Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame de Boulogne -sur-Mer , France / Our Lady of Boulogne-Sur-Mer (1469) and Memorials of the Saints – 10 July

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Notre-Dame de Boulogne -sur-Mer , France / Our Lady of Boulogne-Sur-Mer (1469) – 10 July:

In the year 636, a small group of people standing on the seashore witnessed a boat without oars or sails came into the harbour of Boulogne. It finally came to rest in the estuary, seemingly of its own accord. One of the witnesses boarded the boat and confirmed that there was none aboard, and that the vessel had no rudder, oars or sails. The ship, however, bore a luminous Statue of Our Lady. Taking hold of it to bring it to land, a voice was heard saying, “I choose your City as a place of grace.” The citizens welcomed Mary to their City by erecting a Shrine in her honour, which reached its height of glory in the 12th Century.

King Henry VIII is reported to have stolen the Statue of Our Lady of Boulogne and taken it to England. After many negotiations, the French managed to get it back. The image had been stolen and hidden many other times, but always saved and returned.

World War II almost completely destroyed the Statue. In modern times, four exact replicas of Our Lady of Boulogne toured France for more than seven years as a symbol of French devotion to Mary. One of these was taken to Walsingham, England, in 1948 and carried in procession by the Cross-bearing pilgrims.

Boulogne was one of the most important Lady Shrines of medieval France; among its noted pilgrims have been: Henry III, Edward II, the Black Prince, John of Gaunt.
The dedication of a new Church built in honour of Our Lady of Boulogne was Consecrated in the year 1469 by Bishop Chartier of Paris. The confraternity of Our Lady of Boulogne was so celebrated, that six French Kings have chosen to belong to it.

At the French Revolution, the Statue was burnt to ashes and the Church pulled down. A new Statue was made in 1803 and pilgrimages began again. The image represents the Mother with the Child in her arms, standing in a boat, with an angel on either side. At the Marian Congress in Bolougne in 1938, a the custom began, to take replicas of this Statue on visitations through France and abroad. A branch of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Compassion at Boulogne has been established for the reconciliation of the Church of England.

The Sanctuary Church at Boulogne was badly damaged during World War II, and Mary’s image smashed but the return, the “Great Return” of one of the copies of the Statue which had been sheltered at Lourdes, took place in 1943, and the occasion will long be remembered by lovers of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is an ancient offshoot of this Shrine at Boulogne-sur-Seine.

St Amalberga of Mauberge (Died 690) Wife, Mother of 3 Saints: Gudila, Reinelda, and Emembertus. She and her husband mutually agreed to separate to become a Monk and a Nun, respectively, once the children were grown.

St Anatolia & Victoria (Died 250) Martyrs, Sisters who gave their lives for Christ.

St Antôn Nguyen Huu Quynh

St Apollonius of Sardis
Bl Arnold of Camerino
St Bianor of Pisidia

St Canute IV (c 1042-1086) Martyr, King of Denmark, known as “Canute the Holy.”

St Cuán of Airbhre
St Elilantus
St Etto
Bl Euménios
St Lantfrid
Bl Marie-Gertrude de Ripert d’Alauzier
Bl Parthenios
St Pascharius of Nantes
St Peter Vincioli
St Phêrô Nguyen Khac Tu
St Rufina and St Secunda of Rome (3rd Century) Virgin Martyrs

Seven Holy Brothers and their mother, St Felicitas (Died c 165) Martyrs. The Seven Sons of St Felicitas were the very first victims sacrificed by Emperor Marcus Aurelius to satisfy his false philosophy and the superstitions of his pagan subjects. St Felicitas is also celebrated separately on 23 November .

St Sylvanus of Pisidia
Bl Sylvie-Agnès de Romillon
St Waltram
—
Martyrs of Africa – 4 saints: A group of Christians martyred together in Africa. The only information that has survived are four of their names – Felix, Januarius, Marinus and Nabor.

Martyrs of Antioch – 10 saints: A group of ten Christians martyred together. We have no details about them but the names – Diogenes, Domnina, Esicius, Macarius, Maxima, Maximus, Rodigus, Timoteus, Veronia and Zacheus. They were martyred in Antioch, date unknown.

Martyrs of Damascus – 11 beati: A group of Franciscans and laymen ordered by Druz Muslims to convert to Islam. They refused and were hacked to pieces.
• ‘Abd Al-Mu’ti Masabki
• Carmelo Bolta Bañuls
• Engelbert Kolland
• Francisco Pinazo Peñalver
• Fransis Masabki
• Juan Jacobo Fernández y Fernández
• Manuel Ruiz López
• Nicanor Ascanio de Soria
• Nicolás María Alberca Torres
• Pedro Soler Méndez
• Rufayil Masabki
They were cut to pieces on 9-10 July 1860 in Damascus, Syria.
Beatified on 10 October 1926 by Pope Pius XI.

Martyrs of Nicopolis – 45 saints: A group of 45 Christians tortured and martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Licinius. We know nothing else but six of their names – Anicetus, Anthony, Daniel, Leontius, Mauritius and Sisinno. c 329 in Nicopolis, Armenia (modern Koyulhisar, Turkey).

Martyrs of Nitria – 5 saints: Fathers of Nitria – Four monks and the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt who were martyred by heretics. Saint John Chrysostom wrote about them but their names have not come down to us. They were martyred in the 4th century in Nitria, Egypt.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 10 July – St Bianor and Silvanus of Pisidia

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Saint Bianor came from the Pisidia district of Asia Minor. As a confessor of Christianity they brought him to the prefect of the city of Isauria in Lykaonia, who demanded that Saint Bianor renounce Christ. The saint stood steadfast in the true Faith, in spite of the refined tortures applied to him. A man by the name of Silvanus beheld the suffering of the martyr. The endurance and bravery of Saint Bianor inspired Silvanus, and he openly declared his faith in Christ. They cut out his tongue and then cut off his head. Saint Bianor, after long torture, was also beheaded.

The date of the suffering of the holy Martyrs Bianor and Silvanus is not precisely known. It is presumed that they died in Pisidia under the Roman emperor Diocletian (284-305).

The theatre in Termessos, a Pisidian city.

A 15th-century map showing Pisidia

Posted in The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering –10 July – Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Augustine

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Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Augustine

O blessed Virgin Mary, who can worthily repay thee thy just dues of praise and thanksgiving, thou who by the wondrous assent of thy will didst rescue a fallen world? What songs of praise can our weak human nature recite in thy honor, since it is by thy intervention alone that it has found the way to restoration? Accept, then, such poor thanks as we have here to offer, though they be unequal to thy merits; and, receiving our vows, obtain by thy prayers the remission of our offenses.

Carry thou our prayers within the sanctuary of the heavenly audience, and bring forth from it the antidote of our reconciliation. May the sins we bring before Almighty God through thee, become pardonable through thee; may what we ask for with sure confidence, through thee be granted. Take our offering, grant us our requests, obtain pardon for what we fear, for thou art the sole hope of sinners. Through thee we hope for the remission of our sins, and in thee, O blessed Lady, is our hope of reward. Holy Mary, succour the miserable, help the fainthearted, comfort the sorrowful, pray for thy people, plead for the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God; may all who keep thy holy commemoration feel now thy help and protection. Be thou ever ready to assist us when we pray, and bring back to us the answers to our prayers. Make it thy continual care to pray for the people of God, thou who, blessed by God, didst merit to bear the Redeemer of the world, who liveth and reigneth, world without end. Amen..

(Indulgence of 3 years)

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 10 July – When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.

Posted on by AnaStpaul

When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.

– Prov 31:10-31

REFLECTION –  Forasmuch as each man is a part of the human race, and human nature is something social, and has for a great and natural good, the power also of friendship; on this account God willed to create all men out of one, in order that they might be held in their society not only by likeness of kind, but also by bond of kindred. Therefore the first natural bond of human society is man and wife. Nor did God create these each by himself, and join them together as alien by birth: but He created the one out of the other, setting a sign also of the power of the union in the side, whence she was drawn, was formed. For they are joined one to another side by side, who walk together, and look together whither they walk. Then follows the connection of fellowship in children, which is the one alone worthy fruit, not of the union of male and female, but of the sexual intercourse. For it were possible that there should exist in either sex, even without such intercourse, a certain friendly and true union of the one ruling, and the other obeying.

This we now say, that, according to this condition of being born and dying, which we know, and in which we have been created, the marriage of male and female is some good; the compact whereof divine Scripture so commends, as that neither is it allowed one put away by her husband to marry, so long as her husband lives: nor is it allowed one put away by his wife to marry another, unless she who have separated from him be dead.

