One Minute Reflection – 12 February – Thursday of the Twenty third week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 6:27–38 and the Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary
“Love your enemies” … Luke 6: 27
REFLECTION – “This Gospel passage is rightly considered the magna carta of Christian non-violence. It does not consist in succumbing to evil, as a false interpretation of “turning the other cheek” (cf. Lk 6: 29) claims but in responding to evil with good (cf. Rom 12: 17-21) and thereby breaking the chain of injustice.
One then understands that for Christians, non-violence is not merely tactical behaviour but a person’s way of being, the attitude of one who is so convinced of God’s love and power that he is not afraid to tackle evil, with the weapons of love and truth alone.
Love of one’s enemy constitutes the nucleus of the “Christian revolution”, a revolution not based on strategies of economic, political or media power – the revolution of love, a love that does not rely ultimately on human resources but is a gift of God which is obtained by trusting solely and unreservedly in His merciful goodness. Here is the newness of the Gospel which silently changes the world! Here is the heroism of the “lowly” who believe in God’s love and spread it, even at the cost of their lives.” … Pope Benedict XVI 18 February 2007
PRAYER – God of love and might, teach us Your ways! You sent us Your only-begotten Son out of love for sinful man. May we follow Him in all that we think, do and say. May His humble heart be our hearts, may His gentle way be our way. And may the sweet love of Mary His Mother and ours, aid us on our pilgrimage. With great affection and confidence, we honour the Holy Hearts and invoke the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, to be our constant source of pure assistance and succour. Blessed Virgin, Most Holy Mother, pray for us. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 12 September – Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
Hail Mary, the Angelic Salutation
The Hail Mary/Ave Maria
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Áve María, grátia pléna,
Dóminus técum.
Benedícta tū in muliéribus,
et benedíctus frúctus véntris túi, Iésus.
Sáncta María, Máter Déi,
óra pro nóbis peccatóribus,
nunc et in hóra mórtis nóstrae.
Ámen.
Saint of the Day – 12 September – Saint Guy of Anderlecht (c 950–1012) Hermit and Pilgrim known as “the Poor Man of Anderlecht”(also called – Guido, Guidon, Wye of Laken) Patronages – Anderlecht, Belgium, epileptics, against epilepsy, rabies, rabid animals, animals with horns, bachelors, convulsive children, farmers, labourers, workers, protection of outbuildings, sheds and stables, sacristans, sextons, work horses.
Born in Anderlecht, Belgian, a small village outside of Brussels, Guy was raised and instructed by poor but pious parents. From an early age, he demonstrated great devotion to the Lord and to Our Blessed Mother Mary. He proclaimed, while still a child, his wish to count himself among the special flock of Christ—the poor—for his entire life and dedicated himself to a life of poverty and service to those who had nothing. Throughout his childhood, he gave away all he had and spent his days visiting the sick and elderly of the town. It is said that when he worked the fields of his parents, an angel came and pushed the plough so that he might better pray undisturbed. Guy came to be recognised as a saint by many!
As Guy matured, his devotion only increased. He spent hours in prayer each day, rarely sleeping but instead contemplating the Lord. He travelled frequently to the church of Our Lady at Laeken, outside Brussels and demonstrated such devotion to Mary that the priest approached him and asked him to stay and serve the Church. It was with tremendous joy that Saint Guy remained in the church as a Sacristan, constantly cleaning, sweeping, polishing the altars and attending to the most menial needs during the day—stopping only to befriend and serve those who were poor and came on foot to the church looking for assistance. Each night he spent in prayer, rarely sleeping but instead could be found kneeling at the foot of the cross, praying for the poor.
After many years of service, a savvy merchant from Brussels sought to take advantage of Guy and offered him a share of his business, convinced him that through making more money, he could help more people. Guy wished nothing more than to remain in the churc, but he saw the benefit in helping others and left his post. Almost immediately the business failed and Guy, realising his mistake, returned to the church only to find his position filled. Guy engaged in severe acts of penance for the remainder of his life, offering all he had to the Lord for his inconstancy. He travelled on pilgrimage—on foot—for seven years, visiting Rome and then the Holy Land, returning to Belgium and serving as a guide at the holy shrines.
Eventually, in his early 60s, Guy returned to Anderlecht and died soon thereafter. In death, a golden light shone around hi, and a heavenly voice was heard my many, proclaiming his eternal reward in heaven. He was buried in Anderlecht and many miracles were attributed to his intercession at his grave.
His grave is said to have become a place of pilgrimage for horses too, when a horse stopped at it. Cabdrivers of Brabant led an annual pilgrimage to Anderlecht until the beginning of World War I in 1914. They and their horses headed the procession followed by farmers, groom, and stable boys, all leading their animals to be blessed. The village fair that ended the religious procession was celebrated by various games, music and feasting, followed by a competition to ride the carthorses bareback. The winner entered the church on bareback to receive a hat made of roses from the parish pastor.
Most Holy Name of Mary (Optional Memorial): Feast of the entire Latin Church. It was first observed at Cuenca, Spain in 1513, then extended to the universal Church and assigned to its present place and rank by Pope Innocent XI in 1683 in thanksgiving to God and the Blessed Virgin for the liberation of Vienna, France and the signal victory over the Turks on 12 September 1683. It is the titular feast of the Society of Mary (Marianists) and of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
St Ailbe
Bl Apolinar Franco
St Autonomous
St Curonotus
St Dominic Magoshichi
St Eanswida
St Francis of Saint Bonaventure
St Franciscus Ch’oe Kyong-Hwan St Guy of Anderlecht (c 950–1012)
St Juventius of Pavia
Bl Maria Luisa Angelica/Gertrude Prosperi (1799-1847)
St Mancius of Saint Thomas
St Paul of Saint Clare
Bl Pierre-Sulpice-Christophe Faverge
St Sacerdos of Lyon
St Silvinus of Verona
St Tomás de Zumárraga Lazcano
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Martyrs of Alexandria – 6 saints: A group of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than their names – Hieronides, Leontius, Sarapion, Seleusius, Straton and Valerian. They were drowned c 300 at Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Phrygia – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred for destroying pagan idols. We know little more than their names – Macedonius, Tatian and Theodolus. They were burned to death in 362 in Phrygia (modern Turkey).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Fortunato Arias Sánchez
• Blessed Francisco Maqueda López
• Blessed Jaume Puigferrer Mora
• Blessed Josep Plana Rebugent
• Blessed Julián Delgado Díez
Thought for the Day – 11 September – – Wednesday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 6:20–26 and The Memorial of St John Gabriel Perboyre (1802-1840) Martyr of the Congregation of the Mission
“Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for so their fathers did to the prophets. ... Luke 6:22-23
A sermon he heard at age 15 inspired St John Gabriel to become a missionary in China. There he met a brutal death on a cross for refusing to renounce his faith.
Born in France in 1802, Jean-Gabriel became a Vincentian priest. He displayed so many gifts and had such fine personal and spiritual qualities that, for a time, his religious order kept him busy closer to home.
