Thought for the Day – 31 July – The Memorial of St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Learn a bit more about St Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius Loyola is best known as the person who founded the Jesuits and whose spiritual insights gave birth to Ignatian spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises. A lesser-known fact is that the cannonball wound he received in battle is actually what led to his conversion experience. Without this conversion, there would be no Jesuits, no Ignatian spirituality.
Listed below are seven more fun facts about St Ignatius of Loyola that you’re unlikely to hear in general conversation about this 16th-century saint:
He once allowed the donkey on which he was riding to determine whether he should follow and bodily attack someone he thought had insulted the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Fortunately, the donkey chose the path that led away from the insulter.)
He thought that his leg had been set poorly after the cannonball incident and that, as a result, he wouldn’t look good in his courtier’s tights. So he had a doctor re-break his leg and start over!
He may be the only Canonised saint to have a notarised police record—for night-time brawling, with intent to inflict serious harm.
He was hauled before the Spanish Inquisition on a number of occasions.
At age 33, he joined a class of young children so he could learn Latin.
He sometimes cried with so much devotion at Mass that he couldn’t continue and he feared he would lose his eyesight.
He penned over 6,800 letters in his lifetime, making him one of the most prolific letter writers of his time—or any time, for that matter.
And below is a fun infographic by Loyola Press eating alongside St Ignatius as he grew up in Loyola, Spain, servds in the royal court, fasted after his conversion and later, lived out his last years in Rome.
The food Ignatius ate offers rich insight into his spiritual transformation, from the sumptuous feasts he enjoyed at court, to the severe fasting he subjected himself to post-conversion.
Second Thoughts of the Day – 31 July – The Mmorial of Saint Giustino de Jacobis CM (1800-1860) Apostolic Vicar of Abyssinia – Ethiopia and Eritrea
The great devotion to St Giustino but known as St Justin in Ethiopia/Eritrea
Eritrea is a recent nation in the Horn of Africa, on the shore of the Red Sea. It has an area of 127,750 sq. km. The population is calculated as 3,500,000 who live in Eritrea, with about a million scattered all over the world. It achieved its independence from Ethiopia after a long war of liberation in May 1991, later confirmed by a referendum in April 1993 with 99.8% in favour. The population is 50% Christian, the majority of whom are Orthodox Copts and 50% Moslem. Catholics are about 20% and Protestants 5%. Devotion to St Giustino (also known as Justin) is not confined to Catholics but is also found among the Orthodox and Moslems.
This devotion to St Justin, contains much of prayer and veneration and these two things which the Eritreans and Ethiopians do – they wash themselves over a period of two weeks in water which has been blessed beside St Justin’s tomb and they take a pinch of earth from the place in which he was first interred. By doing these two things his clients are convinced, that they will be healed of whatever form of illness from which they may be suffering. This may seem extremely pious — but this is what lovers of St Justin do and they feel miraculously healed. That is why at the moment his tomb in Hebo is still a place of pilgrimage. And also, in times of disaster and war, that is why it is to this tomb that many people come, trusting in his intercession. It is also where they come in times of drought to ask for rain through his intercession.
After his beatification several religious communities were established in Eritrea and also in Ethiopia. And many of them, before embarking on their ministry, had the custom of making a pilgrimage to his tomb in Hebo to ask his intercession for the success of their undertaking. Even today, his grave is one of the few pilgrimage destinations in all Eritrea and it will still be so tomorrow, at least to a large extent, in northern Ethiopia. The Vincentian Fathers and the Daughters of Charity have been there, beside his tomb, to welcome pilgrims since 1947-48. Diocesan priests usually have their annual retreats and pastoral meetings there in Hebo, in the presence of the saint. On the other hand, the place also lends itself to silence and recollection.
Many of them, because of their lack of historical knowledge combined with strong love and devotion, think and believe that St Justin was an Abyssinian, in other words one of themselves. Their devotion and admiration for and their love of, this man are so strong that they say: “He could not be a Ferengì,” which means a foreigner.
The Vincentian missionaries, who were well aware of the virtues and holy life of Justin, made several efforts to have his remains brought back to Italy. But the Hebo villagers showed very decided opposition to this, and said:
“Abuna Jacob is our Father. At present his place is among his children. Here he gave birth to our faith. We love him and he loves us. And the proof of his love is his final wish. He asked to be kept among us and no one may go against the wish of a dying man. He is ours and we are his and we will hold on to him.”
Msgr Biancheri replied to them:
“Yes, a father should rest among his children but a mother has the right to the body of her own son and the Congregation is the Mother of Abuna Jacob. We are his brothers. Is it right, then, for you to go against a mother’s wishes?”
But the villagers held on stubbornly to their point of view and did not allow the saint’s remains to be taken away by the missionaries. And Msgr Biancheri, noting the unwavering resolution of the people of Hebo, had to give in and then came the selection of those who were to keep vigil, day and night, over the remains of their father.
It remains to be said: “Yes, God sent Jesus Christ to save the human race. But this same God likewise sent, in Jesus Christ, St Justin to save the Abyssinian people. St Justin made himself Abyssinian in everything in order to win the Abyssinians for God. That is what they think and firmly believe. May St Justin again today obtain for this people, who have so loved peace, reconciliation as well.”
Quote/s of the Day – 31 July – The Memorial of St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
“We must speak to God as a friend speaks to his friend, servant to his master – now asking some favour, now acknowledging our faults and communicating to Him all that concerns us, our thoughts, our fears, our projects, our desires and in all things seeking His counsel.”
“If our church is not marked by caring for the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, we are guilty of heresy.”
“What seems to me white, I will believe black, if the hierarchical Church, so defines.”
“If God gives you an abundant harvest of trials, it is a sign of great holiness which He desires you to attain. Do you want to become a great saint? Ask God to send you many sufferings. The flame of Divine Love never rises higher than when fed with the wood of the Cross, which the infinite charity of the Saviour used to finish His sacrifice. All the pleasures of the world are nothing compared with the sweetness found in the gall and vinegar offered to Jesus Christ. That is, hard and painful things endured for Jesus Christ and with Jesus Christ…..If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that He certainly intends to make you a saint.”
