, and our losses shall be made up.”
And when he beheld me spent with grief, he was so afflicted by my pain, that all the pain of his own wounds, was, as it were, dulled at the sight of the grief in which he beheld me. Hence, I say boldly, that his pains were mine, because his heart was mine. For as Adam and Eve sold the world for an apple, so my Son and I redeemed the world, as it were, with one heart. Think, then, how I was at the death of my Son, and you will not find it hard to leave the world.
Much doth the world resemble a desert, with wild beasts, fruitless trees, and unclean waters; because man, like a wild beast, was eager to pour out his neighbour’s blood, unfruitful in works of justice, and unclean by incontinence and cupidity. In this wilderness, then, men sought the turbid well, — that is, the love of the world and its honor, which is high in pride, turbid in the care and solicitude of the flesh, — and by the seven mortal sins, had, as it were, entrance by seven ways.
Before I began to walk and labour, a voice resounded before me, saying: “The axe is laid to the tree.” What was this voice but John the Baptist, who, sent before me, cried out in the desert: “The axe is laid to the tree as if to say: “Man is now ready, because the axe is ready.” And he came, preparing the way to the city, and extirpating all obstacles.
I am she, who from eternity have been in the love of God.
After having spoken in a general way of the benefits accruing to us from the Angels, let us descend to particulars, that the hearts of men may be inexcusable, and be obliged to love these amiable spirits. If favours be to love, what wood is to fire with what ardour should we not burn for the holy Angels, overwhelmed as we are with their kindnesses and benefactions, even in temporal things.
They provide for our education—They were these glorious spirits who trained up the little Baptist in the desert, after the death of his holy mother, which took place forty days after she had fled with him from the persecution of Herod. They provide for our bodily nourishment—as in the case of the holy martyrs Firminian and Busticus, and the prophets Elias and Daniel. They procure for us honours: a great number of Angels attended at the death of St. Agatha, and composed her epitaph. They recreate our senses :—for six months preceding the death of St. Nicholas of Tolentine, they played for him on musical instruments. And during the three days that intervened between the death of the Holy Virgin and her Assumption into Heaven, they made most melodious concerts near her sacred remains, for the consolation of those who approached them. They accompany us in our journeys—as is evident from the case of Tobias. They visit and console us—as the lives of the Fathers of the desert, and those of St. Lidwine and St. Francis testify, as well as the acts of the martyrs. And think not, says Abbe Kupert, that they never visited these servants of God, but when they visibly appeared; they have often been invisibly present, supporting them in their trials, consoling them in their sorrows, and assuaging their torments.
If they procure us benefits, they also deliver us from evils. They freed St. Peter from his chains, delivered Daniel from the lions, and Isaac from the sacrificing knife. In the Book of Machabees, we have prodigious examples of the zeal with which they espouse the cause of man, often openly combating for him against his enemies. In fine, there is no want, natural, moral, or physical, in which the holy Angels do assist us. Let us here consider and admire the protection afforded by the Angels to the Hebrew people. It was an Angel who conducted them in the wilderness for the space of forty years, by means of a cloud during the day, and a pillar of fire by night—and by the movement given to it by him, they were sheltered from the scorching rays of the sun, and preserved from the hands of Pharaoh and his Egyptians.
I leave it to the piety of those who read these truths, to reflect at leisure on this admirable conduct. However slightly they are considered, it is impossible not to be convinced that the services rendered to man by the Angels are incomparable—and that the name of the Lord should be magnified, who operates these wonders by the agency of the ministers of his celestial court.
Saint Osith, also known as Osyth, Osgyth, Othith, Ositha, Sythe, a Mercian noblewoman and prioress martyred in the 8th century. Born in Quarrendon, Buckinghamshire, England, she was the daughter of Frithuwald, a sub-king of Mercia in Surrey. Her mother was Wilburh, of the royal house of Mercia. Her parents, with St Erconwald, founded Chertsey Abbey in 675 AD.
Raised in the care of her maternal aunts, St Edith of Aylesbury and Edburga of Bicester, her ambition was to become an abbess, but she was forced by her father into a marriage with Sighere, King of Essex. She is the mother of King Offa of Essex.
While her husband was away on a hunt, Osith persuaded two local bishops to accept her vows as a nun. Upon the king’s return some days later, he reluctantly agreed to her decision and granted her some land at Chich near Colchester, now named after her as St Osyth, where she established a convent, and ruled as first abbess. She was beheaded by Vikings, perhaps because she resisted being carried off.
The holy spring at Quarrendon, is associated with her legend, in which Osith stood up after her execution, picking up her head and walking with it in her hands, to the door of a local convent, before collapsing there.
Veneration of St Osith was widespread across England. Norwich Cathedral and St Albans Abbey had chapels dedicated to her in the Middle Ages.
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary/Our Lady of Victory – (Commemorating the Victory of Lepanto – 1571 [Mandatory Memorial):
On Sunday 7 October 1571 the combined Christian fleets under Don John of Austria achieved a significant naval victory over the Turks in the Straits of Lepanto. Thousands of Christians were liberated, the Turkish fleet was destroyed and they suffered their first great defeat at sea. In gratitude to God and Our Lady, Pope Saint Pius V ordered an annual commemoration to be made of Our Lady of Victory. In 1573 Pope Gregory XIII transferred the feast to the first Sunday of October with the title Feast of the Most Holy Rosary since the victory was won through invocation of Our Lady of the Rosary. In 1716 Pope Clement XII extended the feast to the whole Latin Rite calendar, assigning it to the first Sunday in October. Saint Pope Pius X changed the date to 7 October in 1913.
St Adalgis of Novara (Died c 850) Bishop
St Apuleius of Capua
St Augustus of Bourges (Died c 560) Priest and Abbot
St Canog ap Brychan
St Dubtach of Armagh
St Gerold of Cologne
St Helanus
St Libaire the Great (Died 362) Virgin, Martyr and a Holy Cephalophoria (like St Denis – one who carries his head in his hands and walks away).