Therefore, concerning the good of marriage, which the Lord also confirmed in the Gospel, not only in that He forbade to put away a wife, save because of fornication, but also in that He came by invitation to a marriage, there is good ground to inquire for what reason it be a good. And this seems not to me to be merely on account of the begetting of children, but also on account of the natural society itself in a difference of sex. Otherwise it would not any longer be called marriage in the case of old persons, especially if either they had lost sons, or had given birth to none. But now in good, although aged, marriage, albeit there has withered away the glow of full age between male and female, yet there lives in full vigor the order of charity between husband and wife: because, the better they are, the earlier they have begun by mutual consent to contain from sexual intercourse with each other: not that it should be matter of necessity afterwards not to have power to do what they would, but that it should be matter of praise to have been unwilling at the first, to do what they had power to do. If therefore there be kept good faith of honor, and of services mutually due from either sex, although the members of either be languishing and almost corpse-like, yet of souls duly joined together, the chastity continues, the purer by how much it is the more proved, the safer, by how much it is the calmer. Marriages have this good also, that carnal or youthful incontinence, although it be faulty, is brought unto an honest use in the begetting of children, in order that out of the evil of lust the marriage union may bring to pass some good. Next, in that the lust of the flesh is repressed, and rages in a way more modestly, being tempered by parental affection. For there is interposed a certain gravity of glowing pleasure, when in that wherein husband and wife cleave to one another, they have in mind that they be father and mother.

Of the Good of Marriage (St Augustine)

PRAYER – 

Dearest Lord,
teach me to be generous;
teach me to serve You as You deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to ask for reward
save that of knowing I am doing Your Will.

(St. Ignatius Loyola)

Posted in Holy Name PRAYERS

Quote/s of the Day – 10 July – Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord (Ps 112:1, 9)

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Quote/s of the Day – 10 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 112:1, 9, Ps 112:2, Prov 31:10-31, Ps 123:7-8, Matt 12:46-50

Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord. He establishes in her home the barren wife as the joyful mother of children.

Ps 112:1, 9

Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord. He establishes in her home the barren wife as the joyful mother of children.

Ps 112:1, 9

Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever.

Ps 112:2

My Jesus, mercy!

(300 days every time said)

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name
is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.
It is a source of joy and inspiration in our youth;
of strength in our manhood,
when only His Holy Name and His grace,
can enable us to overcome temptation;
of hope, consolation
and confidence at the hour of our death,
when more than ever before,
we realise, that the meaning of Jesus is
‘Lord, the Saviour.’
We should bow in reverence to His Name
and submission to His Holy Will.”

Bl Henry Suso (1290-1365)

“Was it not through the brilliance
and sweet savour of this Name,
that God called us into
His marvelous light?”

St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)

“If thou are bound down by sickness,
if sorrows weary thee,
if thou are trembling with fear,
invoke the name of Jesus.”

St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1456)

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 10 July – 10th Day – The Precious Blood on Calvary

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The Precious Blood – Short Meditations for July

By Rev. Richard F. Clarke

10th Day – The Precious Blood on Calvary

In old pictures and engravings of the crucifixion we often see angels holding a chalice to catch the drops of the Precious Blood as they fall from the sacred wounds in the hands and feet of Jesus. We are also told that the angels collected all the blood that Our Lord had shed during His Passion, that not a drop might be lost. How they must have counted each drop as a treasure of infinite value. What were all the treasures of the earth compared with these drops, instinct with the Godhead of Jesus! Pray that you may scorn all earthly things in comparison with the Precious Blood of Jesus.

The angels not only treasure up the Precious Blood, but they pay to each drop their supreme homage. So we kneel and adore the Precious Blood in the chalice upon the altar. In each drop Christ is present whole and undivided. Make an act of faith in this wondrous miracle, and pray that you may adore with a reverent homage like that of the angels present at the crucifixion.

As the three hours advance, the body of Jesus is more and more drained of the Precious Blood. Hence follows a thirst so agonising that it forced from the lips of Jesus the cry, ‘I thirst!’. When our lips are parched and dry in sickness or in the agony of death, may we remember Thee, O Lord, and Thy sacred thirst endured for us, and may we offer up our sufferings in union with Thy unspeakable and agonising thirst upon the cross!

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Our Lady of Chiquinquirá / La Chinita, Colombia and Memorials of the Saints – 9 July

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Virgen del Rosario / Our Lady of the Rosary (Chiquinquirá, Boyacá, Colombia) (1586) – 9 July, 26 December:

In the mid-16th century the Spanish painter Alonso de Narvaez created a portrait of the Virgin of the Rosary. He painted in pigments from the soil, herbs and flowers of the region of modern Colombia and his canvas was a rough 44 inch x 49 inch cloth woven by local Indians. The image of Mary is about a meter high. She has a small, sweet smile, both her face and the Divine Child’s are light coloured and she looks like she’s about to take a step. She wears a white toque, a rose-coloured robe and a sky blue cape. A Rosary hangs from the little finger of her left hand and she holds a sceptre in her right. She holds the Christ Child cradled in her left arm and looks toward Him. Christ has a little bird tied to His thumb and a small Rosary hangs from His left hand. To either side of Mary stand Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Andrew the Apostle, the personal Patrons of the colonist, Don Antonio de Santana and Monk, Andrés Jadraque, who commissioned the work.

In 1562 the portrait was placed in a rustic Chapel. It was exposed to the air, the roof leaked and soon the damage caused by the humidity and sun completely obscured the image. In 1577 the damaged painting was moved to Chiquinquirá, Colombia and stored in an unused room. In 1585 Maria Ramos, a pious woman from Seville, cleaned up the little Chapel and hung the faded canvas in it. Though the image was in terrible shape, she loved to sit and contemplate it.

On Friday 26 December 1586 the faded, damaged image was suddenly restored. It’s colours were bright, the canvas cleaner, the image clear and seemingly brand new. The healing of the image continued as small holes and tears in the canvas miraculously self-sealed. It still has traces of its former damage and the figures seem brighter and clearer from a distance than up close. For 300 years the painting hung unprotected and thousands of objects were touched against the frail cotton cloth by pilgrims. This rough treatment should have destroyed it but it healed and survives. In 1829, Pope Pius VII declared Our Lady of Chiquinquirá Patroness of Colombia and granted a special liturgy. In 1897 a thick glass plate was placed over it to shield the painting from the weather and the excess zeal of the faithful. The image was canonically crowned in 1919 and in 1927 her sanctuary declared a Basilica.

Patronages – Colombia, Venezuelan National Guard.

St Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr (Died + 1815) and his 119 companions or Martyrs of China (Died 1648–1930, Qing dynasty and Republic of China) (Optional Memorial): 25 priests, friars, nuns, seminarians and lay people. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries, from the mid-17th century to 1930, were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for their refusal to apostatise.
Many died in the Boxer Rebellion, in which xenophobic peasants slaughtered 30,000 Chinese converts to Christianity along with missionaries and other foreigners.

Blessed Adrian Fortescue TOSD (1476-1539) Martyr,. A husband and father, a Justice of the Peace, a Knight of the Realm, a Knight of Malta and a Dominican Tertiary (Lay Dominican), he was at once a loyal servant of the Crown so far as he could be but still more, he was a man of unshakeable faith.

St Agrippinus of Autun
St Alexander of Egypt
St Audax of Thora
St Brictius of Martola
St Copra of Egypt
St Cyril of Gortyna
Bl Dionysius the Rhetorician
St Everild of Everingham
St Faustina of Rome
St Felician of Sicily
Bl Fidelis Chojnacki
Blessed Giovanna Scopelli O.Carm (1428 – 1491) Virgin, Religious of the Carmelites. Incorrupt.
St Floriana of Rome
St Hérombert of Minden
St Joachim Ho
Bl Luigi Caburlotto
Bl Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher
Bl Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier

St Patermutius of Egypt
St Paulina do Coração Agonizante de Jesus

St Veronica/Ursula Giuliani OSC Cap. (1660-1727) Italian Capuchin Poor Clares nun, Abbot, Mystic, Stigmatist.

Four Holy Polish Brothers – 4 saints: Four brothers who became hermits, Benedictine monks and saints – Andrew, Barnabas, Benedict and Justus. They were born in Poland and died in 1008 of natural causes.