He finally received permission to begin his missionary endeavours in 1835. After a 1,000-mile trip by boat and foot across three provinces, he arrived in central China. In one early letter, written to his community in Paris, he described himself as a curious sight – “my head shaved, a long pig-tail, stammering my new languages, eating with chopsticks.”
He soon joined the Vincentians in helping to rescue abandoned Chinese children and in educating them in the Catholic faith. He was arrested in 1839 under an edict that banned Christianity. He was tortured and interrogated for months. Almost one year later he was executed by strangling while hanging on a cross.
Saint Jean-Gabriel was Canonised by St Pope John Paul II in 1996. Chinese government officials denied permission for any public Mass commemorating the new saint.
So many saints seem to have lived centuries ago. Jean-Gabriel is far more recent and we can identify better with his life and circumstances. His life and death speak to us of living the faith in our own times and places, for these are times of great persecution and endurance for the Son of man!
One Minute Reflection – 11 September – Wednesday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 6:20–26
“Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.” … Luke 6:21
REFLECTION – “Let us hope, let all those of us who weep and shed innocent tears keep on hoping, let us hope whether we are weeping for the pains of body or of soul, these will serve as our purgatory. God will make use of them to… make us raise our eyes to Him, purify us and sanctify us.
Let us hope even more if we are weeping for the pains of others, for this act of charity is inspired by God and pleasing to Him. Let us hope even more, if we are weeping, for our own sins, since this compunction has been placed into our souls by God Himself. Let us hope even more if, with a pure heart, we are weeping for the sins of others, for this love for the glory of God and sanctification of souls has been inspired by God and is a great grace.
Let us hope if we are weeping with desire to see God and pain at being separated from Him, for this loving desire is God’s work in us. Let us hope even more if we are weeping simply because we love, without either desire or fear, desiring completely what God wishes and nothing more, happy in His glory, suffering from His former sufferings, weeping sometimes for compassion at the remembrance of His Passion, sometimes for joy at the thought of His Ascension and glory, sometimes simply from emotion because we are dying for love of Him!
O sweetest Jesus, make me weep for all these reasons make me weep all those tears that cause love in You, through You and for You to spread abroad. Amen.” … Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916) – Hermit and Missionary in the Sahara (Meditations on the passages of the holy Gospels referring to the fifteen virtues, Nazareth 1897-98 no15)
PRAYER – Lord God, in Your wisdom, You created us, in love. By Your providence, You rule us, in love. Penetrate our inmost being with the holy light of Your Son. Penetrate our hearts with the overwhelming love for Your love, so that we may weep in consolation. May the prayers of Your holy saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary, be our guiding inspiration. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever amen.
Our Morning Offering – 11 September – Wednesday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time, Year C
O Jesus, How Consoling! By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church
O Jesus,
how consoling You are
to those who invoke You!
What will You not be
to those who find You!
Only he who has felt it
can know
what it is
to languish in love
for Thee,
O Jesus!
Saint of the Day – 11 September – Blessed Bonaventure of Barcelona OFM (1620-1684) Franciscan Friar, Reformer, Papal Adviser, Founder of Retreat houses – born on 24 November 1620 on Carrer de la Butxaca (Pocket Street) in Riudoms, Tarragona, Catalonia (in modern Spain) as Miguel Baptista Gran Peris (the street where he was born has been re-named in his honour) and died on 11 September 1684 at the friary of Saint Bonaventure on the Palantine Hill in Rome, Italy of natural causes. Patronage – Riudoms, Spain.
He was born in Riudoms, Catalonia, on 24 November 1620 in a modest house in the street known as a Pocket Street and now has his name. After marrying at the age of 18 as his father wished, he was widowed in a few months. He entered the Franciscan convent of Sant Miquel d’Escornalbou and made religious profession on 14 July 1641, changing his name to Bonaventura. In the following years, he was sent to Mora d’Ebre , Figueres, la Bisbal d’Empordà and Terrassa, where another street has been named for him.
The Birth Home of Blessed Bonaventure
In 1658 he was sent to Rome where he founded Santo Retiro are four monasteries in the province of Rome, including San Bonaventura al Palatino. He was an adviser to four popes – Alexander VII, Clement IX, Clement X and Innocent XI. In Rome in 1662 he founded the Riformella, a reform movement within the Reformed Order of Friars Minor of the Strict Observance, so the monks and Franciscan priests who dedicated themselves to the apostolate could gather in meditation and spiritual retreat, living the founding spirit of the Franciscan order.
In 1679, he sent from Rome the relics of Saint Boniface, Saint Julian and Saint Vincent. Since then, the second Sunday of May is celebrated in Riudoms as the Feast of the Holy Relics.
In 1775 he was declared venerable and in 1906 he was beatified by the Pope Pius X, after the verification of two miraculous healings. The first one in 1790 when a woman was in a serious condition after falling from the horse and was inexplicably cured after have invoked him. The other, in 1818 in which another woman remained unconscious for three days after childbirth and cured instantaneously after applying a relic of Bonaventura.
In Riudoms, his remains are preserved since 1972, when they were moved from Rome. They are currently in the tabernacle chapel in the church of Saint James the Apostle. In Riudoms, there is a great devotion to Blessed Bonaventura and a feast in his honour is celebrated every 24 November the day he honoured Riudoms by his birth, where his remains are taken in procession through the village.
Our Lady of Coromoto/Venezuela: Apparition – 8 September 1652 at Guanare, Portuguesa, Venezuela.
Approval – 1950 by Pope Pius XII
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St Adelphus of Remiremont
St Almirus
Bl Baldassarre Velasquez Bl Bonaventure of Barcelona OFM (1620-1684)
Bl Charles Spinola
St Deiniol of Bangor
St Didymus of Laodicea
St Diodorus of Laodicea
Bl Dominic Dillon
St Emilian of Vercelli
St Essuperanzio of Zurich
St Felix of Zurich
Bl Francesco Giovanni Bonifacio
Bl Franciscus Takeya
Bl François Mayaudon
Bl Gaspar Koteda
St Gusmeo of Gravedona sul Lario
St Hyacinth of Rome St John Gabriel Perboyre/Jean Gabriel Perboyre Martyr Biography:
Bl John Bathe
St Leudinus of Toul
St Matthew of Gravedona sul Lario
St Paphnutius of Thebes
St Patiens of Lyon
Bl Peter Taaffe
Bl Petrus Kawano
St Protus of Rome
St Regula of Zurich
Bl Richard Overton
St Sperandea
St Theodora the Penitent
Bl Thomas Bathe
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Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed José María Segura Panadés
• Blessed José Piquer Arnáu
• Blessed Josep Pla Arasa
• Blessed Lorenzo Villanueva Larrayoz
Thought for the Day – 10 September – The Memorial of St Ambrose Edward Barlow OSB (1585-1641) Martyr
Ambrose ministered to the Catholic population in an area between Manchester and Liverpool.