Bl Jean Hunot Martyr of the French Revolution
St Julia the Martyr
St Justina of Padua
St Marcellus of Capua (Died Third or Fourth Century) Martyr
St Pope Mark (Died 336) The 34th Bishop of Rome
St Martin Cid
Bl Matthew Carreri
St Osith
St Palladius of Saintes
St Quarto of Capua
St Rigaldo
Martyrs of Arima: Eight lay people Japan who were martyred together in the persecutions of Christianity in Japan:
• Blessed Hadrianus Takahashi Mondo
• Blessed Ioanna Takahashi
• Blessed Leo Hayashida Sukeemon
• Blessed Martha Hayashida
• Blessed Magdalena Hayashida
• Blessed Didacus Hayashida
• Blessed Leo Takedomi Kan’Emon
• Blessed Paulus Takedomi Dan’Emon
They were martyred on 7 October 1613 in Arima, Hyogo, Japan and Beatified on 24 November 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Mercedarian Nuns of Seville: Five Mercedarian nuns at the monastery of the Assumption in Seville, Spain noted for their piety – Sisters Agnese, Bianca, Caterina, Maddalena and Marianna.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War
• Blessed José Llosá Balaguer
Our Morning Offering – 7 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary and of Victory
Through Thee, to Us, our Saviour Came
To Our Lady of the Rosary
By St Amadeus of Lausanne O.Cist (1108-1159)
Through thee, to us, our Saviour came,
Through thee, to Him, we fain would go.
Our lives are marred by wrong and shame,
Yet, confidence in thee we know.
The friendship thou dost give to all
Who love thy name, shall ever be
Assurance thou wilt hear our call,
Sweet Lady of the Rosary!
Thou art our Strength upon the way,
Our Morning Star, to cheer and guide;
Our Beacon Light to show the day,
And lead us to the Saviour’s Side;
A Comforter in ev’ry pain
We find, O Mother blest, in thee,
And seek we, never, thee in vain,
Fair Lady of the Rosary!
Thy praises, Mary, we would sing,
And all our faculties employ,
That unto thee our hearts might bring
A glory-crown of love and joy.
Bless thou each humble effort made
In thy regard and grant that we,
May by thy influence be swayed,
Our Lady of the Rosary!
One Minute Reflection – 7 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ps 44:2, Prov 8:22-24, 32-35, Luke 1:26-38
And when the angel had come to her, he said, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.
Luke 1:26-38
REFLECTION – The day of the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin, I resolved to abandon myself so much to God, who is always in me and in whom I am and I live, that I do not worry of my conduct, not only exterior, but even interior, slowly resting between His arms without fear of temptation, illusion, prosperity, adversity, nor my bad inclinations, nor my very faults, hoping that He will lead everything by His kindness and His infinite wisdom, so that everything will succeed in His glory; not to want to be loved or to be supported by anyone; Wanting to have in Him and my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my friends, and all that could have for me some feeling of tenderness.
It seems to me that we are well at ease in an asylum so sure and so sweet, and that I must fear neither men, demons, nor myself, nor life, nor death. As long as God suffers it, I am too happy. It seems to me that in this I found the secret to live content, and that now everything I feared in spiritual life no longer has to make me fear.
Bl Claude la Colombière
PRAYER – Lord God and Father, who entrusted the earth to men and each to the other, grant us the grace this day, to see Your Face in our neighbour and to seek all who need our help. Grant us the grace to work faithfully for Your glory, for the salvation of our souls through the light of faith You have given us. We beg the grace of Your love and mercy and the light of love You send with Your Holy Spirit. May the prayers of Mary our Holy Mother, keep us ever in her guiding care. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
The greatest method
of praying,
is to pray
the Rosary.
St Francis de Sales
The salvation of the whole world
began with the “Hail Mary.”
Hence, the salvation of each person
is also attached to this prayer.
St Louis de Montfort
Those who say the Rosary daily
and wear the Brown Scapular
and who do a little more,
will go straight to Heaven.
St Alphonsus Ligouri
If our age in its pride laughs at
and rejects Our Lady’s Rosary,
a countless legion of the most saintly men
of every age and of every condition,
have not only held it most dear
and have most piously recited it
but, have also used it at all times,
as a most powerful weapon
to overcome the devil,
to preserve the purity of their lives,
to acquire virtue more zealously,
in a word, to promote peace among men.
Pope Pius XI
The Rosary is the scourge of the devil.
Pope Adrian VI
Among all the devotions
approved by the Church,
none has been favoured
by so many miracles,
as the devotion of the Most Holy Rosary.
Pope Pius IX
MOTIVE FIFTH
The Angels render Men innumerable services.
A pious woman having one night received information that a poor person in the suburbs was lying in extreme necessity, and none of her domestics being within, sent her son with something for her relief. The boy being very young, was greatly afraid, going, by himself to such a lonely place, until a page appeared, bearing a flambeau, and conducted him safely to his destination. His mother doubted not that it might be his good Angel who had rendered him the charitable office. These blessed Spirits have often appeared visibly to man. The learned interpreter of the Holy Scripture, Cornelius a Lapide, supposes, that after the resurrection, they will sometimes assume bodies of exquisite beauty to recreate us. It is amazing to see them take every form to render services to us. They have appeared in various shapes, as pilgrims, &c., to serve and benefit man, who does almost nothing to testify his gratitude.
If it were only at certain times they rendered us assistance, it would not be so wonderful; but to be conferring favours on us every moment we exist, is inconceivable—and it is this our good Angel does for us. If a prince of the royal blood came and spent some time in waiting on an humble peasant, in a poor cabin, every one would be amazed; but if this peasant was his enemy, one from whom he could expect nothing like gratitude—if, moreover, he not only passed some months with him, but even resolved on remaining in his service as long as he lived, notwithstanding all the vicious propensities and vile habits which he discovered in him, the wonder would be infinitely greater. Yet it is in this manner, O my soul! thy good Angel guards thee.
