Thought for the Day – 8 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The Second Sorrowful Mystery The Scourging
“Tradition holds that Mary followed Jesus through the various stages of His Passion. It is impossible to believe that she would have abandoned Him in these tragic hours. She must, at least, have known of the cruel flogging which He endured and, while His body was being torn by lashes, she was most probably not far away, participating, by her maternal sorrow in her Son’s torment. Here, then, was a double Martyrdom – the Martyrdom of Blood and the Martyrdom of tears.
Life demands the shedding of blood and the shedding of tears! What are the motives which cause you sorrow in life? Are yours the tears of unsated ambition, of frustrated caprice, or of discouragement in times of trouble? Such tears are not worthy of a Christian. Hi, should be tears of repentance for his sins and tears of love for Jesus and Mary.”
Quote/s of the Day – 9 October – St John Leonardi (1541-1609) Confessor, Priest, Founder
“The medicine of God, is Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen, the measure of all things.”
“Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our “measure.” There is no realm, that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil, that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem, that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!”
“Those who want to work for moral reform in the world, must seek the glory of God before all else. Because He is the source of all good, they must wait for His help and pray for it, in this difficult and necessary undertaking.”
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”
One Minute Reflection – 9 October – St John Leonardi (1541-1609) Confessor, Priest, Founder – 1 Corinthians 1:4-8, Matthew9:1-8 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Which is easier to say: Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say: Arise, and walk?” – Matthew 9:5
REFLECTION – “And people there brought to him a paralytic.” Saint Matthew merely says that this paralytic was carried to Jesus. Other Evangelists describe, how he was let down through an opening in the roof and placed before the Lord, without expressing any particular request, leaving it to Him to assess the needs …
“When Jesus saw their faith,” the Gospel says, that is to say, the faith of those who had brought the man to Him. Consider how sometimes Christ pays no attention to the faith of the sick person – perhaps because, the latter is incapable of it, being unconscious or possessed with an evil spirit. However, in this case, this paralytic had great trust in Jesus, otherwise, would he have allowed them to let him down in front of Him? Christ responds to this trust with an extraordinary miracle. With the power of God, He forgives this man’s sins. Thus He showed, that He is equal to the Father, a truth He had already shown, when He said to the leper: “I will do it – be made clean” (Mt 8:3) … and when, with a word, He stilled the tempestuous sea (Mt 8:26), or when, as God, He had cast out the demons who recognised in Him their ruler and their judge (Mt 8:32). So here, He shows His adversaries, to their great astonishment, that He is equal to the Father
And once more, the Saviour shows here, how He turns away from anything spectacular or a source of vainglory. On all sides the crowd is pressing Him, yet, He is in no hurry to work a visible miracle by healing the external paralysis of this man …. He begins with an invisible miracle – by healing the man’s soul. This kind of healing, is far more beneficial for him and, outwardly speaking, less glorious for Christ.” – St John Chrysostom (345-407) Priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor of the Church – homilies on Saint Matthew’s Gospel, no. 29, 1.
PRAYER – O God, Who in a wondrous way graciously urged blessed John, Thy Confessor, to propagate Thy faith among the pagans and through him brought together a new religious family in Thy Church for the education of the faithful, grant Thy servants, so to profit by his teaching that we may reach everlasting rewards. 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).
Our Morning Offering – 9 October – The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
O Jesus, Sweetest Love, Come Thou to Me (1940) By Fr Francis Xavier Lasance (1860–1946)
O JESUS, sweetest Love, come Thou to me. Come down in all Thy beauty unto me. Thou Who didst die for longing of me And never, never more depart from me. Free me, O beauteous God, from all but Thee; Sever the chain that holds me back from Thee; Call me, O tender Love, I cry to Thee; Thou art my all! O bind me close to Thee. O suffering Love, Who hast so loved me; O patient Love, Who wearies not of me. Thou alone O Love! Thou weary not of me! Ah! Weary not till I am lost in Thee, Nay, weary not, till I am found in Thee. Amen
Saint of the Day – 9 October – St John Leonardi (1541-1609) Confessor, Priest, Founder. Patron of Pharmacists.
