Our Morning Offering – 3 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – First Friday and a Friday of the Passion
Man of Sorrows—Wrapt in Grief From an old French Hymn Author Unknown
Man of Sorrows—wrapt in grief, Bow Thine ear to our relief; Thou for us the path hast trod Of the dreadful wrath of God. Thou the cup of fire hast drain’d Till its light alone remain’d: Lamb of Love!—we look to Thee, Hear our mournful litany!
By the garden—fraught with woe, Whither Thou full oft wouldst go: By Thine Agony of prayer In the desolation there! By the chains of sleep, which bound Watchers in their trance profound; Lord!—behold our bended knee,— Listen to our litany!
By the conflict foul and fell With the loosen’d fiends of hell, By the darkness of the hour Shadow’d with the tempter’s power, By the dire and deep distress Of that mystery fathomless;— Lord! our tears in mercy see Mingling with our litany!
By the vision then, which stole Looming o’er Thy spotless soul, Of the pride and guilt of man, Since his fall from grace began,— Seas of sin, with billowy waves, Yawning into countless graves;— Lord! ourselves from shipwreck free, Hear our solemn litany!
By the Chalice, when it came Pregnant with a hell of flame: By those Lips—which fain would pray That it might but pass away: By the Heart, which drank it dry, Lest a rebel race should die;— Let Thy Pity be our plea, Hear our solemn litany!
Man of Sorrows! —let Thy grief Purchase for us our relief— Lord of Mercy—bow Thine ear, Slow to anger—swift to hear: Let the garden Thou hast trod Draw us to the throne of God; So Gethsemane shall be Sweet in every litany!
This translation by Matthew Bridges (1800-1894) (The Passion of Jesus 1852) Hymnist, Poet, Writer Converted to Catholicism in 1848, by the influence of John Henry Newman (1801-1890) Tune: “Anima Christi (English)” traditional English melody.
Saint of the Day – 3 November – Saint Rumwold of Buckingham (c650-650) Infant Saint, born with miraculous adult abilities and mystical gifts. Born in c650 at King Sutton, Northants, England and died three days later in the same place. Also known as – Rumwold of Brackley, Rumbald of…. Rumbold of…. Rumwald of….
Tucked away in an almost-forgotten 11th Century manuscript is the extraordinary tale of St Rumwold, an infant saint who lived on this earthly plane for only three days. But in that short time, he not only spoke with the eloquence of a grown and educated man but he declared himself a Christian and gave a sermon to those who had gathered for his birth. The Author of that manscript, was Bishop St Wulfstan of Worcester (c 1008–1095),1070s,
Rumwold was born in the District of King’s Sutton sometime in the 7th Century, the son of the King of Northumberland (also known as Northumbria, in northern England) and his wife, who was a daughter of Penda of Mercia. The hagiography of his short life states that his parents were en-route to visit Penda for the birth of their first child, the infant Rumwold.
Before they could reach their destination, the party was forced to make camp by the roadside in a meadow, as the Princess of Mercia had entered labour. Rumwold was born in the meadow, near to the place that would become known as Sutton and then later as King’s Sutton. Sadly the infant lived only for a short time and died on the third day after his birth. Rumwold was buried in Sutton.
Not an unusual story so far, but it is the events following Rumwold’s birth which begin to move into the realm of miracles. St Wulfstan tells of how Rumwold’s birth was “desired by many and sanctified by God” and that upon being born, the infant proclaimed three times “I am a Christian!” The child then asked the two Priests who attended the royal party, Widerin and Edwold, to Baptise him and grant him the grace of receiving Holy Communion. Seeing as there was no Baptismal Font nearby, he directed the Priests to a nearby bowl-shaped stone. The men were miraculously able to lift it and carry it to the meadow to use for the Baptism. The sBaptismal Font can still be seen in King’s Sutton Church.
St Rumwold’s original stone Baptismal Font
Following the ceremony, Rumwold proceeded to give a lengthy sermon about the need for virtuous living to all those present. He finished by decreeing that after his death, his body should lay for one year at the place which would be called Sutton, for two years at a place to be named Brackley, before coming to his final resting place which would be known as Buckingham. None of these place-names existed at the time of Rumwold’s birth. Rumwold died, as he prophesied, on the third day of his life, the 3rd of November.
