NOVENA to St Padre Pio/St Pius of Pietrelcina – DAY SEVEN – 20 September
St Padre Pio you have said:
May the Grace and peace of the Holy Spirit always be at the centre of your heart. Place your heart in the open side of the Saviour and unite it with the King of your heart who is within it as on a royal throne, in order that He might receive homage and obedience from all other hearts. Keep your hearts door open, so that everyone can approach Him and gain an audience at all times. May the King of all saints also be the King of your heart!
Let us Pray:
Gracious God,
You generously blessed Your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the Spirit.
You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified,
as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son
and as a stirring inspiration to many people of Your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love.
Through his powerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness and disease.
Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people’s hearts.
With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily Mass,
inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ,
in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
and teach us to visit Our Lord when He quietly waits in the Tabernacle,
begging Him to unite our hearts to His.
Gracious God, St Pio lived totally for You
teach us too this great act of self-giving and complete oblation.
Grant us the grace of approaching the Altar of Sacrifice
with thanksgiving and complete reverence.
Through the intercession of Saint Pio,
we confidently beseech You to to grant us the grace of
………………. (state your petition here).
Help us to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion,
so that we, too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord
and one day rejoice in the Kingdom,
where You live and reign forever and ever. Amen
Thought for the Day – The Memorial of the Korean Martyrs – Sts Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang & Companions – 103 saints and beati
For centuries, Catholicism was often seen as a threat to Korean customs and traditions, so Christianity took root in Korea only after much struggle and effort. But when it did begin to take root, those roots were strong.
Saint Andrew’s own Father had been martyred when he was a young boy but this did not dissuade him from become a priest, in fact, it strengthened his vocation. As a priest he helped other missionaries to come to Korea to spread the Gospel but this was soon discovered. So he was was captured, tortured and killed for his faith, when it was discovered that he smuggled missionaries into Korea from China. St Paul Chong also risked his life many times making repeated trips to China to find priests to come to serve the young Korean Church.
At their 1984 canonization ceremony, Blessed John Paul II called Saint Andrew Kim, Saint Paul and their 111 companions “the leaven” that lead to the splendid flowering of the Church in Korea.
How are we called to be “leaven” today—the leaven that will lead to the flowering of the Church in our own land? What will we do today that will lead souls to Christ? What will our Christian witness look like today in our own limited capacity?
Andrew wrote to his fellow Christians the following words: “We have received baptism, entrance into the Church, and the honour of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us if we are Christians in name only and not in fact?” How easy it is to fall into this nominal Christianity, when we fail to allow our faith to influence our conduct, our attitude.
Through the martyrdom and intercession of Andrew Kim, Paul Chong and all the Martyrs for Christ, may God grant us the strength that we too may remain faithful to God’s commandments even unto death, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. (Fr Kevin Estabrook)
Today there are approximately four million Catholics in Korea and has the fourth largest number of saints in the Catholic world. Since 1984, Paul Yun Ji-Chung and 123 companions were declared “Venerable” on 7 February 2014 and on 16 August 2014, they were beatified by Pope Francis during the Asian Youth Day in Gwanghwamun Plaza, Seoul, South Korea. There are further moves to beatify Catholics who were killed by communists for their faith in the 20th century during the Korean War.
Quote/s of the Day – The Memorial of the Korean Martyrs – Sts Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang & Companions – 103 saints and beati
“We have received baptism, entrance into the Church and the honour of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us, if we are Christians in name only and not in fact?”
“This is my last hour of life, listen to me attentively: if I have held communication with foreigners, it has been for my religion and for my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death because God has eternal chastisements in store for those who have refused to know Him.”
St Andrew Kim Taegon the first native Korean priest, and the first priest to die for the faith in Korea.
One Minute Reflection – 20 September – The Memorial of the Korean Martyrs – Sts Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang & Companions – 103 saints and beati
Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?…Luke 24:26
REFLECTION – “The Korean Martyrs have borne witness to the crucified and risen Christ. Through the sacrifice of their own lives they have become like Christ in a very special way. The words of Saint Paul the Apostle could truly have been spoken by them: We are “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies . . . We are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh”.
The death of the martyrs is similar to the death of Christ on the Cross because like His, theirs has become the beginning of new life. This new life was manifested not only in themselves – in those who underwent death for Christ – but it was also extended to others. It became the leaven of the Church as the living community of disciples and witnesses to Jesus Christ “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians”: this phrase from the first centuries of Christianity is confirmed before our eyes.”…St Pope John Paul on the occasion of the Canonisation of the Korean Martyrs (1984)
PRAYER – O God our Holy Father, You have created all nations and You are their salvation. In the land of Korea Your call to Catholic faith formed a people of adoption, whose growth You nurtured by the blood of Andrew, Paul and their companions. Through their martyrdom and their intercession grant us strength that we too may remain faithful to your commandments even until death. Amen
Father, Your truth is made known in Your Word.
Guide us to seek the truth of the human person.
Teach us the way to love because You are Love.
Jesus, You embody Love and Truth.
Help us to recognise Your face in the poor.
Enable us to live out our vocation to bring love
and justice to Your people.
Holy Spirit, You inspire us to transform our world.
Empower us to seek the common good for all persons.
Give us a spirit of solidarity and make us one human family.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
This prayer is based on Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth).
Saints of the Day – 20 September – Martyrs of Korea: St Andrew Kim Taegon, St Paul Chong Hasang & Companions – 103 saints and beati. The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholic Christians during the 19th century in Korea. At least 8,000 (as many as 10,000) adherents to the faith were killed during this period, 103 of whom were canonised en masse in May 1984 by St Pope John Paul.
St Andrew Kim Taegon was born to the Korean nobility; his parents were converts to Christianity and his father was martyred. Andrew was baptised at age 15, then travelled 1,300 miles to the nearest seminary in Macao, China. He became the first native Korean priest and the first priest to die for the faith in Korea. He was the leader of the Martyrs of Korea. (21 August 1821, Solmoi, Chungcheong-do, South Korea – tortured and beheaded on 16 September 1846 at Saenamteo, Seoul, Korea). He is the Patron of the Korean clergy.
St Paul Chong Hasan was the son of Yak Jong Church who was martyred in 1801 in the persecution of Shin-Yu, an attack on the faith that killed all the clergy in the country. Son of Saint Yu Cecilia; brother of Saint Jung Hye. Paul, though a layman, reunited the scattered Christians and encouraged them to keep their faith and live their faith. He wrote the Sang-Je-Sang-Su which explained to the Korean government why the Church was no threat to them. He crossed into China nine times, working as a servant to the Korean diplomatic corps. There he worked to get the bishop of Beijing to send more priests to Korea. He pleaded directly to Rome for help and on 9 September 1831, Pope Gregory X proclaimed the validity of the Korean Catholic diocese. When the clergy began to return, Paul entered the seminary. However, he died in the Gi Hye persecution of 1839 before he could be ordained. He is regarded as one of the great founders of the Catholic Church in Korea. (1795 in Korea – martyred on 22 September 1839). He is the Patron of the Catholic Laity and various apostolates and movements in Korea.
Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and 101 Companions:
The Christian community first began to take shape when Yi Sung-hun started to study Christian doctrine by himself and was eventually baptised and given the name Peter in 1784. Because of their belief in the Christian God, the first Korean Christians were persecuted repeatedly, rejected by their families and suffered a loss of their social rank. Despite persecutions, the faith continued to spread.
The Christian community in Korea was given the assistance of two Chinese priests but their ministry was short-lived and another forty years passed before the Paris Foreign Mission Society began its work in Korea with the arrival of Father Mauban in 1836. A delegation was selected and sent to Beijing on foot, 750 miles, in order to ask the Bishop of Beijing to send them bishops and priests. The same appeal was made to the Holy Father in Rome. Serious dangers awaited the missionaries who dared to enter Korea. The bishops and priests who confronted this danger, as well as the lay Christians who aided and sheltered them, were in constant threat of losing their lives.
In fact, until the granting of religious liberty in Korea in 1886, there was a multitude of “disciples who shed their blood, in imitation of Christ Our Lord and who willingly submitted to death, for the salvation of the world” (Lumen Gentium, 42). Among those who died and later labelled as martyrs, were eleven priests and ninety-two lay people who would be canonised as saints.
Bishop Laurent Imbert and ten other French missionaries were the first Paris Foreign Mission Society priests to enter Korea and to embrace a different culture for the love of God. During the daytime, they kept in hiding but at night they travelled about on foot attending to the spiritual needs of the faithful and administering the sacraments.
The first Korean priest, Andrew Kim Tae-gon, prompted by his faith in God and his love for the Christian people, found a way to make the difficult task of a missionary entry into Korea. However, just thirteen months after his ordination he was put to death by the sword when he was just 26 years old and the holy oils of ordination were still fresh on his hands.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Paul Chong Ha-sang, Augustine Yu Chin-gil and Charles Cho Shin-chol had made several visits to Beijing in order to find new ways of introducing missionaries into Korea. Since the persecution of 1801, there had been no priest to care for the Christian community. Finally, they succeeded in opening a new chapter in the history of the extension of the Church in Korea with the arrival of a bishop and ten priests of the Paris Foreign Mission Society.
Among the martyrs honoured were fifteen virgins, including the two sisters Agnes Kim Hyo-ju and Columba Kim Hyo-im who loved Jesus with undivided heart (I Cor.7, 32–34). These women, in an era when Christian religious life was still unknown in Korea, lived in community and cared for the sick and the poor. Similarly, John Yi Kwang-hyol died a martyr’s death after having lived a life of celibacy in consecrated service to the Church.
It is also important to recall in a special way some of the other martyrs who were canonised that day: Damien Nam Myong-hyok and Maria Yi Yon-hui were models of family life; John Nam Chong-sam, though of high social rank, was a model of justice, chastity and poverty; John Pak Hu-jae who, after he lost his parents in the persecutions, learnt to survive by making straw sandals; Peter Kwon Tug-in who devoted himself to meditation; Anna Pak A-gi who, although she did not have a deep grasp of Christian doctrine, was wholly devoted to Jesus and His Blessed Mother; and finally, Peter Yu Tae-chol who at the tender age of 13, bravely confessed his faith and died a martyr.
More than 10,000 martyrs died in persecutions which extended over more than one hundred years. Of all these martyrs, seventy-nine were beatified in 1925. They had died in the persecutions of 1839 (Ki-hae persecution), 1846 (Pyong-o persecution) and 1866 (Pyong-in persecution). In addition, twenty-four martyrs were beatified in 1968. All together, 103 martyrs were canonised on 6 May 1984-on the shores of the Han River and in view of the martyrs’ shrines at Saenamto and Choltusan, where they went to their eternal reward
Here are the names of all 103:
Peter Yi Hoyong
Protasius Chong Kukbo
Magdalena Kim Obi
Anna Pak Agi
Agatha Yi Sosa
Agatha Kim Agi
Augustine Yi Kwanghon
Barbara Han Agi
Lucia Pak Huisun
Damian Nam Myonghyok
Peter Kwon Tugin
Joseph Chang Songjib
Barbara Kim
Barbara Yi
Rosa Kim Nosa
Martha Kim Songim
Teresa Yi Maeim
Anna Kim Changgum
John Baptist Yi Kwangnyol
Magdalena Yi Yonghui
Lucia Kim Nusia
Maria Won Kwiim
Maria Pak Kunagi
Barbara Kwon Hui
Johannes Pak Hujae
Barbara Yi Chonghui
Maria Yi Yonhui
Agnes Kim Hyochu
Francis Choe Kyonghwan
Laurent-Marie-Joseph Imbert
Pierre-Philibert Maubant
Jacques-Honoré Chastan
Paul Chong Hasang
Augustine Yu Chinkil
Magdalena Ho Kyeim
Sebastian Nam Igwan
Kim Iulitta
Agatha Chon Kyonghyob
Charles Cho Shinchol
Ignatius Kim Chejun
Magdalena Pak Pongson
Perpetua Hong Kimju
Columba Kim Hyoim
Lucia Kim Kopchu
Catherine Yi
Magdalena Cho
Peter Yu Taechol
Cecilia Yu Sosa
Barbara Cho Chungi
Magdalena Han Yongi
Peter Choe Changhub
Benedicta Hyong Kyongnyon
Elizabeth Chong Chonghye
Barbara Ko Suni
Magdalena Yi Yongdok
Teresa Kim
Agatha Yi
Stephan Min Kukka
Andrew Chong Hwagyong
Paul Ho Hyob
Augustine Pak Chongwon
Peter Hong Pyongju
Magdalena Son Sobyok
Agatha Yi Kyongi
Maria Yi Indok
Agatha Kwon Chini
Paul Hong Yongju
Johannes Yi Munu
Barbara Choe Yongi
Anthony Kim Songu
Andrew Kim Taegon
Charles Hyon Songmun
Peter Nam Kyongmun
Lawrence Han Ihyong
Susanna U Surim
Joseph Im Chipek
Teresa Kim Imi
Agatha Yi Kannan
Catherina Chong Choryom
Peter Yu Chongnyul
Siméon-François Berneux
Simon-Marie-Just Ranfer de Bretenières
Pierre-Henri Dorie
Louis Beaulieu
John Baptist Nam Chongsam
John Baptist Chon Changun
Peter Choe Hyong
Mark Chong Uibae
Alexis U Seyong
Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy
Martin-Luc Huin
Pierre Aumaitre
Joseph Chang Chugi
Lucas Hwang Soktu
Thomas Son Chason
Bartholomew Chong Munho
Peter Cho Hwaso
Peter Son Sonji
Peter Yi Myongso
Joseph Han Wonso
Peter Chong Wonji
Joseph Cho Yunho
Johannes Yi Yunil
Martyrs of Korea: St Andrew Kim Taegon, St Paul Chong Hasang & Companions – 103 saints and beati (Memorial)
—
St Agapitus of Rome
St Candida of Carthage
St Dionysius of Phrygia
St Dorimedonte of Synnada
St Eusebia of Marseilles
St Eustachius
St Evilasius of Cyzicum
St Fausta of Cyzicum
Bl Francisco Martín Fernández de Posadas
St Glycerius of Milan
St John Charles Cornay
Bl John Eustace
St Jose Maria de Yermo y Parres
St Lawrence Mary Joseph Imbert
Bl Marie Therese of Saint Joseph
St Paul Chong Hasang
St Priscus
Susanna of Eleutheropolis
Bl Thomas Johnson
—
Martyrs of Constantinople – 3 saints: A priest and two bishops who were imprisoned, tortured and martyred for the defense of icons in the iconoclast persecutions of emperor Leo the Isaurian. – Andrea, Asiano and Hypatius. They were martyred in 735 in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) and their bodies were thrown to the dogs.
