Thought for the Day – 16 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Accepting the Will of God
“Let us pray fervently to God for spiritual peace. Let us surrender ourselves to His Will and accept everything from His Hands, remembering that everything, joy and sorrow, sickness and health, temptation and spiritual consolation, should form a mystical ladder which will gradually bring us nearer to Heaven and finally unite us to God for evermore. Everything passes but God is unchangeable.
Sufferings have to end but the merits we gain remain, if we have offered our afflictions to God. Let us surrender ourselves completely into the hands of God, Who in His goodness, gives us some happiness on earth for our consolation and causes us to suffer, so that we may be purified and made holy.”
Quote/s of the Day – 16 July – Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Ecclesiasticu, Sirach 24:23-31, Luke 11:27-28
“Blessed is the womb that bore You …”
Luke 11:27
“That anyone could doubt the right of the holy Virgin to be called the Mother of God, fills me with astonishment. Surely she must be the Mother of God, if our Lord Jesus Christ is God and she gave birth to Him!?”
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God By St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father & Doctor of the Church
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Virgin and Mother! Morning Star, perfect vessel. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Holy Temple in which God Himself was conceived. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Chaste and pure dove. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, who enclosed the One Who cannot be encompassed in your sacred womb. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, From you flowed the true light, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Through you the Conqueror and triumphant Vanquisher of hell, came to us. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Through you, the glory of the Resurrection blossoms. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, You have saved every faithful Christian. Hail, O Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
“Wherefore, in the same holy bosom of His most chaste Mother, Christ took to Himself flesh and united to Himself, the spiritual Body formed by those who were to believe in Him. Hence Mary, carrying the Saviour within her, may be said, to have also carried, all those. whose life was contained in the life of the Saviour. Therefore, all we who are united to Christ and, as the Apostle says, are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones (Eph 5:30), have issued from the womb of Mary, like a body united to it’s head.”
One Minute Reflection – 16 July – Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Ecclesiasticu, Sirach 24:23-31, Luke 11:27-28
“Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.” – Luke 11:28
REFLECTION – “If you say, “Show me your God,” I will say to you, “Show me what kind of person you are and I will show you my God.” Show me then whether the eyes of your mind, can see and the ears of your heart, hear.
It is like this. Those who can see with the eyes of their bodies, are aware of what is happening in this life on earth. They get to know things that are different from each other. They distinguish light and darkness, black and white, ugliness and beauty, elegance and inelegance, proportion and lack of proportion, excess and defect. The same is true of the sounds we hear: high or low or pleasant. So it is with the ears of our heart and the eyes of our mind, in their capacity to hear or see God.
God is seen by those who have the capacity to see Him, provided that they keep the eyes of their mind open. All have eyes but some have eyes that are shrouded in darkness, unable to see the Light of the Sun. Because the blind cannot see it, it does not follow that the sun does not shine. The blind must trace the cause back to themselves and their eyes . In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds. …
But if you will, you can be healed. Hand yourself over to the Doctor, and He will open the eyes and ears of your mind and heart. Who is to be the Doctor? It is God, Who heals and gives life through His Word and Wisdom. … ” – St Theophilus of Antioch (Died c 185) Bishop of Antioch, Confessor, Apologist, Father (An excerpt from: A Book addressed to Autolycus).
PRAYER – O God, Who honoured the Order of Carmel with the special title of the most blessed Mary, ever Virgin, Thy Mother, graciously grant, that we, who this day honour her commemoration with solemn rites, defended by her care, may be found worthy to attain everlasting happiness.Through the same Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 16 July – Our Lady of Mount Carmel “Mary’s Day”
“The Flos Carmeli The Flower of Carmel” By St Simon Stock (1165-1265)
O most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein that thou art my Mother. O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth, I humbly beseech thee from the bottom of my heart, to succour me in this my necessity. There are none that can withstand thy power. O show me herein, that thou art my Mother. Amen.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for those who have recourse to thee. (Repeat three times)
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in thy hands. (Repeat three times)
This prayer, the “Flos Carmeli” (“The Flower of Carmel”), was composed by St Simon Stock (1165-1265), a Carmelite, so-called because he and other members of his order lived atop Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. St Simon Stock was visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary on 16 July 1251, at which time, she bestowed upon him a scapular, or habit, (commonly called “the Brown Scapular”), which became part of the liturgical clothing of the Carmelite order Oral tradition tells of St Simon Stock praying, with a passionate intensity to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, during a time of great distress and hardship for the Order. With fervour and faith, he prayed his prayer, the Flos Carmeli for the first time. And Our Lady answered his prayer. Thus, for seven centuries the Flos Carmeli continues to be prayed to the Blessed Mother with the firm faith that she she will answer its request with her powerful help.
Saint of the Day – 16 July – Saint Fulrad of Saint Denis (c 710-784) Abbot of Saint Denis Monastery, Chaplin and Counsellor of both King Pippin the Younger and King and Emperor Charlemagne, Founder of numerous Monasteries, Writer/Historian,, he oversaw the construction of a Basilica at St Denis. Born in c 710 in Alsace, France and died on 16 July 784 of natural causes. Also known as – Fulrade, Fulradus.