Accounts of Rumwold’s miraculous life were widely circulated in the Middle Ages and his Tomb and Shrine in the old Church of Buckingham became an important focus for pilgrims. Many came to take the curative waters of St Rumbold’s Well close to the Town. The earliest Inns of Buckingham were reputedly founded and flourished on the pilgrims’ trade.
Unfortunately Pilgrimages to Buckingham ceased after the Reformation and St Rumwold’s Shrine and Tomb seem to have been demolished when the old Buckingham Church decayed and collapsed in 1776. Regrettably nothing was transferred to the present-day Church. However, there is a recently-erected Memorial in the old Churchyard which reads:
“Near this spot within the old Church of Buckingham, was the Tomb and Shrine of the Infant Saint Rumbold, who lived and died in c650.”
St Rumwold’s Well has been protected and its site still remains.
St Acepsimas St Acheric of Vosges Bl Alphais of Cudot Bl Berardo dei Marsi Bl Berchtold of Engelberg St Caesarius St Cecilio Manrique Arnáiz St Clydog St Cristiolus St Domnus of Vienne St Elerius St Englatius St Florus of Lodeve St Gaudiosus of Tarazona St Germanus St Guenhael St Hermengaudius of Urgell St Hilary of Viterbo
St Sylvia Mother of St Gregory the Great, Pope St Theophilus St Valentine of Viterbo St Valentinian St Vitalis St William of Vosges St Winifred of Wales St Wulganus
Innumerable Martyrs of Saragossa: A large group of Christians martyred in Zaragoza, Spain by Dacian during the persecutions of Diocletian. Dacian ordered all Christians of the city into exile under pain of death; when they were assembled to leave, Dacian ordered imperial soldiers to massacre the lot of them. They were Martyred in 304.
Thought for the Day – 2 November – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Purgatory”
“Purgatory is the masterpiece of God’s justice and mercy. St John tells us in the Apocalypse, that nothing defiled can enter into the Heavenly Jerusalem (Apoc 21:27).
There are very few, however, who are privileged to arrive at the supreme moment of death, still wearing their Baptismal robe of innocence. Even the just man falls very often as the Holy Spirit warns us (Prov 24:16). We all possess many failings and have been guilty of many sins, either mortal or venial. It is true, that we can obtain forgiveness by penance and by receiving the Sacraments but, there still remains the temporal punishment due to our sins. Neither the small penances imposed by the confessor, nor our own tiny acts of voluntary mortification, are sufficient to satisfy our debt. We cannot be certain, moreover, that we shall be able, at the hour of our death, to cleanse ourselves of all our sins, by means of one good Confession. Even if we appear before the judgement seat of God without any grave faults, there will still, unfortunately, be many debts to be paid and many imperfections to be purified.
What then will happen to us? The justice of God cannot admit us, imperfect and defiled as we are, into the everlasting happiness of the Beatific Vision. Will He reject us, therefore, even as He rejects those who die in mortal sin and are condemned to eternal punishment? This is unthinkable, for the mercy of God is as infinite as His justice. And so, there is Purgatory, where the souls of those who have died in the state of grace but, still scarred with imperfections and burdened with debts to be paid, can find a way of purifying themselves and, of making themselves worthy of an everlasting reward.
Let us thank God for this gift, the last link in the chain of His mercies, which enables us to prepare ourselves for our entry into the Beatific Vision.”
Quote/s of the Day – 2 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – All Souls Day
“Then, let us run with Him as He presses on to His Passion. Let us imitate those who have gone out to meet Him, not scattering olive branches or garments or palms in His path but spreading ourselves before Him as best we can, with humility of soul and upright purpose. So may we welcome the Word as He comes (Jn 1:9); so may God, Who cannot be contained within any bounds, be contained within us. For He is pleased to have shown us this gentleness, He, Who is gentle and who “rides upon the setting sun” (Ps 56:12) which refers to our extreme lowliness. He is pleased to come and live with us and to raise us up or bring us back to Himself.”
St Andrew of Crete (660-740) Bishop, Father of the Church
“We must live a dying life and we must die a living death in the life of our Lord.”