One Minute Reflection – 31 July – Wednesday of the Seventeenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 13:44-46 and The Memorial of St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field” … Matthew 13:44
REFLECTION – “Christ is the treasure store of all grace for He is “filled with grace and truth” (Jn 1:14) and angels and humans receive from His fullness. He possesses the very source of fullness and, when He opens His hand, He fills all rational creatures with blessings. But this treasure store of graces, is concealed beneath the veil of the sacrament of the altar. Is it not true that “the Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field”? (Mt 13:44). And is not the field, in this case, the sacrament of the body of Christ, gathered in the fields? In this field we possess a hidden treasure because all kinds of graces are hidden there. “The man who discovered it went away in his joy, sold all he possessed and bought it” (Mt 13:44). Someone who knows the wealth of this sacrament willingly renounces all other activity, to freely give himself to participation and devotion towards this sacrament. He knows he will gain possession of eternal life according to the words of the Lord: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (Jn 6:55).
The treasure of all glory exists in Christ. All the glory, possessed by both angels and men, who are to be saved until the day of judgement, whether it be glory of body or glory of soul, is drawn from that store of treasure. For that store is He, the one whose treasures go to great depths and who set the incomprehensible limits of His glory. And so, He commands us to run to this treasure when He says: “Gather up treasure for yourselves in heaven” (Mt 6:20). This treasure is hidden beneath the veil of bread and wine that you might have the merit of faith.
So may the Lord be praised for His mercies since He represented His Body to us beforehand under the image of heavenly treasure!” … St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Almighty God, grant that the example of Your saints may spur us on to perfection, so that we, who are celebrating the feast of St Ignatius, may follow him step-by-step in his way of life to reach You in heaven. Grant us the grace, by his intercession, to find our treasure in Your divine Son, through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for always and forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 31 July – The Memorial of St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Suscipe By St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Take, Lord
and receive all my liberty,
my memory,
my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To You, Lord,
I return it.
Everything is Yours,
do with it what You will.
Give me only Your love
and Your grace,
that is enough for me.
Amen
Teach Us, Good Lord By St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Teach us, good Lord,
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,
except that of knowing
that we are doing Your will.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 31 July – Saint Giustino de Jacobis CM (1800-1860) Apostolic Vicar of Abyssinia – St Giustino was an Italian bishop and professed member of the Congregation of the Mission who became a Vicar Apostolic in Ethiopia and the Titular Bishop of Nilopolis. He is also known as Justin de Jacobis. Born on 9 October 1800 at San Fele, Luciana, Italy and died on 31 July 1860 on the side of a road near Halai, of a tropical fever in the valley of Alghedien Zula, Semenawi Keih Bahri, Eritrea while on a missionary trip. Patronages – Ethiopia, Eritrea, Missionaries.
On 17 October 1818 he entered the Congregation of the Mission at Naples and made his religious vows there on 18 October 1820. He was ordained to the priesthood at Brindisi on 12 June 1824. After spending some time in the care of souls at Oria and Monopoli he became superior first at Lecce and then at Naples.
In 1839 he was appointed as the first Prefect Apostolic of Ethiopia and entrusted with the foundation of Catholic missions there. After labouring with great success in Ethiopia for almost a decade, he was appointed as the Titular Bishop of Nilopolis in 1847 and not long afterwards the Vicar Apostolic. However, he refused the episcopal honour until it was forced upon him in 1849, when he received his episcopal consecration.
Despite imprisonment and exile combined with other kinds of persecution from the local Ethiopian Church he founded numerous Catholic missions. St Giustino also built schools in Agame and Akele Guzay for the training of a native priesthood and in the process he founded the beginnings of the Ethiopian Catholic Church and the Eritrean Catholic Church.
He died in 1860 at Hebo, of what is now the Southern Administrative Region of Eritrea, while en route to Halai, where he hoped to regain his health.
His body is interred in a Church in Hebo. He was Canonised on 26 October 1975 by St Pope Paul VI.
Our Lady of Consolation: Starting in the 2nd century, Catholics venerated Mary as Our Lady of Consolation, one of her earliest titles of honour. The title of Our Lady of Consolation, or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, comes from the Latin Consolatrix Afflictorum. The origin of this invocation is derived from the Augustinian monks who propagated this particular devotion. In 1436 the Confraternity of the Holy Cincture of Our Lady of Consolation was founded in Bologna, Italy. It was based on an Augustinian tradition which hold that Saint Monica in the fourth century, was distraught with anxiety for her wayward son, Augustine and that Mary gave her a sash which the Virgin wore, with the assurance that whoever wore this belt would receive her special consolation and protection. Along with Augustine and Monica, Our Lady of Consolation is one of the three patrons of the Augustinians. The “Augustinian Rosary” is sometimes called the “Corona (or Crown) of Our Mother of Consolation”.
St Helen of Skofde
Bl Jean-François Jarrige de La Morelie de Breuil
Bl John Colombini
St Marcel Denis
St Neot
—
Matyrs of Syria – 350 saints: 350 monks massacred by heretics for their adherence to orthodox Christianity and the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon. 517 in Syria.
Martyrs of Synnada: 3 Saints
Democritus
Dionysius the Martyr
Secundus
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939.
• Blessed Ciriaco Olarte Pérez de Mendiguren
• Blessed Dionisio Vicente Ramos
• Blessed Francisco Remón Játiva
• Blessed Miguel Goñi Ariz
• Blessed Miguel Francisco González-Díez González-Núñez
• Blessed Agapito Alcalde Garrido
• Blessed Ciriaco Olarte Pérez de Mendiguren
• Blessed Dionisio Vicente Ramos
• Blessed Francisco Remón Játiva
• Blessed Jaume Buch Canals
• Blessed Maria Roqueta Serra
• Blessed Miguel Goñi Ariz
• Blessed Miguel Francisco González-Díez González-Núñez
• Blessed Prudencio Gueréquiz y Guezuraga
• Blessed Segundo de Santa Teresa
• Blessed Teresa Subirà Sanjaume
• Blessed Vicenta Achurra Gogenola
• Blessed Francisca Pons Sardá
Thought for the Day – 30 July – The Memorial of St Peter Chrysologus “Golden Words” (c 400-450) Father & Doctor
Present your Bodies as a Living Sacrifice
Let your Heart be an Altar
Saint Peter Chrysologus
From a Sermon
I appeal to you by the mercy of God.
This appeal is made by Paul, or rather, it is made by God through Paul, because of God’s desire to be loved rather than feared, to be a father rather than a Lord. God appeals to us in His mercy to avoid having to punish us in His severity.
Listen to the Lord’s appeal.
In Me, I want you to see your own body, your members, your heart, your bones, your blood. You may fear what is divine but why not love what is human?
You may run away from Me as the Lord but, why not run to Me, as your Father?
Perhaps you are filled with shame for causing My bitter passion. Do not be afraid. This cross inflicts a mortal injury, not on me but on Death.
These nails no longer pain Me but only deepen your love for Me.
I do not cry out because of these wounds but through them, I draw you into My heart.