We are fortunate in that the primary sources give us substantial detail about the manner in which Ambrose carried out his work. Richard Challoner (who wrote Memoirs of Missionary Priests) wrote:- “such was the fervour of his zeal, that he thought the day lost in which he had not done some notable thing for the salvation of souls…. Night and day he employed in seeking after the lost sheep and correcting sinners…. He found so much pleasure in this inward conversation with God… as much as worldlings would be when going to a feast. He was always afraid of honours and preferments and had a horror of vainglory, which he used to call the worm or moth of virtues and which he never failed to correct in, others. He industriously avoided feasts and assemblies and all meetings for merrymaking, as liable to dangers of excess, idle talk and detraction…..He chose to live in a private country house, where the poor, to whom he had chiefly devoted his labours, might have, at all times, free access to him. He would never have a servant, till forced to it by sickness, never used a horse but made his pastoral visits on foot….He allowed himself no manner of play or pastime and avoided all superfluous talk and conversation, more especially, with those of the fair sex. His diet was chiefly whitmeats and garden stuff…. He drank only small beer and that very sparingly and always abstained from wine. He was never idle but was always either praying, studying, preaching, administering the sacraments or painting pictures of Christ or His blessed mother….He feared no dangers, when God’s honour and the salvation of souls called him forth…passed, even at noonday through the midst of his enemies, without apprehension….Yet he was very severe in rebuking sin, so that obstinate and impertinent sinners were afraid of coming near him.”
On the eve of principal festivals, Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide, Catholics would gather from a wide area. The night was spent in prayer and hearing confessions. On the following day, all were fed, the richer members and Ambrose serving the rest and then they had their meal from the leavings. “Their cheare was boil’d beefe and pottage, minched pies, goose and groates and to every man a gray coate at parting.”
About six months before his arrest in 1641, Ambrose suffered a stroke which affected the use of one side of his body. A Jesuit priest was sent to help him and may have provided some assistance to him while he was in prison.
Ambrose laboured in south Lancashire between 1617 and 1641. It appears that he was arrested and imprisoned on at least four occasions. He ministered to St Edmund Arrowsmith SJ (1585 – 1628) Martyr, in 1628 while the latter was awaiting trial and subsequent execution in Lancaster Prison. He was said to be as well known in the area in which he served. Probably local support enabled him to continue in his role for so long. He had a premonition of what his fate would be since it is reported that St Edmund Arrowsmith appeared to him in a dream and said that he too would become a martyr.
One Minute Reflection – 10 September – Tuesday of the Twenty third week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 6:12-19 and the Memorial of St Ambrose Barlow (1585-1641) Martyr
“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray and he spent the night in prayer to God” … Luke 6:12
REFLECTION – “Contemplatives and ascetics of every age and every religion have always sought God in the silence and solitude of deserts, forests and mountains. Jesus Himself lived for forty days in complete solitude, spending long hours in intimate converse with the Father in the silence of the night.
We, too, are called to withdraw into a deeper silence from time to time, alone with God. Being alone with Him – not with our books, our thoughts, our memories but in complete nakedness, remaining in His presence – silent, empty, motionless, waiting.
We cannot find God in noise and restlessness. Look at nature, the trees, flowers, grasses all grow in silence; the stars, the moon, the sun all move in silence. The important thing is, not what we are able say but what God says to us and what He speaks to others through us. In silence, He listens to us, in silence He speaks to our souls, in silence we are granted the privilege of hearing His voice –
Silence of the eyes,
Silence of the ears,
Silence of our mouths,
Silence of our minds.
In the silence of the heart
God will speak.
… Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) – No Greater Love
PRAYER – Our Father who art in heaven, almighty and eternal God, teach us to pause often during our active lives and recollect ourselves. Let us put away the problems of life and commune with You in prayer and meditation. St Ambrose Barlow, amidst your life of constant threat and charity to all, you renewed your courage and strength in silence. Pray for us that we may be inspired to turn to our God for strength, in this vale of tears. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit,God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 10 September – Tuesday of the Twenty third week in Ordinary Time, Year C
Come, O Holy Spirit By St Josemaria Escrivá (1902-1975)
Come, O Holy Spirit,
enlighten my understanding
to know Your commands,
strengthen my heart
against the wiles of the enemy,
inflame my will…
I have heard Your voice,
and I don’t want to
harden my heart to resisting,
by saying ‘later… tomorrow.’
Nunc coepi! Now!
Lest there be no tomorrow for me!
O, Spirit of truth and wisdom,
Spirit of understanding and counsel,
Spirit of joy and peace!
I want what You want,
I want it because You want it,
I want it as You want it,
I want it when You want it.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 10 September – Saint Ambrose Edward Barlow OSB (1585-1641) – Benedictine Priest, Monk and Martyr. Born in 1585 in Barlow Hall, England and died by being hanged, drawn, quartered and his body parts boiled in oil, on Friday 10 September 1641 at Lancaster, Lancashire, England. St Ambrose was 56 years old. Also known as Ambrose Brereton, Ambrose Radcliffe, Edward Ambrose Barlow. Additional Memorials – 25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales and 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai.
Ambrose was born at Barlow Hall, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near Manchester in 1585. He was the fourth son of the nobleman Sir Alexander Barlow and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Urian Brereton of Handforth Hall. The Barlow family had been reluctant converts to the Church of England following the suppression of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Ambrose’s grandfather died in 1584 whilst imprisoned for his beliefs and Sir Alexander Barlow had two thirds of his estate confiscated as a result of his refusing to conform with the rules of the new established religion. On 30 November 1585, Ambrose was baptised at Didsbury Chapel and his baptism entry reads “Edwarde legal sonne of Alex’ Barlowe gent’ 30.” Ambrose went on to adhere to the Anglican faith until 1607, when he converted to Roman Catholicism.
Barlow Hall
In 1597, Ambrose was taken into the stewardship of Sir Uryan Legh, a relative who would care for him whilst he served out his apprenticeship as a page. However, upon completing this service, Barlow realised that his true vocation was for the priesthood, so like the sons of many of the Lancashire Catholic gentry, Edward decided to travel to Douai where, since 1569, an English College created by William Allen had operated. This missionary college or seminary, working with neighbouring monasteries, was intended to provide university-style education to young men prior to them being sent to England to maintain and promote the Catholic faith. So he travelled to Douai in France to study before attending the Royal College of Saint Alban in Valladolid, Spain. In 1615, he returned to Douai where he became a member of the Order of Saint Benedict, joining the community of St Gregory the Great (now Downside Abbey) and was ordained as a priest in 1617.
The decision by Ambrose to take religious orders is summarised by Richard Challoner author of Memoirs of Missionary Priests: “As he grew up and considered the emptiness and vanity of the transitory toys of this life and the greatness of things eternal, he took a resolution to withdraw himself from the world and to go abroad, in order to procure those helps of virtue and learning, which might qualify him for the priesthood and enable him to be of some assistance to his native country.”