(The Spirit of St. François de Sales, XV 6 )
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
A Prayer to the Holy Martyrs to Obtain Their Protection in Life and at Death By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
O thou blessed Princes of the heavenly Kingdom! Thou who sacrificed to the Almighty God, the honours, the riches received, in return, the unfading glory and never-ending joys of Heaven! Thou who art secure in the everlasting possession of the brilliant Crown of glory which thy sufferings have obtained! Look with compassionate regard upon our wretched state in this vale of tears, where we groan in the uncertainty of what maybe our eternal destiny. And from that Divine Saviour, for Whom, thou suffered so many torments and Who now repays thee with such unspeakable glory, obtain for us that we may love Him, with all our heart and receive in return, the grace of perfect resignation, under the trials of this life, fortitude, under the temptations of the enemy and perseverance, to the end. May thy powerful intercession obtain for us that we may one day, in thy blessed company, sing the praises of the Eternal God and even as thou now do, face-to-face, enjoy the Beatitude of His Vision! Amen
“How pleasing to Him it will be, if you sometimes forget yourself and speak to Him of His own glory; of the miseries of others, especially those who mourn in sorrow; of the souls in purgatory, His spouses, who long to behold Him in Heaven and, of poor sinners, who live deprived of His grace.”
St Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
“… Let us pray that before we have lost consciousness, Extreme Unction may heal our spiritual scars, make us worthy to see God and assist us, to pass peacefully, from this vale of tears into everlasting happiness.”
One Minute Reflection – 2 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – All Souls Day – 1 Corinthian 15:51-57, John 5:25-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Do not wonder at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the Voice of the Son of God. And they who have done good, shall come forth unto the resurrection of Life but they who have done evil, until the resurrection of judgement.” – John 5:28-29
REFLECTION – “Devout, wise and good people are not afraid of death, in view of the great hope they have in what lies before them. Everyday they think of death as of a departure and of the last day, as when the offspring of Adam will be born! The Apostle Paul says: “Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin, as has happened with all the children of Adam” (Rm 5:14.12) … It has happened, too, in all Moses’ descendants, to the end of the world. However, Moses declared that its rule would be destroyed; death thought to hold everyone captive and rule over them forever. .., but when the Holy One called to Moses, from the heart of the bush, he said to him: “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob” (Ex 3:6). When it heard these words, death was terrified, it trembled with fear, understanding that … God is Lord over the dead and the living and would come one day when men would escape from its darkness. Now Jesus our Saviour has repeated these words to the Sadducees and said: “He is not God of the dead, for all are alive for Him” (Lk 20:38) …
For Jesus has come, the One Who has put death to death! He put on a body of Adam’s race, has been nailed to the Cross and tasted death. It has understood that He would be descending to its abode. Anxiously, death fastened its gates but He has broken down its gates, entered in and started to seize those it was holding there. The dead, seeing Light in the darkness, raised their heads from their prisonhouse and saw the glory of the Messiah King! … And death, seeing how the darkness began to disperse and the righteous to rise, knew that at the end of time, He would release every prisoner from its power!” – St Aphrahat (c280-c345) Bishop near Mosul, Father (Expositions No 22).
PRAYER – O God, Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Thy servants and handmaids, the remission of all their sins, that they may obtain, by our loving prayer,s the forgiveness which they have always desired. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 2 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory”
O Turn To Jesus, Mother! Turn To Our Blessed Lady for the Souls in Purgatory (1940) By Fr Frederick W Faber C.Orat (1814-1863)
O turn to Jesus, Mother! turn, And call Him by His tenderest Names; Pray for the Holy Souls that burn This hour amid the cleansing flames.
Ah! they have fought a gallant fight; In death’s cold arms they persevered And after life’s uncheery night, The harbour of their rest is neared.
In pains beyond all earthly pains, Favourites of Jesus! there they lie, Letting the fire wear out their stains And worshipping God’s purity.
Spouses of Christ they are, for He Was wedded to them by His blood And Angels o’er their destiny In wondering adoration brood.
They are the children of thy tears; Then hasten, Mother! to their aid; In pity think, each hour appears, An age while glory is delayed.
See, how they bound amid their fires, While pain and love their spirits fill; Then with self-crucified desires, Utter sweet murmurs and lie still.
Ah me! the love of Jesus yearns O’er that abyss of sacred pain, And as He looks, His Bosom burns With Calvary’s dear thirst again.
O Mary! let thy Son no more His lingering Spouses thus expect, God’s children to their God restore And to the Spirit His elect.