Martyrs of Gorkum – 19 saints: Nineteen martyrs killed by Calvinists for loyalty to the Pope and for their belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. They are –
• Adrianus van Hilvarenbeek • Andreas Wouters • Antonius van Hoornaar • Antonius van Weert • Cornelius van Wijk • Francisus de Roye • Godfried van Duynen • Godfried van Melveren • Hieronymus van Weert • Jacobus Lacops • Joannes Lenaerts • John of Cologne • Leonardus van Veghel • Nicasius Janssen van Heeze • Nicolaas Pieck • Nicolaas Poppel • Petrus van Assche • Theodorus van der Eem • Willehad van Deem •
They werehanged on 9 July 1572 in Brielle, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.
Beatified on 24 November 1675 by Pope Clement X and Canonised on 29 June 1867 by Pope Pius IX.

Martyrs of Orange – 32 beati: 32 nuns from several orders who spent up to 18 months in prison and were finally executed for refusing to renounce Christianity during the persecutions of the French Revolution.
• Anne Cartier • Anne-Andrée Minutte • Dorothée-Madeleine-Julie de Justamond • élisabeth Verchière • élisabeth-Thérèse de Consolin • Jeanne-Marie de Romillon • Madeleine-Françoise de Justamond • Madeleine-Thérèse Talieu • Marguerite-Eléonore de Justamond • Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher • Marguerite-Rose de Gordon • Marguerite-Thérèse Charensol • Marie Cluse • Marie-Anastasie de Roquard • Marie-Anne Béguin-Royal • Marie-Anne Depeyre • Marie-Anne Doux • Marie-Anne Lambert • Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier • Marie-Claire du Bac • Marie-Clotilde Blanc • Marie-Elisabeth Pélissier • Marie-Gabrielle-Françoise-Suzanne de Gaillard de Lavaldène • Marie-Gertrude de Ripert d’Alauzier • Marie-Marguerite Bonnet • Marie-Marguerite de Barbégie d’Albrède • Marie-Rose Laye • Rosalie-Clotilde Bes • Suzanne-Agathe Deloye • Sylvie-Agnès de Romillon • Thérèse-Henriette Faurie
They were guillotined between 6 July and 26 July 1794 at Orange, Vaucluse, France.
Beatified on 10 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI.

Martyrs of the Baths – 10,204 saints: A group of Christians enslaved by Diocletian to build the gigantic baths in imperial Rome, Italy. The end of their labours coincided with the beginning of the great persecutions of Diocletian and they were all executed. Ancient records indicated there were 10,204 of them; Zeno of Rome is the only one whose name has come down to us and we know nothing else about any of their individual lives.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 9 July – Sts Victoria, Anatolia and Audax 

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‘In the town of Thora, on lake Velino, in Italy, the martyrdom of
the Saints Anatolia and Audax, under the emperor Decius. Anatolia, a virgin consecrated to Christ, cured, through the whole province of Picenum, many persons laboring under various infirmities, and made them believe in Christ. By order of the judge Fustinian, she was condemned to various
kinds of punishments. She was cured of the sting of a serpent to which she had been exposed; a miracle which converted Audax to the faith. Finally
she was transpierced with a sword, whilst her hands were extended in prayer. Audax was committed to prison, and being without delay sentenced
to capital punishment, obtained the crown of a martyr.’

(The Roman Martyrology)

In the time of the Emperor Decius, Anatolia and Victoria were sisters whose marriage was arranged to two noble, non-Christian Roman men. They resisted this. Their prospective grooms were reluctant to denounce them as Christians as that would mean that the women’s possessions would be forfeited to the state, so instead they received permission to imprison the women on their estates and convince them to renounce their faith. Anatolia’s suitor, Titus Aurelius, gave up, and gave her back to the authorities. Victoria’s suitor, Eugenius, was more persistent, but also ended up returning her to the authorities.

Victoria’s legend states that she was stabbed through the heart in 250 AD at Trebula Mutuesca after chasing away a dragon terrorizing the residents in exchange for their conversion. An elaboration states that her murderer was immediately struck with leprosy, and died six days later. Anatolia was killed, also in 250 AD, at Thora. Her legend states that she was at first locked up with a poisonous snake. The snake refused to bite her, and a soldier named Audax was sent into her cell to kill her. The snake attacked him instead, but Anatolia saved him from it. Impressed by her example, he converted to Christianity and was martyred by the sword with her.

Due to the translation of their relics, their cult spread across Italy. Some relics of Saint Victoria were transferred in 827 by Abbot Peter of Farfa from the Abbey to Mount Matenano in the Picene area because the Abbey was besieged by Saracens. The town of Santa Vittoria in Matenano is named after her. Ratfredus, a later Abbot of Farfa, brought the body from Farfa to Santa Vittoria in Matenano on 20 June 931.

The bodies of Anatolia and Audax were transferred by Abbot Leo to Subiaco around 950. At an unknown date, a scapula of Anatolia was translated to the present-day Sant’Anatolia di Borgorose and an arm of the saint was translated to the present-day Esanatoglia. The bodies of Anatolia and Audax still rest at Subiaco in the basilica of Santa Scholastica, under the altar of the sacrament.

St Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny, Ireland also claims to hold St Victoria’s body, preserved in wax, along with a chalice containing some of her blood. These were sent to Kilkenny in 1845 by Pope Gregory XVI.

The Abbey of Farfa

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 9 July – Daily Offering to the Father

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Our Morning Offering – 9 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”

Daily Offering to the Father
Attri To St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)

Eternal Father,
I offer Thee the most precious blood
of Thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
for those in my own home,
and in my family.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 9 July – ‘Consider the times.’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

I will go round, and offer in His tent, sacrifices with shouts of gladness; I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.

Ps. 26:6

REFLECTION – “I urge you, by the grace in which you are clothed, to press on in your race and urge everyone to be saved. Assert your office with all the diligence of flesh and spirit. Give your attention to unity, for there is nothing better. Carry your brethren as the Lord also carries you. Patiently, bear with them all in love, as indeed you do bear with them. Devote yourself to unceasing prayer. Ask for greater understanding than you have. Be watchful, possessing a wakeful spirit. Speak to each one individually, concerning God’s way. “Bear the infirmities” (cf Mt 8,17) of each as a perfect athlete. Where there is more toil, there is greater gain. If you only love the good disciples, this wins you no advantage. Rather, subdue by meekness the more annoying. Not every wound is cured by the same salve. Ease sharp pains with a hot compress. In everything “be wise as serpents” and always “harmless as doves”. You who are of flesh and spirit, humour those things visibly present before you but pray, too, that what is invisible may be manifested to you, so that you may lack nothing and may abound in every spiritual gift.

As pilots invoke the winds and tempest-tossed mariners call for haven, this season invites you to return to God. Be temperate, as God’s athlete. The prize is incorruption and life eternal… It is the part of a great athlete to suffer blows and to conquer. It is above all for God’s sake we ought to endure all things, that He too, may endure us. Become more zealous than you are already. Consider the times. Look for Him Who is above all times, Who is timeless, invisible but made visible for our sakes – He Who, beyond the touch of our hands, beyond suffering, yet knew the Passion for our sakes and endured every suffering.” – St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108) Father of the Church, Martyr, Bishop – Letter to St Polycarp (69-155) Bishop and Martyr), 1-3 ; SC 10

PRAYER – Mercifully hear our humble prayers, O Lord, and graciously accept these offerings of Your people, and grant that no prayer may be without effect, no petition in vain, so that what we ask in faith, we may really obtain.
Through our Lord…

Posted in The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR

Quote/s of the Day – 9July – The Lord is the strength of His people, the saving refuge of His anointed

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Quote/s of the Day – 9July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps. 27:8-9., Ps 27:1, Rom 6:3-11, Ps. 89:13, 1, Ps. 30:2-3, Mark 8:1-9

The Lord is the strength of His people, the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance; and rule them forever!

Ps. 27:8-9

We, therefore, both know and confess that God is without beginning, without end, eternal and everlasting, uncreate, unchangeable, invariable, simple, uncompound, incorporeal, invisible, impalpable, uncircumscribed, infinite, incognisable, indefinable, incomprehensible, good, just, maker of all things created, almighty, all-ruling, all-surveying, of all overseer, sovereign, judge; and that God is One, that is to say, one essence ; and that He is known , and has His being in three subsistences, in Father, I say, and Son and Holy Ghost…

An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book I) (St John of Damascus)

Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on Your servants!
℣. O Lord, You have been our refuge through all generations.