Well aware of the activities of English spies on the Continent looking for persons likely to return to England as priests, Edward operated under his mother’s maiden name, Brereton. Merely entering the country as a Catholic priest was treasonable and hazardous. Ports were dangerous and officials had descriptions from spies of those attempting to return to these shores. In Elizabeth I’s “Proclamation against Jesuits”, 1591 it was said:-
“And furthermore, because it is known and proved by common experience…that they do come into the same (realm) by secret creeks and landing places, disguised both in names and persons, some in apparel as soldiers, mariners or merchants, pretending that they have heretofore been taken prisoners and put into galleys and delivered. Some come as gentlemen with contrary names in comely apparel as though they had travelled to foreign countries for knowledge and generally all, for the most part, are clothed like gentlemen in apparel and many as gallants, yea in all colours and with feathers and such like, disguising themselves and many of them in their behaviour as ruffians, far off to be thought or suspected to be friars, priests, Jesuits or popish scholars.”
After his ordination into the priesthood, Ambrose returned to Barlow Hall, before taking up residence at the home of Sir Thomas Tyldesley, Morleys Hall, Astley. Sir Thomas’ grandmother had arranged for a pension to be made available to the priest which would enable him to carry out his priestly duties amongst the poor Catholics within his parish. From there he secretly catered for the needs of Catholic ‘parishioners’, offering daily Mass and reciting his Office and Rosary for the next twenty-four years. To avoid detection by the Protestant authorities, he devised a four-week routine in which he travelled throughout the parish for four weeks and then remained within the Hall for five weeks. He would often visit his cousins, the Downes, at their residence of Wardley Hall and conduct Mass for the gathered congregation.
Ambrose was arrested four times during his travels and released without charge. King Charles I signed a proclamation on 7 March 1641, which decreed that all priests should leave the country within one calendar month or face being arrested and treated as traitors, resulting in imprisonment or death. Ambrose’s parishioners implored him to flee or at least go into hiding but he refused. Their fears were compounded by a recent stroke which had resulted in the 56-year-old priest being partially paralysed. “Let them fear that have anything to lose which they are unwilling to part with”, he told them.
On 25 April 1641, Easter Day, Ambrose and his congregation of around 100 people were surrounded at Morleys Hall, Astley by the Vicar of Leigh and his armed congregation of some 400. Father Ambrose surrendered and his parishioners were released after their names had been recorded. The priest was restrained, then taken on a horse with a man behind him to prevent his fallin, and escorted by a band of sixty people to the Justice of the Peace at Winwick, before being transported to Lancaster Castle.
Father Ambrose appeared before the presiding judge, Sir Robert Heath, on 7 September when he professed his adherence to the Catholic faith and defended his actions. On 8 September, the feast of the Nativity of Mary, Sir Robert Heath found Ambrose guilty and sentenced him to be executed. Two days later, he was taken from Lancaster Castle, drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, hanged, dismembered, quartered and boiled in oil. His head was afterwards exposed on a pike. His cousin, Francis Downes, Lord of Wardley Hall, a devout Catholic rescued his skull and preserved it at Wardley where it remains to this day.
When the news of his death and martyrdom reached his Benedictine brothers at Douai Abbey, a Mass of Thanksgiving and the Te Deum were ordered to be sung.
On 15 December 1929, Pope Pius XI proclaimed Father Ambrose as Blessed at his Beatification ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica. In recognition of the large number of British Catholic martyrs who were executed during the Reformation, most during the reign of Elizabeth I, Pope Paul VI decreed that on 25 October 1970 he was Canonising a number of people who were to be known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales of whom Ambrose was one.
Barlow’s biography from two manuscripts belonging to St Gregory’s Monastery, one of which was written by his brother Dom Rudesind Barlow, President of the English Benedictine Congregation. A third manuscript, titled “The Apostolical Life of Ambrose Barlow”, was written by one of his pupils for Dom Rudesind and is in the John Rylands Library, Manchester; it has been printed by the Chetham Society.
Several relics of Ambrose are also preserved, his jaw bone is held at the Church of St Ambrose of Milan, Barlow Moor, Manchester, one of his hands is preserved at Stanbrook Abbey now at Wass, North Yorkshire and another hand is at Mount Angel Abbey in St Benedict, Oregon. His skull is preserved on the stairwell at Wardley Hall in Worsley, at one time, the home of the Downes family and now the home of the Catholic Bishop of Salford.
Beata Vergine Maria della Vita/Our Lady of Life:
Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary as patroness of the Our Lady of Life Hospital in Bologna, Italy, and as depicted in a painting in a sanctuary dedicated to her c 1375 in the hospital.
Patronage – hospitals in the diocese of Bologna, Italy.
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St Agapius of Novara
St Alexius Sanbashi Saburo St Ambrose Edward Barlow OSB (1585-1641) Martyr
Bl Ogerius
St Peter Martinez
St Pulcheria
St Salvius of Albi
St Sosthenes of Chalcedon
St Theodard of Maastricht
St Victor of Chalcedon
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Martyrs of Bithynia – 3 sister saints: Three young Christian sisters martyred in the persecutions of emperor Maximian and governor Fronto: Menodora, Metrodora, Nymphodora. They were martyred in 306 in Bithynia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey).
Martyrs of Japan – 205 beati: A unified feast to memorialise 205 missionaries and native Japanese known to have been murdered for their faith between 1617 and 1637.
Martyrs of Sigum – 8 saints: A group of Nicomedian martyrs, condemned for their faith to be worked to death in the marble quarries of Sigum. There were priests, bishops and laity in the group but only a few names have come down to us: Dativus, Felix, Jader, Litteus, Lucius, Nemesian, Polyanus, Victor. They were worked to death c 257 in Sigum.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Félix España Ortiz
• Blessed Leoncio Arce Urrutia
• Blessed Tomàs Cubells Miguel
One Minute Reflection – 9 September – Monday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 6:6-11 and the Memorial of St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654) “slave of the slaves” and Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor”
“On another sabbath, he went into the synagogue and taught and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.” … Luke 6:6
REFLECTION – “Are you angry at me because I have healed the whole man on the sabbath day?” In this place he revivified, with the salutary strength of good works, the hand which Adam stretched out to pluck the fruit of the forbidden tree. The hand which had withered through a crime, was healed by good deeds. Christ thereby rebuked the Jews who violated the precepts of the law with evil interpretations. They thought that they should rest even from good works on the sabbath, since the law prefigured in the present, the form of the future, in which indeed the days of rest from evils, not from blessings, would come.
Then you heard the words of the Lord, saying, “Stretch forth your hand.” That is the common and universal remedy. You, who think that you have a healthy hand, beware lest it is withered by greed or by sacrilege. Hold it out often. Hold it out to the poor person who begs you. Hold it out to help your neighbour, to give protection to a widow, to snatch from harm one whom you see subjected to unjust insult. Hold it out to God for your sins. The hand is stretched forth, then it is healed. Jeroboam’s hand withered when he sacrificed to idols, then it stretched out when he entreated God” … St Ambrose(340-397)- One of the 4 original Doctors of the Latin Church – Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 5
PRAYER – God of mercy and love, You offer all peoples the dignity of sharing in your life. Rule over our hearts and bodies this day. Sanctify us and guide our every thought, word and deed, my our hands be held out to our neighbour in imitation of Your love and mercy. By the example and prayers of St Peter Claver and Bl Frederic Ozanam, strengthen us to overcome all racial hatreds and to love each other as brothers and sisters. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever amen.
