Thought for the Day – 11 June – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Sacred Heart and the Holy Viaticum
‘From a sudden and unprovided death, O Lord, deliver us. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me now and in my last agony. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you. Amen.’
Quote/s of the Day – 11 June – Ember Saturday of Pentecost – Romans 5:1-5, Luke 4:38-44.
“Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a great fever and they besought Him for her.”
Luke 4:38
“May Christ come to our house and enter in and by His command, cure the fever of our sins. Each one of us is sick with a fever. Whenever I give way to anger, I have a fever. There are as many fevers, as there are faults and vices.”
St Jerome (343-420) Father & Doctor of the Church
“We implore You, O All-Holy, Long-Suffering Life and Restoration, Source of goodness, look down from Heaven and visit all those who ever trust in You; rescue our life, Lord, from all constraint and affliction, and, in the faith of truth, guide us all. At the prayers of the Immaculate Mother of God and Virgin, Save your world and those in the world and spare us all, You who, for us, became man without change, only Lover of mankind.”
St Romanos the Melodios (c 490-c 556)
“If thou art bound down by sickness, if sorrows weary thee, if thou art trembling with fear, invoke the name of Jesus.”
St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1456)
Behold Me, O Sweet Lord, Behold Me! By St Aelred of Rievaulx O.Cist. (1110-1167)
Behold me, O Sweet Lord, behold me! For I hope. that in Your Loving Kindness, O Most Merciful One, You will behold me, either as a loving Physician to heal, a kind Teacher to correct, or an indulgent Father to pardon… confident in Your Sweet Powerful Mercy and most Merciful Power, I ask, in virtue of Your Sweet Name and of the Mystery of Your Sacred Humanity that, mindful of Your Kindness and unmindful of my ingratitude, You forgive me my sins and heal the languors of my soul. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 11 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Ember Saturday of Pentecost and the Feast of St Barnabas, Apostle and Martyr – Romans 5:1-5, Luke 4:38-44.
“At that time, Jesus rose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a great fever and they besought Him for her.” – Luke 4:38
REFLECTION – “Jesus laid His Hands upon the sick, one by one and freed them from their malady. He demonstrated that the Holy Flesh, which He had made His Own and endowed with Godlike power, possessed the active presence of the Might of the Word. He intended us to learn, that, although the Only-begotten Word of God became like us, yet He is, nonetheless, God. He wants us to know, that He is easily able, even by His Own Flesh, to accomplish all things. His Body was the instrument by which He performed miracles.
Jesus, then, entered Peter’s house, where a woman was lying stretched upon a bed, exhausted with a violent fever . As God, He might have said, “Put away the disease, arise” but He adopted a different course of action. As a proof that His Own Flesh possessed the power of healing because it is the Flesh of God, He touched her hand. “Immediately,” it says, “the fever left her.” Let us, therefore, also receive Jesus. When He has entered into us and we have received Him into mind and heart, then, He will quench the fever of unbefitting pleasures. He will raise us up and make us strong, even in spiritual things, so that we might serve Him by performing those things which please Him. But observe again, I ask, how great is the usefulness of the touch of His Holy Flesh . For it both drives away diseases of various kinds and a crowd of demons,and overthrows the power of the devil. It heals a very great multitude of people in one moment of time. Although He was able to perform these miracles by a word and the preference of His Will, yet, to teach us something useful, He also lays His Hands upon the sick. For it was necessary, most necessary, for us to learn that the Holy Flesh which He had made His Own, was endowed with the activity of the Power of the Word, by His having implanted in it, a Godlike Might. Let it then take hold of us, or rather let us take hold of it by the mystical “giving of thanks.” May we do this, so that it might free us also, from the sicknesses of the soul and from the assault and violence of demons. ” – St Gregory the Great (540-604) Popr, Father, Doctor of the Church (Commentary on Luke, Homily 12)
PRAYER – O God, Who gladden us by the merits and intercession of blessed Barnabas, Thy Apostle, mercifully grant that we, who ask Thee favours through him, may obtain them by the gift of Thy grace. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect). All praise, honour and glory to the divine Heart of JESUS.50 Days Indulgence, Once a day, Raccolta, 168 Pope Leo XIII, 13 June 1901.
Our Morning Offering – 11 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart”
O Jesus, Mary’s Son! By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus, Doctor communis
Hail to Thee! True body sprung From the Virgin Mary’s womb! The same that on the cross was hung And bore for man the bitter doom. Thou Whose side was pierced and flowed Both with water and with blood. Suffer us to taste of Thee In our life’s last agony. O kind, O loving One! O Jesus, Mary’s Son! Amen
Saint of the Day – 11 June – St Parisius ECMC (c 1160-1267) Priest and Monk of the Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona, Spiritual Director, Reformer, Miracle-worker during his life and after his death. Born in c 1160 at Treviso or Bologna, Italy (records vary) and died on 11 June 1267 of natural causes, aged 108! Also known as – Parisio. Patronage: Treviso.