My body was stretched on the cross as a symbol, not of how much I suffered but of My all-embracing love.
I count it no less to shed my blood – it is the price I have paid for your ransom.
Come, then, return to Me and learn to know Me as your Father, who repays good for evil, love for injury and boundless charity for piercing wounds.
Listen now to what the Apostle urges us to do. I appeal to you, he says, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. By this exhortation of his, Paul has raised all men to priestly status. How marvellous is the priesthood of the Christian, for he is both the victim that is offered on his own behalf and the priest who makes the offering. He does not need to go beyond himself to seek what he is to immolate to God – with himself and in himself, he brings the sacrifice he is to offer God for himself. The victim remains and the priest remains, always one and the same. Immolated, the victim still lives, the priest who immolates cannot kill. Truly it is an amazing sacrifice in which a body is offered without being slain and blood is offered without being shed.
The Apostle says – I appeal to you by the mercy of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
Brethren, this sacrifice follows the pattern of Christ’s sacrifice by which He gave His body as a living immolation for the life of the world. He really made His body a living sacrifice, because, though slain, He continues to live. In such a victim death receives its ransom but the victim remains alive. Death itself suffers the punishment. This is why death for the martyrs is actually a birth and their end a beginning. Their execution is the door to life and those who were thought to have been blotted out from the earth shine brilliantly in heaven.
Paul says: I appeal to you by the mercy of God to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living and holy. The prophet said the same thing – Sacrifice and offering You did not desire but You have prepared a body for me.
Each of us is called to be both a sacrifice to God and His priest. Do not forfeit what divine authority confers on you. Put on the garment of holiness, gird yourself with the belt of chastity. Let Christ be your helmet, let the cross on your forehead be your unfailing protection. Your breastplate should be the knowledge of God that He Himself has given you. Keep burning continually the sweet smelling incense of prayer. Take up the sword of the Spirit. Let your heart be an altar. Then, with full confidence in God, present your body for sacrifice. God desires not death but, faith. God thirsts not for blood but, for self-surrender. God is appeased not by slaughter but, by the offering, of your free will.
Quote/s of the Day – 30 July – The Memorial of St Peter Chrysologus “Golden Words” (c 400-450) Father & Doctor and St Maria de Jesus Sacramentado(1868-1959)
“A gentle maiden having lodged a God in her womb, asks as its price, peace for the world, salvation for those who are lost and life for the dead.”
“He is The Bread sown in the virgin, leavened in the Flesh, moulded in His Passion, baked in the furnace of the Sepulchre, placed in the Churches and set upon the Altars, which daily supplies Heavenly Food to the faithful.”
“For he who touches the Body of Christ unworthily, receives his damnation.”
“We exhort you, in every respect, honourable brother, to heed obediently what has been written by the Most Blessed Pope of the City of Rome; for Blessed Peter, who lives and presides in his own see, provides the truth of faith to those who seek it.”
“The poor stretch out the hand but God receives what is offered.”
St Peter Chrysologus “Golden Words”
(c 400-450) Father & Doctor
“Those who are merciful with the needy of the world will not lack God’s mercy.”
“The weight of the cross is burdensome for those carrying it but not, for those, who embrace it.”
One Minute Reflection – 30 July – Tuesday of the Seventeenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 13:36–43 and the Memorial of St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” … Matthew 13:43
REFLECTION – Christians of the first centuries said, “The world was created for the sake of the Church” (Hermas). God created the world for the sake of communion with His divine life, a communion brought about by the “convocation” of men in Christ and this “convocation” (ecclesia) is the Church. The Church is the goal of all things and God permitted such painful upheavals as the angels’ fall and man’s sin only as occasions and means for displaying all the power of His arm and the whole measure of the love He wanted to give the world: “Just as God’s will is creation and is called “the world,” so His intention is the salvation of men and it is called “the Church” (St Clement of Alexandria).
The gathering together of the People of God, began, at the moment when sin destroyed the communion of men with God and that of men among themselves. the gathering together of the Church is, as it were, God’s reaction to the chaos provoked by sin. This re-unification is achieved secretly in the heart of all peoples: “In every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable” to God (Acts 10,35). The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when He calls Abraham and promises that He will become the father of a great people (Gn 12,2). Its immediate preparation begins with Israel’s election as the People of God (Ex 19,5). By this election, Israel is to be the sign of the future gathering of all nations (Is 2,2)….
It was the Son’s task to accomplish the Father’s plan of salvation in the fullness of time. It’s accomplishment was the reason for His being sent… To fulfil the Father’s will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth, the Church “is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery” (Vatican II, LG 3)… “The Church . . . will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven,” (LG 48) at the time of Christ’s glorious return… Until that day, “the Church… longs for the full coming of the Kingdom… The Church and through her, the world, will not be perfected in glory without great trials. Only then will “all the just from the time of Adam, ‘from Abel, the just one, to the last of the elect,’ be gathered together in the universal Church in the Father’s presence” (LG 2). … CCC #760-769
“This week, let’s ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom of time, the wisdom regarding the end, the wisdom of the resurrection, the wisdom of the eternal encounter with Jesus, that we are able to understand that this wisdom is in our faith. It will be a day of joyful encounter with Jesus. Let us pray that the Lord prepare us for this. Let each one of us end this week thinking about the end – “I will come to an end. I will not remain forever. How would I like to come to an end?”… Pope Francis (Santa Marta, 27 November 2018)
PRAYER – Almighty Father, send forth Your Spirit, that we may be created and Thou shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen. St Peter Chrysologus, pray for us!
Our Morning Offering – 30 July – Tuesday of the 17th week in Ordinary Time, Year C
Traditional Morning Offering for Unity with God’s Will
My God,
I do not know what may happen to me this day
but of one thing I am certain,
that nothing will happen
but what You have foreseen
and ordered from all eternity.
I submit myself to Your eternal plan
and accept it with a willing heart.
I unite myself
to the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, my Saviour,
In His name
and through His merits,
I ask of You, patience,
in all my trials and disappointments
and a total submission
to all that will happen to me
according to Your divine plan.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 30 July – Saint María de Jesús Sacramentado Venegas de La Torre (1868-1959) Religious Nun and Founder of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Guadalajara of which she is the Patron and of Nurses – Born María Natividad Venegas de la Torre on 8 September 1868 in La Tapona, Zapotlanejo, Jalisco, Mexico and died on 30 July 1959 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico of natural causes, aged 90.