Thought for the Day – 9 September – The Memorial of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor” and Founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society
A man convinced of the inestimable worth of each human being, Frédéric served the poor of Paris well and drew others into serving the poor of the world. Through the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, which he founded, his work continues to the present day.
Once, after Frédéric spoke about Christianity’s role in civilisation, a club member said: “Let us be frank, Mr Ozanam, let us also be very particular. What do you do besides talk to prove the faith you claim is in you?”
Frédéric was stung by the question. He soon decided that his words needed a grounding in action. He and a friend began visiting Paris tenements and offering assistance as best they could. Soon a group dedicated to helping individuals in need under the patronage of Saint Vincent de Paul formed around Frédéric.
Feeling that the Catholic faith needed an excellent speaker to explain its teachings, Frédéric convinced the Archbishop of Paris to appoint Dominican Father Jean-Baptiste Lacordaire OP (1802-1861), the greatest preacher then in France, to preach a Lenten series in Notre Dame Cathedral. It was well-attended and became an annual tradition in Paris. Meanwhile, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society was growing throughout Europe. Paris alone counted 25 conferences.
In 1846, Frédéric, Amelie, and their daughter Marie went to Italy, there he hoped to restore his poor health. They returned the next year. The revolution of 1848 left many Parisians in need of the services of the Saint Vincent de Paul conferences. The unemployed numbered 275,000. The government asked Frédéric and his coworkers to supervise the government aid to the poor. Vincentians throughout Europe came to the aid of Paris.
In 1852, poor health again forced Frédéric to return to Italy with his wife and daughter. He died on 8 September 1853. In his sermon at Frédéric’s funeral, Fr Lacordaire described his friend as “one of those privileged creatures who came direct from the hand of God in whom God joins tenderness to genius, in order to enkindle the world.”
Frédéric was beatified in 1997. Since Frédéric wrote an excellent book entitled Franciscan Poets of the Thirteenth Century, and since his sense of the dignity of each poor person was so close to the thinking of Saint Francis, it seemed appropriate to include him among Franciscan “greats.”
His commitment to the plight of those in need and social justice for all, inspires us to look around our communities today—outside our safety zones—and activate the Christian virtues of charity that we are all called to by the life of Jesus. He said:
“Yours must be a work of love, of kindness, you must give your time, your talents, yourselves. The poor person is a unique person of God’s fashioning with an inalienable right to respect. You must not be content with tiding the poor over the poverty crisis, You must study their condition and the injustices which brought about such poverty, with the aim of a long term improvement.”
Prayer for the Canonisation of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam
Lord, you made Blessed Frédéric Ozanam a witness of the Gospel, full of wonder at the mystery of the Church. You inspired him to alleviate poverty and injustice and endowed him with untiring generosity in the service of all those suffering. In family life, he revealed a most genuine love as a son, brother, husband and father. In secular life, his ardent passion for the truth enlightened his thought, writing and teaching. His vision for our society was a network of charity encircling the world inspired by St Vincent de Paul’s love, boldness and humility. His prophetic social vision appears in every aspect of his life, together with the radiance of his virtues. We thank you Lord, for these many gifts. May the Church proclaim his holiness, as a saint, a providential light for today’s world! We ask this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 9 September – The Memorial of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor” and Founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society
“The best way to economise time, is to ‘lose’ half-an-hour each day, attending Holy Mass.”
“It is our vocation to set people’s hearts ablaze, to do what the Son of God did, who came to light a fire on earth in order to set it ablaze with His love.”
“I am now completely convinced, that when one does a deed of charity, one need not worry about where the money will come from, it will always come!”
“I would like to embrace the whole world in a network of charity.”
“Society today seems to me to be not unlike the wayfarer described in the parable of the Good Samaritan. For while journeying along the road mapped out for it by Christ, it has been set upon by thieves of evil human thought. Bad men have despoiled the wayfarer of all his goods, of the treasures of faith and love… . The priests and the Levites have passed him by. But this time, being real priests and true Levites, they have approached the suffering, wretched creature and attempted to cure him. But in his delirium he has not recognised them and has driven them away. Then we weak Samaritans, outsiders as we are, have dared to approach this great sick patient. Perhaps he will be less affrighted by us? Let us try to measure the extent of his wounds, in order to pour oil into them. Let us make words of peace and consolation ringing in his ears. Then, when his eyes are opened, we will hand him over to the tender care of those, whom God has chosen, to be the guardians and doctors of souls.”
“In my life I want to become better and do a little good”
Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor”
Our Morning Offering – 9 September – Monday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Monday the Angels Day
In Catholic Time, Monday is the day in which we remember the Angels. Angels are powerful guardians and each of us is protected by one. Many of the saints had a great devotion to the Angels in general and to their Guardian Angel in particular.
My Oldest Friend By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
My oldest friend, mine from the hour
When first I drew my breath,
My faithful friend, that shall be mine,
Unfailing, till my death….
Mine when I stand before the Judge,
And mine, if spared to stay
Within the golden furnace, till
My sin is burn’d away.
And mine, O Brother of my soul,
When my release shall come,
Thy gentle arms shall lift me then,
Thy wings shall waft me home.
Saint of the Day – 9 September – Blessed Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor” Married layman, Literary scholar, Lawyer, Journalist, Professor of Law and of Foreign Literature, Apostle of Charity, Writer and Equal Rights Advocate, Doctor of Letters with a thesis on Dante that then formed the basis of Ozanam’s best-known books. His writings and teaching always revolved around the benefits to individuals and society of Christianity. Born on 23 April 1813 in Milan, Italy and Died on 8 September 1853 in Marseilles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France of natural causes, aged just 40. He founded, with colleagues, the Conference of Charity, later known as the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. He was Beatified by St Pope John Paul II in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris in 1997. Patronages – the St Vincent de Paul Society, Politicians, Economists, Social Workers, Teachers, Journalists, Criminologists, Anthropologists, Historians, Geographers.
Antoine Frédéric Ozanam (commonly called Frédéric) was born on 23 April 1813 in Milan, Italy, the son of Jean-Antoine François Ozanam, doctor in medicine and Marie Nantas, daughter of a shopkeeper. Two years later, the Ozanam family moved back to their home town of Lyon, France. Frédéric was the fifth of 14 children, only four of whom survived. In his youth, Frédéric experienced doubt regarding the Catholic faith, during which he was strongly assisted by one of his teachers at the Collège de Lyon, the priest Abbé Noirot.
Ozanam received the degrees of Bachelor of Laws in 1834, Bachelor of Arts in 1835 and Doctor of Laws in 1836. His father, who had wanted him to study law, died on 12 May 1837. Although he preferred literature, Frédéric worked in the legal profession in order to support his mother and was admitted to the Bar in Lyon in 1837. At the same time, he also pursued his personal interest and in 1839 he obtained the degree of Doctor of Letters with a thesis on Dante that influenced many of his writings. A year later he was appointed to a professorship of commercial law at Lyon and in 1840, at the age of 27, assistant professor of foreign literature at the Sorbonne. His lectures were popular and focused on Christianity as the primary factor in the growth of European civilisation, unlike most of his colleagues, who shared in the predominantly anti-Christian climate of the time.