Martyrs of Pergen – 6 saints: A group of lay people martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Elagabalus. The names that have come down to us are Dionysius, Dioscorus, Philippa, Privatus, Socrates and Theodore. They were crucified c 220 at Pergen, Pamphylia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Cristobal Iturriaga-Echevarría Irazola
• Blessed Santiago Vega Ponce
• Blessed Juan Antonio López Pérez
Quote/s of the day – 19 September – The Feast of Our Lady of La Salette
“Do you say your prayers properly, my children? Oh! my children, you must say them, morning and evening. When you can do no more, say a Pater and an Ave Maria; and when you have the time to do better, you will say more.”
Our Lady of la Salette
Pope John Paul II wrote about La Salette on 6 May 1996. “The message of La Salette was given to two young shepherds in a period of great suffering. La Salette is a message of hope – a hope sustained by the intercession of her who is the Mother of all peoples… At La Salette, Mary clearly spoke of the constancy of her prayer for the world: she will never abandon the people created in the image and likeness of God, those to whom it has been given to become children of God. May she lead to her Son all the nations of the earth.”
NOVENA to St Padre Pio/St Pius of Pietrelcina – DAY SIX – 19 September
St Padre Pio you have said:
In the most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, in this sacrament of Love, we have true life, a blessed life and true sacrament of Love; we have true life, a blessed life and true happiness Because in it we receive not only those graces that perfect us but the very Author of those graces.
Let us Pray:
Gracious God, You generously blessed Your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the Spirit.
You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified,
as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son
and as a stirring inspiration to many people of Your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love.
Through his powerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness and disease.
Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people’s hearts.
With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily Mass,
inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ,
in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Gracious God, St Pio lived totally for You
teach us too this great act of self-giving and complete oblation.
Grant us the grace of approaching the Altar of Sacrifice
with thanksgiving and complete reverence.
Through the intercession of Saint Pio,
we confidently beseech You to to grant us the grace of
………………. (state your petition here).
Help us to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion,
so that we, too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord
and one day rejoice in the Kingdom,
where You live and reign forever and ever. Amen
Thought for the Day – 19 September – The Memorial of St Januarius
Jesus said that we would know a tree by its fruits. When it comes to miraculous stories like the one of Januarius’ blood, it’s best to look at the lives of the faithful. Does this strange phenomenon bring people to deeper conversion? Are they more in love with Jesus and his Church because of it? After viewing the ancient bubbling blood, are the witnesses more charitable, just, prudent, chaste, kind and merciful? Are those witnesses inspired to become witnesses – literally, martyrs – themselves?
For over 400 years folks have found a deeper faith in Christ and His Church because of the blood of Januarius. Some have even turned to Jesus for the first time because of it. Repentance, conversion and discipleship are, no doubt, good fruits.
Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Sometimes, that blood is bubbling.
One Minute Reflection – 19 September – The Memorial of Our Lady of La Salette: Special Readings for the Feast of Our Lady of La Salette (First Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14 Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God….2 Corinthians 5:20
REFLECTION – “Conversion to Christ, believing in the Gospel, ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need — the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship.”…Pope Benedict XVI (2010)
PRAYER – Holy Virgin of Reconciliation, do not reject our prayers but intercede for us, obtain for us the grace to love our Lord Jesus above all else. May we console you by a holy life and so come to share the eternal life Christ gained by his cross. Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us, amen.
Feast of Notre-Dame de la Salette / Our Lady of La Salette – 19 September (French: Notre-Dame de La Salette) is a Marian apparition reported by two children, Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat to have occurred at La Salette-Fallavaux, France, in 1846.
The shepherd children Maximin and Melanie
On 19 September 1851, Pope Pius IX formally approved the public devotion and prayers to Our Lady of La Salette, referring to its messages of apparition as “secrets”. On 24 August 1852, Pope Pius IX once again mentioned the construction of the altar to La Salette. The same papal bull granted the foundation of the Association of Our Lady of La Salette, formalised on 7 September.
On 21 August 1879, Pope Leo XIII formally granted a Canonical Coronation to the image at the Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette. A Russian style tiara was granted to the image, instead of the solar-type tiara used in its traditional depictions of Virgin Mary during her apparitions.
La Salette is celebrated as the place where, the Blessed Virgin appeared to two little shepherds and each year is visited by a large number of pilgrims. On 19 September, 1846, about three o’clock in the afternoon in full sunlight, on a mountain about 5918 feet high and about three miles distant from the village of La Salette-Fallavaux, it is related that two children, a shepherdess of fifteen named Melanie Calvat, called Mathieu and a shepherd-boy of eleven named Maximin Giraud, beheld in a resplendent light a “beautiful lady” clad in a strange costume. Speaking alternately in French and in patois, she charged them with a message which they were “to deliver to all her people”. After complaining of the impiety of Christians and threatening them with dreadful chastisements in case they should persevere in evil she promised them the Divine mercy if they would amend.