Ps. 89:13, 1

“Wake up then, believer
and note what is stated here:
“In My Name.”
That [Name] is Christ Jesus.
Christ signifies King, Jesus signifies Saviour.
Therefore, whatever we ask for
that would hinder our salvation,
we do not ask in our Saviour’s Name
and yet, He is our Saviour,
not only when He does what we ask
but also, when He does not.
When He sees us ask anything
to the disadvantage of our salvation,
He shows Himself our Saviour by not doing it.
The physician knows
whether what the sick person asks for,
is to the advantage or disadvantage of his health.
And [the physician] does not allow
what would be harmful to him,
although the sick person himself, desires it.
But the physician looks to his final cure.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace of the Church

“Our Lord Jesus Christ
Has appeared to us from the bosom of the Father.
He has come and drawn us out of the shadows
And enlightened us with His joyful Light.

Day has dawned for humankind,
Cast out the power of darkness.
For us, a Light from His Light has arisen
That has enlightened our darkened eyes.

Over the world He has made His glory arise
And has lit up the deepest depths.
Death is no more, darkness has ended,
The gates of hell are shattered.

He has illumined every creature,
All the shades from times long past.
He has brought about salvation and given us Life;
Next He will come in glory.

Our King is coming in His great glory:
Let us light our lamps
and go out to meet Him (Mt 25,6);
Let us be glad in Him, as He has been glad in us
And gives us gladness, with His glorious Light.

My friends, arise! make yourselves ready
To give thanks to our Saviour King,
Who will come in His glory and make us joyful
With His joyous Light in the Kingdom.”

St Ephrem (306-373)
Father of the Church
(Hymn I on the Resurrection)

For, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. By reason of the agitation and confusion of all these, the Lord of the universe cries in the Gospel, saying, Take heed that you be not deceived; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and the time draws near: go not therefore after them. But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet by and by. Let us observe the word of the Saviour, how He always admonished us with a view to our security: Take heed that you be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ.

On the End of the World (St Hippolytus)

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 9 July – I have compassion on the multitude … Mark 8:1-9

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“I have compassion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with Me three days and have nothing to eat.” – Mark 8:2

REFLECTION – “ In this account of the miracle we must consider, in one and the same Redeemer, the separate operation of His Divinity and of His Humanity. And the error of Eutyches, who dared to teach that in Christ there is but one operation, must be wholly driven out from Christian lands. Who cannot see that the Lord, in having compassion on the multitude, lest they faint from want of food or from the weariness of the long journey home, was moved by the compassion of human pity but that, feeding four thousand people from seven loaves and a few fish, is a work of Divine Power?

“And they collected seven baskets full of fragments.” That multitude who had just eaten and been fille, did not carry away with them the remains of the loaves but left them to be gathered into baskets by the disciples, as before. And taken literally, this event teaches us to be content with what is necessary and never to look for anything more than that. Then the Evangelist makes known to us the number of those who were satisfied – “Now those who ate were about four thousand and He dismissed them” Here, let us consider that our Lord Jesus Christ does not wish to send anyone away hungry, since to the contrary, He wants to give to everyone the nourishment of His grace.

In a figurative sense, there is this difference between this second miracle and the first multiplication of the five loaves and two fish – the first prefigures the letter of the Old Testament, which was as though full of the spiritual grace of the New, whereas the second, represents the truth and grace of the New Testament fully communicated to the faithful. The multitude who, according to Saint Matthew’s testimony, wait three days for the healing of their sick (Mt 15), represent the elect in the faith of the Holy Trinity, who beg for the forgiveness of their sins, with persevering prayer, or those who are converted to the Lord, through their thoughts, words and deeds.” – St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Monk, Father and Doctor of the Church (Homilies on Mark, Book II, ch8 cf PL 92 – quoted by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the Catena Aurea Vol 4)

PRAYER – O God of the heavenly powers, creator of all good things, implant in our hearts the love of Thy Name and bestow upon us, an increase of godliness, fostering what is good and, by Thy loving care, guarding what Thou hast fostered. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

One Minute Reflection – 9 July – The Precious Blood in its Earthly Origin

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The Precious Blood – Short Meditations for July

By Rev. Richard F. Clarke

9th Day – The Precious Blood in its Earthly Origin

A child in its mother’s womb lives with the physical life of its mother. It is nourished by its mother, and her blood circulates in its veins. The Precious Blood of Jesus flowing through His veins was derived from Mary. She furnished from her immaculate body the Precious Blood that Jesus shed for us. How close must have been the union of Jesus and Mary! Can we wonder at her surpassing holiness when she not only carried her God within her womb, but furnished the very body with which His humanity clothed itself?

We also find in this thought a fresh proof of Mary’s unblemished purity. It is repugnant to our reverence for the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity to imagine Him dwelling in a womb that had ever been defiled by sin, and much more to suppose that the Precious Blood which flowed in His veins and was the price of our redemption did not come from a source as pure as God could make it. Make an act of faith in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and thank God for that privilege conferred on her.

We must also remember that Jesus’ was wholly Mary’s. It was not as in the case of other children who have an earthly father. The body of Jesus was formed in Mary’s womb by the operation of the Holy Ghost, and naturally Jesus was altogether hers. In heaven, the body that Jesus wears is still derived from Mary, and their union is now closer than ever. In holy Communion Jesus is altogether ours. Do we conform ourselves to Him as Mary did?

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Nostra Signora della Neve, Adro, Italy/ Our Lady of the Snow, Adro, Brescia, Italy (1519) and Memorials of the Saints – 8 July

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Nostra Signora della Neve, Adro, Italy/ Our Lady of the Snow, Adro, Brescia, Italy (1519) – 8 July, 5 August:

Adro is a Town in the Province of Brescia, in the Lombardy region, northern Italy. The Sanctuary emerged after the appearance of the Madonna in this place. to Battista Bajoni Comino, the deaf-mute who was visited by the Holy Mother on 8 July 1519. The Virgin appeared saying she was the Mother of God and sent a message to the people of Adro. Our Lady’s message contained a reference to a Christian life, repentance for sins and conversion and reparation and the construction of a Sanctuary in her honour. The built the Church at the place of vision, and began to amend their lives. They practised devotion on Sundays and Holy Days, stopped blaspheming the Holy Name and refrained from other evil habits, for Our Lady had also said that if they did not repent they could expect a serious penalty. Mary said – “And if they wonder how it is that you speak, tell them that you have been with the Advocate of Sinners. Everyone knows you were dumb. Now take this stone with you and show it to them as it will change colour from time to time. “

The central Feast of Our Lady of the Snows is celebrated on 5 August
Immediately after the miracle, it was called “Madonna della Cava,” the place where the Virgin had appeared to the Shepherd and the feast was celebrated on 8 July the anniversary of the vision. Later, however, Church officials transferred the Feast to 5 August, the day the dedication of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, also known as “Santa Maria de las Nieves,” built by Pope Liberius commemorates after Miracle of snow (that happened in Rome). It was then that this temple took the name of “Our Lady of the Snows.”
In pilgrimage season (April to October) groups of pilgrims arriving from neighbouring provinces, especially from Brescia, Bergamo, Como, Varese, Milan, Cremona, Mantua and Verona. Sunday is preferred by families. All opportunities for spiritual growth are offered through preaching and the Sacraments.

Such is the fascination of the Virgin on the pilgrims who will then return again.
It is a ceremony in which you have to enter the crypt “to see the Madonna”.

The miracle of the deaf-mute who began to hear and speak gave rise to a small Shrine. It remains alongside the current main Altar. It was visited by Saint Charles Borromeo in 1581. Being too small for the influx of pilgrims,the Church was demolished in 1750 and enlarged. It was built on a design by architect Gaspare Turbini and opened in 1776.

The Carmelites of St Teresa, built a Monastery nearby. The current statue is gilded wood sculptor. Next to the Shrine a discreet and well-shaded park with tables and benches offers a welcome drink to pilgrims.

St Abraham the Martyr
Bl Adolf IV of Schauenburg
St Pope Adrian III
St Ampelius of Milan
St Apollonius of Benevento

Sts Aquila & Priscilla – the Tentmakers, Collaborators of Saint Paul.

St Arnold
St Auspicius of Toul
St Auspicius of Trier
Brogan of Mothil
St Colman of Thuringia
St Doucelin
St Edgar the Peaceful
Blessed Pope Eugene III O.Cist (c 1080-1153) Papal Ascension – 15 February 1145 until his death. The 167th Pope.

Blessed Giulio of Montevergine (Died 1601) Hermit, Penitent

St Elizabeth of Portugal

St Glyceria of Heraclea
St Grimbald
St Ioannes Wu Wenyin
St Ithier of Nevers


St Killian (c 640-689) Martyr, Bishop, Missionary, “Apostle of Franconia”(nowadays the northern part of Bavaria).

