Thought for the Day – 27 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Those Who Will to be Damned
“There are many who are so steeped in vice that they never think of eternity and seek their happiness in sinful and worldly pleasures. They have grown deaf to God’s voice, although He instils in them remorse and restlessness and invites them by good inspirations, to return to His merciful embrace. They are deaf, too, to the voice of conscience, which, in spite of their degradation, cannot fail to make them feel the attractiveness of virtue and their great need of their Creator. They are fundamentally unhappy, doubly so because, in this life “there is no peace to the wicked” (Is 48:22) and, in the next life, they will be damned forever. Only a miracle of divine grace can save them from the abyss into which they have voluntarily precipitated themselves.
There are others who want to have their heaven both in this world and in the next. They oscillate uncertainly, between good and evil, today being full of good resolutions and tomorrow giving way to sin because virtue seems to demand too many sacrifices. They would like to be good but they will not take the necessary trouble.
Indecisive and lukewarm, they think that they can serve God and the devil at the same time! Naturally, this is impossible, as Christ has told us, “No man can serve two masters … You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mt 6:24). If people of this kind will not make up their minds, they are running the risk of eternal damnation.
To what category do you belong? Think about this and make a firm decision.”
Quote/s of the Day – 27 August – The Memorial of St Amadeus of Lausanne OCist (1110—1159) Bishop (I am unsure of whether he is a Saint or a Blessed as there seems to be disagreement about the final confirmation of his cultus. Whichever, he is a Saint of God!)
“O how marvellous are His wounds by which the wounds of the world were healed! How victorious His wounds, by which He slew death and stung hell!”
“Your Son appeared to us as an abundance of food when grievous famine threatened, as a spring of living water, to a life in distress and fainting from thirst in the heat.”
“He came from Him, from whom He did not depart, going forth from Him, with whom He stayed, so that without intermission, He was wholly in eternity, wholly in time, wholly was He found in the Father when wholly in the Virgin, wholly in His own majesty and in His Father’s, at the time when He was wholly in our humanity. ”
“He himself is your son, O Mary, He Himself rose from the dead on the third day and with your flesh ascended above all the heavens that He might fill all things. Therefore, O blessed lady, you have your joy, the object of your desire and the crown of your head have been granted you. He has brought to you the sovereignty of heaven through His glory, the kingdom of the world though His mercy, the subjugation of hell through His power. All things with their diverse feelings respond to your great and unspeakable glory – angels by honour, mortals by love, demons by terror. For you are venerated in heaven, loved in the world, feared in hell.”
“Has anyone ever come away from Mary, troubled or saddened or ignorant of the heavenly Mysteries? Who has not returned to everyday life gladdened and joyful because a request has been granted by the Mother of God?”
One Minute Reflection – 27 August – Thursday of the Twenty First week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 1: 1-9, Psalms 145: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, Matthew 24: 42-51 and the Memorial of Bl Amadeus of Lausanne OCist (1110—1159) Bishop
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! … for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” … Matthew 24:42,44
REFLECTION – “Listen to my words and give ear to my humble discourses,I cry out to you all, I exhort you: “Lift up your hearts to God, unbind yourselves from your attachment to the passions!” Here is what the prophet cries to you: “Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob” (Is 2:3), which is that of impassibility and let us contemplate with the eyes of our mind,s the joy held in store for us by the heavenly promises. My beloved children, gather up your fervour, take wings of fire like the dove, as it is written, fly away (cf. Ps 54[55]:7), place yourselves among the virtuous, those on the right side (Mt 25:33). Receive joy, spiritual desire, impassioned for God. Taste the great sweetness of His love (cf. Rev 10:9-10) and, by it, considering all else as secondary, tread vainglory underfoot, the desire of the flesh and bitter anger! (…) Let us hike up our tunics, be on the alert, have eagle eyes – this is the speediest flight for the trip that leads us from earth to heaven! It is true that travellers can have something to endure. And this happens to you too – indeed, as you see, you struggle under hard labours, you tire yourselves, you work the ground until you are out of breath, you pour with sweat, you are at the end of your strength, hungry, thirsty, one of you labouring at the plough, the other cultivating the vineyard, another pressing oil, or cooking, constructing, making bread or busy about the cellar. Briefly, each is at their post. All go forward on the highway to God, they approach the great city and, in death, they will have entry to the unutterable joy of the good things God reserves for all those who have loved Him! (…) May we be accounted worthy of the kingdom of Christ Himself, our God, to whom belongs all glory and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, world without end. Amen.” … St Theodore the Studite (759-826) Monk at Constantinople – Catechesis 16
PRAYER – Lord God, renew Your Church with the Spirit of wisdom and love which You gave to St Amadeus. Lead us by that same Spirit, to seek You, the only fountain of true wisdom and the source of everlasting love. May we turn to You in sorrow and true repentance when we fail and strive always and everywhere to live in Your truth and Your love for all and thus be ready when You come. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, in union with the Spirit, one God, forever and ever. St Amadeus, pray for Holy Mother Church and for us all, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 27 August – Thursday of the Twenty First week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God CP (1792-1849)
One of Blessed Dominic’s major Conversions, St John Henry Newman, will do the honours today.
Raise My Heart St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
O my God, whatever is nearer to me than You, things of this earth and things more naturally pleasing to me, will be sure to interrupt the sight of You, unless Your grace interfere. Keep You my eyes, my ears, my heart, from any such miserable tyranny. Keep my whole being fixed on You. Let me never lose sight of You and while I gaze on You, let my love of You grow more and more everyday. Amen
Saint of the Day – 27 August – Blessed Amadeus of Lausanne O Cist (1110—1159) Bishop of Lausanne, Cistercian Monk and Abbot of Hautecombe Abbey, where he governed with great piety and administrative skills, he had an extremely deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, writer – born on 21 Janury 1110 in the castle of Chatte, Dauphine, France and died on 27 August 1159 of natural causes, aged 49.
