Thought for the Day – 16 April – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)
“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5
XLVII: … Another Method of Meditation
“There is another method of prayer and meditation besides the one to which we have referred.
In this latter method, having considered the poignant sufferings of your Saviour and His patient endurance of them, you proceed to two other considerations of equal importance. The one, is the consideration of Christ’s Infinite merits and , the other, of that satisfaction and glory which the eternal Father received from His obedience – an obedience unto death, even the Death of the Cross. You must represent these two considerations to the Divine Majesty, as two powerful means of obtaining the grace you seek.
This method is applicable, not only to all the Mysteries of Our Lord’s Passion but, to every exterior or interior act He performed in the course of His Passion.”
Quote/s of the Day – 16 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – – Ferial Day – 1 Peter 2:21-25; John 10:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“My sheep hear My Voice; I know them and they follow Me.”
John 10:27
“I am like the sick sheep which strays from the rest of the flock. Unless the Good Shepherd takes me on His shoulders and carries me back to His fold, my steps will falter and, in the very effort of rising, my feet will give way!”
St Jerome (343-420) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Christ said that the shepherd enters through the gate and that He is Himself the Gate, as well as the Shepherd. Then, it is necessary, that He enter through Himself. By so doing, He reveals Himself and through Himself, He knows the Father. But we enter through Him because through Him. we find happiness.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus Doctor Communis
“It is never really God Who is silent. He is forever appealing to us to lead good lives. He is never really far from us but is always ready to bestow His gifts on us. Even when we have sinned, we hear His Voice prompting us to thoughts of remorse. Even when we stray away from Him, He follows and asks us to return to Him. It is we, who must ensure that the noise of the world, will not prevent us from hearing His Fatherly appeal and that sinful temptations will not destroy His influence over us.”
One Minute Reflection – 16 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament”– Ferial Day – 1 Peter 2:21-25; John 10:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“I am the Good Shepherd, I know My Own and My Own know Me.”- John 10:14
REFLECTION – “O Jesus, Good Shepherd, a Shepherd who is truly good, Shepherd full of loving kindness and gentleness, the cry of a poor and wretched shepherd rises up to Thee: a weak and clumsy shepherd, an unprofitable shepherd (cf. Lk 17:10) and yet, in spite of all, a shepherd of Thyine flock. Yes, Good Shepherd, the cry of this shepherd who is far from being good rises up to Thee. He cries to Thee, uneasy for himself, uneasy for Thine flock … Thou knows my heart, Lord, Thou knows my wish is to spend entirely, for those Thou has entrusted to me ,all Thou has given to Thy servant …, and more than anything, to spend myself for them without counting the cost (2 Cor 12:15)…
Even Thou Thyself, did not disdain to spend Thyself for them. Therefore, teach me, Lord, even me Thy servant, teach me through Thine Holy Ghost, how to expend myself for them … By Thine inexpressible grace, grant me, Lord, to bear their weaknesses with patience, to sympathise with kindness, to help them with discretion. May Thine Spirit’s instruction teach me to console the afflicted, strengthen the fearful, raise up those who fall, to be weak with the weak, to share the shame of those who stumble, to make myself all things to all, to gain them all (2 Cor 11:29; 1 Cor 9:19.22). Put true words on my lips, words which are upright and just, so that they may grow in faith, hope and love, in chastity and humility, in patience and obedience, fervour of spirit and purity of heart. Since it is Thou Who has given them this blind guide (Mt 15:14), this ignorant teacher, this incapable leader, teach him, whom Thou has installed as their professor, guide the one, Thou has commanded to guide others.” – St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167) Cistercian Monk (The Prayer of a shepherd 1,7)
PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, unto all Thy servants that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness, both of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness and enter into the joy of Thine eternal gladness. Through the 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 – 16 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament”
Guide Me Lord By St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who seeks those who stray and receives them when returning, make me approach Thee through the frequent hearing of Thy Word, lest I sin against my neighbour, by the blindness of human judgement, through the austerity of false justice, through comparing his inferior status, through too much trust in my merits or through ignorance of the Divine Judgement. Guide me to search diligently, each corner of my conscience, lest the flesh dominate the spirit! Amen
Saint of the Day – 16 April – Saint Turibius of Astorga (c402-c460) Bishop, Hermit, Monk, Defender of the Faith against heresy, in particular, the heresy of Priscilian., Miracle-worker (the image below is known as The Miracle of St Turibius of Astorga but unfortunately I can find no references to this ‘Miracle.’Born in Astorga in c402 and died there in c460 of natural causes. Patronages – Diocese of Palencia, Diocese of Santander, Diocese of Astorga. Also known as – Toribi, Toribio, Turrybiusz. Additional Memorial – On the Monday of the Second Week of Easter, a Solemnity is celebrated in the Diocese of Astorga.
The Roman Martyrology reads: “At Palencia, St Turibius, the Bishop of Astorga, Spain, who with the aid of Pope St Leo the Great, drove the heresy of Priscilian entirely out of Spain and, went to rest in the Lord with a great renown for miracles.”