St Landrada
Bl Mancius Araki Kyuzaburo
St Morwenna
St Pancras of Taormina
Bl Peter the Hermit

Blessed Peter Vigne (1670-1740) Missionary Priest, Apostle of the Holy Eucharist, of Charity, of Mary, Catechist, tireless missionary and teacher and Founder of the Religious of the Blessed Sacrament

St Procopius of Ceasarea
St Sunniva of Bergen
St Thibaud de Marly
St Totnan of Thuringia
—
Abrahamite Monks/Martyrs of Constantinople: A group of monks in a monastery founded by Saint Abraham of Ephesus. Martyred in the iconoclast persecutions of emperor Theophilus. In c 835 in Constantinople.
Martyrs of Shanxi – 7 saints: In 1898 seven sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary were sent to the Shanxi diocese in China to serve the poor in hospitals and care for the unwanted or other destitutes in orphanages. They were –
• Anne-Catherine Dierks
• Anne-Francoise Moreau
• Clelia Nanetti
• Irma Grivot
• Jeanne-Marie Kuergin
• Marianna Giuliani
• Pauline Jeuris
There they all died in one of the periodic crackdowns against foreign missionaries. They were beheaded on 9 July 1900 at Taiyuanfu, China- Beatified on 24 November 1946 by Pope Pius XII.

Martyrs of Syrmium – 5 saints: Five Christians martyred together for their faith. We know nothing else about them but the names – Cecilia, Eperentius, Eraclius, Sostratus and Spirus. They were martyred in the 4th century in Syrmium, Pannonia (modern Serbia).

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 8 July – St Pope Adrian III

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Pope Adrian III or Hadrian III was the bishop of Rome and leader of the Papal States from 17 May 884 to his death on 8 July 885. He served for little more than a year, during which he worked to help the people of Italy in a very troubled time of famine and war. Adrian III was the 109th pope and was born within the Papal States. During his brief reign of sixteen months, violent vendettas that arose from the assassination of John VIII continued. He laboured hard to alleviate the misery of the people of Italy, prey to famine and to continuous war. He is also known to have written a letter condemning the Christians of both Muslim-ruled and Christian-ruled parts of Spain for being too friendly with the Jews in these lands. Adrian also sent Theodosius, the bishop of Brindisi and Oria, to Constantinople to deliver a synodal letter about faith and the filioque to patriarch Photius I.

Adrian died in July 885 at San Cesario sul Panaro, not long after embarking on a trip to Worms, in the Rhineland. The purpose of the journey was to attend an Imperial Diet after being summoned by Emperor Charles the Fat to settle the imperial succession and discuss the rising power of the Saracens. His death under dubious circumstances led many to believe that he had been assassinated.

Adrian’s death and subsequent burial in the church of San Silvestro Nonantola Abbey near Modena is commemorated in the sculpted reliefs that frame the doorway of this church. His relics are found near the high altar, and his tomb at once became a popular place of pilgrimage. His cult was confirmed by Pope Leo XIII on 2 June 1891, and his feast day is celebrated on 8 July.

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Our Morning Offering – 8 July – Indulgenced Act of Oblation to Our Father By Pope Pius VII

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Our Morning Offering – 8 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”

By the Merit of the
Precious Blood of Jesus
By Servant of God Pope Pius VII (1742-1823)
Papacy from 1800 to 1823
Indulgenced Act of Oblation to Our Father

Eternal Father!
I offer Thee the merit
of the Precious Blood of Jesus,
Thy well-beloved Son,
my Saviour and my God,
for all my wants,
spiritual and temporal,
in aid of the Holy Souls in Purgatory
and chiefly for those
who most loved this Precious Blood,
the price of our redemption
and who were most devout
to the sorrows and pains
of most Holy Mary,
our dear Mother.

Glory be to the Blood of Jesus,
now and forever
and throughout all ages.
Amen.

Indulgence of 300 days, each time this prayed is offered, with a Plenary Indulgence, once a month,
under the usual conditions.

Note of Interest: On 15 August 1811 – the Feast of the Assumption – it is recorded that the Pope celebrated Mass and was said to have entered a trance and began to levitate in a manner that drew him to the Altar. This particular episode aroused great wonder and awe among attendants, which included the French soldiers guarding him, who were awestruck at what had occurred and left records of it.

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 8 July – Pierce my flesh with Your fear; I fear Your ordinances.

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One Minute Reflection – 8 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – St Elizabeth Queen of Portugal

I know, O Lord, that Your ordinances are just, and in Your faithfulness You have afflicted me. Pierce my flesh with Your fear; I fear Your ordinances. (Alleluja, alleluja.)

–Ps 118:75; 118:120

REFLECTION – Since, then, the blessed prophets have been eyes to us, setting forth for our behoof the clear declaration of things secret, both through life, and through declaration, and through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and discoursing, too, of things not yet come to pass, in this way also to all generations they have pictured forth the grandest subjects for contemplation and for action. Thus, too, they preached of the advent of God in the flesh to the world.

Hence, too, they indicated the day of the consummation to us, and signified beforehand the day of the apostate that is to appear and deceive men at the last times, and the beginning and end of his kingdom, and the advent of the Judge, and the life of the righteous, and the punishment of the sinners, in order that we all, bearing these things in mind day by day and hour by hour, as children of the Church, might know that not one jot nor one tittle of these things shall fail, as the Saviour’s own word announced. Let all of you, then, of necessity, open the eyes of your hearts and the ears of your soul, and receive the word which we are about to speak.

Let us bring forward Isaiah as our first witness, inasmuch as he instructs us in the times of the consummation. What, then, does he say? Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence: the daughter of Zion shall be left as a cottage in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. You see, beloved, the prophet’s illumination, whereby he announced that time so many generations before. For it is not of the Jews that he spoke this word of old, nor of the city of Zion, but of the Church. For all the prophets have declared Zion to be the bride brought from the nations.

–On the End of the World (Blessed Hippolytus, bishop and martyr)

PRAYER – Most merciful God, Who among other admirable gifts, endowed blessed Queen Elizabeth with the special grace of calming the tumult of war; grant by her intercession that, after the peace for which we humbly pray, we may attain everlasting happiness.
Through our Lord…

Posted in QUOTES on ANGELS

Quote/s of the Day – 8 July – The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure … Matthew 13:44

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Quote/s of the Day – 8 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 118:75; 118:120, Ps 118:1, Prov 31:10-31, Ps 44:3; 44:5, Ps 44.5, Matt 13:44-52.

‘So will it be at the end of the world. 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

“The Kingdom of Heaven
is like a treasure hidden in a field;
he who finds it, hides it
and in his joy,
goes and sells all that he has
and buys that field.”

Matthew 13:44

“For where your treasure is,
there also will your heart be.”

Luke 12:34

“We have had Your treasure
hidden within us,
ever since we received baptismal grace,
it grows ever richer
at Your sacramental table.”

St Ephrem (306-373)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Let your door stand open
to receive Him,
unlock your soul to Him,
offer Him a welcome in your mind
and then you will see
the riches of simplicity,
the treasures of peace,
the joy of grace.
Throw wide the gate of your heart,
stand before the Sun
of the everlasting Light.”

St Ambrose (c 340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“ He who finds Jesus, finds a rare treasure,
indeed, a good above every good,
whereas he who loses Him,
loses more than the whole world.
The man who lives without Jesus,
is the poorest of the poor,
whereas no-one is so rich,
as the man who lives in His grace.
… Let all things be loved, for the sake of Jesus
but Jesus, for His own sake.”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,
for your Father is pleased
to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms.
Provide money bags for yourselves
that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”

St John Leonardi (1541-1609)

“You leave the land just as it is
when you depart,
you do not carry anything away.
Our first aim
is to go to God,
we are not on earth
for anything but this!”

St John Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859)

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 8 July – 8th Day – Types of the Precious Blood: (5) The Holocaust

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The Precious Blood – Short Meditations for July

By Rev. Richard F. Clarke

8th Day – Types of the Precious Blood: (5) The Holocaust

The holocaust, or whole burnt offering, could be an ox or sheep, or pigeon, or turtle-dove, according to the abilities of him who offered it. Its blood was to be shed, and the whole body was afterwards to be burnt upon the altar. So Christ offered Himself a holocaust to God, there was no part of His human nature that was not sacrificed for the sins of men. All the faculties of His soul, every thought and wish and inclination, every nerve and fibre in His body, all were offered to God and consecrated to Him. Try and realise the extent of this sacrifice.