Saint John Leonardi was born in 1541 in Diecimo, in the Province of Lucca, Italy. He was the youngest of seven children and was raised in his Catholic faith. His family was industrious and John was the same. Throughout his adolescence, John spent a lot of time working hard in a shop of herbs and medicines that was located in his home town. When he was seventeen years old, his father had enrolled him in a regular course in Pharmacy training in Lucca, with plans for him to be a future Pharmacist. John agreed to follow this path and worked very diligently to achieve his goals.
After studying for more than a decade, John was able to open his own Pharmacy shop, however, he did not think the moment had arrived for him to fulfil a plan that he always had in his heart. After a mature reflection and much prayer, he decided to enter the Priesthood. He left his career as a Pharmacist and began taking theological formation courses.
On the Feast of the Epiphany in 1572, John was Ordained a Priest and celebrated his first Mass. As a Priest, John realised how his passion for Pharmaceutics had helped him in his vocation. With his Pharmacist background, he was able to help people discover “the medicine of God,” which is Jesus Christ Crucified and Risen, “measure of all things.” He firmly believed that all people needed this medicine and he desired to “start anew from Christ,” as he often said. He spent a lot of time working in hospitals and prisons and spreading “the medicine of God” to these people.
John knew that the fundamental reason for his existence, was his personal relationship with Jesus Christ in order to save his own soul and because of this conviction, he knew that Christ took primacy over everything in his life. This conviction helped him live out his Priestly vocation. John decided to dedicate himself with enthusiasm to the apostolate among the youth, through the Company of Christian Doctrine. On 1 September 1574, he founded the Congregation of Reformed Priests of the Blessed Virgin, later known as the Order of Clerks Regular of the Mother of God. He encouraged his disciples to have “before the mind’s eye only the honour, service and glory of Christ Jesus Crucified” and, like a good Pharmacist, accustomed to giving out medicines, according to careful measurements, he would add: “Raise your hearts to God a bit more and measure things with him.” He chose the Blessed Mother to be the Patroness of his Order because he had a strong devotion to her. He always kept his gaze on our Lady and she was his teacher, sister and mother, who protected him and led him closer to Jesus Christ.
During his Priestly life, the Church was under spiritual renewal and many new religious institutes were forming. In May 1605, John sent Pope Paul V a report, in which he suggested the criteria for a genuine renewal of the Church. He explained that “whoever wishes to carry out a serious moral and religious reform, must make first of all, like a good doctor, a careful diagnosis of the evils that beset the Church, so as to be able to prescribe, for each of them, the most appropriate remedy.” He knew what the real medicine was for these spiritual evils and he explained it by saying, “Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our ‘measure.’ There is no realm that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!” This was John’s prescription for every type of spiritual and social reform.
John was also very much concerned with the Christian formation of the people, especially the young. He educated them in the purity of the Christian faith and in holy practices. John spent his entire life working hard to purify the Church and to evangelisie the world. His apostolic zeal and all of his evangelical efforts, led him to be one of the Founders of the College for the Propagation of the Faith.
On 9 October 1609, he passed away from influenza, which he contracted while he was giving himself to the care of all those, who had been stricken by the epidemic,in the Roman quarter of Campitelli. He was venerated for his miracles and religious fervour and was Canonised in 1938 by Pope Pius XI.
Bl Aaron of Cracow St Abraham the Patriarch St Alfanus of Salerno St Andronicus of Antioch St Athanasia of Antioch Bl Bernard of Rodez St Demetrius of Alexandria St Deusdedit of Montecassino St Domninus St Dorotheus of Alexandria
St Eleutherius St Geminus St Gislenus St Goswin Bl Gunther St Lambert St Publia St Rusticus St Sabinus of the Lavedan St Valerius
Martyrs of Laodicea – Three Christians Martyred together in Laodicea but no other information about them has survived but their names – Didymus, Diodorus and Diomedes. They Died in Laodicea, Syria.
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