Pray then, as thou hast ever prayed; Angels and Souls, all look to thee; God waits thy prayers, for He hath made Those prayers, His law of charity! Amen
Saint of the Day – 2 November – Blessed John Bodey (1549-1583) Layman, Martyr, Husband and Schoolmaster. Born in 1549 at Wells, Somerset, England and died on 2 November 1583 at Andover, England by being hanged, drawn and quartered for the crime of being a Catholic and refusing to accept Elizabeth I, Queen of England, as the Head of the Church. Blessed John was Beatified on 15 December 1929 together with Blessed John Slade (feast day 30 October), by Pope Pius XI. Additional Memorial – 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai, 1 December as one of the Martyrs of Oxford University
John was born in Wells, England, the son of a wealthy merchant and former Mayor. He studied at Winchester and then at Oxford and became an Oxford Fellow of New College, in 1568 at the age of 19. In 1576, John, along with seven others, was deprived of his fellowship for being a Roman Catholic by the Anglican Bishop of Winchester.
Bl John Bodey left and St Swithun Wells, right at Winchester Catholic Cathedral
In 1577, John travelled to Douay College to study Civil Law but returned to England in February, 1578 when he discovered that his studies could reap no benefits in England as Catholics were forbidden to practice the Legal Profession in any way or under any circumstances.
In 1580, John, by this time married and a schoolmaster, was arrested for continuing to practice the Catholic Faith and rejecting England’s newly-established heretical Church of England or the Anglican Church under the supreme power of the Royal leader.
He was kept in iron shackles in the prison as a “dangerous” prisoner, at Winchester, for three years, which he called his “school of patience.” In 1583 he was tried for treason, both for being a faithful Roman Catholic and for repudiating King Henry VIII’s claim of Royal supremacy of the Church in England, over and above that of the Holy Father in Rome. He was condemned to death in April, 1583, together with John Slade, a fellow layman. There was, apparently, a protest that this Sentence was unjust and illegal, leading to a retriel. But, the two holy men were condemned again—at Andover, Hampshire, in August 1583. Their bravery and perseverance in suffering so impressed their fellow inmates and even the guards that more than one conversion was made – by both Johns, by their virtue and charity!
After the Second Trial – Blessed John Bodey wrote, on behalf of Blessed John Slade and himself:
“We consider that iron for this cause, borne on earth, shall surmount gold and precious stones in Heaven. This is our mark this is our desire. In the mean season we are threatened daily and do look still, when the hurdle shall be brought to the door. I beseech you, for God’s sake that we want not the good prayers of you all for our strength, our joy and our perseverance unto the end. … From our school of patience the 16th September 1583.”
John Bodey was hanged, drawn and quartered at Andover on 2 November 1583. At his Martyrdom, Bodey kissed the halter, saying, “O blessed chain, the sweetest chain and richest that ever came about any man’s neck” and when told he died for treason, exclaimed:
“Indeed, I have been sufficiently censured, for I have been condemned twice; if you may make the hearing of a Blessed Mass – treason, or the saying of an Ave Maria – treason, you may make what you please – treason! … but, I have committed no treason, although, indeed, I suffer the punishment due to treason.”
He then exhorted the people to obey Queen Elizabeth as their worldly ruler: “I acknowledge her as my Lawful Queen in all temporal causes and none other … Ye shall understand, good people all, I suffer death, not for not granting her Majestie to be supreme head of Christ’s Church in England which I may not and will not grant; I pray God long to preserve her Majestie in tranquility over you, even Queen Elizabeth, your Queen and mine; I desire you to obey none other.”
He died saying:
“Jesu, Jesu, esto mihi, Jesu!” “Jesus, Jesus, be for me, Jesus!”
His mother arranged a great feast upon the occasion of her son’s happy death, to which she invited her neighbours, rejoicing at his death as at his marriage, by which his soul was happily and eternally espoused to the Lamb!
Blessed John’s brother Gilbert, was arrested with Alexander Briant on 28 April 1581. He was scourged at Bridewell and afterwards confined in prison. He was released on bail and when not called to appear, escaped to Rheims.