Finally, it is alleged, before disappearing she communicated to each of the children a special secret. The sensation caused by the recital of Melanie and Maximin was profound, and gave rise to several investigations and reports. Mgr. Philibert de Bruillard, Bishop of Grenoble, appointed a commission to examine judicially this marvellous event; the commission concluded that the reality of the apparition should be admitted. Soon several miraculous cures took place on the mountain of La Salette, and pilgrimages to the place were begun. The miracle, needless to say, was ridiculed by free-thinkers but it was also questioned among the faithful and especially by ecclesiastics. There arose against it in the Dioceses of Grenoble and Lyons a violent opposition, aggravated by what is known as the incident of Ars. As a result of this hostility and the consequent agitation, Mgr. de Bruillard (16 November 1851) declared the apparition of the Blessed Virgin as certain and authorised the cult of Our Lady of La Salette. The first stone of a great church was solemnly laid on the mount of La Salette, 25 May, 1852, amid a large assembly of the faithful. This Church, later elevated to the rank of a basilica, was served by a body of a religious called Missionaries of La Salette – who were founded in 1852 by Bp. Philbert de Bruillard, Bishop of Grenoble, France, and presently serve in some 25 countries.. In 1891 diocesan priests replaced these missionaries, driven into exile by persecuting laws.
As said above, the Blessed Virgin confided to each of the two children a special secret. These two secrets, which neither Melanie or Maximin ever made known to each other, were sent by them in 1851 to Pius IX on the advice of Mgr. de Bruillard. It is unknown what impressions these mysterious revelations made on the pope, for on this point there were two versions diametrically opposed to each other. Maximin’s secret is not known, for it was never published. Melanie’s was inserted in its entirety in brochure which she herself had printed in 1879 at Lecce, Italy, with the approval of the bishop of that town.
” If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son. It is so heavy and weighs me down so much I can no longer keep hold of it.”
“I have suffered all of the time for the rest of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually. And the rest of you think little of this. In vain you will pray, in vain you will act and you will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for the rest of you.” – Our Lady of La Salette
The message of the visionaries of La Salette focuses on the conversion of all humanity to Christ. St John Vianney, St John Bosco and writer Joris-Karl Huysmans were all influenced by La Salette. The spirit of La Salette is said to be one of prayer, conversion, and commitment.
Pope John Paul II stated: “As I wrote on the occasion of the 150th anniversary, ‘La Salette is a message of hope, for our hope is nourished by the intercession of her who is the Mother of mankind.”
Our Morning Offering – 19 September – Feast Day of Our Lady of La Salette
MEMORARE to OUR LADY of LA SALETTE
Remember, Our Lady of La Salette,
true Mother of Sorrows,
the tears you shed for us on Calvary.
Remember also the care you have taken
to keep us faithful to Christ, your Son.
Having done so much for your children,
you will not now abandon us.
Comforted by this consoling thought,
we come to you pleading,
despite our infidelities and ingratitude.
Virgin of Reconciliation, do not reject our prayers
but intercede for us,
obtain for us the grace to love Jesus above all else.
May we console you by a holy life
and so come to share the eternal life
Christ gained by His cross. Amen
Invocation:
Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of Sinners,
pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you.
Saint of the Day – 19 September – St Januarius (Died c 304) (San Gennaro of Naples) – Martyr, Bishop (Fourth century – Martyred c 304 at Naples, Italy or Pozzuoli, Italy ). Patronages – against volcanic eruptions• blood banks• Benevento, Italy, diocese of• Naples, Italy, archdiocese of• Naples, Italy, city of.
Saint Januarius, was born in Benevento to a rich patrician family At a young age of 15—based upon his piety and faithfulness– he became the local Priest of his Parish in Benevento, which at the time was relatively pagan. When Januarius was 20, he was elevated to Bishop of Naples. At the onset of the persecution of Christians by Emperors Diocletian and Maximian, he worked tirelessly to hide and protect his fellow Christians, succeeding for approximately 1 ½ years.
However, he was eventually arrested, taken to Nola and brought before Timotheus, governor of Campania, on account of his profession of the Christian religion. Upon refusing to recant his faith, and his constant assertion of the truth of the Gospel, Januarius and his companions were sentenced to be cast into the fiery furnace. The flames, however, caused him no harm and the following day, he was led into the coliseum to be mauled by wild animals. The beasts, however, laid themselves down in tame submission at his feet.
Governor Timotheus, enraged and again pronouncing sentence of death, was struck with blindness at his sentencing but Januarius healed him—a miracle which led to the miraculous conversion of 5,000 present. The ungrateful judge, further inflamed with anger, ordered the saintly bishop beheaded, which occurred immediately. St Januarius’ body was removed by faithful Christians, placed in the Cathedral of Naples and is said to have miraculously protected Naples from both the plague and the dangerous eruptions of nearby Mount Vesuvius.
You can read the full story here: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/januarius.asp – ACTS OF THE HIEROMARTYR JANUARIUS, BISHOP OF BENEVENTO
The Blood Miracle of Saint Januarius (Gennaro) -A miracle of the Church that is still occuring today
Relics of St Januarius
The liquefaction (becoming liquid) of the blood of St Januarius is an extraordinary miracle of the Church that has been occurring up to 18 times each year for the past 600 years. It is only one of a number of blood miracles that have taken place and in the case of St Januarius and others, are still taking place with blood that was collected soon after the death of certain martyrs. There is a well-documented history of these samples of blood liquefying at various times of the year, especially on the Saints’ feast days.
This practice of gathering blood for relics, admittedly a somewhat surprising religious practice, nevertheless was a common practice beginning in the days of persecution when the early Christians soaked cloths in the blood shed by martyrs or, if possible, actually collected the liquid in flasks to keep as devotional items. In the catacombs these flasks were buried with the dead, their discovery indicating that the person had died a martyr. Throughout the centuries, blood has been collected from holy persons recently deceased, especially martyrs for the faith, with the specimens being carefully kept with devotion and veneration. These samples have been known to liquefy under various circumstances, at different seasons of the year, in various countries and in varied ways. Many samples still display wonderful reactions in our day, one of which, that of St Januarius we will here consider.
While it is scientifically known that blood once removed from the body soon coagulates and eventually spoils and since this natural reaction was common knowledge among the medical faculty of the Middle Ages, a claim made by them of remarkable liquefaction can hardly be ignored and would seem to indicate a transcendence of their experience. And in our own day, the specimens that are still active are no less scientifically inexplicable than they were centuries ago, even amidst intense scientific investigation.
The best known and most intensely studied is the yearly blood miracle of St Januarius that occurs is Naples each year. The recurring miracle of the liquefaction of his blood 18 times a year is often reported in the secular as well as the religious press and is the occasion of great gatherings in the Cathedral of Naples. Here the people pray fervently while the resident cardinal, who usually presides over the ceremony, holds the vials of blood. The miracle occurs when the bust reliquary containing the head of the saint is brought near. When the liquefaction is accomplished in full view of the spectators, the cardinal announces, “The miracle has happened,” words that cause great rejoicing and the chanting of the Te Deum.
