Thought for the Day – 28 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Divine Counsellor
“Speak Lord, for Thy servant hears. Give me understanding that I may know Thy testimonies. Let not Moses, nor any of the Prophets, speak to me but speak Thou rather, O Lord God, the Inspirer and Enlightener of all the Prophets… They may indeed sound forth words but they give not the Spirit. Most beautifully do they speak but if Thou be silent, they inflame not the heart… They declare the commandments but Thou enables us to fulfil them. They show the way but Thou gives the strength to walk in it… Speak to me that it may be some comfort to my soul and the amendment of my whole life and also, to Thy praise, glory and everlasting honour!” (Cf The Imitation of ChristBk III, Ch 2).
Quote of the Day – 28 September – St Wenceslaus (907-935) Duke of Bohemia, Martyr.
Good King Wenceslaus
Good King Wenceslaus looked out, on the Feast of Stephen, When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even; Brightly shone the moon that night, t ho’ the frost was cruel, When a poor man came in sight, gath’ring winter fuel.
“Hither, page and stand by me, if thou know’st it, telling, Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?” “Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain; Right against the forest fence, by Saint Agnes’ fountain.”
“Bring me flesh and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither, Thou and I will see him dine, when we bear them thither.” Page and Monarch, forth they went, forth they went together; Through the rude wind’s wild lament and the bitter weather.
“Sire, the night is darker now and the wind blow stronger; Fails my heart, I know not how, I can go no longer.” “Mark my footsteps, my good page. Tread thou in them boldly Thou shalt find the winter’s rage, freeze thy blood less coldly.”
In his master’s steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted; Heat was in the very sod which the Saint had printed. Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing, Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.
One Minute Reflection – 28 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – St Wenceslaus (907-935) Duke of Bohemia, Martyr – Ephesians 3:13-21 – Luke 14:1-11 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“For everyone who exalts himself, shall be humbled and he who humbles himself, shall be exalted.” – Luke 14:11
REFLECTION – “Humility is not just about self-mistrust but about the entrusting of ourselves to God. Distrusting ourselves and our own strength, produces trust in God and, from that trust, generosity of soul is born.The most holy Virgin, Our Lady, gave us an outstanding example of this, when she spoke these words: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to thy word” (Lk 1:38). When she said she was the handmaid of the Lord, she was performing, the greatest act of humility, it is possible to do and, all the more so, in that, she was contradicting the praise given her by the Angel – that she would be mother of God, that the child to be born from her womb would be called Son of the Most High, a greater dignity than any we might imagine – I say, she opposed her lowliness and unworthines,to all these praises and greatness, by saying that she was the handmaid of the Lord. Yet, note how, no sooner had she rendered her duty to humility, than she practised outstanding generosity, by saying: “May it be to me according to thy word.”
What she wanted to say was – “It is true, I am in no way capable of this grace of myself if one is to consider what I am ut, insofar as what is good in me, comes from God and what thou say to me, is His own most holy will, I believe it can happen and will ha,ppen.” And so, without the least hesitation, she said: “Let it be done to me according to thou word.” – St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Bishop of Geneva, Doctor Caritatis (Conversations 5).
PRAYER – O God, Who through the Palm of Martyrdom transported blessed Wenceslaus from an earthly dominion unto heavenly glory, keep us, by his prayers, from all harm and grant us to rejoice in his fellowship. 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 – 28 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – Pentecost XVI
Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to make amends for the outrages He suffers in the Blessed Sacrament By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)
Grant me, O Sacred Heart, by Thine own sweetness and boundless mercy, the pardon which I ask for, and give me grace to keep the resolution, which I now make, to do all I can in the future , to pay Thee, in the Sacrament of Thy Love, the profound adoration which I owe Thee and to show Thee that gratitude and love which are justly due to Thee. I resolve to repair my past faults by the modesty of my deportment in Thy Churches, by my constancy in visiting Thee, my devotion and fervour in receiving Thee and, in fulfilment of Thy desire, I impose upon myself the duty of often repeating Acts of Reparation in Thy Presence, as Thou hast deigned to direct, in order, as far as I can, to atone for the injuries done Thee by others and of which Thy very love makes Thee the Victim in this Divine Sacrament.
Bless, I beseech Thee, this resolve and give me grace to keep it faithfully. Amen
Saint of the Day – 28 September – Saint Salonius (c400-c475) Bishop and Confessor of Geneva in Switzerland, Scholar and Author, a zealous shepherd. A saintly Bishop much admired by many holy contemporise including St Pope Leo the Great.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Geneva, St Salonius, Bishop and Confessor.”