In June 1841, he married Amélie Soulacroix, daughter of the rector of the University of Lyon and the couple travelled to Italy for their honeymoon. They had a daughter, Marie.
Ozanam was described as ” … a man of great faith. He valued friendships and defended his friends no matter what the cost. He was attentive to details, perhaps to the extreme. … He showed a great tenderness when dealing with his family. … He had a great reverence for his parents and revealed his ability to sacrifice his career and his profession in order to please them.”
Upon the death in 1844 of Claude Charles Fauriel, Ozanam succeeded to the full professorship of foreign literature at the Sorbonne. The remainder of his short life was extremely busy, attending to his duties as a professor, his extensive literary activities and visiting the poor.
While still a student, Frédéric Ozanam and his friends led a discussion group called a “Society of Good Studies.” At one meeting during a heated debate, one voice issued the challenge, “What is your church doing now? What is the church doing for the poor of Paris? Show us your works and we will believe you!” From this, Frédéric created a group called the “Conference of Charity,” composed of pious friends, who joined works to their words. The first meeting took place on 23 April 1833 near the Saint-Sulpice Church, chaired by Emmanuel Bailly who became the group’s mentor. The Conference was placed under the patronage of Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), Apostle of Charity. The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul grew rapidly and focused on two areas – visiting the poor families of Paris and nurturing the spiritual life of its members.
In his final years, Frederic oversaw the expansion of the society to Italy and then additional countries. He pioneered a newspaper, The New Era, dedicated to securing justice for the poor and the working classes. Referring to the poor man as “the nation’s priest,” Frederick said that the hunger and sweat of the poor formed a sacrifice that could redeem the people’s humanity.
Frédéric’s naturally weak constitution fell prey to consumption, which he hoped to cure by visiting Italy but on his return to France, he died in Marseille on 8 September 1853 at the age of 40 of Tuberculosis. At that time, the St Vincent de Paul Society was active in 29 countries. Frédéric Ozanam was buried in the crypt of the church of St Joseph des Carmes at the Institut Catholique in Paris.
In 2013, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul celebrated the bicentennial of the birth of Frédéric Ozanam and its 180 years of existence. Despite the difficulties of practising faith in some countries, the Society and its members remain faithful to the spirit and ideals originally inspired by Frédéric Ozanam – Go towards the poor, go and meet them in their homes, in respect and brotherhood.
In 1925, the Diocese of Paris opened the procedure for Canonisation of Frédéric Ozanam. In February 1926, an 18-month old Brazilian boy experienced a miraculous cure from a dangerous form of diphtheria. On 22 June 1995, after a lengthy enquiry, this was officially recognised as a miracle through the intercession of Frédéric Ozanam. The 2nd stage was passed on 22 August 1997 with the Beatification of Frédéric Ozanam by St Pope John Paul II. His cause for Canonisation continues.
Ozanam“is recognised as a precursor of the Catholic Church’s social doctrine, whose cultural and religious origins he wanted to know and on which he wrote books which are still in great demand.” His works were published in eleven volumes (Paris, 1862–1865).
St Alexander of Sabine
Bl Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853)
St Basura of Masil
St Bettelin
St Dorotheus of Nicomedia
Bl Gaudridus
Bl George Douglas
St Gorgonio of Rome
St Gorgonius of Nicomedia
St Isaac the Great
Bl Jacques Laval
St Joseph of Volokolamsk
St Kieran the Younger
Bl Maria Eutimia Uffing
Bl Mary de la Cabeza
St Omer
St Osmanna
Bl Pierre Bonhomme
St Rufinian
St Rufinus
Bl Seraphina Sforza
St Severian
St Straton
St Teódulo González Fernández
St Tiburtius
St Valentinian of Chur
St Wilfrida
St Wulfhilda
Thought for the Day – 8 September – Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Luke 14:25–33
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”… Luke 14:26
Saint Augustine comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:
“The Lord gives the signal for us to stand guard in camp and to build the tower from which we may recognise and ward off the enemy of our eternal life. The heavenly trumpet of Christ urges the soldier to battle and his mother holds him back.
What does she say or what argument does she give? Perhaps is it those ten months when you lay in her womb and the pangs of birth and the burden of rearing you? You must kill this with the sword of salvation. You must destroy this in your mother that you may find her in life eternal. Remember, you must hate this in her if you love her, if you are a recruit of Christ and have laid the foundations of the tower. Passers-by may not say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” That is earthly affection. It still has the ring of the “old man.” Christian warfare invites us to destroy this earthly affection both in ourselves and in our relatives. Of course, no one should be ungrateful to his parents or mock the list of their services to him, since by them he was brought into this life, cherished and fed. A man should always pay his family duty but let these things keep their place where higher duties do not call.
Mother church is also the mother of your mother. She conceived you both, in Christ. Know that, her Spouse took human flesh, that you might not be attached to fleshly things. Know that, all the things for which your mother scolds you were undertaken by the eternal Word, that you might not be subject to the weakness of flesh. Ponder his humiliations, scourging and death, even the death of the cross.” (Letter 243)
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me a sinner!
Sunday Reflection – 8 September – Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
“When Mass ended I remained with Jesus to render Him thanks.
My thirst and hunger do not diminish after I have received Him in the Blessed Sacrament but rather, increase steadily.
Oh, how sweet was the conversation I held with Paradise this morning.
The Heart of Jesus and my own, if you will pardon my expression, fused.
They were no longer two hearts beating but only one.
My heart disappeared, as if it were, a drop in the ocean.”
St Pio of Pietrelcina aka St Padre Pio (1887 to 1968)
One Minute Reflection – 8 September – Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 14:25–33 and the Feast of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre
“So, therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” … Luke 14:33
REFLECTION – “…We realise that the Lord is not speaking merely of a few individuals and their specific task, the essence of what He says applies to everyone. The heart of the matter He expresses elsewhere in these words: “For whoever would save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Lk 9:24f.). Whoever wants to keep his life just for himself will lose it. Only by giving ourselves do we receive our life. In other words, only the one who love, discovers life. And love always demands going out of oneself, it always demands leaving oneself. Anyone who looks just to himself, who wants the other, only for himself, will lose both himself and the other. Without this profound losing of oneself, there is no life.
The restless craving for life, so widespread among people today, leads to the barrenness of a lost life. “Whoever loses his life for my sake … “ says the Lord, a radical letting-go of our self is only possible, if in the process, we end up, not by falling into the void but into the hands of Love eternal.
Only the love of God, who loses Himself for us and gives Himself to us, makes it possible for us also to become free, to let go and so truly to find life. This is the heart of what the Lord wants to say to us in the seemingly hard words of this Sunday’s Gospel. With his teaching He gives u, the certainty, that we can build on His love, the love of the incarnate God. Recognition of this is the wisdom of which today’s reading speaks to us. Once again, we find that all the world’s learning profits us nothing unless we learn to live, unless we discover what truly matters in life.” … Pope Benedict XVI – Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Sunday, 9 September 2007 – on the occasion of the 850th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariazell (Feast day today!)