All Souls Day – The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed: Commemoration of the faithful departed in Purgatory. Abbot Odilo of Cluny instituted it in the Monasteries of his congregation in 998, other religious orders took up the observance and it was adopted by various Diocese and gradually by the whole Church. The Office of the Dead must be recited by the clergy on this day and Pope Benedict XV granted to all Priests, the privilege of saying three Masses of requiem –
St Ambrose of Agaune St Ambrose of Agaune St Amicus of Fonte Avellana St Amicus of Rambone St Baya of Scotland St Domninus of Grenoble St Erc of Slane St Eustochium of Tarsus St George of Vienne
Blessed John Bodey (1549-1583) Layman, Martyr
St Jorandus of Kergrist St Justus of Trieste St Marcian of Chalcis
Martyrs of Isfahan – 5+ Saints: Acindynus, Pegasius and Anempodistus were Persian priests who were imprisoned, tortured, interrogated and Martyred in the persecutions of king Sapor II of Persia; he considered any Christian to be a Roman spy and anti-Persian.
Martyrs of Sebaste – 10 Saints: A group of ten soldiers in the imperial Roman army of Emperor Licinius Licinianus who were executed together for refusing to burn incense as a sacrifice to the emperor. The only details that have survived are five of their names – Agapius, Cartherius, Eudoxius, Styriacus and Tobias. They were burned at the stake in 315 in Sebaste (in modern Turkey).
1 November The Month of “The Holy Souls in Purgatory” or of “The Church Suffering” or “The Faithful Departed”
“It is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sins.“
2 Machabees 12:46
The faithful who recite prayers or perform other devout exercises in supplication for the faithful departed during the Month of November, may gain: An Indulgence of 3 years once a day, on each day of the Month. A Plenary Indulgence on the usual conditions, if they perform these devotions DAILY for the ENTIRE Month of November. The De Profundis and Requiem aeternam, of themselves, attract a further 100 days Partial Indulgence.
The De Profundis Psalm 129
A prayer of a sinner, trusting in the mercies of God. The Sixth Penitential Psalm.
Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice. Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it. For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness and because of Thy law, I have waited for Thee, O Lord. My soul hath waited on His word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord. From the morning watch, even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
(Eternal rest or “Requiem aeternam”) Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And may perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
(Indulgence of 100 Days)
*Psalm 129 in Douay Rheims
Pope Clement XII. was the first who, in order to move the piety of Christians to pray for the souls in Purgatory, granted, by a Brief of 4 August 1736, Coelestes Ecclesiae thesauros – i. The Indulgence of 100 days to all the faithful, everytime that, at the sound of the bell, at the first hour after the evening Ave Maria, they say devoutly, on their knees the psalm De profundis, with a Requiem aAternamat the end of, it. (The evening Ave Maria in Rome varies with the season; it is commonly taken as 6 o’clock.) ii. A Plenary Indulgence to those who perform this pious exercise, for a year, at the hour appointed, once in the year, on any one day, after Confession and Communion. Those who do not know by heart the De Profundis, may gain these Indulgences by saying, in the way already mentioned for the De profundis, one Pater Noster and one Ave Maria, with the Requiem Aeternam. Observe also, that the aforesaid Clement XII. declared, on 12 December 1736, that these Indulgences might be gained by saying the De Profundis etc, as above, although, according to the custom of a particular Church or place, the “signal for the dead,” as it is called, be given by the sound of the bell either before, or after one hour after the evening Ave Maria. Pope Pius VI, by a Rescript of 18 March 1781, granted the above-named Indulgences to all the faithful, who should chance to dwell in any place where no bell for the dead is sounded and who, shall say the De Profundis or Pater Noster, as aforesaid, about the time specified above.
Thought for the Day – 1 November – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Feast of All Saints
“Today’s feast should inspire in us, a burning desire to become holy. Men long for many things in this world, things which are often useless and, even sinful. They desire riches, pleasure, honours, success and material comfort. These things may be lawful but, they cannot satisfy the human heart, which is made for God. Whenever we achieve any of our ambitions in this world, are we in fact, happy or even perfectly satisfied? The truth is, that we are not! because, the soul is greater than the objects which surround us. God alone can fill and satisfy it.