In this offering Christ left us an example. If we are really to tread in His footsteps, a partial offering is not enough. As long as keep anything for ourselves and deny it to God, there is rapine in our holocaust, that is, we keep back part of what we profess to sacrifice entirely to God, and such an offering cannot be acceptable. Is there anything which I consciously still keep back from God?

First of all, the blood of the sacrifice was to be shed, and the blood, as we read in Holy Scripture, signifies the life. We must therefore dedicate our lives to God before we can belong wholly to Him. Hence the virtue of religious vows. If we are not called to these, at least we are called to make the service of God the end and aim of our daily life. Is this the character of my life?

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN TITLES

Onze Zoeten Dame van Den Bosch, Arras / Our Lady of Arras, Netherlands (1380) and Memorials of the Saints – 7 July

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Onze Zoeten Dame van Den Bosch , Arras / Our Lady of Arras, Netherlands (1380) – 7 July:

The image known as the “Kind Mother” at Sint Hertogenbosch, or “Our Sweet Lady” of Den Bosch, as she is also known in the north Brabant Province of the Netherlands, was an object of derision when it was first heard of in 1380. It had been found dirty and damaged in a builder’s junk-yard, but it soon became celebrated for the wonders connected with it. It was in 1380, when Saint John’s Cathedral was being renovated, that the Statue was found. An apprentice stone mason, was looking for wood for his fire when he uncovered a scruffy wooden Statue in the rubble. The Statue was in such poor condition, that he didn’t recognise it as the Mother of God. The mason in charge somehow recognised Her, even without the Infant Jesus in her arms.

The Statue was placed on the Altar of Saint Martin, in the Cathedral,but the faithful did not like it and were upset that such a dilapidated Statue was exposed for veneration. It wasn’t long before one of the Priests attempted to remove the Statue but found that it had become so heavy, that he could not move it.

It was soon noted, though, that any who spoke disapprovingly of the Statue became weak, fainted, or had nightmares. One woman mocked the Statue, and became partially paralysed. That night, she had a vision of Our Lord, who ordered her to repair the Statue and honour it. The next day she was able to drag herself to the Cathedral to begin the work. At the end of each day, she was able to walk a little more.

It was an entire year later when a Brother Wout found the missing image of the Infant Jesus that belonged to the Statue. Local children were using if for a toy but now the Statue was reunited and complete. There were still some who ridiculed the Statue but now they fainted on the spot. Many experienced strange pains, headaches,and even indigestion. On the other hand, those who prayed before the Statue received a cure of their illnesses and otherwise were greatly favoured. Due to the presence of the Statue, the Church became a place of pilgrimage. Emperor Maximilian, Holy Roman Emperor, and King Fernando of Castile were among the notables who visited the miraculous Statue.

The Statue of Our Sweet Lady is of oak and is nearly four feet tall and is of an unusual pattern – Our Lady stands upright, while her forearms are extended at right angles to her body. The Child is balanced on her left hand and in her right she holds an apple.

The dedication of the new Church of Our Lady of Arras occurred in the year 1484 by Bishop Peter de Ranchicourt, who was Bishop of that City. The first Church which had been built at the site had been constructed by Saint Vaast, who had been the Bishop of Arras, in the year 542, using the liberal donations of the first Kings of France.

The desolation caused by the Calvinists began in 1566 and many Churches were plundered. The Kind Mother was hidden and saved from the destruction. Years later, when the City was seized by the Spanish, two Carmelites took the Statue to Bishop Ophovius, who gave it to one of the women of the parish to safeguard.

Eventually it was feared that the Statue of the Kind Lady would not be safe if it stayed were it was and so, it was decided to take the Statue to Brussels for safety. The Statue had to be hidden and was placed in a chest and smuggled through the Town gates. It was then taken to St Geradus’ Church in Belgium before being taken to Koudenberg Church in Brussels.

It wasn’t until the year 1810 when the Cathedral at Den Bosch was returned to the Catholics by Napoleon. Then, it took the prolonged efforts of Bishop J. Zwijsen, the Bishop of Hertogenbosh, to have the beloved Statue of Our Sweet Lady returned to his Cathedral in 1878. It was Crowned by the grateful Bishop in the name of Pope Leo XIII that same year and the Feast is 7 July with proper Mass and Office in certain places.

INTERESTING NOTE: Around 7% of the men in the Netherlands are called Maria. Yes, over 1/20 of Dutch men are named after the Virgin Mary. In 1954, a Marian Year, 17% of Dutch men where named after the Blessed Virgin. Incidentally, most of those men named Mary live in or around Den Bosch, and Mary is one of the Patron Saints of this beautiful City.

Saint Cyril (827-869)
Saint Methodius (826-885)
“Apostles to the Slavs,” Sibling Brother Bishops, Confessors, Theologians, Missionaries, Writers, Preachers, Patrons of Europe. Creators of the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic and Cyrillic Alphabet, which was developed from it.
Their Feast Day is 7 July (moved in 1969).
The great Saints Cyril & Methodius: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/14/saints-of-the-day-14-february-sts-cyril-827-869-methodius-826-885/

St Alexander
St Angelelmus of Auxerre
St Antonino Fantosati
St Apollonius of Brescia

Blessed Pope Benedict XI OP (1240-1303) Cardinal-Priest of St Sabina, Bishop of Ostia then of Rome, Dominican Friar, Prior Provincial of Lombardy prior to becoming the Master of the Order in 1296, Apostolic Papal Legate to Hungary and France, Teacher, Preacher, Writer and renowned Scholar with special emphasis on Biblical commentary. His Papacy began on 22 Ocober 1303 and ended at his death on 7 July 1304.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/07/saint-of-the-day-7-july-blessed-pope-benedict-xi-1240-1303/

Bl Bodard of Poitiers
St Bonitus of Monte Cassino
St Carissima of Rauzeille
St Eoaldus of Vienne
St Ethelburga of Faremoutier
Bl Francisco Polvorinos Gómez
St Hedda of Wessex
Bl Joseph Juge de Saint-Martin
Bl Juan Antonio Pérez Mayo
Bl Juan Pedro del Cotillo Fernández
Bl Justo González Lorente
St Maelruan
Bl Manuel Gutiérrez Martín
St Marcus Ji Tianxiang
Bl María del Consuelo Ramiñán Carracedo

Bl Marie-Gabrielle-Françoise-Suzanne de Gaillard de Lavaldène
St Medran
St Merryn
Bl Oddino Barrotti
St Odo of Urgell
St Odran
St Palladius of Ireland
St Pantaenus of Alexandria

St Pantænus (Died c 216) Father of the Church, Theologian, Philosopher, Teacher, Confessor and Defender of the Faith, Writer and interpreter of the Bible, the Trinity and Christology, |Missionary. Convert ofthe disciples of the Apostles. Head of the Alexandrian School of Learning – a famous pupil was St Clement of Alexandria.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/07/saint-of-the-day-7-july-st-pantaenus-father-of-the-church-died-c-216/

Bl Pascual Aláez Medina

Blessed Peter To Rot (1912-1945) Martyr, Layman, Catechist and Defender of the Faith, Defender of the Sacrament of Marriage – (died c 1912 in Rakunai, East New Britain (part of modern Papua New Guinea) .
About Bl Peter:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/07/07/saint-of-the-day-7-july-blessed-peter-to-rot/

St Prosper of Aquitaine
St Syrus of Genoa
St Willibald of Eichstätt (c.700 – 787) Bishop, Prince, Missionary
—
Martyrs of Durres – 7 saints: Also known as – Martyrs of Dyrrachium/ Martyrs of Durazzo. A group of seven Italian Christians who fled Italy to escape the persecutions of emperor Hadrian. Arrived in Dyrrachium, Macedonia to find Saint Astius tied to a cross, covered in honey, laid in the sun and left to be tortured by biting and stinging insects. When they expressed sympathy for Astius, they were accused of being Christians, arrested, chained, weighted down, taken off shore and drowned. We know little more about each of them than their names – Germaus, Hesychius, Lucian, Papius, Peregrinus, Pompeius and Saturninus. They were born in Italy and were martyred at sea c117 off the coast of Dyrrachium (Durazzo), Macedonia (modern Durres, Albania).

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 7 July – St Angelelmus of Auxerre, St Maelruain of Tallaght

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St Angelelmus of Auxerre

St Angelelmus (Angelelme, Angelaume, died 828) was bishop of Auxerre from 813 to 828. He was Bavarian, and became abbot of the monastery of SS Gervais and Protase, Auxerre. Angelelmus may have been a Benedictine.