St Alphonsus Liguori wrote regarding Saint Januarius:
“The Neapolitans honour this saint as the principal patron of their city and nation and the Lord himself has continued to honour him, by allowing many miracles to be wrought through his intercession, particularly when the frightful eruptions of Mount Vesuvius have threatened the city of Naples with utter destruction. While the relics of St Januarius were being brought in procession towards this terrific volcano, the torrents of lava and liquid fire which it emitted have ceased, or turned their course from the city. But the most stupendous miracle and that which is greatly celebrated in the church, is the liquefying and boiling up of this blessed martyr’s blood whenever the vials are brought in sight of his head. This miracle is renewed many times in the year, in presence of all who desire to witness it; yet some heretics have endeavoured to throw a doubt upon its genuineness, by frivolous and incoherent explanations; but no one can deny the effect to be miraculous, unless he be prepared to question the evidence of his senses.”
Our Lady of La Salette: Mary appeared to two small children, Melanie Mathieu and Maximin Giraud, on the mountain of La Salette in the French Alps. She was crying, and around her neck was a crucifix, with a hammer and pincers on either side – 19 September 1846. Approved by the diocesan bishop in 1851.
—
St Alonso de Orozco Mena
St Arnulph of Gap
St Carolus Hyon Song-Mun
St Constantia of Nocera
St Desiderius of Pozzuoli
St Emily de Rodat
St Eustochius of Tours
St Felix of Nocera
St Festus of Pozzuoli
St Goeric of Metz
Bl Mary de Cerevellon
St Pomposa
St Sequanus
St Sosius of Puzzuoli
St Theodore of Canterbury
St Trophimus of Synnada
—
Martyrs of Antioch – (3 saints): Christians imprisoned, tortured and executed in various ways in the persecutions of Emperor Probus; some names have come down to us – Dorymedon, Sabbatius and Trophimus. c 277 at Antioch (in modern Turkey).
Martyrs of Phunon – (4 saints): Four bishops in Egypt who were sentenced to forced labour in a rock quarry and martyred in the persecution of Diocletian. Noted for celebrating Mass in prison. – Elias, Nilus, Patermuzio and Peleus. They were burned to death in 310 at Phunon, near Petra in Palestine.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Consuelo Aguiar-Mella Díaz
• Blessed Herman José Fernández Sáenz
• Blessed Juan Pérez Rodrigo
• Blessed Lucas Martín Puente
• Blessed María de La Encarnación de La Yglesia de Varo
• Blessed María Dolores Aguiar-Mella Díaz
• Blessed Miguel Faúndez López
• Blessed Sebastián Obeso Alario
Saint of the Day – 18 September – St Joseph of Cupertino OFM Conv. (1603-1663) – Religious Priest and Friar of the First Order of St Francis Mystic, Confessor, Miracle Worker (born Giuseppe Maria Desa on 17 June 1603 at Cupertino, Diocese of Nardo, near Brindisi in the Kingdom of Naples, Italy as Joseph Desa – 18 September 1663 at Ossimo, Italy of a rapidly developed but severe fever). He is buried in the Chapel of the Conception, Ossimo. St Joseph was Beatified on 24 February 1753 by Pope Benedict XIV and Canonised on 16 July 1767 by Pope Clement XIII. Patronages – Cities of Osimo and Cupertino, Italy, aviation, astronauts, mental handicaps, examinations, students, air crews, Air Forces, air travellers, aircraft pilots, paratroopers.
If ever a tiny child began life with nothing in his favour it was Joseph of Cupertino; he had only one hopeful and saving quality—that he knew it. Other boys of his own age were clever, he was easily the dullest of them all. Others were winning and attractive, nobody ever wanted him. While they had pleasant things said and given to them, Joseph always regarded himself down an ass and never looked for any special treatment. He went to school with the rest of the children in the village but he did not succeed in anything. He was absent-minded, he was awkward, he was nervous; a sudden noise, such as the ringing of a church-bell, would make him drop his schoolbooks on the floor. He would sit with his companions after school hours and try to talk like them but every time his conversation would break down; he could not tell a story to the end, no matter how he tried. His very sentences would stop in the middle because he could not find the right words. Altogether, even for those who pitied him, and wished to be kind to him, Joseph was something of a trial.
BUT he expressed an early interest in religious devotion, first setting up an altar in his family’s home where he prayed constantly. In school, he got the nickname “Open Mouth” (Gaper) due to his jaw always hanging open in class while his eyes looked to the heavens. At a young age, he began wearing a rough hair-shirt and fasting. The few things he consumed he covered with a bitter powder to make them unpalatable.
At 17, he tried to join the Friars Minor of the Conventuals but his two Uncles who were members rejected him due to his ignorance and lack of an education. Joseph tried again with the Capuchin Order and was admitted in 1620 but his frequent ecstatic states and absentmindedness made it impossible for him to perform even the simplest odd jobs and he was dismissed after eight months. He then joined the Order of Conventuals at Grottella, where he was given the task of caring for a mule. His virtues were such that he became a cleric at 22, a Priest at 25 in 1628. Joseph still had little education, could barely read or write but received such a gift of spiritual knowledge and discernment that he could solve intricate questions.
Soon after he was sent to another monastery, he is said to have performed his first remarkable act. While praying in the Church, he suddenly levitated into the centre of the Altar among the candles and flowers. He levitated again in Rome in the presence of Pope Urban VIII. From there, his feats grew more numerous and impressive – he rose 14 metres in the air at a Basilica in Rome and made many more dramatic flights onto candlelit Altars. A few times, it’s said, he took others with him, including a Priest whom he grasped by the hand at a festival, whirling around in a dance until they were both borne aloft. Another time he cured a nobleman of lunacy by transporting him into the air for 15 minutes. Once, he even threw a lamb into the sky and then flew after it, spending two hours talking to the animal in the air. His life became a series of visions and ecstasies, which could be triggered any time or place by the sound of a Church bell, Church music, the mention of the name of God or of the Blessed Virgin or of a Saint, any event in the life of Christ, the Sacred Passion, a holy picture, the thought of the glory in heaven, etc. Yelling, beating, pinching, burning, piercing with needles – none of this would bring him from his trances but he would return to the world on hearing the voice of his superior in the order. When levitating and floating (which led to his patronage of people involved in air travel) he could hear heavenly music.
In addition to his levitations, which even in the 17th century, there was interest in the unusual, and Joseph’s ecstasies in public caused both admiration and disturbance in the community. For 35 years he was not allowed to attend choir, go to the common refectory, walk in procession, or say Mass in church. To prevent making a spectacle, he was ordered to remain in his room with a private Chapel. He was brought before the Inquisition, and sent from one Capuchin or Franciscan house to another. But Joseph retained his joyous spirit, submitting to Divine Providence, keeping seven Lents of 40 days each year, never letting his faith be shaken. Many other miracles are attributed to Joseph, including reading minds, prophecy, curing the sick, multiplying food, finding lost possessions and bilocation (being in two places at once). He had many intense battles with the devil, who appeared sporting two-foot-long horns. Joseph was once found apparently dead on the floor of his dormitory, flies covering his eyes and mouth. but he awoke and was absolutely fine. When he arrived in Osimo, where he would spend the last years of his life, he is said to have seen angels and flown 23 metres into the air.