Sanctity should be our principal ambition. We should yearn to be more closely united to God, so that His Divinity may be reflected in our thoughts and in our actions. If we enjoy God’s friendship, we shall become more like God and shall be lifted up above petty mundane considerations. Perhaps, we doubt our ability to reach such a high spiritual level? Even so, we should, nevertheless, desire to reach it and, not just in a passing and indifferent manner but, constantly and actively. We should keep our desire alive by repeating it to ourselves and by continually praying for God’s grace to fulfil it. “I intend to become holy,” said little Dominic Savio and he kept the promise which he had made to God. Many people have formed the same resolution, both desert hermits and University professors, both humble workmen and rulers of nations. Since we ought to have the same intention, what is there to prevent us? Let us make this resolution now and put it into effect, with the help of God!”
“You say in your book that while we live, we are able to pray for each other but afterwards, when we have died, the prayer of no person for another, can be heard. But if the Apostles and Martyrs, while still in the body, can pray for others, at a time, when they ought still to be solicitous, about themselves, how much more will they do so, after their crowns, victories and triumphs!?”
St Jerome (343-420) Father and Doctor of the Church
“At His Transfiguration Christ showed His disciples, the splendour of His Beauty, to which He will shape and colour, those who are His : ‘He will reform our lowness configured to the Body of His Glory.”
St Thomas Aquinas OP (1225 – 1274) Angelic Doctor of the Church
“Those in the Catholic Church, whom some rebuke for praying to Saints and going on pilgrimages, do not seek any Saint as their saviour. Instead, they seek Saints, as those whom their Saviour loves and whose intercession and prayer, for the seeker, He will be content to hear. For His Own sake, He would have those He loves, honoured. And when they are thus honoured for His sake, then, the honour that is given them, for His sake, overflows especially to Himself.”
St Thomas More 1478-1535) Martyr
Grant us Your Light, O Lord By The Venerable St Bede (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church
Grant us Your light, O Lord, so that the darkness of our hearts, may wholly pass away and we may come at last, to the Light of Christ. For Christ is that morning star, who, when the night of this world has passed, brings to His saints, the promised light of life and opens to them, everlasting day. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 1 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – All Saints Day – Apocalypse 7:2-12, Matthew 5:1-12 – – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in Heaven.” – Matthew 5:12
REFLECTION – “Dearly beloved, let us anxiously attend to all that concerns the profession of our common life, “keeping the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace,” by “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the imparting of the Holy Spirit ”(Eph 4,3; 2 Cor 13:13). From the love of God comes the unity of the spirit; from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ comes the bond of peace; from the imparting of the Holy Spirit, comes that communion which is necessary to those who live in common. …
“I believe, 0 Lord, in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints” (Credo). This is my hope, this is my trust, this is my confidence, this is the whole of my security in the professing of my faith. … If I am allowed, O Lord, to “love Thee and love my neighbour,” (Mt 22:37-39) although my merits are small and few, yet will my hopes reach beyond them. I am confident that the merits of the Saints will help me by the communion of charity, so that the Communion of Saints will make up for my insufficiency and imperfection. … Let charity expand our hope, as far as the Communion of Saints, in the sharing of merits and rewards but the sharing of the latter belongs to the future, for it is the sharing in the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Since, then, there are three communions – the first of nature, which includes the sharing of guilt … the second of grace and the third, of glory. By the communion of grace, that of nature begins to be remade and the sharing of guilt to be excluded but, by the communion of glory, that of nature will be perfectly restored and the communion of anger, will be entirely excluded, when “God will wipe away every tear from the eyes” of the Saints (Is 25:8; Rv 21:4). Then, among all the Saints, there will be “one heart and one soul” and “all things will be in common”when God will be “all in all” (Acts 4:2; 1 Cor 15:28). That we may all arrive at this communion and that we all may be one, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the imparting of the Holy Spirit be with us all forever. Amen.” – Baldwin of Forde O.Cist ( c 1125–1190) Cistercian Abbot, Bishop, then Archbishop of Canterbury (Treatise on the common life).
PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, Who granted us to honour the merits of all Thy Saints in a single solemn festival, bestow on us, we beseech Thee, through their manifold intercession, that abundance of Thymercy for which we yearn. 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 – 1 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory”
I Salute Thee, All ye Holy Angels and Saints of God By St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)
I salute thee through the Heart of Jesus, O all ye holy Angels and Saints of God. I rejoice in thy glory and I give thanks to our Lord for all the benefits which He has showered upon thee. I praise Him and glorify Him and offer thee, for an increase of thou joy and honour, the most gentle heart of Jesus. Deign, therefore, to pray for me that I may become, like thee, according to the Heart of God. Amen.