María de Jesús Sacramentado – María de Jesús Sacramentado Venegas de la Torre, was born in a town in the municipality of Zapotlanejo, Jalisco (Mexico) on 8 September 1868, baptised with the name of María Natividad. The life of the young María Natividad was developed in a climate of simplicity, without extraordinary events, her childhood and adolescence with the nuances that life gives. At the age of 19, she was orphaned and lived thereafter in the care of a paternal aunt. María Natividad felt a strong attraction towards religious life and on 8 December 1989, she entered the flourishing Association of Daughters of Mary, in her native town.
On 8 December 1905 she attended some Spiritual Exercises and as a result of these, she decided to be part of the group of “Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus”, who cared for the sick in the Hospital of the Sacred Heart, newly founded by Canon Don Atenógenes Silva and Alvarez Tostado. She distinguished herself by her humility, simplicity, affable relationship with the sisters, the sick and people in general, this immense charity drunk from the source of the Divine Heart of Jesus, whom she loved, in whom she always waited and whose devotion sought to instil in all.
She manifested a special treatment for the bishops and priests, attending them with true love, respect and obedience, seeing in them the prolongation of Christ High and Eternal Priest. In the year of 1912 she was elected as the new Prioress, which position she held until 25 January 1921 when, at the first canonical elections, she was elected Superior General, shortly after, she wrote the Constitutions that would govern the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, these were approved in 1930, thus recognising the new Institute.
On 30 July 1959, she gave her soul to the Creator, full of peace, after receiving sacramental aid. The miracle recognised for her Canonisation concerned Mr Anastasio Ledezma Mora, who was taken to the Hospital of the Sacred Heart to undergo a surgical operation. After anesthesia, a cardiac arrest was manifested, which gradually increased until it ended in a complete arrest of the heart and arteries. Immediately, resuscitation therapies were tried, although in vain, so the patient fell into a deep coma.
The medical nurses who were in the operating room, as well as the wife of the sick and the sisters (Daughters of the Sacred Heart), invoked the intercession of the Blessed Mary of Jesus Sacramented. After 10 or 12 minutes, his heartbeat was restored to normal amazing the doctors especially as the patient suffered no damage to the brain. A few days later he underwent a hemicolectomy with definitive colostomy without any complications and left the hospital after recuperation, a perfectly well man….Vatican.va
St Abdon
Bl Antonio di San Pietro
Bl Edward Powell
St Ermengyth
St Hatebrand
St Julitta of Caesarea
St Leopold Bogdan Mandic
Bl Manés de Guzmán St María de Jesús Sacramentado Venegas de La Torre (1868-1959)
Bl Richard Featherstone
St Rufinus of Assisi
St Senen
St Tatwine of Canterbury
St Terenzio of Imola
Bl Thomas Abel
St Ursus of Auxerre
Bl Vicenta Chavez-Orozco
—
Martyrs of Castelseras: Three Dominicans, two of them priests, one a novice, who were martyred together in the Spanish Civil War for refusing to renounce Christianity.
• Joaquín Prats Baltueña
• José María Muro-Sanmiguel
• Zosimo Izquierdo Gil
They were shot on 30 July 1936 at a farm house outside Castelserás, Teruel, Spain and Beatified on 11 March 2001 by Pope John Paul II.
Martyrs of Tebourba – 3 saints: Three girls martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little else about them but the names – Donatilla, Maxima and Secunda. 304 at Tebourba in North Africa.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. Today’s list includes the following:
The Martyred Hospitallers of Spain and
Bl Alejandro González Blanco
Bl Eugenio García Tribaldos
Bl Guillermo Álvarez Quemada
Bl Juan Lanz Palanca
Bl Luis Herrero Arnillas
Bl Miguel Solas del Val
Bl Pablo Díaz de Zárate y Ortiz de Zárate
Bl Racardo Pla Espí
Bl Sergio Cid Paz
Thought for the Day – 29 July – Monday of the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of St Martha, Gospel: John 11:19–27
Martha’s great glory is her simple and strong statement of faith in Jesus after her brother’s death. “Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world’” (John 11:25-27).
Scripture commentators point out that in writing his account of the raising of Lazarus, Saint John intends that we should see Martha’s words to Mary before Lazarus was raised, as a summons that every Christian must obey. In her saying “The teacher is here and is asking for you,” Jesus is calling everyone of us to resurrection—now in baptismal faith, forever in sharing his victory over death. And all of us, as well as these three friends, are in our own unique way, called to special friendship with him.
One Minute Reflection – 29 July – Monday of the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of St Martha, Gospel: John 11:19–27
“Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.” … John 11:27
REFLECTION – “Christ went to raise Lazarus and the fame of that miracle was the immediate cause of His seizure and crucifixion (Jn 11,46)… He felt that Lazarus was wakening to life at His own sacrifice, that He was descending into the grave which Lazarus left. He felt that Lazarus was to live and He to die, the appearance of things was to be reversed, the feast was to be kept in Martha’s house (Jn 12,1f.) but the last passover of sorrow remained for Him. And Jesus knew that this reverse was altogether voluntary with Him. He had come down from His Father’s bosom to be an Atonement of blood for all sin and, thereby, to raise all believers from the grave, as He was then about to raise Lazarus and to raise them, not for a time, but for eternity…
Contemplating then the fullness of His purpose, while now going about a single act of mercy, He said to Martha, “I am the Resurrection and the Life: he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live and whosoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die.” Let us take to ourselves these comfortable thoughts, both in the contemplation of our own death, or upon the death of our friends. Wherever faith in Christ is, there is Christ Himself. He said to Martha, “Believe thou this?”Wherever there is a heart to answer, “Lord, I believe,” there Christ is present. There our Lord vouchsafes to stand, though unseen—whether over the bed of death or over the grave, whether we ourselves are sinking, or those who are dear to us. Blessed be his name! nothing can rob us of this consolation, we will be as certain, through His grace, that He is standing over us in love, as though we saw Him. We will not, after our experience of Lazarus’s history, doubt an instant that He is thoughtful about us and that he stands at our side.” … Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890) Cardinal, founder of the Oratory in England, theologian – Sermon “ The Tears of Christ at the Grave of Lazarus ” PPS, vol. 3, no.10
PRAYER – Almighty ever-living God, Your Son graciously came as a guest to the home of St Martha and was the friend of her family. Martha in her sorrow was moved to declare her total faith in Him, grant we pray, that in our trials and sorrows, we too may prove our love for You. By her prayers give us grace to serve Christ faithfully in our brethren and bring us to Your home in heaven. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 29 July – Monday of the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of St Martha
Lord God Look Down upon Us! (A Prayer for Workers) By Pope Francis
Lord God look down upon us!
Look at this city, this island.
