Thought for the Day – 25 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Purification
“We must recognise that we are all poor sinners in the sight of God.
Sacred Scripture warns us that “the just mans falls seven times” (Prov 24:16). “If we say that we have no sin,” says St John, “we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8).
Sin is the greatest evil because it offends God, our highest good and happiness.
It only needs our own malice for us to commit sin but, in order to make reparation for it and to redeem us from slavery, it was necessary for God to become man and to offer Himself as a victim of expiation for our sins.
Only a God-Man could have fully satisfied our debt, by offering Himself as a victim of reparation for His adopted brothers.
Jesus desires us to be associated with Him in His Passion, however (Cf Col 1:24).
Our justification cannot be something extrinsic to ourselves but should transform us and make us holy.
Our co-operation with divine grace is necessary for this purpose (1 Cor 15:10).
If we are in sin, we should not only repent but should purify ourselves by acts of penance.
Jesus Himself commands this. “Unless you repent, you will all perish,” (Lk 13:5) “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Mt 3:2, 4:17).
We must make satisfaction for our sins, therefore, by voluntary co-operation with the grace of God.
Although God is infinitely good and merciful, He will not purify us without this co-operation on our part.
We can be purified by accepting the unavoidable tribulations of life with perfect resignation and by offering to God, our own voluntary mortifications and sacrifices.
Are we prepared to follow the example of the Saints in this matter?”
One Minute Reflection – 25 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – The Memorial of St James the Greater, Apostle of Christ, Readings: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, Psalm 126, Matthew 20:20-28
INTERNET PROBLEMS – CANNOT UPLOAD IMAGES!
“Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” … Matthew 20:28
REFLECTION – “How shall I repay the Lord?” (Ps 115[116B],12) Not with holocausts or sacrifices or the observances of the legal cult but with my whole life itself. And this is why, says the psalmist, “The cup of salvation I will take” (v.13). The labour he underwent in the struggles of his filial devotion to God and the constancy with which he resisted sin even to death – this is what the psalmist calls his cup.
It was concerning this cup that our Lord Himself expressed Himself in the Gospels : “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me” (Mt 26:39). And again, to His disciples: “Can you drink the cup that I shall drink?” He intended to speak of that death He desired to suffer, for the salvation of the world. Therefore, He says: “The cup of salvation I will take up,” namely, my whole being is reaching out, parched, towards the consummation of martyrdom, even to the point of holding the torments endured, in the struggles of filial love as rest and not as suffering, for soul and body. I too, He says, will offer Myself to the Lord as a sacrifice and oblation. … And I am ready to pay these vows before all the people, for: “My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people!” (v.14).” … St Basil the Great (330-379) Monk and Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Lord our God, You accepted the sacrifice of St James, the first of Your Apostles to give his life for Your sake. May Your Church find strength in his martyrdom and support in his constant prayer. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. St James the Greater, Apostle of Christ, Pray for us! Amen
Our Morning Offering – 25 July – The Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251)
The Christopher Prayer
Father, grant that we may be,
bearers of Christ Jesus, Your Son.
Allow us to fill with Your light
the world around us.
Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit
to carry out our mission
of living and following
the path of Jesus, our Lord.
Help us to understand,
that by Your grace
our gifts are Your blessings,
to be shared with others.
Fill us with Your Spirit of love
to give glory to You
in loving all
and preaching by our love.
Nourish in us the desire
to go forth
as the bearers of Your Son
fearless and gentle,
loving and merciful.
Make us true Christ bearers,
that in seeing us
only He is visible.
Amen
Pietro Corradini was born in 1435 in Macerata into a prominent household. When he was only thirteen years old he was graced with a vision. God showed Peter the whole world in ruins. Then God showed him that the world would be rescued by a single monk. The vision is reminiscent of Christ’s request to St Francis: “Francis, rebuild my Church.” How can a single man or a small group of men and women have such an impact? It defies common sense and the ways of the world.
Perhaps Blessed Peter was mindful of this, or perhaps his well-off family pushed him into university but in either event, Peter’s life took a more practical turn and he achieved his doctorate in law. He seemed poised to become a successful man of the world until he experienced a deep conversion upon listening to the sermon of a visiting Franciscan. Pietro immediately approached the Preacher and asked to be admitted as a Franciscan.