PRAYER – Since it is from You, God our Father, that redemption comes to us, Your adopted children, look with favour on the family You love, give true freedom to us and to all who believe in Christ, Your Son and our Saviour and bring us all alike, to our eternal heritage. May we, in turn, give ourselves in true love to You and may the prayers of our glorious and merciful Mother, Our Lady of Charity, lead us to our heavenly home. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 8 September – Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
My Lord, I am Unworthy! Prayer before Holy Communion By St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church
My Lord,
Who are You
and who am I,
that I should dare to take You
into my body and soul?
A thousand years
of penance and tears
would not be sufficient
to make me worthy
to receive so royal a Sacrament
even once!
How much more am I unworthy of it,
who fall into sin daily,
I, the incorrigible,
who approach You so often
without due preparation!
Nevertheless, Your mercy
infinitely surpasses my unworthiness.
Therefore, I make bold
to receive this Sacrament,
trusting in Your love.
Amen
Nuestra Senora de la Virgen de la Caridad / Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Cuba (1612) – 8 September – – Queen, Mother and Patroness of the Cuban Peoples. Patronages – Cuba, Cuban peoples, salt and copper miners. Our Lady of Charity also known as Our Lady of El Cobre or Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre or “la Virgen de la Caridad” is a popular Marian title of the Blessed Virgin Mary known in many Catholic countries.
Several known Marian images with the same title exist around the world while a particular Hispanic image is pontifically designated by Pope Benedict XV as the Patroness of Cuba. The present image is enshrined in the National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, built in 1926 and situated in the village El Cobre, near Santiago de Cuba. Pope Pius XI granted a Canonical Coronation for the image on 20 December 1936. The feast day of Our Lady of Charity is today, the solemn Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Various similar Marian images predating the Cuban image have a similar title as well as having been granted a canonical coronation by the Popes and can be found in the Spanish cities of Cartagena, Villarrobledo, Illescas, Loja, La Garrovilla and Toledo, Spain along with its replicated copies in Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Charity in Agoo and the image of Bantay Church in Ilocos Sur, Philippines.
The history of the La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, began around 1612. The image is thought to have been brought by Spaniard colonists from the town of Illescas, a province in Toledo, Spain where a similar statue of the Virgin Mary of Charity was already well-venerated.
Local legend recalls the Spanish captains who bring with them religious Marian images to guide and protect them from English pirates at sea. Two Native American or Indian brothers, Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyosand an African slave child, Juan Moreno, set out to the Bay of Nipe for salt. They are traditionally given the moniker the “three Juans”. They needed the salt for the preservation of the meat at the Barajagua slaughter house, which supplied the workers and inhabitants of Santiago del Prado, now known as El Cobre. While out in the bay, a storm arose, rocking their tiny boat violently with incoming waves. Juan, the child, was wearing a medal with the image of the Virgin Mary. The three men began to pray for her protection. Suddenly, the skies cleared and the storm was gone. In the distance, they saw a strange object floating in the water. They rowed towards it as the waves carried it to them. At first they mistook it for a bird but quickly saw that it was what seemed to be a statue of a girl. At last they were able to determine that it was a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus on her left arm and a gold cross in her right hand. The statue was fastened to a board with an inscription saying “Yo Soy la Virgen de la Caridad” or “I am the Virgin of Charity.” Much to their surprise, the statue remained completely dry while afloat in the water.
Overjoyed by what they had discovered, they hurried back to Barajagua. They showed the statue to a government official, Don Francisco Sánchez de Moya, who then ordered a small chapel to be built in her honour. One night, Rodrigo went to visit the statue but discovered that the image was gone. He organised a search party but had no success in finding Our Lady of Charity. Then, the next morning, she was back on the altar, as if nothing had happened. This was inconceivable as the chapel had been locked. This event happened three times. The people of Barajagua came to the conclusion that she wanted to be in a different spot, so they took her to El Cobre. She was received with much joy in El Cobre and the church there had its bells ring on her arrival. It was at this point that she became known as “Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre.” Much to the dismay of people in El Cobre, the disappearance of the statue continued to happen.
One day, a young girl named Jabbawas playing outside, pursuing butterflies and picking flowers. She went towards the mountains of the Sierra Maestra, where she came across the statue on top of a small hill. There were those who did and those who did not believe the little girl’s testimony but in the end, the Virgin was taken to the spot of her discovery, where a church was erected for her.
The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, built in 1926.
Before the famous image on 19 May 1801, a royal edict from king Charles IV of Spain decreed that Cuban slaves were to be freed from the El Cobre copper mines. The story circulated around the island quickly. Many felt that the Virgin purposely chose to have her sanctuary in El Cobre because it is located in Oriente Province. Later folk legends associated the taking of copper materials to their homes after having it blessed near the Virgin’s sanctified image as a form of souvenir and miraculous healing.
Description
The Cuban statue venerated measures about 16 inches tall. The head is made of baked clay covered with a polished coat of fine white powder. Her feet rest on a brilliant moon, while angels spread their golden wings on a silver cloud. The child Jesus raises his right hand as in a blessing, and in his left hand he holds a golden globe. A popular image of Our Lady of Charity includes a banner above her head with the Latin phrase “Mater Caritatis Fluctibus Maris Ambulavit” – Mother of Charity who walked on the road of stormy seas. Originally, the robes on the image were white in colour. Newer robes are embroidered with gold and silver, which includes the national shield of Cuba. Among Cuban religious devotees, the image is given the familiar title of La Cachita.
On 24 September 1915 the Cuban revolutionaries wrote a letter petitioning the Pope Benedict XV to honour her as Patroness of their country.
Pope Benedict XV declared Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre Patroness of Cuba on 10 May 1916 at the written request of the soldier veterans of the Cuban War of Independence.
Pope Pius XI granted a Canonical Coronation for the image during the Eucharistic Congress at Santiago de Cuba on 20 December 1936 by Monsignor Valentin Zubizarreta y Unamunsaga.
St Pope Paul VI, in his Papal bull Quanto Christifideles then raised her sanctuary to the category of Minor Basilica on 22 December 1977 through the appointed Papal legate Cardinal Bernardin Gantin.
St Pope John Paul II solemnly crowned her again during his apostolic visit on 24 January 1998.
Pope Benedict XVI awarded a Golden Rose in honour of the image and her shrine on 27 March 2012.
Pope Francis enshrined a brass statue given to Pope Benedict XVI by Cuban bishops (in May 2008) within the Gardens of Vatican City in August 2014, then enshrined it in 2016.
The Virgin is one of the island’s most treasured figures, representing hope and salvation in the face of misfortune. Over time, La Cachita “has become a quintessential symbol of Cuban identity.” She unites both those at home and abroad, across lines of race and class. Wherever Cuban immigrants settled, they brought with them their devotion to la Caridad. Emilio Cueto points out the Christian themes suggested by La Cachita: “She came to Cuba bearing the greatest of gifts—her own child—and appeared not to a priest or bishop but to common men. She spoke not just to the aboriginal people but also to the Spaniards, Creoles and African slaves.”