O excessive bounty !—even while we sleep, they watch over us they are always at our side—though we are sinners, and consequently their enemies—though our interior deformity is so great, that if we saw it we could not support the sight— though we spend our lives in sin, or in such frivolous occupations as certainly excite the pity of these blessed spirits—though we corrupt our best actions by numberless defects, they are never weary of our company. Even after death, they visit us in Purgatory, and render us in its flames very great consolations. Is not this to be our slaves ? Where would we be able to find persons who would sacrifice their liberty so perfectly in the service of kings ? O bounty of our God ! the Princes of Paradise our slaves and servants! Well, indeed, did the holy Vincent of Caraffe say, that the life of a Christian was a life of astonishment.
But the Angels not only protect man, they also give their cares to everything that is destined for his service. According to St. Augustine, these blessed Spirits preside over every animate and inanimate thing in this visible world. The stars and the firmament have their Angels—the fire, the air, the water, have their Angels—kingdoms have their Angels, as is seen in the Scriptures provinces have their Angels, for the Angels who appeared to Jacob, says Genesis, were the guardians of the provinces through which he passed towns and cities have their Angels—altars, churches, nay, even particular families, have their Angels. Thus the world is full of Angels, and it seems that the sweetness of Divine Providence renders it necessary; for if, as some say, there be in the air so great a number of evil spirits, that if they were permitted to assume bodies, they would obscure the light of the sun, how could men be safe from their malicious arts, unless protected by the Angels ?
Whatever Eliseus might say to his servant of the protection of these blessed Spirits, the poor man could not believe it, until God miraculously opened his eyes, and manifested them to him under visible forms. If the same favour is not given to us, still have we not faith ? and can we not behold with our interior eyes these amiable spirits, and acknowledge them as our greatest benefactors, and the faithful ministers of God alone, whom we adore, who is admirable in all his works, and deserves for them eternal, everlasting praise ?
Blessed Artaldo of Belley, also known as Artaldus, Artaud, Arthaud, Arthold, Artholdus, Artoldo, was a 13th-century Carthusian Bishop of Belley, France. Artaldus was born in the castle of Sothonod in Savoy. At the age of eighteen, he went to the court of Duke Amadeus III, but a year or two after, he became a Carthusian at Portes. After many years, being a priest and an experienced and holy religious, he was sent by the prior of the Grande Chartreuse to found a charterhouse near his home, in a valley in the Valromey significantly called “the cemetery”. Here Artaldus established himself with six of his brethren from Portes. The community was no sooner well settled down, than there buildings were destroyed by fire, and St. Artaldus had to begin all over again. He chose a fresh site on the Arvieres River, and his second foundation was soon built and occupied, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in 1132.
But a Carthusian cell could not contain the ever-increasing reputation of Artaldus: like his master St. Bruno, he was consulted by the Pope, and when he was well over eighty, he was called from his monastery to be bishop of Belley. However, after less than two years of episcopate, his resignation was accepted, and he returned to Arvieres, where he lived in peace for the rest of his days. During his last years, he was visited by St. Hugh of Lincoln, who had come into France, and who, while he was prior of the charterhouse of Witham, had induced Henry II to become a benefactor of Arvieres.
The cultus of St. Artaldus, called simply Blessed by the Carthusians, was confirmed for the diocese of Belley in 1834. He was 105 years old when he died on 6 October 1206, the same day as the founder of his order, St Bruno.
Notre-dame-de-toute-aide de Querrien, France / Our Lady of All Help (1652) – 6 October, for the Feast of the Holy Rosary on 7 October) 15 August (the Assumption) and the Sunday following 8 September (Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady):
In 574, the Monk Saint Columban came from Ireland and landed on the coast of Brittany with 12 companions. The Monk Saint Gall, friend and companion of St Colomban, was part of the group. The latter stopped at Querrien and there, he found a clear and limpid spring gushing out of the ground “so that the inhabitants can knead bread there” . St Gall also built a wooden Oratory which he dedicated to Our Lady. He placed there, a wooden Statue, representing the Virgin and Child , a Statue he had sculpted himself. Over time, the Oratory was abandoned, it disintegrates and the Statue fell to the ground and was buried in the mud near the source of the spring.
On 15 August 1652, Jeanne Courtel a 12-year-old girl, deaf and dumb from birth. while guarding the family’s sheep saw a “beautiful lady” who spoke to her. Thereupon, Jeanne was immediately able to hear and to speak to the great astonishment of all the inhabitants of the village. A few days later, Jeanne saw the beautiful lady again who asked to have the ground dug up near the source of the spring, where the Statue of the Virgin was buried. The wooden Statuette was found at the place indicated, confirming for the people, the authenticity of the Apparition. There were a total of fifteen appearances of Our Lady with which Jeanne was favoured, until September of the same year. From that time on, pilgrims arrived and numerous miracles were recorded.
Shortly after this miracle became known, there was a second one just as remarkable. There was a community benefactor whose son was at death’s door with a high fever. Invoking Our Lady before this same Statue the man saw his son instantly cured. After this second wondrous miracle, the Statue was moved into the Chapel and there were many miracles that followed. One miracle was worked in favour of a religious Sister who had been terribly burned and was she was instantly cured. A Priest, falsely accused of a crime, was acquitted after special prayers to the “miracle lady.” The statue had had no name before this but the Parishioners decided now to call her Our Lady of All Help, Quick Help, or Our Lady of Good Remedy.
The local Bishop, Denis de La Barde, launched an investigation and went there to verify the child’s declarations. Satisfied with his hearings, he had a chapel erected in 1652 to organise the devotion of the faithful. After having carried out a canonical investigation, the Bishop of Saint-Brieuc issued a positive opinion on the Apparition and decided to have a Chapel built and to organise worship there. The following 29 September, the Bishop returned to bless the first stone of the Chapel during a celebration which brought together 1,500 pilgrims.