Look upon our families.
Lord, You were not without a job,
You were a carpenter,
You were happy.
Lord, we have no work.
The idols want to rob us of our dignity.
The unjust systems want to rob us of hope.
Lord, do not leave us on our own.
Help us to help each other;
so that we forget our selfishness a little
and feel in our heart the “we”,
the we of a people
who want to keep on going.
Lord Jesus, You were never out of work,
give us work and teach us to fight for work
and bless us all.
In the name of the Father,
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.
Amen
*Prayer to the Lord at the conclusion of the meeting with workers (Cagliari, 22 September 2013)
Saint of the Day – 29 July – Blessed Pope Urban II (c 1035-1099) Bishop, Pope, Abbot, Confessor – born Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was Pope from 12 March 1088 to his death in 1099. Born at Lagery, France and died on 29 July 1099 in Rome, Italy of natural causes.
Urban II was a native of France. He was a descendant of a noble family in Châtillon-sur-Marne. Reims was the nearby cathedral school that Urban, at that time Eudes, began his studies at 1050, under St Bruno O.Cart. (c 1030 -1101), afterwards founder of the Carthusians. Otho later became canon and archdeacon at Reims.
About 1070 he retired to Cluny and was professed there under the abbot St Hugh. After holding the office of prior, he was sent by St Hugh to Rome as one of the monks asked for by Gregory VII. Otho was of great assistance to Gregory in the difficult task of reforming the Church. (2 images below are St Bruno with Pope Urban).
On 12 March, 1088, he was unanimously elected Bishop of Rome, taking the title of Urban II. His first act was to proclaim his election to the world and to exhort the princes and bishops who had been loyal to Gregory to continue in their allegiance. Urban declared his intention of following the policy and example of his great predecessor – “all that he rejected, I reject, what he condemned I condemn, what he loved I embrace, what he considered as Catholic, I confirm and approve”.
Due to issue with the Normans, Urban was unable to stay in Rome. He went to Sicily instead and Southern Italy. There was also an antipope in Rome. Eventually, the troops of pope and antipope met in a desperate encounter which lasted three days, with Urban’s troops winning and Urban returned to Rome. Urban was again expelled from Rome by Emperor Henry IV. For three years he was compelled to wander in exile about southern Italy. He spent the time holding councils and improving the character of ecclesiastical discipline.
Urban also started dealing with a Crusade request during a council held at Piacenza. The Eastern Emperor, Alexius I, had sent an embassy to the pope asking for help against the Seljuk Turks who were a serious menace to the Empire of Constantinople. Urban succeeded in inducing many of those present to promise to help Alexius but no definite step was taken till a few months later, when he summoned the most famous of his councils, that at Clermont in Auvergne. The council met in November, 1095 – thirteen archbishops, two hundred and twenty-five bishops and over ninety abbots answered the pope’s summons. The synod met in the Church of Notre-Dame du Port and began by reiterating the Gregorian Decrees against simony, investiture and clerical marriage.
Thousands of nobles and knights had met together for the council. It was decided that an army of horse and foot should march to rescue Jerusalem and the Churches of Asia from the Saracens. A plenary indulgence was granted to all who should undertake the journey pro sola devotione and further to help the movement, the Truce of God was extended and the property of those who had taken the cross was to be looked upon as sacred.
Coming forth from the church the pope addressed the immense multitude. He used his wonderful gifts of eloquence to the utmost, depicting the captivity of the Sacred City where Christ had suffered and died
– “Let them turn their weapons dripping with the blood of their brothers against the enemy of the Christian Faith. Let them, oppressors of orphans and widows, murderers and violators of churches, robbers of the property of others, vultures drawn by the scent of battle, let them hasten, if they love their souls, under their captain Christ to the rescue of Sion.”
In October, 1098, the pope held a council at Bari with the intention of reconciling the Greeks and Latins on the question of the filioque “and from the Son”. One hundred and eighty bishops attended, amongst whom was St Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) Doctor of the Church. The close of November saw the pope again in Rome; it was his final return to the city. Here he held his last council in April, 1099. Once more he raised his eloquent voice on behalf of the Crusades and many responded to his call. On 15 July, 1099, Jerusalem fell before the attack of the crusaders but Urban did not live to hear the news.
He died in the house of Pierleone which had so often given him shelter. His remains could not be buried in the Lateran because of the antipope’s followers who were still in the city but were conveyed to the crypt of St Peter’s where they were interred close to the tomb of Adrian I. Guibert of Nogent asserts that miracles were wrought at the tomb of Urban, who appears as a saint in many of the Martyrologies. Thus there seems to have been a cult of Urban II from the time of his death, though the feast (29 July) has never been extended to the Universal Church.
Amongst the figures painted in the apse of the oratory built by Calixtus II in the Lateran Palace is that of Urban II with the words sanctus Urbanus secundus beneath it. The head is crowned by a square nimbus and the pope is represented at the feet of Our Lady. The formal act of Beatification did not take place till the pontificate of Leo XIII. The cause was introduced by Mgr Langenieux, Archbishop of Reims, in 1878 and after it had gone through the various stages the decision was given by Leo XIII on 14 July 1881.
St Martha (Memorial) – Sister of Saint Lazarus and Saint Mary of Bethany. Friend of Jesus and hostess to Him in her house. May have been part of an early mission to France. St Martha: https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/29/saint-of-the-day-29-july-st-martha-virgin-1st-century/ More on St Martha here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/29/saint-of-the-day-29-july-st-martha/
Chirsk-Pskov Icon of the Mother of God:
The Chirsk (Pskov) Icon of the Mother of God was initially in the Chirsk village church of the Pskov diocese. In a time of a deadly pestilence, tears flowed from the eyes of the Chirsk Icon of the Mother of God. This was reported to authorities in the city of Pskov. Priests and devout men carried the wonder-working icon to Pskov. A procession was held to honour the icon, which was placed in the cathedral church of the Holy Trinity.
On the reverse of the icon are depicted the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke and St Theodosius of the Kiev Caves.
St Antony
St Beatrix of Rome
Bl Beatrix of Valfleury
St Callinicus of Paphlagonia
Bl Charles-Antoine-Nicolas Ancel
St Faustinus of Rome
St Faustinus of Spello
St Felix of Rome
St John Baptist Luo Tingyin
St John the Soldier
Bl José Calasanz Marqués
St Joseph Zhang
St Kilian of Inishcaltra
St Lek Sirdani
Bl Luis Bertran
St Lupus of Troyes
Bl Mancius of the Cross
St Martha Wang
St Olaf II
St Olaus of Sweden
St Paulus Chen Changpin
Bl Petrus of Saint Mary
St Pjetër Çuni
St Prosper of Orleans
St Rufo of Rome
St Seraphina
St Serapia of Syria
St Simplicius of Rome
St Sulian Bl Pope Urban II (c 1035-1099)
St William of Saint Brieuc
—
Four Anonymous Martyrs
Martyrs of Calanda – 8 beati: A group of Dominican priests and friars who were martyred over the course of a day in the same town by the same group of anti-Christian forces in the Spanish Civil War.