Amadeus was the son of Count Amadeus of Clermont the Elder of Clermont in Savoy. After his mother’s early death, he was sent to the Cistercian Abbey of Bonnevaux at the early age of 10 to be educated there. His father entered the same Monastery as a Monk. In order to take advantage of even better educational opportunities, father and son moved to Cluny Abbey in 1121. The son soon moved on to the Court of Emperor Henry V in order to learn life as a Knight and prepare for an aristocratic career. But dissatisfied with this way of life, he chose to enter a Cistercian Monastery in 1125, this time choosing the famous Clairvaux Abbey, then led by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.
In 1139 he was selected by St Bernard to serve as the Abbot of Hautecombe Abbey in Savoy where 200 monks came under his responsibility. One of his most momentous decisions was to move the community from it’s location to a new site on the shores of the Lac du Bourget, see blow. It was said that Amadeus’ administrative skills, high ideals, piety and education, led Hautecombe to new heights as a religious community and also ensured it’s economic security. It seems that his father went with him as a Monk.
After his father’s death in 1140 he founded the Cistercian Monastery, Laval-Bénite in Saint-Pierre-de-Bressieux.
Pope Lucius II elevated Amadeus to the Bishopric of Lausanne in 1144. The Abbot was reluctant to accept but was Consecrated on 21 January 1145. His service as a Bishop led to a period of spiritual and administrative stability for the region, although he was initially, often met with opposition, once having to flee the City because of violent residents. He was able to put the City under the protection of Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen. Amadeus was particularly devoted to improving the education of the clergy and leading them to deeper religious observance.
This image of Blessed Amadeus resides in the Bishop’s House in Lausanne
He was often in contact with the Ecclesiastical and secular authorities of his day. Letters and charters attest to his contacts with King Conrad III, with Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and the Cistercian Pope Eugene III, whom Amadeus knew from his days in Clairvaux. For a time, he served as the legal Guardian for Blessed Humbert III, Count of Savoy, when Humbert’s father Amadeus III died in the Second Crusade.
As Bishop, Amadeus often went on retreat at Haut-Crêt Abbey, located 15 km east of Lausanne. His Marian devotions are famous but he also venerated St Agnes a great deal because her Memorial day (21 January) was the day Amadeus was born, began school, entered the novitiate, took his monastic vows, was made Abbot and Consecrated a Bishop.
According to tradition, Amadeus consecrated his Cathedral in Lausanne to Mary after his sister had miraculously given him a glove of the Virgin, which was kept for a long time in the Cathedral.
The Cathedral of NotreDame in Lausanne
Amadeus often visited his parishes and consecrated – probably in 1148 – the then wooden church in the mountain village of Grindelwald to Mary, see below. His Homilies attest to his extremely strong devotion to Mary and are a source of knowledge about the Marian piety of the time. Pope Pius XII quoted St Amadeus in 1950, in the proclamation of the Dogma of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus.
Towards the end of his tenure Amadeus defended his Diocese and the City of Lausanne against the Count of Geneva. He was forced to flee temporarily to Moudon, which had belonged to the Bishop of Lausanne since 1101 but, there too, he was harassed by the Count’s soldiers.
After he was able to return to Lausanne, he was plagued by various illnesses and died in Lausanne on 27 August 1159. He was interred in the Cathedral of Lausanne before the Altar of the Holy Cross. Veneration was officially approved in 1710 by Pope Pope Clement XI and confirmed in 1903 by St Pius X. A shrine with his relics now resides in the Bishop’s house.
Blessed Amadeus’ extant Marian sermons are his most famous writings. As a result, he is often quoted as a classic proponent of Marian piety in the 12th century. The seventh homily is particularly well-known, as it was the one from which Pope Pius XII quoted.
Statue of Bishop Amadeus of Lausanne in the church of Eschenbach Abbey
St Ebbo of Sens St Etherius of Lyons St Euthalia of Leontini St Fortunatus of Potenza Bl Gabriel Mary St Gebhard of Constance St Giovanni of Pavia St Honoratus of Potenza Bl Jean Baptiste Guillaume Bl Jean-Baptiste Souzy St John of Pavia St Licerius of Couserans St Malrubius of Merns Bl Maria del Pilar Izquierdo Albero St Narnus of Bergamo St Phanurius St Poemen Bl Roger Cadwallador St Rufus of Capua St Sabinian of Potenza St Syagrius of Autun — Martyrs of Tomi – 5 saints: A group of 17 Christians imprisoned and excuted for their faith during the persecutions of Diocletian. They miraculously were unburned by fire and untouched by wild animals. We know the names and a few details on five of them – John, Mannea, Marcellinus, Peter and Serapion. They were tied to stakes and burned alive; they emerged unharmed – thrown to wild animals in the amphitheatre; t he animals ignored them; they were beheaded in 304 in Tomi, Mesia (modern Costanza, Romania).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Buenaventura Gabika-Etxebarria Gerrikabeitia • Blessed Esteban Barrenechea Arriaga • Blessed Fernando González Añon • Blessed Francisco Euba Gorroño • Blessed Hermenegildo Iza Aregita • Blessed José María López Carrillo • Blessed Juan Antonio Salútregui Iribarren • Blessed Pedro Ibáñez Alonso • Blessed Pelayo José Granado Prieto • Blessed Plácido Camino Fernández • Blessed Quirino Díez del Blanco • Blessed Ramón Martí Soriano
AnaStpaul 
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