St. Maelruain of Tallaght

St Maelruain is venerated as the founder and first abbot of Tallaght Monastery in County Dublin in Ireland, as well as the compiler of the martyrology of the same name. He is considered to be one of the leading figures in the Irish monastic movement known as the Culdees (‘Companions of God’) which flourished in Ireland and Scotland from the eighth to the twelfth centuries.

“Maelruain” (not to be confused with the later namesake Máel Ruain, bishop of Lusca) is not the baptismal name of the saint, rather, it was his monastic name. The form “Maelruain” consists of two parts: “mael” meaning “he who was tonsured”, and “ruain” which refers to the saint with the name Ruadan. From this it can be concluded that St. Maelruain was trained in the monastery founded by St. Ruadan, in Lothra in County Tipperary. The Martyrology of Tallaght (below) says that Maelruain “came here with the relics of holy martyrs and virgins”, to establish a monastery there. The foundation was dedicated to ‘God and St Michael’, and held the Virgin Mary and St Michael in special veneration. The monastery was later joined with Finglas in the reform movement as ‘the two eyes of Ireland’.

By the eighth century Irish monasteries had become lax, and Maelruain’s reform was necessarily severe. It put emphasis on preserving the enclosure and there was a strong ascetical component, focused spiritual direction, frequent confession, as well as long fasts and harsh penances, such as standing in cold water for long periods to control the flesh. With Aengus his disciple, Maelruain is regarded as joint author of The Rule of the Céilí Dé which contains a detailed series of rules for the regulation of the lives of the Companions.

Little is known of his early life. The Annals of Ulster report that in the year 792 Máel Ruain died a peaceful death, calling him a bishop and soldier of Christ.

These are two lines from a poem in the Leabhar Breac. They say of Maelruan:

“Maelruan ran to heaven

Splendid son of the Isle of the Gael.”

Posted in The HOLY FAMILY

Our Morning Offering – 7 July – Constant Prayer to the Precious Blood of Jesus

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Our Morning Offering – 7 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”

Constant Prayer
to the Precious Blood of Jesus
By St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Precious Blood,
Ocean of Divine Mercy,
Flow upon us!
Precious Blood,
most pure Offering,
Procure us every grace!
Precious Blood,
Hope and Refuge of sinners,
Atone for us!
Precious Blood,
Delight of holy souls,
Draw us!
Amen

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

One Minute Reflection – 7 July – I send you forth

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Whatever town you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you, and cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ – Luke 10:1-9

REFLECTION – What advantage, pray, could be greater than to be seen doing those things which Christ with his own lips declared to be proofs of love to Himself? For addressing the leader of the apostles He said, Peter, do you love me? and when he confessed that he did, the Lord added, if you love me tend my sheep. The Master asked the disciple if He was loved by him, not in order to get information (how should He who penetrates the hearts of all men?), but in order to teach us how great an interest He takes in the superintendence of these sheep. This being plain, it will likewise be manifest that a great and unspeakable reward will be reserved for him whose labors are concerned with these sheep, upon which Christ places such a high value. For when we see any one bestowing care upon members of our household, or upon our flocks, we count his zeal for them as a sign of love towards ourselves: yet all these things are to be bought for money:— with how great a gift then will He requite those who tend the flock which He purchased, not with money, nor anything of that kind, but by His own death, giving his own blood as the price of the herd.

Wherefore when the disciple said, You know Lord that I love You, and invoked the beloved one Himself as a witness of his love, the Saviour did not stop there, but added that which was the token of love. For He did not at that time wish to show how much Peter loved Him, but how much He Himself loved His own Church, and he desired to teach Peter and all of us that we also should bestow much zeal upon the same. For why did God not spare His only-begotten Son, but delivered Him up, although the only one He had? It was that He might reconcile to Himself those who were disposed towards Him as enemies, and make them His peculiar people. For what purpose did He shed His blood? It was that He might win these sheep which He entrusted to Peter and his successors. Naturally then did Christ say, Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord shall make ruler over His household. Again, the words are those of one who is in doubt, yet the speaker did not utter them in doubt, but just as He asked Peter whether he loved Him, not from any need to learn the affection of the disciple, but from a desire to show the exceeding depth of his own love: so now also when He says, Who then is the faithful and wise servant? he speaks not as being ignorant who is faithful and wise, but as desiring to set forth the rarity of such a character, and the greatness of this office. Observe at any rate how great the reward is — He will appoint him, he says, ruler over all his goods.

PRAYER – Holy God and Almighty Father, we are the disciples of Your Son as we follow Him home to You, grant us we pray, the strength and love to imitate Him in all things and to daily, pick up our cross with joy and commitment. May the Blessed Virgin, be a constant protection and assistance in our times of struggle and may all your Angels , the Apostles and Saints and Martyrs, pray for us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God for always and forever, amen.

Posted in QUOTES on PRIESTS, the PRIESTHOOD and CONSECRATED LIFE

Quote/s of the Day – 7 July – “May Your priests, O Lord, be clothed with justice; let Your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.…“

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 7 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 131:9-10, Ps 131:1, Ps 131:16-17, Ps 109:4, Heb 7:23-27, Luke 10:1-9, Ps 67:36, Matt 10:27

“And He said to them, The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest.”

Luke 10:1-9

“Go. Behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves.”

Luke 10:1-9

“A person who wishes
to become the Lord’s disciple
must repudiate a human obligation,
however honourable it may appear,
if it slows us, ever so slightly,
in giving the wholehearted obedience
we owe to God.”

St Basil the Great (329-379)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“He wants you to become
a living force for all mankind,
lights shining in the world.
You are to be radiant lights
as you stand beside Christ,
the Great Light,
bathed in the glory of Him
who is the Light of Heaven.”

St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“Pray as though everything depended on God.
Work as though everything depended on you.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“What a tragedy,
how many souls
are being shut out of heaven
and falling into hell,
thanks to you!”

St Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 7 July – Types of the Precious Blood: (4) The Offerings for Sins of Ignorance

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The Precious Blood – Short Meditations for July

By Rev. Richard F. Clarke

7th Day – Types of the Precious Blood: (4) The Offerings for Sins of Ignorance

In the Book of Leviticus an elaborate ritual is prescribed in expiation of sins committed through ignorance. A calf is to be offered, and the ancients of the people are to lay their hands upon its head, and the priest is to carry some of its blood into the tabernacle of the testimony, and to sprinkle it seven times before the veil and to pour forth the blood at at the foot of the altar. All this is in expiation for sins committed by those who at the time knew not that they were sins. What a proof of God’s hatred of sin, even though he who did the act was was not at the time aware that it was a sin!

Yet such ignorance is rarely altogether without some fault. Sometimes there was at least some faint suspicion that the deed done was displeasing to God, sometimes the ignorance was itself the result of sin blinding the soul and dulling the perceptions, sometimes it was the consequence of obstinacy and self-will. I may have committed many sins through ignorance: were they altogether without fault?

Those sins had to be atoned for with blood, and that blood was a type of the blood of Jesus. He, therefore, shed His Precious Blood for my sins of ignorance as well as sins of malice, and whatever fault was in them added to His sacred sufferings. I must then compassionate with Him in all that He suffered for the countless sins that men have committed against God through ignorance, and especially for my own.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame d’Iron / Our Lady of Iron, Dunois, France (1631) and Memorials of the Saints – 6 July

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Notre-Dame d’Iron / Our Lady of Iron, Dunois, France (1631) – 6 July:

Saint-Sulpice-le-Dunois is a small Village located near the centre of France. Once home to Our Lady of Iron, it is situated near the larger Town of Blois, its population was only 517 citizens in the year 2007, which was a decrease from the 636 citizens who had lived there in 1999. It was in the Chapel of this tiny Village of Saint-Sulpice-le-Dunois, in the year 1631, that our story takes place involving Our Lady of Iron.

There was a young French couple living in the village at that time, who felt themselves singularly blessed. Were they not fortunate? They took pleasure in their youth and enjoyed good health, had happy employment,lived in a modest home and they had recently been blessed with a fine baby whom they felt was as sweet as the Babe of Bethlehem. Thus they mused on their way home together after early morning Mass one day.

As soon as they entered their home, Pierre hurried to the cradle to gaze lovingly at his infant son. The child must have been restless, he thought, as there was evidence that he had struggled with the bedclothes which were tossed about and tangled strangely about the infant. Pierre reached in and lifted his son to hold him in his arms, only to find that the tiny figure was rigid and cold. Stunned, he called for his wife disbelieving, for it seemed their baby was dead!