Stained glass window in the in the Parish Church at Lièpvre
Fulrad was the son of Riculf and Ermengard, who had rich estates in Alsace and the Meuse-Moselle region of modern France and was closely connected to the powerful families and the Carolingians. In 749, he was already one of the closest confidants of Hausmeier Pippin the Younger, who, together with Bishop Burkard of Würzburg, entrusted him with the highly important journey to Rome that initiated the disempowerment of the Merovingians and assisted Pippin’s rise to the throne.
Fulrad entered the Monastery of St-Denis and in 750 Fulrad received – apparently in gratitude for this service – the dignity of Abbot of the powerful Royal Abbey. When Pippin was actually made King in 751, he appointed Fulrad to lead his Court orchestra. Fulrad maintained ties with the Pope and served as an expert on Italy for Pippin and then for Charlemagne .
In his new position, Fulrad increased the size of the Abbey with his inheritance from his parents;. As a Benedictine Abbot of St-Denis , Fulrad regained many territories lost to his Monastery and gained new ones, often using his own inheritance to acquire land and build Monasteries. In these regions, he founded Monasteries which became centres of radiance and devotion. In the beginning, Fulrad administered the new Monasteries himself. The Monasteries were located in Alsace-Lorraine and Alemannia. Each Monastery possessed relics, which made them pilgrimage destinations.
St Fulrad receives the Relics of St Hippolytes from Pope Stephen
Fulrad’s Testament, gives an account of early Carolinian society. In the “Testament”, Fulrad presents a survey of certain places and gives a detailed account of the religious, political and economic differences between the towns.
Abbot Fulrad was the Chaplin and Counsellor of King Pippin III, the Younger. The connection between these two figures goes beyond just friendship but, as two strong figures who helped each other and had great respect for each other’s service. Historians have written about this great friendship, and examples of it are seen in distinctively in certain dealings with the Papacy and with Pippin’s burial. Fulrad had such an impact on Pippin that the latter’s final wishes and resting place were all connected to Fulrad and his Abbey of S-Denis. Pippin became very ill at his campaign in the City of Saintes. He managed to travelled to St-Denis where he would be buried. Pippin, at his own request, asked to be buried at Saint-Denis next to the saint; also he wanted to be buried at the Abbey where Fulrad, his Arch-Chaplin and “one of his staunchest allies” was the Abbot.
Fulrad was also the Arch-Chaplin and Counsellor to Charlemagne. Charlemagne gave Fulrad’s Abbey many riches and more land. Fulrad’s Monastery of St-Denis became the “Royal Mausoleum” of the Frankish Kings. Fulrad oversaw the new construction of the Basilica of St-Denis. Construction began in 754 and was completed under Charlemagne, who was present at its Consecration in 775.
Abbot Fulrad died on 16 July 784 and was buried at St-Denis, where his tomb became a pilgrimage site. St Alcuin of York wrote St Fulrad’s epitaph.
When Fulrad died, Charlemagne chose Angilram, the Bishop of Metz to be the new Abbots of St-Denis and to carry on the work of the zealous and holy Abbot Fulrad.
St Andrew the Hermit St Antiochus of Sebaste Bl Arnold of Clairvaux Bl Arnold of Hildesheim St Athenogenes of Sebaste
St Bartholomew of Braga OP – ArchBishop of Braga also known as Bl Bartholomew of the Martyrs (Bartolomeu Fernandez dei Martiri Fernandes) (1514-1590) Portuguese Dominican Friar and Priest, Writer, Theologian, Advisor, Teacher and Catechetical writer, Apostle of Charity founding a series of hospitals and hospices in Braga and surrounds. St Bartholomew: https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/16/saint-of-the-day-16-july-blessed-bartholomew-of-the-martyrs-1514-1590/
St Domnin St Domnio of Bergamo Bl Dorothée-Madeleine-Julie de Justamond St Elvira of Ohren St Eugenius of Noli St Faustus St Faustus of Rome and Milan St Fulrad of Saint Denis (c 710-784) Abbot St Generosus of Poitou St Gobbán Beg St Gondulf of Tongeren-Maastricht St Gondolf of Saintes St Grimoald of Saintes St Helier of Jersey Bl Irmengard St Landericus of Séez Bl Madeleine-Françoise de Justamond Bl Marguerite-Rose de Gordon Bl Marguerite-Thérèse Charensol Bl Marie-Anne Béguin-Royal Bl Marie-Anne Doux
St Marie-Madeline Postel (1756-1846) Religious Sister and Founder of the Sisters of Christian Schools of which she is the Patron, Teacher, Franciscan tertiary. Pope Pius X later signified on 22 January 1908 his approval to two investigated miracles attributed to her intercession and so Beatified her on 17 May 1908. Pope Pius XI confirmed two additional miracles and Canonised Blessed Marie-Madeline on 24 May 1925. Her Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/16/saint-of-the-day-16-july-st-marie-madeline-postel-
Bl Marie-Rose Laye Bl Milon of Thérouanne St Monulphus of Tongeren-Maastricht Bl Ornandus of Vicogne
Martyrs of Antioch – 5 Saints: Five Christians who were Martyred together. No details about them have survived by the names – Dionysius, Eustasius, Maximus, Theodosius and Theodulus. They were Martyred in Antioch, Syria, date unknown.
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