Joseph died in 1663 after an illness and was Canonised in 1767. The Church of San Francesco in Osimo was renamed the Basilica of St Joseph of Cupertino (Basilica di San Giuseppe da Copertino) in his honour. The Basilica has a painting of Joseph levitating above the Altar and in the crypt his preserved body is encased in a glass coffin, which is levitating now thanks to the help of two Angel statues. On 18 September of each year, his coffin is carried in a procession around Osimo.
When, in 1657, Joseph had been taken to his last place of confinement, he had said he would never leave it. He added one thing more for a sign. He told his companions that the first day on which he failed to receive communion would be the day on which he would die. And so it came about. On August 10, 1663, he was seized with an intermittent fever. So long as it was only intermittent he continued to rise every morning to say mass. The last day was the feast of the Assumption; on that day, says the Act of his canonisation, he had ecstasies and experiences surpassing anything he had ever had before. Then he was compelled to take to his bed; but still he persisted in hearing mass when he could and never missed communion. He became worse, and extreme unction was administered. When he had received it, he had one request to make, it was that his body should be buried in some out-of-the-way corner and that it should be forgotten where it was laid. He fell into his agony. There came constantly to his lips the words of St Paul: “Cupio dissolvi et esse cum Christo.” (I desire to depart and be with Christ). Someone at the bedside spoke to him of the love of God; he cried out: “Say that again, say that again!” He pronounced the Holy Name of Jesus. He added: “Praised be God! Blessed be God! May the holy will of God be done!” The old laughter seemed to come back to his face; those around could scarcely resist the contagion. And so he died. It was 18 September 1663. He was just sixty years of age.
NOVENA to St Padre Pio/St Pius of Pietrelcina – DAY FIVE – 18 September
St Padre Pio you have said:
St Therese of the Child Jesus used to say, “I don’t want to choose either to die or to live but let Jesus do as He likes with me.” I see clearly that this is the image of all souls who are stripped of self and filled with God… What St. Therese has said ought to be said by every soul inflamed with love of God.
Let us Pray:
Gracious God, You generously blessed Your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the Spirit.
You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified,
as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son
and as a stirring inspiration to many people of Your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love.
Through his powerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness and disease.
Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people’s hearts.
With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily Mass,
inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ,
in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Gracious God, St Pio lived totally for You
teach us too this great act of self-giving and complete oblation.
Through the intercession of Saint Pio,
we confidently beseech You to to grant us the grace of
………………. (state your petition here).
Help us to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion,
so that we, too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord
and one day rejoice in the Kingdom,
where You live and reign forever and ever. Amen
Thought for the Day – 18 September – The Memorial of St Joseph of Cupertino
St Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1668) was an Italian mystic whose life is a wonderful combination of a complete lack of natural capacity and an extraordinary supernatural efficiency.
He lacked every natural gift.
He was incapable of passing a test, maintaining a conversation, taking care of a house, or even touching a dish without breaking it.
He was called Brother Ass by his companions in the monastery.
Joseph could not comment on any passage of Scriptures except one: “Beatus venter qui Te portavit” [Blessed be the womb that bore Thee].
When the time came for his examination for the diaconate, the Bishop opened the Gospels at random and his eyes fell on that one text Joseph knew well. Joseph was able to expound on it with success. A year later came the tests for the priesthood. All the postulants except Joseph were very well prepared. The Bishop called on a number of the candidates, who responded superbly. Supposing that all were at the same intellectual level, the Bishop approved all of them without questioning the rest. Joseph was among the candidates who were asked nothing. Therefore, on March 4, 1628, Joseph became a priest at 25 years of age despite his limitations and the opinion of men.
There is a misconception about efficiency that defines it purely in terms of production. This is wrong because to do something is not an end in itself. What explains the action is the end one has in mind.
The right notion of efficiency is to do what one is supposed to do according to his vocation. Therefore, in order to be efficient, each one should ask if he is accomplishing the plans of God for him. If he works in collaboration with the plans of God, the grace will multiply his efforts and he will do much more than he is capable of otherwise. This rule, which applies to St Joseph of Cupertino, also applies to St.Thomas Aquinas, who is situated at the other pole of human capacity.
Even though he was poorly gifted humanly speaking, St Joseph of Cupertino did the will of God, sanctified his soul and allowed God to shine through his incapacity in a way that attracted the admiration of multitudes. Even today, when one of us hears about his extreme incapacity and the marvelous things God did through him, we do not forget his name. It is the application of that passage of the Magnificat: “For He has found humility in His handmaid, and all generations shall call me blessed.” Once we hear about the incapacity of St.Joseph of Cupertino and his humility in accepting the will of God, his name remains in our memories forever.
St Joseph of Cupertino represents one side of the scale that gives a perfect equilibrium to the Catholic Church. Both he and St Thomas Aquinas are necessary for that perfect balance. I think that in Heaven the two could be closely joined glorifying Our Lady and Our Lord.
What is the application for us? If we received gifts from nature or from God, let us admire St Joseph of Cupertino in order to be detached from them and use them well. If we lack qualities or have to endure sufferings, let us admire him and follow his example of confidence in order to accomplish what God has planned for us.
Quote/s of the Day – September, the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows
“When she was asked to become the mother of the Messiah, Mary’s faith enabled her to give a humble and generous response…. Mary’s faith was frequently tested during the public life of Jesus, especially when she witnessed the rejection of her son. At the foot of the cross, her pilgrimage of faith had its moment of most severe testing. Mary continued to believe that, because Jesus was the Son of God, His sacrifice would bring salvation to humanity.”
“From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s Will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her Son and the Son of God!”
St Pope John Paul
“From the nature of His work, the Redeemer ought to have associated His Mother with His work. For this reason we invoke her under the title of Co-redemptrix. She gave us the Saviour, she accompanied Him in the work of redemption, as far as the Cross itself, sharing with Him the sorrows of the agony and of the death in which Jesus consummated the redemption of mankind.”
One Minute Reflection – 18 September – The Memorial of St Joseph of Cupertino
Each one has his own gift from God…..1 Corinthians 7:7
REFLECTION – “Clearly, what God wants above all, is our will,which we received as a free gift from God in creation and possess as though our own. When a man trains himself to acts of virtue, it is with the help of grace from God, from whom all good things come that he does this. The will is what man has as his unique possession.” – Saint Joseph of Cupertino, from the reading for his feast in the Franciscan breviary
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help me to be holy in the way that You have laid out for me. Let me carry out my duties of my state of life to the full and grant me the grace to carry my crosses in honour of You. Only in You may I attain holiness, learning to give myself, my will, my heart and my soul only to You. St Joseph of Cupertino, you who were so disadvantaged, achieved by the grace of God, sanctity in this life and now behold His Face through all eternity. We ask for your intercession, amen.