Pierre’s thoughts turned to Our Blessed Mother and then to the Statue of Our Lady of Iron at the Parish Church. They had spent many hours there in the past praying for her assistance and her help had never failed them. They determined to take their baby there instantly! Surely, Mary would not fail them in this time of dire need.

Together they entered the Church, and sadly laid the lifeless form at the feet of the Statue of Our Lady of Iron. As they began to pray for her intercession, they dedicated their baby to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In that very instant, the child who had been smothered by struggling in its cradle, cried out and came back to life. News of the miracle spread far and wide and the fame of Our Lady of Iron was assured.

St Maria Goretti (1890-1902) Martyr (Optional Memorial) Virgin and Martyr, known as “Saint Agnes of the 20th Century.” St Maria Goretti was Canonised on 24 June 1950 by Pope Pius XII.
About St Maria here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/06/saint-of-the-day-6-july-st-maria-goretti/

Bl Angela of Bohemia
Bl Augustin-Joseph Desgardin
Bl Christopher Solino
St Cyril of Thessaloniki
St Dominica of Campania (c 287-303) Virgin Martyr
St Gervais
St Giusto of Condat
St Goar of Aquitaine
St Godelieve

Blessed Maria Theresa Ledóchowska SSPC (1863-1922) Religious Sister and Co-Founder of the Missionary Sisters of St Peter Claver (commonly known as the Claverian Sisters), dedicated to service in Africa, Missionary – she is called the “Mother of the African Missions.”
Her Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/06/saint-of-the-day-6-july-blessed-maria-theresa-ledochowska-sspc-1863-1922/

St Monenna

St Nazaria Ignacia March y Mesa (1889-1943) – Religious and Founder of the Missionaries of the Crusade (later renamed Congregation of the Missionary Crusaders of the Church).
Her story:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/06/saint-of-the-day-6-july-blessed-sr-nazaria-of-saint-teresa-of-jesus-nazaria-ignacia-march-y-mesa-1889-1943/

St Noyala of Brittany
St Petrus Wang Zuolung

St Romulus of Fiesole (Died c 90) Martyr, Bishop, Disciple of Saint Peter.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/06/saint-of-the-day-6-july-saint-romulus-of-fiesole-died-c-90-martyr/

St Saxburgh of Ely
St Sisoes the Great
Bl Suzanne Agathe de Loye
St Thomas Alfield
St Tranquillinus of Rome
—
Martyrs of Campania – 23 saints: A group of 23 Christians arrested, tortured and then beheaded together in the later 3rd century by order of governor Rictiovarus in the persecutions of Diocletian. The names that have come down to us are – Antoninus, Arnosus, Capicus, Cutonius, Diodorus, Dion, Isidore, Lucia, Lucian, Rexius, Satyrus and Severinus.

Martyrs of Fiesole – 5 saints: Five Christians martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Domitian – Carissimus, Crescentius, Dulcissimus, Marchisianus and Romulus. c 90 near Fiesole, Italy.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 6 July – St Tranquillinus of Rome

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‘At Rome, the holy martyr Tranquillinus, father of the holy martyrs Mark and Marcellian. He had been converted to Christ by the preaching of the holy martyr Sebastian, baptized by the blessed Priest, Polycarp, and himself ordained a Priest by the holy Pope Caius. He was praying at the grave of blessed Paul, upon the Octave Day of the Apostles, when the pagans under the Emperor Diocletian tried and stoned him. And so he finished his testimony, (in the year 286.)’ (Roman Martyrology)

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Our Morning Offering – 6 July – An Old Morning Prayer

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Our Morning Offering – 6 July – “Month of the Precious Blood”

An Old Morning Prayer – Excerpt
From The Blossoms of the Cross — 1894
The Sisters of St Joseph

I rise In God’s strength,
In God’s power,
In the Agony of Christ,
In the Cross of Christ,
In Christ’s Precious Blood,
These will sustain me against my enemies,
visible and invisible.
I rise in the blessing of Christ
which my dearest Jesus left to the whole world.
Protect me, All-Holy Trinity,
God the Father, Who created me,
God, the Son, Who redeemed me in His Precious Blood,
God, the Holy Ghost, Who sanctified me in Holy Baptism.
God, the Father, I give myself to Thee!
God, the Son, I commend myself to Thee!
God, the Holy Ghost, teach me!
Mary, Mother of God, assist me!
All you Saints of God, pray for me!
All you Holy Angels, protect me!
The Cross of Christ preserve me!
Amen

Posted in QUOTES on FAITH

One Minute Reflection – 6 July – ‘Look around you, my brethren, on every side … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 6 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – The Octave Day of Sts Peter and Paul –

“O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” – Matthew 14:31

REFLECTION – “Once again the disciples are a plaything of the waves and a storm, similar to the first one (Mt 8:4) hurls itself against them. The first time, however, they had Jesus with them, whereas this time they are alone and left to themselves. … I think this was because our Saviour wanted to stir their sleeping hearts and, by throwing them into a panic, He inspired in them a strong desire for His presence and kept the remembrance of Him constantly in their minds. Hence, He did not come to their help at once but “during the fourth watch of the night He came towards them, walking on the sea …”

Peter, ever volatile, always getting in before the other disciples, said: “Lord, if it is Thee, command me to come to Thee on the water” … He didn’t say, “Command me to walk on the water” but “come to thee,” for, there was none who loved Jesus as much as he. He did the same thing after the Resurrection – unable to bear moving as slowly as the others in the boat, he jumped into the water to get there before them and satisfy his love for Christ. …Getting out of the boat, then, Peter went towards Jesus, more delighted to be going towards Him, than to be walking on the water. But after confronting the greatest danger, that of the sea, he was to give in to a lesser, that of the wind. Such is human nature! Often, having overcome serious dangers we are conquered by lesser ones … Peter had not yet been set free from all his fear … in spite of Christ’s presence beside him. For it is of no use to be beside Christ if one is not close to Him by faith. This is what emphasises the distance separating Master from the disciple …

“O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” So if Peter’s faith had not faltered, he would have resisted the wind without difficulty. And the proof of this, is that Jesus grasped Peter ,while leaving the wind to continue blowing … Just as the mother bird supports the fledgling which has prematurely left the nest, with her wings, as it is about to fall and draws it back into the nest, so does Christ, with regard to Peter.” … St John Chrysostom (345-407) Bishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor of the Church – (Homilies on Saint Matthew’s Gospel no 50, 1-2).

PRAYER – O God, Who made this day holy by the Martyrdom of Your Apostles Peter and Paul, grant Thy Church to follow in all things, the teaching of those, from whom she first received the faith. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me"

Quote/s of the Day– 6 July – We are not without a Shepherd!

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Quote/s of the Day– 6 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Genesis 32: 23-33, Psalms 17: 1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b and 15, Matthew 9: 32-3

We are not without a Shepherd!

“I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world
but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours.
All mine are yours and all yours are mine
and I am glorified in them.
… Holy Father, keep them in your name,
which you have given me,
that they may be one,
even as we are one.”

John 17:9-11

“This, beloved, is the way in which we found our salvation,
Jesus Christ, the High Priest who offers our gifts,
the patron and helper in our weakness (Heb 10:20; 7:27; 4:15). I
t is through Him, that we look straight at the heavens above.
Through Him, we see mirrored,
God’s faultless and transcendent countenance.
Through Him, the eyes of our heart were opened.
Through Him, our unintelligent and darkened mind
shoots up into the light.
Through Him, the Master was pleased
to let us taste the knowledge that never fades,”

St Pope Clement I (c 35 – c 99)

“The mark of Christ’s sheep
is their willingness to hear and obey,
just as disobedience
is the mark of those who are not His.
We take the word ‘hear’
to imply obedience
to what has been said.”

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Pray in the spirit and sentiment of love,
in which the royal prophet said to Him,
‘Thou, O Lord, are my portion.’
Let others choose to themselves,
portions among creatures,
for my part, You are my portion,
You alone I have chosen for my whole inheritance.”

St Augustine of Canterbury (Died c 605)

And if by chance you do not know
Where to go in quest of Me,
Do not go far My Face to see,
Searching everywhere high and low,
But in yourself must seek for Me.

For, soul, in you I am confined,
You are My dwelling and My home;
And if one day I chance to find
Fast-closed the portals of your mind
I ask for entrance when I come.

Oh, do not seek me far away,
For, if you would attain to Me,
You only need My Name to say
And I’ll be there, without delay.
Look in yourself to seek for Me!”

St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)