According to tradition, Turibius lived for some time as a Hermit in a cave in the mountains near the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana near Pottes which has been named after Turibius of Liébana since 1181.
He undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, was Ordained a Priest and was appointed as a Guard at the Holy places. Due to the Persian invasion of the Holy City, Turibius went to Rome taking with him a Relic belonging to the Cross of Jesus. In Rome, Pope Saint Leo the Great appointed him as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Astorga. Thus, he returned to his hometown as the Bishop and bringing the very important Relic with him. He solemnly deposited it in the Cathedral of Astorga. In the 8th Century and due to the Arab domination, it was brought to this Sanctuary of the Monestery of St Turibius of as a safe place.
The Cross containing the Relic of the Holy Cross of Jesus now residing in the Monastery of Sat Toribius of Liébana
This turned the Monastery into an important pilgrimage centre which is why, in 1512, Pope Julius II granted this place the privilege of the Holy Year. It is celebrated every time thathe Monastery lies on t 16 April, the Feast of Saint Turibius, falls on a Sunday. Another important aspect is the fact that the Monastery lies on route to Compostela and so attracts many visitors to view the Relic of the Holy Cross.
He also brought a Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary which was, in later years, hidden from the Arabs during the times of war. For a long time the Statue was considered lost but was finally found around 1200, under a Holm Oak tree by a Knight Templar named Venacio Blanco who was involved in the construction of their new castle in Ponferrada. This Statue has been revered publicly ever since in that City; of Ponferrada.
Our Lady of the Holm Oak
The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Encina, Our Lady of the Holm Oak , was built there in the 16th Century retaining the ancient Holm Oak in front of the Church which remains there today.
Venacio Blanco. the Templar finds the Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary hidden under a Holm Oak. A modern sculpture in front of the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Encina in Ponferrada.
As Bishop, Turibius brought about the conversion of the Suebi peoples who were residing in the area and confronted the supporters of Priscillianism. He wrote two books criticising this heresy and presented them to Pope Leo I, who then commissioned him to call a Council. Turibius’ efforts against the heretics was succesful and he vanquished this heresy from the Spanish land.
When the Visigoth King Theuderic II, conquered Astorga in 456, Turibius was captured and taken to Gaul. After his release, he contributed to the reconstruction of the City of Astorga.
St Turibius in the Cathedral of Astorga
Over time, more Hermits settled in the mountains of Liébana, the Monastery of San Martín was founded there – probably in the 6th or at the latest in the 8th Century. After the Muslim occupation of Spain, Turibius’ Relics were brought here to safety. With the spread of the cult of St Turibius in the late 12th Century, the Monastery was now named after him which is why Turibius of Astorga is often confused with its Founder also St Truibius but remembered as “of Liébana.”
The Cross of Turibius on the Way of St James, 4 km west of Astorga.
A recumbent Statue of St Turibius in the Monastery in Liébana.
St Benedict Joseph Labre – Known as the Beggar of Perpetual Adoration (1748-1783) Laqy Penitent and Pilgrim – he “abandoned his country, his parents and whatever is flattering in the world, to lead a new sort of life, a life most painful, most penitential, not in a wilderness, nor in a cloister but in the midst of the world, devoutly visiting as a pilgrim the famous places of Christian devotion.” Canonised by Pope Leo XIII on 8 December 1881. Dearest St Benedict Joseph: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/16/saint-of-the-day-16-april-st-benedict-joseph-labre/
Blessed Arcangelo Canetoli (1460-1513) Priest and Canon of the Canons Regular of the Congregation of the Most Holy Saviour at Bologna, Mystic gifted with the charism of prophecy and of many visions of the Blessed Virgin, Born in 1460 in Bologna, Italy and died on 16 April 1513 (aged 53) in Gubbio, Italy of natural causes. His body is incorrupt. Arcangelo was Beatified on 2 October 1748 by Pope Benedict XIV. Holy Arcangelo: https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/16/saint-of-the-day-16-april-blessed-arcangelo-canetoli-crssb-1460-1513-priest/
St Turibius of Astorga (c402-c460) Bishop St Vaise St William Gnoffi
Martyrs of Corinth – 9 Saints: A group of nine Christians who were tortured and Martyred together in the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than three of their names – Callistus, Charisius and Leonide. They were thrown into the sea at Corinth, Greece c250.
Martyrs of Saragossa: Group of 18 Martyrs murdered in 304 in Saragossa, Spain in the persecutions of Diocletian and the prefect Dacean. We know little more than the names – Apodemus, Caecilian, Caius, Crementius, Engratia, Eventius, Felix, Fronto, Gaius, Julia, Lambert, Lupercus, Martial, Optatus, Primitivus, Publius, Quintilian, Saturnius (4 men of this name), Succesus and Urban. Their graves re-discovered in 1389 in the crypt under the Church of San Encrazia in Saragossa.
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.