On 14 August 1950, a great celebration was held in the Sanctuary. This celebration was attended by 20,000 pilgrims, several Bishops, the Abbots of Brittany and 200 Priests from Saint-Brieuc, Rennes and Vannes , for the crowning of the Statue of Notre-Dame de Tout-Aide . It was Archbishop Clément Roque of Rennes who placed the crown designed by Émile Daubé and made by goldsmith René Desury on the head of the Statue. This coronation was carried out with the authorisation and blessing of Pope Pius XII.
The Statue itself is only about 60 centimetres tall. The Blessed Virgin Mary is crowned, and holds her Infant Son in one arm, and a sceptre in the other. At the time of the French Revolution and during the accompanying Reign of Terror, the Abbey was destroyed. A pious lady took the Statue of Our Lady of All Help and safeguarded it until the trouble was over. After her death the Statue was restored to the community. The Statue of Our Lady of All Help has survived several wars since.
In 1998, a series of renovations began which would continue for several years. Today pilgrimages continue all year with often as many as 10 000 attending the major celebrations. The current Church incorporates the small Chapel (the remains of which, can still be seen on the north side of the building).
There is a short and very lovely prayer which, for centuries, has been associated with this Statue. It is, “Oh, Mother of All Help, say but one word in our behalf to Thy Divine Son, for He cannot refuse thee any favour. Amen.”
St Bruno O.Cart (c 1030-1101) Priest, Confessor, Hermit, Monk, Mystic, Founder of the Carthusian Order, Philosopher, Theologian, Teacher, Advisor, Writer (Optional Memorial)
Blessed Adalbero of Lambach (c 1010–1090) Bishop of Würzburg and Count of Lambach-Wels, Reformer, Mediator and Advisor, founder of Churches and Monasteries.
St Alberta of Agen
Bl Artaldo of Belley
St Aurea of Boves
St Ceollach
St Epiphania
St Erotis
St Faith of Agen (Died 3-4th Century) Virgin Martyr
St Francis Trung Von Tran
Bl François Hunot
Bl Isidore of Saint Joseph
St Iwi
St John Xenos
Bl Juan de Prunera
St Magnus of Orderzo
St Pardulf
St Renato of Sorrento
St Romanus of Auxerre
St Sagar of Laodicea
—
Martyrs of Capua – 4 saints: A group of martyrs who were either killed in Capua, Italy, or that’s where their relics were first enshrined. We now know nothing but their names – Aemilius, Castus, Marcellus and Saturninus.
Martyrs of Kyoto – 52 beati: Fifty-two Japanese lay people, some single, some married, some parents, some children, who were martyred together during one of the government sponsored persecutions of Christians.
Martyrs of Trier: Commemorates the large number of martyrs who died in Trier, Germany in the persecutions of Diocletian. 287 in Trier, Germany.
Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, I give you my heart and my soul.
Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.
(7 years every time each one is said)
From sudden and unprovided death, O Lord, deliver us.
(300 days every time said)
O Lord, my God, I now, at this moment, readily and willingly accept at Thy hand whatever kind of death it may please Thee to send me, with all its pains, penalties, and sorrows.
(7 years every time said. Plenary indulgence at the point of death to all those who at any time of their lives, with sincere love toward God and with the usual conditions, make this kind of act)
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that we in the hour of death, being strengthened by the sacraments and cleansed of all sins, may with joy deserve to be received into the bosom of Thy mercy. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
(3 years every time said)
One Minute Reflection – 6 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ps 36:30-31, Ps 36:1, Sir 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40
Blessed are those servants whom the master, on his return, shall find watching.
Luke 12:35-40
REFLECTION – And your public assemblies I have come to hate. For there are excessive banquetings, and subtle flutes which provoke to lustful movements, and useless and luxurious anointings, and crowning with garlands. With such a mass of evils do you banish shame; and you fill your minds with them, and are carried away by intemperance, and indulge as a common practice in wicked and insane fornication. And this further I would say to you, why are you, being a Greek, indignant at your son when he imitates Jupiter, and rises against you and defrauds you of your own wife? Why do you count him your enemy, and yet worship one that is like him? And why do you blame your wife for living in unchastity, and yet honour Venus with shrines? If indeed these things had been related by others, they would have seemed to be mere slanderous accusations, and not truth. But now your own poets sing these things, and your histories noisily publish them.
Henceforth, you Greeks, come and partake of incomparable wisdom, and be instructed by the Divine Word, and acquaint yourselves with the King immortal; and do not recognise those men as heroes who slaughter whole nations. For our own Ruler, the Divine Word, who even now constantly aids us, does not desire strength of body and beauty of feature, nor yet the high spirit of earth’s nobility, but a pure soul, fortified by holiness, and the watchwords of our King, holy actions, for through the Word power passes into the soul. O trumpet of peace to the soul that is at war! O weapon that puts to flight terrible passions! O instruction that quenches the innate fire of the soul! The Word exercises an influence which does not make poets: it does not equip philosophers nor skilled orators, but by its instruction it makes mortals immortal, mortals gods; and from the earth transports them to the realms above Olympus.
St. Justin Martyr
PRAYER – Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Teach us Almighty Father to pray, fill us with the love of Your Spirit and guide us always by the Word and Trust of our lives. With the Blessed Mother of God and of the Holy Rosary, we kneel in love and adoration. May her prayers lead us to heaven. Amen
Be not vexed over evildoers, nor jealous of those who do wrong.
Ps 36:1
Anger, brothers, is an ambiguous matter, it is made bad by the way it is used, and not by its nature, it is very bad when it is conceived out of hatred, it is wicked when it is produced out of rage, its is very good when it comes from love, and when disciplining another demands it.
St Peter Chrysologus
O dearest daughter, grieve that I am so offended, and weep over these dead so that your prayer may destroy their death!
They become unbearable to themselves. They who wanted to rule the world find themselves ruled by nothingness, that is, by sin – for sin is the opposite of being, and they have become servants and slaves of sin. I made them trees of love through the life of grace, which they received in holy baptism. But they have become trees of death, because they are dead.
