At present, the Power Cuts are happening twice everyday. Sadly, they are occurring during the hours I have available to do the posts. Hopefully, they will cease by the end of this week …. for a while anyway.
Sporadic posts – sorry 😣
Day: March 18, 2021
NOVENA FOR THE INTERCESSION OF SAINT JOSEPH – Day Nine, 18 March
NOVENA FOR THE INTERCESSION OF SAINT JOSEPH
DAY NINE
Terror of Demons
Look down on us, Saint Joseph,
Protector of Our Lord,
Who followed you through deserts
And gave you blessed reward;
Our foes are yet about us,
Be our strength now at our side,
Be light against the darkness.
Saint Joseph, be our guide and protector!
We venerate your justice,
The gospels praise your name,
You are the Saint all humble,
Who gained eternal fame.
In your devoted family
Our souls in trust confide,
Direct our way to heaven.
Saint Joseph, be our guide.
We implore your powerful intercession,
to obtain from the gentle heart of Jesus
all the help and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare,
particularly protection from the powers of evil
and the special grace I now implore:
…………….. (Mention your request)
O guardian of the Word Incarnate
we feel animated with confidence,
that your prayers on our behalf,
will be graciously heard,
before the throne of God.
St Joseph, Terror of Demons, Pray for us!
Amen
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 18 March – Saint Alexander of Jerusalem (Died 251) Bishop and Martyr
Saint of the Day – 18 March – Saint Alexander of Jerusalem (Died 251) Bishop of Cappadocia and Martyr – martyred in 251 at Ceasarea. Also known as Alexander of Cappadocia.
During the late second century, Alexander studied at the Christian school of Alexandria under the instruction of St Pantaenus (known as “the Philosopher”) (died c 200) and St Clement of Alexandria. He was a friend and pupil alongside Origen, the Christian theologian who composed the seminal work of Christian Neo-Platonism.
It was Alexander who permitted Origen, despite being a layman, to speak in the Churches. For this concession he was taken to task but he defended himself, by examples of other permissions, of the same kind, given even to Origen himself elsewhere, although then quite young. When Alexander became a Bishop, he ordained Origen to the Priesthood.
Alexander eventually became Bishop of Cappadocia. After seven years of imprisonment under the persecution of Severus, Alexander sought to continue his journey of faith. He travelled to Jerusalem where he created an extensive theological library, for which he is much praised and eventually, became the Auxiliary Bishop.
While Alexander achieved several high positions in the Church, he maintained his gentleness of character, expressed most in his homilies. In contrast to his warm demeanour, his faith was strong, unwavering and he was willing to endure torture and death in the name of that faith.
Finally, in spite of his years, he, with several other Bishops, was carried off a prisoner to Caesarea and as the historians say, “The glory of his white hairs and great sanctity formed a double crown for him in captivity.” His vita states that he suffered many tortures but survived them all. When the wild beasts were brought to devour him, some licked his feet and others their impression on the sand of the arena.
When the wild beasts did not attack him, Decius sent Alexander to a Caesarean prison. He died there in 251.
Eusebius of Caesarea has preserved some of writings and letters.
Nostra Signora della Misericordia/Our Lady of Mercy, Patron of Savona, Italy (1536) and Memorials of the Saints – 19 March
Nostra Signora della Misericordia/Our Lady of Mercy, Patron of Savona, Italy (1536) – 18 March:
About seven kilometers from the centre of Savona stands the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy, built following the apparition of the Virgin Mary to the farmer Antonio Botta, on 18 March 1536.
During the apparition, the Madonna dressed in white and wrapped in a dazzling light, told Antonio to go to his confessor and ask him to announce to the people, a fast for three Saturdays and a procession to the site where she appeared, to honour God and His Mother. She then asked him to return on the fourth Saturday.
On the fourth Saturday after the event, corresponding to 8 April 1536 and on the eve of Palm Sunday, Antonio Botta returned to the place of the apparition. There the Virgin appeared to him again, asking for three more fast Saturdays and a new procession of the people, especially the disciplinary Confraternities, praising their work and recommending that they announce to everyone, repentance of their vices and sins, to live the Creed and then she disappeared after saying: “Mercy, my son, not justice.”
This teaching of the Madonna was accepted with faith and dedication by the City of Savona, which was going through a difficult period, after the defeat suffered in 1528 by the Republic of Genoa.
Since then, on 18 March of each year, to commemorate the event of the apparition, a procession led by the Bishop is made, with the Confraternities of the Diocese and the faithful, departing from the Cathedral square of Savona and arriving at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy which was built to honour the apparitions to Antonio Botta.
The construction of the architectural complex of the Sanctuary was started in the same year in which the Marian apparition took place, i.e. in 1536. The whole today includes the Basilica with the square, the Pallavicino and Tursi palaces, the large late-sixteenth-century palace of the New Hospice and other buildings. The Basilica collects masterpieces by prestigious artists, such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Orazio Borgianni, Bernardo Castello, Domenichino and is also a very honoured place of worship.
Since the Confraternities are remembered and praised in the message to Blessed Botta, this place of worship was proclaimed National Shrine of the Confraternities of Italy, on March 18, 2009, by the Bishop of the Diocese of Savona-Noli.
Pope Pius VII was exiled to Savona by Napoleon from 1809-1812. During those years, he vowed that if he were released, he would crown the Statue of Our Lady of Mercy. The Pope was released and kept his promise, placing a royal diadem on the Statue on 10 May 1815.
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St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 313-386) (Optional Memorial)
Father and Doctor of the Church
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/03/18/saint-of-the-day-18-march-st-cyril-of-jerusalem/
—
Bl Aimée-Adèle le Bouteiller
St Alexander of Jerusalem (Died 251) Bishop and Martyr
St Anselm of Lucca the Younger (1036-1086)
About this St Anselm:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/18/saint-of-the-day-18-march-saint-anselm-of-lucca-the-younger-1036-1086/
St Braulio of Saragossa
Bl Celestine of the Mother of God
Bl Christian O’Conarchy
St Edward the Martyr
St Egbert of Ripon
St Eucarpius of Nicomedia
St Felix of Gerona
St Finan of Aberdeen
St Frigidian of Lucca
Bl John Thules
St Leobard of Tours
St Narcissus of Gerona
Bl Roger Wrenno
St Salvator of Horta
St Trophimus of Nicomedia
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Martyrs of Nicomedia – Commemorates the Christians who were martyred anonymously, either singly and in small groups, by local pagans in the area of Nicomedia prior to the year 300 and who may have been over-looked in the waves of Diocletian persecutions that resulted in the deaths of thousands.
AnaStpaul 
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