• Antonio Manuel López Couceiro
• Felicísimo Díez González
• Gumersindo Soto Barros
• Lamberto María de Navascués de Juan
• Lucio Martínez Mancebo
• Matías Manuel Albert Ginés
• Saturio Rey Robles
• Tirso Manrique Melero
They were martyred on 29 July 1936 in Calanda, Teruel, Spain and Beatified on 11 March 2001 by St Pope John Paul II.
Martyrs of Lleida – 12 beati: Carmelites of the Ancient Observance novices, friars and priests who were all martyred together in the Spanish Civil War.
• Àngel Prat Hostench
• Eliseo Maneus Besalduch
• Gabriel Escoto Ruiz
• Ginés Garre Egea
• Joan Maria Puigmitjà Rubió
• Joan Prat Colldecarrera
• Josep Solé Rovira
• Lluis Fontdecava Quiroga
• Manuel Serrano Buj
• Miquel Soler Sala
• Pere Dorca Coromina
• Pere Ferrer Marín
They were martyred on 29 July 1936 in Clot dels Aubens, Cervera, Lleida, Spain and Beatified on 28 October 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939.
• Blessed Bartolomé Rodríguez Soria
Martyrs of Rome – 23 saints
Eugene
Flora the Martyr
Lucilla
Theodore
Thought for the Day – 28 July – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 11:1–13 and the Memorial of St Pedro Poveda (1874-1936) Martyr
“The men of God and the women of God are unmistakable. They do not stand out because they are brilliant, or dazzling, or for their human strength but because of their wholesome fruit,” wrote Saint Pedro Poveda in a letter in 1925. These words may describe his life. He was a weaver of dreams because he was able to dream, design projects and even achieve some dreams through his trust in Divine Providence.
Saint Pedro Poveda, priest, educator, founder of the Teresian Association, active in over 30 countries now and martyr was born in Linares, Spain, on 3 December 1874. He died on 28 July 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. He witnessed to his Christian faith and to his priesthood until his last moment. He was Canonised by St Pope John Paul II on 4 May 2003.
“My belief, my faith, is not wavering
but firm and unshakeable
and that is why I speak out.”
St Pedro Poveda, 1920.
PRAYER THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF SAINT PEDRO POVEDA
Lord, our God,
you have given Saint Pedro Poveda,
Founder of the Teresian Association,
the grace of promoting
the evangelising action of Christians,
through education and culture,
and of giving his life in martyrdom
as a priest of Jesus Christ:
we ask that, like him, we may know
how to participate faithfully
in the mission of the Church
through the witnessing of our Christian life
and the generous surrender
to the announcement of Your Kingdom.
We pray that through his intercession,
you may grant us the favour we wish to receive.
………………………. (make your petition)
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen
His remains are venerated in the chapel that bears his name at the Cultural and Spirituality Center, Santa Maria de Los Negrales.
Quote/s of the Day – 28 July – The Memorial of St Pedro Poveda (1874-1936) Martyr
“Lord, may I think, what you want me to think. May I desire, what you want me to desire. May I speak, as you want me to speak. May I work, as you want me to work.”
When the Civil War broke out, he was identified as an enemy by those who wished to dechristianse the schools. A few days before his death he wrote:
“Now more than ever, we must study the lives of the first Christians so as to learn from them, how to behave in times of persecution. See how they obeyed the Church, how they confessed Christ, how they prepared for martyrdom, how they prayed for their persecutors and forgave them…”
Sunday Reflection – 28 July – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 11:1–13
Become the bread of Christ
St Bernard (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church
Saint Bernard teaches that it is not enough for us to take and eat the Bread from Heaven. We must also offer ourselves to be eaten. Holy Communion is a wondrous exchange in which we become the bread of Christ. Listen to Saint Bernard:
“My penitence, my salvation are His food. I myself am His food. I am chewed. as I am reproved by Him; I am swallowed by Him. as I am taught; I am digested by Him. as I am changed; I am assimilated. as I am transformed; I am made one with Him, as I am conformed to Him. He feeds upon us and is fed by us, that we may be the more loosely bound to Him.”
Saint Bernard, ever the poet, uses images of eating and assimilation to describe how Christ unites us to Himself. Our Lord becomes our food that we might become His. We need the language of poets and preachers in our approach to the Eucharist.
Saint Bernard says, “Christ eats me that He may have me in Himself and Christ, in turn, is eaten by me, that He may be in me and the bond between us, will be strong and the union complete.”
What awaits you in Holy Communion exceeds all that you can desire. Eat, then and offer yourself to be eaten. Receive the Bread of God and become the bread of God.
One Minute Reflection – 28 July – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 11:1–13 and the Memorial of St Pedro Poveda (1874-1936) Martyr
“For everyone who asks, receives and he who seeks, finds and to him who knocks, it will be opened.” … Luke 11:10
REFLECTION – “The attitude of prayer is one and the same for all but there are many kinds of prayer and many different prayers. Some converse with God as with a friend and master, interceding with praise and petition not for themselves but for others. Some strive for more (spiritual) riches and glory and for confidence in prayer. Others ask for complete deliverance from their adversary. Some beg to receive some kind of rank, others for complete forgiveness of debts. Some ask to be released from prison, others for remission of accusations.
Before all else, let us list sincere thanksgiving, first on our prayer-card. On the second line we should put confession and heartfelt contrition of soul. Then let us present our petition to the King of all. This is the best way of praying.” … St John Climacus (c 575-c.650) The Ladder of Divine Ascent 28, 6-7
PRAYER – All-powerful and ever-living God, splendour of true light and never-ending day, chase away the night of sin and fill our minds with the glory of Your coming. Take away our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, help us in our battle with sin and the devil. By our prayers, Your holy sacraments and the strength of the Holy Spirit, may we be ever vigilant of the evil one. By our baptism in Your Son, we are Your children, grant us Your protection. Listen, to the prayers of Saint Pedro Poveda, as we ask for his intercession, through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 28 July – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Make Your Dwelling in Me By St John Damascene (675-749) Father & Doctor of the Church
Hold dominion over my heart, O Lord!