He joined the Order of Friars Minor in 1467 and was later Ordained to the Priesthood. He became a travelling Preacher in the Marche region, perhaps always zealously aiming to be the monk of his dream and save the world. He preached with immense power of his love for Christ and His Church and the dire need of the conversion of soul.
Much later he sent to Crete where he served as a Commissioner for the entire Order and advisor and collaborator of St James of the Marches who selected Corradini to be his protégé.
Fr Pietro was also a friend, as well as, both the Confessor and the Spiritual Director of St Camilla Battista da Varano and to to her father. Fr Pietro preached a Crusade against the Ottoman Empire and on three occasions served s the as the Franciscan Provincial for the Marche region. His first period of administration was in 1477 followed with appointments in 1483 and 1489. He also served as a Franciscan Representative to Rome in 1474.
He became ill in Camerino and immediately requested the Viaticum before he died, which occurred just after midnight on 25 July 1490.
The bells for the Te Deum during the midnight office rung when he died. St Camilla Da Varano presented a eulogy at the graveyard.
The Beatification process commenced not too long after Fr Pietro’s death and culminated on 10 August 1760 after Pope Clement XIII issued a formal decree that approved Corradini’s local ‘cultus’ thus naming him Blessed.
The image below is of Blessed Peter at the Holy House of Loreto, communing with the Blessed Virgin and the Christ Child.
St James the Greater (Feast) – Son of Zebedee and Salome, brother of Saint John the Apostle. He is called “the Greater” simply because he became an Apostle before Saint James the Lesser.
St Cugat del Valles
Bl Darío Acosta Zurita
St Ebrulfus
St Euphrasia
St Fagildo of Santiago
St Felix of Furcona
St Florentius of Furcona
St Glodesind of Metz
St Magnericus of Trier
Bl Michel-Louis Brulard
Bl Mieczyslawa Kowalska
St Mordeyren
St Nissen of Wexford
St Olympiad of Constantinople
St Paul of Palestine Blessed Pietro Corradini OFM (1435–1490) Priest
St Theodemir of Cordoba
—
Martyrs of Caesarea – 3 saints: Three Christians martyred together in the pesecutions of emperor Maximilian and governor Firmilian – Paul, Tea and Valentina. 309 in Caesarea, Palestine.
Martyrs of Cuncolim – 20 saints: On 15 July 1583 the group met at the church of Orlim, and hiked to Cuncolim to erect a cross and choose land for a new church. Local anti-Christian pagans, seeing the unarmed Christians, gathered their weapons and marched on them. One of the parishioners, a Portuguese emigre named Gonçalo Rodrigues, carried a firearm, but Father Alphonsus Pacheco stopped him from using it. The pagans then fell upon them, and killed them all without mercy. They were –
• Alphonsus Pacheco
• Alphonsus the altar boy
• Anthony Francis
• Dominic of Cuncolim
• Francis Aranha
• Francis Rodrigues
• Gonçalo Rodrigues
• Paul da Costa
• Peter Berno
• Rudolph Acquaviva
• ten other native Christian converts whose names have not come down to us
They were martyred on Monday 25 July 1583 at the village of Cuncolim, district of Salcete, territory of Goa, India. Beatified on 30 April 1893 by Pope Leo XIII.
Martyrs of Motril – 5 beati: Four priests and a brother, all members of the Augustinian Recollects, who were martyred together in the Spanish Civil War:
• Deogracias Palacios del Río
• José Rada Royo
• José Ricardo Díez Rodríguez
• Julián Benigno Moreno y Moreno
• León Inchausti Minteguía
They were shot on 25 July 1936 in Motril, Granada, Spain and Beatified on 7 March 1999 by Pope John Paul II.
Martyrs of Toledo – 4 beati: Four brothers and a priest, all members of the Hospitallers of Saint John of God, and all martyred together in the Spanish Civil War.
• Carlos Rubio álvarez
• Eloy Francisco Felipe Delgado Pastor
• Jerónimo Ochoa Urdangarín
• Primo Martínez De San Vicente Castillo
25 July 1936 in Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Spain. They were Beatified on 25 October 1992 by Pope John Paul II.
Martyrs of Urda – 3 beati: Three members of the Passionists who were martyred together in the Spanish Civil War.
• Benito Solana Ruiz
• Felix Ugalde Irurzun
• Pedro Largo Redondo
They were shot on 25 July 1936 in Urdá, Toledo, Spain and Beatified on 1 October 1989 by Pope John Paul II.
AnaStpaul 
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