Lord,Give me Your Heart By St Claude de la Colombiere
O God, what will You do to conquer
the fearful hardness of our hearts?
Lord, You must give us new hearts,
tender hearts, sensitive hearts,
to replace hearts that are made
of marble and of bronze.
You must give us Your own Heart, Jesus.
Come, lovable Heart of Jesus.
Place Your Heart deep
in the centre of our hearts
and enkindle in each heart
a flame of love as strong,
as great, as the sum of all the reasons
that we have for loving You, my God.
O holy Heart of Jesus,
dwell hidden in our hearts,
so that we may live only in You
and only for You,
so that, in the end, we may live
with You eternally in heaven.
Amen
St Ariadne
St Dominic Trach Doai
St Eumenius Thaumaturgus
St Eustorgius of Milan
St Ferreolus the Tribune
St Ferreolus of Limoges
St Hygbald
St Irene of Egypt
St Joseph of Cupertino
St Józef Kut
St Juan Massias
St Oceano of Nicomedia
St Richardis of Andlou
St Sophia of Egypt
—
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Carlos Eraña Guruceta
• Blessed Fernando García Sendra
• Blessed Jacinto Hoyuelos Gonzalo
• Blessed Jesus Hita Miranda
• Blessed José García Mas
• Blessed José María Llópez Mora
• Blessed Justo Lerma Martínez
• Blessed Salvador Chuliá Ferrandis
• Blessed Salvador Fernández Pérez
• Blessed Vicente Gay Zarzo
• Blessed Vicente Jaunzarás Gómez
NOVENA to St Padre Pio/St Pius of Pietrelcina – DAY FOUR – 17 September
St Padre Pio you have said:
I often think that there is only one thing in this base world which can soothe the most acute pain which pierces the heart when we see ourselves far from God, the source and consolation of distressed souls. That one thing is solitude, for here the soul enjoys sweet rest in the One who is its true peace. I want the heavenly Father to grant you the grace of stability in all your resolutions, not least of all your resolution to grow in holiness and to be silent and reduce to silence everything around you, so that you may hear the divine voice of the Beloved and establish with Him a tranquil and everlasting dialogue. Recollect yourself continually, and may your whole life be hidden in Jesus and with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, that is to say, in the silence of meditation and prayer. Try to be always more docile to grace and more and more generous with Jesus, making absolutely everything around you and within you to be silent. Don’t worry; rest trustfully in the divine Mercy. Silently adore the delicacy of the workings of divine grace
Let us Pray:
Gracious God, You generously blessed Your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the Spirit.
You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified,
as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son
and as a stirring inspiration to many people of Your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love.
Through his powerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness and disease.
Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people’s hearts.
With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily Mass,
inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ,
in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Through the intercession of Saint Pio,
we confidently beseech You to to grant us the grace of
………………. (state your petition here).
Help us to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion,
so that we, too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord
and one day rejoice in the Kingdom,
where You live and reign forever and ever. Amen
Thought for the Day – 17 September – The Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
It is said that Robert Bellarmine was so short that he used to stand on a stool to be seen over the high pulpits of Europe.
But he was a giant in many other ways. He devoted his life to the study of Scripture and Catholic doctrine. His writings help us understand that the real source of our faith is not merely a set of doctrines but rather the person of Jesus still living in the Church today.
When it comes down to it, what matters is Christ and Him Crucified, what matters is He who is love.
“Sweet Lord, you are meek and merciful.” Who would not give himself wholeheartedly to your service, if he began to taste even a little of your fatherly rule? What command, Lord, do you give Your servants? “Take my yoke upon you,” You say. And what is this yoke of Yours like? “My yoke,” You say, “is easy and my burden light.” Who would not be glad to bear a yoke that does no press hard but caresses? Who would not be glad for a burden that does not weigh heavy but refreshes? And so You were right to add: “And you will find rest for your souls.” And what is this yoke of Yours that does not weary, but gives rest? It is, of course, that first and greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” What is easier, sweeter, more pleasant, than to love goodness, beauty and love, the fullness of which You are, O Lord, my God?” Is it not true that You promise those who keep your commandments a reward more desirable than great wealth and sweeter than honey? You promise a most abundant reward, for as Your apostle James says: “The Lord has prepared a crown of life for those who love him.” What is this crown of life? It is surely a greater good than we can conceive of or desire, as Saint Paul says, quoting Isaiah: “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him.” – from On the Ascent of the Mind to God by Saint Robert Bellarmine
Quotes of the Day – 17 September – The Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
“Charity is that, with which no man is lost and without which, no man is saved.”
“When we appeal to the throne of grace, we do so through Mary, honouring God by honouring His Mother, imitating Him by exalting her, touching the most responsive chord in the Sacred Heart of Christ, with the sweet name of Mary.”
“The school of Christ, is the school of love. In the last day, when the general examination takes place… Love will be the whole syllabus.”
“LOVE is a marvellous and heavenly thing. It never tires and it never thinks it has done enough!”
St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 17 September – The Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation….Philippians 2:12
REFLECTION – “You have been created for the glory of God
and your own eternal salvation….this is your goal;
this is the centre of your life;
this is the treasure of your heart.
If your reach this goal, you will find happiness.
If you fail to reach it, you will find misery.”….St Robert Bellarmine
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, teach me to do everything for Your honour and glory.
Grant me the grace to work out my salvation with anxious concern each day of my life.
St Robert Bellarmine, as you worked tirelessly for the salvation of souls, so now
pray for us all, as tirelessly, that we may achieve eternal joy, amen.
I Place myself in Your Presence (Prayer before Holy Mass or at Eucharistic Adoration) Bl John Henry Newman
I place myself
in the presence of Him
in whose Incarnate Presence
I am before
I place myself there.
I adore You, O my Saviour,
present here as God and Man,
in soul and body,
in true flesh and blood.
I acknowledge and confess,
that I kneel before
that Sacred Humanity,
which was conceived
in Mary’s womb
and lay on Mary’s bosom,
which grew up to man’s estate
and by the Sea of Galilee
called the Twelve,
wrought miracles
and spoke words of wisdom
and peace.
Which, in due season
hung on the Cross,
lay in the tomb,
rose from the dead
and now reigns in heaven.