On his visit to Cuba in 2015, Pope Francis said:
“She has accompanied the history of the Cuban people, sustaining the hope which preserves people’s dignity in the most difficult situations and championing the promotion of all that gives dignity to the human person. The growing devotion to the Virgin is a visible testimony of her presence in the soul of the Cuban people …. I will have occasion to go to El Cobre, as a son and pilgrim.”
In 1954, American author Ernest Hemingway donated his Nobel Prize in Literature medal for The Old Man and the Sea to the people of Cuba at the shrine of Caridad del Cobre in Cuba. The medal was stolen in 1986 but was recovered days later upon the threat of Raul Castro that it be returned or the thieves suffer the consequences. After its return, it was, for some time, hidden from view. The medal is very rarely present in the image and only worn during solemn and Papal occasions.
Our Lady of Covadonga: is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the name of a Marian shrine devoted to her at Covadonga, Asturias. The shrine in northwestern Spain rose to prominence following the Battle of Covadonga in about 720, which was the first defeat of the Moors during their invasion of Spain. A statue of the Virgin Mary, secretly hidden in one of the caves, was believed to have miraculously aided the Christian victory.
Our Lady of Covadonga is the patron of Asturias, and a basilica was built to house the current statue. St Pope John Paul II visited the shrine to honour Our Lady of Covadonga to honour, whose feast day is 8 September.
Our Lady of Health of Vailankanni: This is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by people as she twice appeared in the town of Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India, in the 16th to 17th centuries. The Feast of the Nativity of Mary, is also commemorated as the feast of Our Lady of Good Health. The celebration starts on 29 August and ends on the day of the feast. The feast day prayers are said in Tamil, Marathi, East Indian, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Konkani, Hindi and English.
Our Lady of Meritxell: This is an Andorran Roman statue depicting an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady of Meritxell is the patron saint of Andorra. One 6 January in the late 12th century, villagers from Meritxell, Andorra were going to Mass in Canillo. Though it was winter, they found a wild rose in bloom by the roadside. At its base was a statue of the Virgin and Child. They placed the statue in a chapel in the church in Canillo. The next day the statue was found sitting under the wild rose again. Villagers from Encamp took the statue to their church but the next day the statue had returned to the rose bush. Though it was snowing, an area the size of a chapel was completely bare and the villagers of Meritxell took this to mean that they should build a chapel to house the statue and so they did. On 8-9 September 1972 the chapel burned down and the statue was destroyed, a copy now resides in the new Meritxell Chapel.
The feast day of Our Lady of Meritxell is 8 September and the Andorran National Day.
Our Lady of Ripalta: Patroness of Cerignola, Foggia in Puglia.
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St Adam Bargielski
St Adela of Messines
Bl Alanus de Rupe
St Corbinian
St Disibod of Disenberg
St Ethelburgh of Kent
St Faustus of Antioch
St Isaac the Great
St István Pongrácz
St Kingsmark
St Peter of Chavanon
Bl Seraphina Sforza
St Pope Sergius I
St Timothy of Antioch
Bl Wladyslaw Bladzinski
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Martyrs of Alexandria – (5 saints)
A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian – Ammon, Dio, Faustus, Neoterius and Theophilus. Martyred in Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Japan – (21 beati):
A group of 21 missionaries and converts who were executed together for their faith.
• Antonio of Saint Bonaventure
• Antonio of Saint Dominic
• Dominicus Nihachi
• Dominicus of Saint Francis
• Dominicus Tomachi
• Francisco Castellet Vinale
• Franciscus Nihachi
• Ioannes Imamura
• Ioannes Tomachi
• Laurentius Yamada
• Leo Aibara
• Lucia Ludovica
• Ludovicus Nihachi
• Matthaeus Alvarez Anjin
• Michaël Tomachi
• Michaël Yamada Kasahashi
• Paulus Aibara Sandayu
• Paulus Tomachi
• Romanus Aibara
• Thomas of Saint Hyacinth
• Thomas Tomachi
Died on 8 September 1628 in Nagasaki, Japan
Beatified on 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius XI
Martyred in England:
Bl John Norton
Bl Thomas Palaser
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Adrián Saiz y Saiz
• Blessed Apolonia Lizárraga Ochoa de Zabalegui
• Blessed Bonifacio Rodríguez González
• Blessed Dolores Puig Bonany
• Blessed Eusebio Alonso Uyarra
• Blessed Ismael Escrihuela Esteve
• Blessed Josefa Ruano García
• Blessed Josep Padrell Navarro
• Blessed Mamerto Carchano y Carchano
• Blessed Marino Blanes Giner
• Blessed Miguel Beato Sánchez
• Blessed Pascual Fortuño Almela
• Blessed Segimon Sagalés Vilá
• Blessed Tomàs Capdevila Miquel
Thought for the Day – 7 September – – Saturday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Year C and a Marian Saturday
The Heart of Mary Saturdays and the Saturday Rosary
By Sr M Jean Frisk SSM
In the message of Fatima, especially in the apparitions of 13 June 13 and 13 July 1917, Mary drew attention to the custom of devoting Saturdays to her and praying the Rosary in reparation. Lucia, the eldest of the three children heard the following on 13 June:
“My child, behold my heart surrounded with thorns which ungrateful men place therein at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me, and tell them that I promise to help, at the hour of death, with the graces needed for salvation, whoever, on the First Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess and receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation to me.”
On 13 July, the children were again admonished to say the Rosary. At this time, the Blessed Mother asked for the consecration of the world to her Immaculate Heart and for communion of reparation on the first Saturday of each month. These messages were accompanied by an appeal and a promise – an appeal for prayer and reparation by the people for their transgressions against the divine law, a promise of peace and love in this life and eternal happiness in the next, on the twofold condition of prayer and amendment.
In 1925, Lucia vouched for this message, saying that Mary would assist us at the hour of death if the first Saturdays of five consecutive months were sanctified with confession, communion, praying the rosary and meditation.
This practice refreshed the custom known as the Rosary Saturdays, popular since the seventeenth century and continued to the present at places of pilgrimage. Both Pope Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII fostered this custom. St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716), also fostered the rosary in connection with his missions, which often encompassed Saturdays.
It was with tremendous joy that Saint Guy remained in the church as a Sacristan, constantly cleaning, sweeping, polishing the altars and attending to the most menial needs during the day—stopping only to befriend and serve those who were poor and came on foot to the church looking for assistance. Each night he spent in prayer, rarely sleeping but instead could be found kneeling at the foot of the cross, praying for the poor.
This missionary college or seminary, working with neighbouring monasteries, was intended to provide university-style education to young men prior to them being sent to England to maintain and promote the Catholic faith. So he travelled to Douai in France to study before attending the Royal College of Saint Alban in Valladolid, Spain. In 1615, he returned to Douai where he became a member of the Order of Saint Benedict, joining the community of St Gregory the Great (now Downside Abbey) and was ordained as a priest in 1617.
1833 near the Saint-Sulpice Church, chaired by Emmanuel Bailly who became the group’s mentor. The Conference was placed under the patronage of Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), Apostle of Charity. The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul grew rapidly and focused on two areas – visiting the poor families of Paris and nurturing the spiritual life of its members.
AnaStpaul 
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