The Dialogue of St Catherine of Siena
St. Cyril also, writing to St. Augustine, says that one of the three men who were raised from the dead told him: “As the hour of my departure drew nigh, a multitude of devils, countless in number, came and stood about me. Their forms were more horrible than anything imagination can conceive. One would rather be burnt in the fire than be compelled to look upon them. These demons ranged themselves around me, and reproached me with all the misdeeds I had ever done, thinking to drive me to despair. And in fact I should have given way before them, had not God in His mercy come to my succour.”
The Four Last Things (Fr Martin von Cochem)
The sinner’s greatest torment will be the fear of what is to come. He knows that in a few hours he will pass from time into eternity. He knows that if he is not in the state of grace, an eternity of punishment awaits him. And not only does he know that he is not in the state of grace, not only does his soul bear witness that he is no longer a child of God and an heir to the kingdom of heaven, but he feels the visible marks of his reprobation in the multitude and gravity of his crimes, in the hardness of his heart, in the troubles of his conscience, in his distrust in the mercy of God and in his despair which overwhelms him. Ask yourself whether you desire to die the death of the sinner.
Fr François Nepveu, S.J.
Who are you, then, that you should be afraid of mortal man? Today he is here, tomorrow he is not seen. Fear God and you will not be afraid of the terrors of men. What can anyone do to you by word or injury? He hurts himself rather than you, and no matter who he may be he cannot escape the judgment of God.
The Imitation of Christ
Thou sayest that thou wilt not allow a week to pass without confession. But who promises thee this week? Thou sayest that thou wilt confess tomorrow. But who promises thee tomorrow? S. Augustine writes thus God has not promised to give thee tomorrow, perhaps He will give it to thee, and perhaps He will refuse to give it to thee; even as He has denied it to so many, who at night have gone to bed alive, and in the morning have been found dead.
St Alphonsus Liguori
MOTIVE FOURTH
All Men are assisted by the Angels
It is unnecessary to seek any other motive to love God than love itself—as our Lord revealed to Mother Magdalen of St. Joseph, a Carmelite religious. But why does God love men so much? Let it be published among the nations, says St. Bernard, and let them confess that the Lord has determined to treat them magnificently. O my God ! what is man, that you condescend to give him your only Son, to send him your Holy Spirit, and depute your Angels to guard and defend him ! ‘ Behold then an Angel, who is as a great king, endowed with all imaginable glory and perfection, in the service of man—a being compounded of misery and imperfection—a worm of the earth—dust and ashes ! But that man, when in the state of sin, should still be protected by the Angels, is far more wonderful. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves: the greatest saints have fallen, through weakness or inadvertence, into venial faults— and would to God that there were no greater committed Hell itself being less terrible than a single offence against the Divine Majesty; but, alas ! men in general have little horror of mortal sin, and easily fall into it.
The Angels, though struck with amazement at these diabolical excesses, are nevertheless not deterred from assisting these unhappy beings. O soul! who readest these truths, is it not wonderful that the blessed Spirits should lend their aid to those who offend God, considering the knowledge they possess of his unspeakable greatness ? Is it not amazing that they are content to remain with those who every day trample on the blood of their God, “and make void the sufferings by which they have been redeemed.’
Let us go further : Heretics and Infidels have Angels who guard them, though their sin be so incomprehensible, that we can never in this world attain anything like a notion of it. The Turks, the professed enemies of the Christian name, have their Angels—nay, Antichrist himself will have an Angel Guardian, says St. Thomas, who will hinder him from committing several evils. The Angels serve all these people as their masters, though they know them to be slaves of the devil and victims of hell. Where is the gardener who would water a tree, if he knew it would never produce fruit! Where is the friend who would continue to demonstrate his friendship, after repeated insults and affronts ? Yet all the injuries, revolts, contempt and ingratitude of men diminish not in the least degree the charity of these blessed Spirits. They go to seek them in the forests of Canada, in the remotest deserts, in the most gloomy caverns, at the extremities of the earth.
You would say that they are beside themselves with love for men, who have nothing of man but the shape and appearance, their lives being wholly earthly and sensual. These celestial beauties give their affections to deformity itself, and yet meet with no other return than ingratitude and contempt. How shocking—how deplorable!
At the end of this journey of prayer together,
Let us today, turn to Our Divine Father
and pray, so that we may be granted
the gift of wisdom and discernment,
to enable us to
Understand,
Distinguish,
Separate
and Decide between the good and evil.
We pray for the ability
to make the right judgement for
and about others, as well as for ourselves,
according to God’s Will.
Amen
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Notre-Dame Arcachon / Our Lady of La Teste-de-Buch, Guienne (1519) – 5 October:
According to the Marian Calendar, Our Lady of Buch is located in the Pine Mountains, in Guienne. The sea cast this image upon the sands, while Saint Thomas, the Cordelier Friar, was praying on behalf of two vessels which he saw in danger of perishing. He respectfully received this image and deposited it in this place, in a small Chapel which he built there.
Guienne, or Guyenne, refers to a loosely defined region of pre-revolutionary, South-Western France. Buch, or La Teste-de-Buch, is a Town in the Gironde region in Aquitaine, located on the south shore of Arcachon Bay. The “Cordeliers,” known also as the Grey Friars for the heavy grey cloth they wore, are Franciscans. Their belt was but a rope with five knots tied at the end, which gave them their name in France. The “Saint Thomas” mentioned is Thomas Illyricus (1484-1528), a Franciscan native of Vrana in the Diocese of Zarian. He was never Canonised. He was a hermit and itinerant preacher and an indefatigable missionary traveller who lived near Arcachon in la Teste-de-Buch. It was he, who built the Chapel of Notre-Dame Arcachon.