Saint of the Day – 1 November – Saint Austremonius (3rd-4th Century) Bishop of Clermont, France, and Apostle of Auvergne, Missionary. Born in the 3rd Century and died in the early 4th Century of natural causes. Patronage – the Archdiocese of Clermont. Also known as – Austromoine, Stramonius, Stremonius.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Clermont in Auvergne, France, Saint Austremonius, the first Bishop of that City.”
Stained glass of St Austremonius at the Church of Saint-Eutrope in Clermont
Most of what is known about our Saint Austremonius, is deduced from a few brief sentences in the writings of St Gregory of Tours. According to this authorit, he was one of the seven Bishops sent from Rome into Gaul during the years in the mid 3rd Century.
Stained glass of St Austremonius at the Church of Saint-Eutrope in Clermont
He laboured tirelessly for the conversion of the pagans in Auvergne and is believed to have been the first Bishop of Clermont. Another tradition states that Austremonius was martyred by a Jewish rabbi for converting the man’s son, however this is not repeated in the Martyrology.
Also sent to preach the Gospel in Gaul were Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturninus to Toulouse, Denis to Paris and Martial to Limoges.
At Clermont St Austremonius converted the Senator Cassius of Clermont and the pagan priest Victorinus. He also sent St Serenus to Thiers, St Marius to Salers and Antoninus into other parts of Auvergne, to further the evangelisation of Gaul. A tradition states that Saint Austremonius instructed St Nectarius of Auvergne to Christianise the peoples living on the plain of Limagne.
Austremonius was a contemporary of the three Bishops of Aquitaine, who attended the Council of Arles in 314.
Statue of St Austremonius, Apostle and Bishop of Auvergne. Church Saint-Austremonius at Issoire, Auvergne, France.
Veneration of Saint Austremonius found its origin in a biography of the Saint written in the 10th Century in the Abbey of Mozac, where his body was transferred in 761. The Vita was rewritten and amplified by the Monks of Issoire, who retained the Saint’s head as a Relic. There is a further elaborated Vita of the late 11th Century. The tomb was opened in 1197.
Crypt at the Abbey of Mozac, a former Cluniac Monastery near Riom in Auvergne, France.
St Gregory of Tours, who was born in Auvergne in 544 and was well versed in the history of that country, looks upon St Austremonius as one of the seven envoys who, about evangelised Gaul. He relates how the body of our Saint was first interred at Issoire, being there the object of great veneration, before the body, though not the head, was translated to Clermont, where he is greatly venerated as the Patron of that Diocese.
Statue of St Austremonius at the Abbey Church of Mozac
November “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory”
All Saints Day – (a Holy Day of Obligation) Instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown. It owes its origin in the Western Church to the dedication of the Roman Pantheon in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs by Pope Saint Boniface IV in 609, the anniversary of which was celebrated at Rome on 13 May. Pope Saint Gregory III Consecrated a Chapel in the Vatican Basilica in honour of All Saints, designating 1 November as their feast. Pope Gregory IV extended its observance to the whole Church. It has a Vigil and Octave and is a Holy Day of Obligation – the eve is popularly celebrated as Hallowe’en. Patronage – Arzignano, Italy. ABOUT: https://anastpaul.com/2019/11/01/solemnity-of-all-saints-1-november/ AND: https://anastpaul.com/2018/11/01/1-november-solemnity-of-all-saints/ AND: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/11/01/1-november-the-feast-of-all-the-saints/
St Austremonius (3rd-4th Century) Bishop and Apostle of Auvergne St Benignus of Dijon St Cadfan St Caesarius of Africa St Caesarius of Damascus St Ceitho St Cledwyn of Wales Bl Clemens Kyuemon St Cyrenia of Tarsus St Dacius of Damascus St Deborah the Prophetess St Dingad Bl Dionysius Fugixima St Floribert of Ghent St Gal of Clermont St Genesius of Lyon St Germanus of Montfort St Harold the King St James of Persia St John of Persia St Julian of Africa St Juliana of Tarsus St Lluís Estruch Vives St Marcel of Paris St Mary the Slave St Mathurin St Meigan St Nichole St Pabiali of Wales Bl Pere Josep Almató Ribera Auras St Peter Absalon Bl Peter Paul Navarra Bl Petrus Onizuka Sadayu St Rachel the Matriarch
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