The Roman Martyrology reads: “In Treviso, Saint Parisio, Priest of the Camaldolese Order, who for seventy-seven years took care of the spiritual direction of the Nuns with healthy advice, dying at the age of one hundred and eight.”
Parisiu is one of the longest-lived saints known, he lived 108 years and being from the fourteenth century, it was undoubtedly a record, taking into account the average lifespan of the time, which was just over 40 years. St Parius is an example of humble and loving service for the glory of God!
At around 12 years of age, Parisius entered the Camaldolese Monastery in Bologna. He lived in the Bolognese Monastery for 24 years, leading an exemplary life, until the Prior General of the Camaldolese, assigned him as Director and Confessor to the Camaldolese female Monastery of St Cristina, near Treviso, which, at the time needed a guiding hand in many areas. It was 1187, and he was 36 years old when he was entrusted with that delicate task of reform – he would remain away from his Bologna for 80 years, until his death.
He dedicated himself humbly and subtleness to his task and, at the same time, to the care of the sick and the pilgrims of the Hospice of All Saints, annexed to the Monastery.
He was practically detached from the religious practices of the community of origin but remained faithful to all the Rules, religious obligations and penances, of his Camaldolese Order, which the Founder, St Romualdo had instituted. The fidelity with which he applied himself, even during illnesses and in very advanced old age, was regarded with veneration by the Nuns and Monks of his Order, despite the fact that Bishop Alberto Ricco (1255-1274) had dispensed him from the need to practice the rigid Rule.
Under his direction and spiritual guidance, the Monastery of St Cristina of Treviso acquired a reputation for widespread holiness, so much so, that in 1196 some devout people wanted to erect another Camaldolese female Monastery in Bologna, dedicated to St Mary of Bethlehem, placing it under the guidance of the Abbess of St Cristina of Treviso and the spiritual direction of Father Parisius. Parisius himself, 18 years later, when he judged that the new Monastery could manage itself, favoured its detachment in 1214.
He lived holy and pious life, forming generations of Camaldolese Nuns in religious life and died at the age of 108 on 11 June 1267. Just a month later, in July 1267, the Diocesan process began which ended with the Episcopal Canonisation (in use at the time) on 25 November 1268, by the Bishop of Treviso, Msgr. Alberto Rich.
The City of Treviso had always been devoted to our Saint Parisius, even during his life. After his death, the Officials of the City, annually, solemnly attended his Feast Day celebration of the Holy Mass on the tomb of the Saint, in the Church of St Cristina which, over time, also took the name of St Parisius.
His name was also adopted by the new Monastery, built following the destruction of the old one, which took place in 1355. From the time of the Napoleonic suppression, the Relics of the Camaldolese Saint, whom Treviso venerates as Co-patron, were placed in the City Cathedral. Cesare Baronio, author of the ‘Roman Martyrology’ in the sixteenth century, inserted his memory on the date of 11 June.
Bl Kasper of Grimbergen St Maximus of Naples St Parisius ECMC (c 1160-1267) Priest and Monk of the Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona. St Paula Frasinetti St Riagail of Bangor Bl Stephen Bandelli OP St Tochumra of Kilmore St Tochumra of Tuam
Martyrs of Tavira – 7 Beati: Members of the Knights of Santiago de Castilla. During the re-conquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Muslims by Christian forces, in a period of truce between the armies, the group was allowed to leave the Portuguese camp to hunt. Near Tavira, Portugal, he and his companions were ambushed and killed by a Muslim force. Making a reprisal attack, the Portuguese army took the city of Tavira. The murdered knights were considered to be martyrs as they died in an action defending the faith. They were – • Blessed Alvarus Garcia • Blessed Beltrão de Caia • Blessed Damião Vaz • Blessed Estêvão Vasques • Blessed Garcia Roiz • Blessed Mendus Valle • Blessed Pedro Rodrigues They were martyred in 1242 outside Tavira, Faro, Portugal. Their relics are enshrined under the altar of Saint Barnabas in the Church of Our Lady, Queen of the Angels (modern Santa Maria do Castelo) in Tavria
Mercedarian Martyrs of Damietta: Three Mercedarian lay knights who worked to ransom Christians enslaved by Muslims. During the 7th Crusade, a plague swept through the Christian army and these knights volunteered to work with the sick. During this work they were captured by Muslims and ordered to convert to Islam; they refused. They were tortured, taken to Damietta, Egypt where they were murdered for their faith. They were thrown from a tower in the mid-13th century in Damietta, Egypt.
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