“More than his voice, vibrant with emotion,” wrote the Abbe Mauriac, “more than his ascetic appearance, more than his style so direct and so strong, what stirred and attracted thousands of listeners, was his ardent sincerity which overflowed and poured itself out, while his love of God and of souls, accented his words and made him very eloquent.”
It was in the year 1519 that Thomas Illyricus found the famous Statue now known as the Virgin of Advent at the edge of the sea. He built a Shrine of wood that same year for the Statue, and pilgrimages date from 1525 and grew so much in numbers that in 1624, Cardinal Francois de Sourdis authorised the construction of a stone Chapel. This small Chapel was gradually buried by the sands and it was decided to build a new one which was completed in 1723. The Church is known as the Church of L’eglise Notre Dame des Passes, or Notre-Dame Arcachon. Many miracles have been wrought through devotion to Mary at the Shrine and the Church is dedicated to sailors, who face the channels for entry into the Arcachon basin.
There is a tall Cross known as the Sailors Cross which stands at the end of the pier of the Chapel. Built at the same time as the construction of the Chapel in 1722, the original was destroyed by a gale in 1855 and was replaced by the one that we see today. It was once customary for sailors to greet the Cross with two blasts from their fog horn, to appeal for divine protection, when they went out on the ocean and faced its dangers.
Mary is particularly interested in seafarers and folk living near waters. She who was so familiar with the Sea of Galilee and the profession of the Twelve Pillars of her Divine Son’s Church, she is still is vigilant for their welfare and happiness.
Bl Alberto Marvelli
St Alexander of Trier
St Anna Schaeffer
St Apollinaris of Valence
St Attilanus of Zamora
St Aymard of Cluny
St Boniface of Trier
St Charitina of Amasa
St Eliano of Cagliari
St Firmatus of Auxerre
St Flaviana of Auxerre
Bl Flora of Beaulieu
St Gallo of Aosta
St Jerome of Nevers
Bl John Hewett
St Magdalveus of Verdun
St Mamlacha
St Marcellinus of Ravenna
Bl Marian Skrzypczak
St Meinulph
St Palmatius of Trier
Blessed Pietro of Imola (c1250-1320)
Blessed Raymond of Capua OP (c 1330-1399) Priest, “The Second Founder” of the Dominican Order of Preachers, Reformer, Spiritual Director, he worked with St Agnes of Montepulciano and St Catherine of Siena, Hagiographer, Teacher.
Bl Robert Sutton
Bl Sante of Cori
St Thraseas of Eumenia
St Tranquilino Ubiarco Robles
Bl William Hartley
—
Martyrs of Messina or St Placidus and Companions – 30 saints: A group of about 30 Benedictine monks and nuns, some blood relatives, who were sent in the early days of the order to establish monasteries in the vicinity of Messina, Sicily, Italy and who were martyred. We know the names, and a few details, about seven of them –
• Donatus
• Eutychius
• Faustus
• Firmatus
• Flavia
• Placidus
• Victorinus
6th century Messina, Sicily, Italy.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Eugenio Andrés Amo
• Blessed Sebastià Segarra Barberá
• Blessed Rafael Alcocer Martínez
All martyrs from England murdered on 5 October 1588., all beatified by Pope Pius XI.
Blessed William Hartley was an English priest. Born in Wilne, Derbyshire and raised Protestant, he studied at Oxford University and became an Anglican minister before converting to Catholicism. He studied in Rheims, France and was ordained in 1580. Returning to England, he worked with Bl Edmund Campion, ministering to covert Catholics. Arrested in 1582 for being a priest, he was deported but soon returned to England to resume his ministry. He was captured at Holborn, and hanged on 5 October 1588 at Shoreditch, London.
Blessed John Hewett, also known as John Hewitt, John Weldon, John Savell. He was born in York, North Yorkshire, the son of a draper. Educated at Caius College, Cambridge, he studied for the priesthood at Rheims, France, and was ordained in 1586. Returning to England as a covert priest, he used the names Weldon and Savell to hide his identity. Arrested at Grey’s Inn Lane, London, on 10 March 1587 for the crime of priesthood, and hanged on 5 October 1588 at Mile End Green, London.
Blessed Robert Sutton, layman martyr, was a tutor or schoolmaster, born at Kegworth in Leicestershire, who had practiced his profession in Paternoster Row, London. Sometime prior to June 1586, he met there a Mr. Blythe (a.k.a. Oliver Heywoode), an old priest working in the area of Newgate, and converted to Catholicism. He was soon arrested, incarcerated and hanged in 1588 at Clerkenwell, London.
He must of right concede that, although very much might be done before Christ, yet that something more might be done after Christ, since to His times all fullness is attributed.
The Life and Passion of St Cyprian (Pontius)
Our Morning Offering – 5 October
To Christ, the Prince of Peace
Trans Fr Edward Caswell CO (1814-1878)
To Christ, the Prince of Peace,
And Son of God most high,
The Father of the world to come,
Sing we with holy joy.
Deep in His Heart, for us,
The wound of love He bore;
That love wherewith He still inflames
The hearts that Him adore.
O Jesu, victim blest,
What else but love divine
Could Thee constrain to open thus
That Sacred Heart of thine?
O fount of endless life,
O spring of water clear,
O flame celestial, cleansing all
Who unto Thee draw near!
Hide us in Thy dear heart,
For thither do we fly;
There seek Thy grace through life; in death
Thine immortality.
One Minute Reflection – 5 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ps 77:1, Eph 4:23-28, Matt 22:1-14
And he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” But he was speechless.
Matt 22:1-14
REFLECTION – What is the wedding garment that the Gospel talks about? Most certainly, that garment is something that only the good have, those who are to participate in the feast. Could it be the sacraments? Baptism? Without baptism, no one comes to God, but some people receive baptism and do not come to God. Perhaps it is the altar or what a person receives at the altar? But in receiving the Lord’s body, some people eat and drink their own condemnation. So what is it? Fasting? The wicked also fast. Going to church often? The wicked go to church like the others.