Keep it as Your inheritance.
Make Your dwelling in me,
along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Widen in me
the cords of Your tabernacle,
even the operations
of Your Most Holy Spirit.
For You are my God
and I will praise You,
together with the Eternal Father
and your quickening Spirit,
now, henceforth and forever.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 28 July – Saint Pedro Poveda Castroverde (1874-1936) (aged 61) Priest and Martyr, Founder of the Teresian Association, Teacher, apostle of charity and prayer, promoter of the woman’s role in society especially via Christian female education – born on 3 December 1874 at Linares, Jaen, Spain and died by firing squad on 28 July 1936 at Madrid, Spain.
Pedro Poveda was born on 3 December 1874 in Linares, Spain, to a solidly Christian family. From early childhood he felt called to become a priest and in 1889 he entered the diocesan seminary in Jaén. Because of financial difficulties, he transferred to the Diocese of Guadix, Grenada, where the Bishop had offered him a scholarship . He was ordained a priest on 17 April 1897.
After ordination Fr Poveda taught in the seminary and served the diocese in many other ways. In 1900 he completed a licentiate in theology at Seville and later began an apostolate among the “cave-dwellers”, those who lived in dugouts in the hills outside of Guadix. Here he built a school for children and workshops for adults that provided professional training and Christian formation. He was misunderstood, however, and had to leave this special ministry.
So Fr Poveda headed for the solitude of Covadonga, in the mountains of northern Spain, where, in 1906, he was appointed canon of the Basilica of Covadonga in Asturias, where the Blessed Virgin is venerated under this title.
In Covadonga, he devoted much time to prayer and reflected particularly on the problem of education in Spain. He understood that the Lord was inviting him to open new paths in the Church and in the society of his time . He began to published articles and pamphlets on the question of the professional formation of teachers and was also in contact with other persons who felt the need for the presence and action of Christians in society.
The opposition between faith and science was becoming more and more evident in the culture of his day, which carried with it a de-Christianisation of the public education system. Fr Poveda, after his apostolic experience in Guadix and his years of reflection and prayer in Covadonga, understood better the need to provide Christian formation for teachers who work in the State school system. He believed that a solid faith and professional qualifications were both needed to keep the Gospel message alive.
In 1911 he opened the St Teresa of Avila Academy as a residence for students and the starting point of the Teresian Association, dedicated to the spiritual and pastoral formation of teachers. The following year he joined the Apostolic Union of Secular Priests and started new pedagogical centres and some periodicals.
To further his work Fr Poveda moved to Jaén, where he taught in the seminary, served as spiritual director of Los Operarios Catechetical Centre and worked at the Teacher Training College. In 1914 he opened Spain’s first university residence for women in Madrid.
Meanwhile, the Teresian Association continued to develop, spreading to various groups and areas and leading to its ecclesiastical and civil approval in Jaén. Fr Poveda offered the Teresian Association as a new path of Christian life and evangelisation created with- and for- lay persons, forming them to be witnesses of the Gospel, according to his expression: “To believe firmly and to keep silent is not possible”. He wanted the adherents to be ready to give their lives for the faith and in fact, expressed the same desire himself.
In 1921 Fr Poveda moved to Madrid and was appointed a chaplain of the Royal Palace. A year later he was named a member of the Central Board against illiteracy but most of his time was devoted to the Teresian Association, which received papal approval in 1924. Although he did not direct the Association, as its founder, he worked to consolidate and promote the various dimensions of its mission as it spread to Chile and later to Italy (1934).
It was during the religious persecution in Spain that Fr Poveda would be called to the martyrdom he so desired. At dawn on 28 July 1936, when told by his persecutors to identify himself, he said, “I am a priest of Christ”. He died a martyr for the faith and was Beatified on 10 October 1993 and Canonised on 4 May 2003 by St Pope John Paul II…Vatican.va
Father Poveda was deeply aware of both the need for education in his country, and for qualified teachers to provide it. He also saw this as an important role for women. In 1911 Pedro founded 1911 the St Teresa of Avila Academy in Oviedo for those ladies studying to become teachers. He named it after St Teresa of Avila, a woman of learning, a doctor of the Church and a teacher of prayer. He named his organisation the Teresian Association. Its aim is to invite men and women to work for a social and human transformation, in accordance with Gospel values, from the platform of their own professions, especially those related to the fields of education and culture. The early members of the Association were women involved in all levels of education, from elementary to the provision of higher education for women. Additional academies were established in many other cities of Spain. This association has schools around the world, including Brazil, Ireland, Philippines, India and in most South American capitals.
The Teresian Headquartes in Madrid
In 1914 he opened Spain’s first university residence for women in Madrid. Residences for women were opened in those places that have a university.
In 1924, Pope Pius XI approved the Teresian Association as a “pious union of the faithful” and later spread to Chile and Italy. In 1951 the Teresian Association was granted the status of Secular Institute. On 10th July 1990, St Pope John Paul II approved that it reverts back to its original identity as being an Association of the Faithful. The Teresian Association is registered in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life of the Holy See. It is active in thirty countries. Its objective is the human promotion of individuals and the transformation of unjust structures by means of an education and culture imparted from a Christian perspective.
A film was made of his life in 2016.
“St Pedro Poveda, grasping the importance of the role of education in society, undertook an important humanitarian and educational task among the marginalised and the needy. He was … a teacher of the Christian life and of the relationship between faith and knowledge, convinced that Christians must bring essential values and commitment to building a world that is more just and mutually supportive. His life ended with the crown of martyrdom.”… Homily of St Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his Apostolic Journey to Spain, 4 May 2003
St Acacius of Miletus St Alphonsa of the Immaculae Conception/India FCC (1910-1946) About St Alphonsa: https://anastpaul.com/2017/07/28/saint-of-the-day-28-july-st-alphonsa-of-the-immaculate-conception/
St Arduinus of Trepino
St Botwid of Sudermannland
St Camelian of Troyes
St Celsus of Rome
Bl Christodoulos
Bl Davíd Carlos-Marañon
St Eustathius of Galatia
St Irene of Cappadocia
Bl John Soreth
St José Caselles-Moncho
Bl José Melchór García-Sampedro Suárez
Bl Josep Castell-Camps
St Longinus of Satala
St Lucidius of Aquara
St Lyutius
Bl Manuel Segura-López
St Nazarius of Rome St Pedro Poveda Castroverde (1874-1936) Priest and Martyr
He is the first US-born Priest and Martyr to be Beatified (on 23 September 2017) and the second person to be Beatified on US soil following the 2014 Beatification of New Jersey-born nun, Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich S.C. (1901-1927).