I praise and bless and give myself
wholly to Him,
who is the true Bread of my soul
and my everlasting joy.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 17 September – St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) Priest of the Society of Jesus, Bishop, Confessor, Cardinal, Theologian, Professor, Writer, Preacher, Mediator, Doctor of the Church. Born as Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino on 4 October 1542 at Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy and died on the morning of 17 September 1621 at Rome, Italy of natural causes. He was buried in Rome and his relics were translated to the Church of Saint Ignatius, Rome on 21 June 1923. Patronages – Canon lawyer, Catechists, Catechumens, Cincinnati, Ohio Archdiocese of, Bellarmine University, Fairfield University, Bellarmine College and School. He was Beatified on 13 May 1923, Rome by Pope Pius XI and Canonised 29 June 1930, Rome by Pope Pius XI – he was named a Doctor of the Church by the same Pope a year later. He is remembered as one of the most important Cardinals of the Catholic Counter Reformation.
Robert Bellarmine was born to an impoverished noble Italian family. His early intellectual accomplishments gave his father hope that Bellarmine would restore the family’s fortunes through a political career. His mother’s wish that he enter the Society of Jesus prevailed. The young Bellarmine, a very small, frail but lively fellow excelled in his studies, especially Latin and Italian poetry. It didn’t take long for it to become obvious that he wished to join the Society of Jesus. The rector of the college described him as “the best of our school and not far from the kingdom of heaven.” On completion of his studies, Bellarmine taught first at the University of Louvain in Belgium. In 1576 he accepted the invitation of Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585) to teach polemical theology at the new Roman College. When he was ordained in 1570, the study of Church history and the fathers of the Church was in a sad state of neglect. He devoted his energy to these two subjects, as well as to Scripture, in order to systematise Church doctrine against the attacks of the Protestant Reformers. He was the first Jesuit to become a professor at Louvain.
Robert Bellarmine spent the next 11 years teaching and writing his monumental Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith., a three-volume defence of the Catholic faith against the arguments of the Protestant reformers. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on the temporal power of the pope and the role of the laity. To this day, it is considered one of the most important texts of Catholic theology ever written. Three hundred years after its publication, it was called “the most complete defence of the Catholic teaching”. A confidant to the Popes, Bellarmine held a number of positions, including rector of the Roman College, examiner of bishops, Cardinal Inquisitor, Archbishop of Capua, and Bishop of Montepulciano.
Through his writings Bellarmine was involved in the political, religious and social issues of the time. Bellarmine incurred the anger of monarchists in England and France by showing the divine-right-of-kings theory untenable. He developed the theory of the indirect power of the Pope in temporal affairs; although he was defending the pope against the Scottish philosopher Barclay, he also incurred the ire of Pope Sixtus V. He argued with King James I of England and was a judge at the trial of Giordano Bruno. Bellarmine also communicated the decree of condemning the Copernican doctrine of the movements of the earth and sun, issued by Congregation of the Index to Galileo Galilei in 1616. Among many activities, Bellarmine became theologian to Pope Clement VIII, preparing two catechisms which have had great influence in the Church.
Much to the amazement of all, at the height of his career, at the age of 60, Pope Clement VIII appointed Robert Bellarmine the Archbishop of Capua. Bellarmine had never been in pastoral ministry. Nevertheless, he began a new dimension of his Priesthood with his usual enthusiasm. He would spend the next three years introducing the reforms of the Council of Trent in his Archdiocese. He travelled everywhere, preaching to the people. He visited his clergy as well as religious men and women to encourage them to renew the Church. He won the love of everyone.
The last major controversy of Bellarmine’s life came in 1616 when he had to admonish his friend Galileo, whom he admired. He delivered the admonition on behalf of the Holy Office, which had decided that the heliocentric theory of Copernicus was contrary to Scripture. The admonition amounted to a caution against putting forward—other than as a hypothesis—theories not yet fully proven.
Although he was one of the most powerful men in Rome and was made a cardinal by Pope Clement VIII on the grounds that“he had not his equal for learning.” While he occupied apartments in the Vatican, Bellarmine relaxed none of his former austerities. He limited his household expenses to what was barely essential, eating only the food available to the poor. He was known to have ransomed a soldier who had deserted from the army and gave most of his money to the poor. Once he gave the tapestries from his living quarters to the poor, saying that the walls wouldn’t catch cold. While he took little regard for his own comforts, he always saw to it that his servants and aides had everything they needed.
Robert Bellarmine died at Rome on 17 September 1621 at the age of 79. If his early career featured brilliant polemics and his middle years gentle, loving, pastoral life, his final years brought him transcendent peace. His writings turned spiritual. He wrote several works, the classics being “The Ascent of the Mind to God” and “The Art of Dying.” He wrote that this was his way of preparing for death and to move closer to his God. The process for his Canonisation was begun in 1627 but was delayed until 1930 for political reasons, stemming from his writings. In 1930, Pope Pius XI Canonised him and the next year declared him a Doctor of the Church.
St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Stigmata of St Francis of Assisi: While in meditation on Mount Alvernia in the Apennines in September 1224, Saint Francis received a vision of a six winged angel, a Seraphim. Francis saw that the angel was crucified. When the angel departed, Francis was left with wounds in his hands, feet and side as though he had been crucified. The wound in his side often seeped blood.
Stigmata of St Francis by Pietro Lorenzetti
—
St Agathoclia
St Brogan of Ross Tuirc
St Columba of Cordova
St Crescentio of Rome
St Emmanuel Nguyen Van Trieu
St Flocellus
St Hildegard von Bingen
St Justin of Rome
St Lambert of Maastricht
St Narcissus of Rome
St Peter Arbues
St Rodingus
St Satyrus of Milan
St Socrates
Bl Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary
St Stephen
St Theodora
St Uni of Bremen
St Zygmunt Sajna
St Zygmunt Szcesny Felinski
—
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War
• Blessed Álvaro Santos Cejudo Moreno Chocano
• Blessed Juan Ventura Solsona
• Blessed Timoteo Valero Pérez
NOVENA to St Padre Pio/St Pius of Pietrelcina – DAY THREE – 16 September
St Padre Pio you have said:
I am greatly comforted and very content in Jesus’ company and who could describe the help it is to me to have Him continually by my side? This company makes me much more careful not to do anything which would displease God. It seems to me as if Jesus is constantly watching me. If it sometimes happens that I lose the presence of God, I soon hear Our Lord calling me back to my duty. I cannot describe the voice He uses to call me back but I know that it is very penetrating and the soul who hears it finds it almost impossible to refuse what He asks.
Let us Pray:
Gracious God, You generously blessed Your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the Spirit.
You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified,
as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son
and as a stirring inspiration to many people of Your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love.
In the confessional, Padre Pio laboured endlessly for the salvation of souls.
Whenever You called, he answered,
serving Your people for the greater good of their souls
and for your Glory.
Through his powerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness and disease.
Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people’s hearts.
With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily Mass,
inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ,
in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Through the intercession of Saint Pio,
we confidently beseech You to to grant us the grace of
………………. (state your petition here).
Help us to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion,
so that we, too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord
and one day rejoice in the Kingdom,
where You live and reign forever and ever. Amen
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.