So what is this wedding garment? The apostle Paul tells us: “What we are aiming at is the love that springs from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.” That is the wedding garment. Paul is not talking about just any kind of love, for one can often see dishonest people loving others, but one does not see among them this love “that springs from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.” Now that is the love that is the wedding garment.
The apostle Paul said: “If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” He said that even if he had all that, without Christ “I am nothing.” How many good things are worthless because one good alone is lacking! If I am without love I may well give away all that I have, confess the name of Christ to the point of shedding my blood, it would be to no purpose, because I can act in that way for love of glory. “If I have not love, it is of no use.” That is the wedding garment. Examine yourselves: if you have it, then come to the Lord’s banquet with confidence.
St Augustine
PRAYER – Stay With Me, O Lord by Padre Pio (1887-1968)
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life
and without You I am without fervour.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light
and without You I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord,
so that I hear Your voice and follow You.
Stay with me, Lord,
for I desire to love You very much
and always be in Your company.
Stay with me, Lord,
if You wish me to be faithful to You.
Stay with me, Lord, as poor as my soul is,
I want it to be a place of consolation for You,
a nest of Love.
Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late
and the day is coming to a close
and life passes, death, judgement
and eternity approach.
It is necessary to renew my strength,
so that I will not stop
along the way and for that, I need You.
It is getting late and death approaches,
I fear the darkness, the temptations,
the dryness, the cross, the sorrows.
O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!
Stay with me tonight, Jesus,
in life with all its dangers, I need You.
Let me recognise You as Your disciples did,
at the breaking of the bread,
so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light
which disperses the darkness,
the force which sustains me,
the unique joy of my heart.
Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death,
I want to remain united to You,
if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.
Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for,
Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will,
Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You
and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.
With a firm love, I will love You
with all my heart while on earth
and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen
But they made light of it, and went off, one to his farm, and another to his business; and the rest laid hold of his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
Matt 22:1-14
See then care utterable. He had planted a vineyard; He had done all things, and finished; when His servants had been put to death, He sent other servants; when those had been slain, He sent the son; and when He was put to death, He bids them to the marriage. They would not come. After this He sends other servants, and they slew these also. Then upon this He slays them, as being incurably diseased.
St John Chrysostom
We are hypocrites who serve God just as long as everything is going according to our wishes. Alas, my dear brethren, all of these virtues which we observe in a great many apparent Christians are but like the flowers of spring, which one gust of hot wind can wither.
St John Vianney
From our mutual love and your reverence for me you have thought that I should be consulted, dearest brother, as to my opinion concerning a certain actor, who, being settled among you, still persists in the discredit of the same art of his; and as a master and teacher, not for the instruction, but for the destruction of boys, that which he has unfortunately learned he also imparts to others: you ask whether such a one ought to communicate with us. This, I think, neither befits the divine majesty nor the discipline of the Gospel, that the modesty and credit of the Church should be polluted by so disgraceful and infamous a contagion.
St Cyprian
For what is more truly the beginning for a Christian than to believe in Christ? What end is better than to suffer for Christ?
St Augustine
We must certainly be extraordinarily blind because when all is said and done, there is not a single person who could say that he is ready to appear before Jesus Christ. Yet in spite of the fact that we are quite aware of this, there is still not one among us who will take a single step nearer to God. Dear Lord, how blind the sinner is! How pitiable is his lot! My dear children, let us not live like fools any longer, for at the moment when we least expect it, Jesus Christ will knock at our door. How happy then will be the person who has not been waiting until that very moment to prepare himself for Him. That is what I wish you to be.
St John Vianney
Wherefore also great is the punishment appointed for them that have been remiss. For as they did despite by not coming, so also thou by thus sitting down with a corrupt life. For to come in with filthy garments is this namely, to depart hence having one’s life impure; wherefore also he was speechless.
St John Chrysostom
MOTIVE THIRD
All the Angels are employed in the service of Man
I confess that continuing to write of the Angels, my heart is insensibly touched with their love; and no wonder if it all were liquefied before these blessed spirits, who are, as the Psalmist says, “a devouring fire.” O amiable Spirits ! here permit my poor soul to sigh for love. Either suffer me to die, or to live as you wish. May I love you with a love according to the heart of Jesus, the King of love, and of Mary, the Queen of holy love. We should cease to live, or breathe only the purity of this love. To resume—Are not the foregoing motives sufficiently powerful to engage us to love the Angels ? But we can furnish many others. It is not one, nor a certain number, of these celestial spirits that are employed in our service. St. Paul says, that they are all deputed for our salvation. All the Angels, says St. Augustine, are employed in our defence, since they and we make but one same city of God. It is not alone the Angels of the last choir, says St. Chrysostom, that watch for the safety of men; the higher choirs are also deputed to defend them.
Some question if the higher Angels descend upon earth to assist man; but how will these explain the testimonies which the holy Scripture gives us to this
effect? St. Raphael, who guided Tobias when going to Rages, said of himself, that he was one of the seven spirits who stand before the throne. They were the Cherubim who appeared to Ezechiel. It was to a Cherub that God committed the care of the terrestrial Paradise—and it was a Seraph who purified the lips of Isaiah. Ecclesiastical History, too, teaches the same truth: It was one of the highest Angels who imprinted the sacred stigmas of our Lord’s passion on the body of St. Francis, and another who wounded, with a golden dart, the heart of St. Teresa. But this is not the essential point : it is quite enough for us to know, that in some manner or another, all the Angels are in our service. And what a host of defenders for us ! Holy Job says, that their number is without number. Some writers affirm, that it surpasses that of the stars of Heaven, of the birds of the air, of the drops of water in the ocean, and of all visible creatures. St. Gregory of Nyssa says that there is an infinity of millions of Angels: and St. Dionysius the Areopagite, that God alone knows the number of these holy Spirits.