His First Feast Day today, 28 July 2018
St Pope Victor I
—
Martyrs of Laodicea – 8 saints
Martyrs of Thebaid: A large but unspecified number of Christians who were imprisoned, tortured and murdered together in the persecutions of Decius and Valerian. 3rd century Thebes, Egypt.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War – Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939.
Martyrs of Fernán Caballero – 14 beati: Fourteen Claretian clerics who were martyred together in the Spanish Civil War. – 28 July 1936 in Fernán Caballero, Ciudad Real, Spain. They were Beatified on 13 October 2013 by Pope Francis.
Bl Antolín Astorga Díez
Bl Enrique Serra Chorro
Bl Gregorio Charlez Ribera
Bl Joan Ayats Plantalech
Bl Joan Bover Teixidor
Bl Joan Costa Canal
Bl José Aurelio Calleja de Hierro
Bl José Gutiérrez Arranz
Bl Josep Camí y Camí
Bl Josep Martí Coll
Bl Lluis Casanovas Vila
Bl Lorenzo Arribas Palacio
Bl Manuel Collellmir Sentíes
Bl Miguel Léibar Garay
Bl Narcís Felíu Costa
Bl Pedro Alonso Fernández
Bl Pelagi Ayats Vergés
Bl Pere Vilar Espona
Bl Primitivo Sandín Miñambres
Bl Ramon Gros Ballbé
Bl Vicente Toledano Valenciano
Thought for of the Day – 27 July – Saturday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: 13:24-30
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared, to a man who sowed good seed in his field but, while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?’”… Matthew 13:24-27
The field owner’s attitude is that of hope, grounded in the certainty, that evil does not have the first nor the last word.
And it is thanks to this patient hope of God, that the same weed, which is the malicious heart with so many sins, in the end can become good grain.
But be careful – evangelical patience is not indifference to evil, one must not confuse good and evil!
In facing weeds in the world, the Lord’s disciple is called to imitate the patience of God, to nourish hope, with the support of indestructible trust, in the final victory of good, that is, of God.
Quote/s of the Day – 27 July – Saturday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: 13:24-30
“Speaking of: Temptation”
‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?’
Matthew 13:27
“As we do battle and fight, in the contest of faith, God, His angels and Christ Himself, watch us. How exalted is the glory, how great the joy of engaging in a contest with God presiding, of receiving a crown, with Christ as judge.”
St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258)
Bishop, Martyr, Father of the Church
“The dragon sits by the side of the road, watching those who pass. Beware lest he devour you. We go to the Father of Souls but it is necessary to pass by the dragon.”
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Father & Doctor of the Church
“So let us not be afraid of temptations. Rather, let us glory in them saying: “When I am weak, then am I strong.” [2 Cor. 12:10]”
St Ambrose (339-397 AD)
Doctor of the Church
“He could have kept the devil from Himself but if He were not tempted, He could not teach you how to triumph over temptation.”
Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop and Great Western Father
and Doctor of the Church
“Three things are absolutely necessary against temptation – prayer to enlighten us, the sacraments to strengthen us and vigilance to preserve us. Happy are souls that are tempted! It is when the devil discerns that a soul is tending towards union with God that he redoubles his rage!”
St John Marie Vianney (1786-1859)
“God will never permit anything, to happen to us, that is not for our greater good.”
“The storms that are raging around you, will turn out to be for God’s glory, your own merit and the good of many souls.”
“We have close to us, an angelic spirit, who never leaves us for an instant, from the cradle to the grave, who guides and protects us, like a friend or a brother.”
One Minute Reflection – 27 July – Saturday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: 13:24-30
“Let both grow together until the harvest and at harvest time, I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned but gather the wheat into my barn.’”… Matthew 13:30
REFLECTION – “It is not only sheep who abide in the Church, nor do only clean birds fly there to and fro. But amongst the grain other seed is sown, for “amidst the neat grain-fields, burrs and weeds and barren oats lord it in the land” (Virgil’s Georgics). What is the farmhand to do? Root up the darnel? In that case the whole harvest is destroyed along with it!
Every day the farmer diligently drives away the birds by making a noise or by frightening them with scarecrows (…) Nevertheless he suffers from the raids of nimble roes or the wantonness of wild asses, on the one hand, voles convey the grain to their underground barns, on the other, ants in a moving column ravage the crop. This is how things are! No-one who has land is free from care.
While the householder slept, the enemy sowed tares, when the servants hastened to go and root them up, the Master prevented them, reserving for Himself the separation of wheat and chaff. (…) No-one, before the Day of Judgement, can take Christ’s winnowing fan in hand, no-one can pass judgement on another, whoever they might be.”… St Jerome (347-420) Priest, translator of the Bible, Father and Doctor of the Church – The dialogue against the Luciferians (SC 473, p 179-180)
PRAYER – All-powerful and ever-living God, splendour of true light and never-ending day, chase away the night of sin and fill our minds with the glory of Your coming. Take away our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, help us in our battle with sin and the devil. By our prayers, Your holy sacraments and the strength of the Holy Spirit, may we be ever vigilant of the evil one. Grant we pray, that the Blessed Virgin’s prayers, may protect us from all dangers. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 27 July – Saturday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – a “Marian Saturday”
Shelter Me Under Your Mantle By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
Most holy Virgin Immaculate, my Mother Mary,
to you who are the Mother of my Lord,
the Queen of the Universe, the Advocate,
the hope, the refuge of sinners,
I, who am the most miserable of all sinners,
have recourse this day.
I venerate you, great Queen
and I thank you for the many graces
you have bestowed upon me even unto this day,
in particular for having delivered me from the hell
which I have so often served by my sins.
I love you, my dearest Lady
and because of that love,
I promise to serve you willingly forever
and to do what I can,
to make you loved by others also.
I place in you all my hopes for salvation,
accept me as your servant
and shelter me under your mantle,
you who are the Mother of Mercy.
And since you are so powerful with God,
deliver me from all temptations,
or at least obtain for me the strength
to overcome them until death.
From you I implore a true love for Jesus Christ.
Through you I hope to die a holy death.
My dear Mother, by your love for Almighty God,
I pray you to assist me always
but most of all, at the last moment of my life.
Forsake me not then,
until you shall see me safe in heaven,
there to bless you
and sing of your mercies through all eternity.
Such is my hope.
Amen
At the age of 19, she was orphaned and lived thereafter in the care of a paternal aunt. María Natividad felt a strong attraction towards religious life and on 8 December 1989, she entered the flourishing Association of Daughters of Mary, in her native town.
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.