What movements of love—what sentiments of consolation do not these truths, if well penetrated, impart to our poor hearts! If it were said to you who read these lines, that the King had deputed to your service one of his principal courtiers, with strict orders to render to you all the manner of favours and services, what would be your gratitude, your amazement, your joy ! But history furnishes no such instance of kindness; it is only the King of kings who operates such a prodigy of love. O my soul ! my soul! have you ever seriously considered, that not only one but all the princes of the God of Paradise watch over you with ineffable care and tenderness—that “all minister to those who are to receive the inheritance of salvation.” ’
O the love of that God who has sent them ! O the love of those Spirits whom he has sent ! What consolation for us! Why, after this, should we be sad or troubled? One alone of these blessed princes is more than sufficient to defend us, and behold millions of millions—nay, an infinity of millions of them watching for our safety ! But remember, if such powerful protection places you in security, that the friendship of these illustrious princes should serve you for occupation. It is better to form acquaintance with these pure spirits than to amuse one’s self with creatures. Their friendship is so much the more holy and advantageous, as there is nothing in them but God alone.
Thank You, Jesus
You our Great Mystery,
For Your life
that transcends our understanding,
For Your presence
from which we can never flee,
for Your Resurrection
which is never defeated
and for the gift of faith
that enables us to trust
even in the midst of our doubts
and fears.
Amen
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
La Madonna della Riconciliazione e della Pace / Our Lady of Reconciliation and Peace, Balestrino Italy (1949) – 4 October
Caterina Richero was born on 7 October 1940 in Bergalla, the highest hamlet of Balestrino, of a humble peasant family. She was the first of four siblings and her life passed in the serenity of childhood until the age of nine. On 4 October 1949, something radically changed her life. Something that will lead Catherine to humbly sacrifice her life with a continuous and silent witness of faith. A life devoted to prayer and devotion to that female figure who appeared to her 138 times until 5 November 1986 and who, on 5 June 1950 when asked: ” Who are you?” replied: ” I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Catarina’s life, from that distant day in 1949 was by no means easy. She had to face the ridicule and mistrust of many and above all, she had to stick to what was given to her by the Bishop. She was also forbidden to go to Mount Croce but the Madonna began to appear in Catarina’s home. In all those years, Our Lady asked her to pray constantly for the conversion of sinners and to do many penances for all, without faith. On 5 October 1971 she said: “ On Mount Croce you will find light and strength and I, in this place, will obtain many graces for you.”
Now on Monte Croce there is a splendid Chapel with a Statue of Christ awaiting pilgrims at the top of a staircase. Inside, intent on arranging the flowers on the Altar or absorbed in prayers, Catarina, who with her silent presence tells everyone much more than thousands of articles and books could say. The Statue venerated in the Chapel of the Sanctuary was crowned on 7 October 1992 by Msgr. Mario Oliveri.
St Francis of Assisi OFM (c 1181–1226) (Memorial)
St Adauctus of Ephesus
Bl Alfonso Tabela
St Ammon the Great (c 286-c 348) Hermit, Layman
St Aurea
St Berenice
St Caius of Corinth
St Callisthene of Ephesus
St Crispus of Corinth
St Damaris of Athens
St Diogenes of Milan
St Domnina
St Hierotheus
Bl Julian Majali
St Lucius of Alexandria
St Peter of Damascus
St Petronius (Died c 450) Bishop of Bologna
St Prosdoce
St Quintius of Tours
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – 2+ saints: A group of Christians, men and women, young and old, murdered together for their faith. The only names that have come down to us are the brothers Mark and Marcian.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Alfredo Pellicer Muñoz
• Blessed Avelí Martínez de Arenzana Candela
• Blessed Dionisio Ibáñez López
• Blessed Francisco Martínez Granero
• Blessed Fulgencio Martínez García
• Blessed José Aloy Doménech
• Blessed José Gafo Muñiz
• Blessed José Miguel Peñarroya Dolz
• Blessed Juan de Francisco Pío
• Blessed Juan José Orayen Aizcorbe
• Blessed Martina Vázquez Gordo
• Blessed Publio Fernández González
• Blessed Tomás Barrios Pérez
Saint Damaris of Athens, was the first woman convert in Athens. She listened to St Paul preach there. She was married to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite.
But certain men adhering to him, did believe; among whom was also Dionysius, the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Acts 17:42
Our Morning Offering – 4 October – The Memorial of St Francis of Assisi OFM (c 1181–1226)
Prayer to do the Will of God
By St Francis of Assisi (c 1181-1226)
Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God,
grant us in our misery,
the grace to do for You alone
what we know You want us to do
and always to desire, what pleases You.
Thus, inwardly cleansed,
interiorly enlightened
and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit,
may we be able to follow in the footprints of
Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And, by Your grace alone,
may we make our way to You,
Most High, Who live and rule in perfect Trinity
and simple Unity
and are glorified God
all-powerful, forever and ever.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 4 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ps 77:1, Eph 4:23-28, Matt 22:1-14
And his servants went out into the roads, and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; and the marriage feast was filled with guests.
Matt 22:1-14
REFLECTION – Wives are not united to their husbands as closely as the Church is to the Son of God. What husband but our Lord ever died for his wife, and what bride ever chose a crucified man as her husband? Who ever gave his blood as a gift to his wife except the One who died on the cross and sealed the marriage bond with his wounds? Who was ever seen lying dead at his own wedding banquet with his wife at his side seeking to console herself by embracing him? At what other celebration, at what other feast is the bridegroom’s body distributed to the guests in the form of bread?
Death separates wives from their husbands, but in this case it unites the bride to her Beloved. He died on the cross, bequeathed his body to his glorious spouse, and now, every day, she receives and consumes it at his table. She consumes it under the form of bread and under the form of wine so that the whole world may know that they are no longer two but one.
St Jacob of Sarug
PRAYER – All highest, glorious God,
cast Your light into the darkness of our hearts,
give us true faith, firm hope,
perfect charity and profound humility,
so that with wisdom,
courage and perception, O Lord,
we may do what is truly Your holy will.
Amen. – St Francis of Assisi
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