When he was widowed, Eucherius retired to the Monastery founded by Saint Honoratus on one of the Lérins Islands and took his two sons with him, who received an excellent education. Among their teachers, it is enough to mention the Saints Hilary of Arles, Salvian and Vincent of Lérins. Veranus later became the Bishop of Venice and Salonius the Bishop of Geneva, by 439 at the latest.
Salonius succeeded Saint Isaac, the 1st Bishop of that City. He participated actively in the life of the Church, particularly attending the Councils of Orange in 441, Vaison in 442 and Arles in 451.
A highly cultured man, he wrote an important work, the “Expositio mystica in Parabolas Salomonis et in Ecclesiaste” (a commentary on the Scriptural books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in the form of questions and answers.
A letter he wrote to Pope Saint Leo I (the Great) also survives. It is interesting to note that other Authors dedicated their works to him. His father, St Eucherius also dedicated his “Instructionum libri” to Salonius, in which he proposed answers to certain questions in the Scriptures and explained words and expressions in Hebrew and Greek. Furthermore, St Salvian, the Bishop of Marseille, dedicated his “De Gubernatione Dei – On the government of God” and several other letters to our St Salonius..
Salonius died on 28 September of an unspecified year, probably at the beginning of the last quarter of the 5th century. On this very anniversary, the holy Bishop is still remembered today.
Salonius successors on the Episcopal sSe of Geneva include Saint Domitian at the time of Saint Clodild, Saint Maximus, friend of King Saint Sigismund and the very famous Saint Francis de Sales.
Bl Aaron of Auxerre St Alodius of Auxerre St Annemond of Lyons St Bardomianus
Blessed Bernardine of Feltre OFM (1439-1494) Franciscan Priest and Friar, Missionary Preacher, Poet, peace-maker, Civil protestor against the practice of usury, defender of the poor. He was a true ‘child prodigy’ – by the time he was 12 he was fluent in Latin and at the age of 15 he composed a poem and read it in the Town Square to celebrate a local peace treaty. He is remembered most especially, in connection with the “Monti di Pietà” “Mount of Piety” of which he was the reorganiser and, in a certain sense, the Founder, together with the Blessed Michele Carcano. On 13 April 1654, Pope Innocent X confirmed the cultus of Blessed Bernardine and he was formally Beatified in 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII. Holy Bernardine: https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/28/saint-of-the-day-28-september-blessed-bernardine-of-feltre-ofm-1439-1494/
St Chariton of Palestine Bl Christian Franco St Conval of Strathclyde St Eucarpus St Eustochium
St Exuperius (Died c411) Bishop and Confessorof Toulouse, Apostle of the destitute, the poor, the deprived and needy including aid to the poor in Egypt and Palestine. , The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Toulouse, St Exuperius, Bishop and Confessor. St Jerome bears witness to this blessed man, a memorable testimony, relating how severed he was towards himself and how gentle and liberal towards others.” Below we see our Saint’s Mitre more than 1500 years old! It is kept at the Basilica which he had completed dedicated to St Sernin A Most Acclaimed Saint: https://anastpaul.com/2024/09/28/saint-of-the-day-28-september-saint-exuperius-of-toulouse-died-c411-bishop-and-confessor/
St Faustus of Riez
Blessed Francesco Piani OFM (1424-1507) Francisan Friar, renowned Preacher and Peacemaker, a collaborator in the fight against usury by the institution of the “Mount of Piety,” (a type of pawn shop), social activist and protector of the struggling rural communities. He was Beatified by Pope Urban VII in 1634 – his cult was reaffirmed on 1 September 1843 by Pope Gregory XVI. His Amazing Life: https://anastpaul.com/2021/09/28/saint-of-the-day-28-september-blessed-francesco-piani-of-caldarola-ofm-1424-1507/
St John of Dukla St Laurence of North Africa St Lioba of Bischofsheim St Machan St Martial of North Africa St Martin of Moyenmoutier St Paternus of Auch St Privatus of Rome St Salonius (c400-c475) Bishop and Confessor of Geneva St Silvinus (Died c444) Bishop of Brescia
St Stacteus St Tetta of Wimborne Bl Thiemo St Willigod of Moyenmoutier St Zama of Bologna
Augustinian Martyrs of Japan: The first Augustinian Missionaries arrived in Japan in 1602 and met with immediate success; many were brought to the faith; many of them became Augustinians and many of them were Martyred in the periodic persecutions of Christians. This memorial commemorates all of them, whether they have a sanctioned Cause for Canonisation or not. They include: • Blessed Bartolomé Gutiérrez Rodríguez • Blessed Ferdinand Ayala • Blessed Francisco Terrero de Ortega Pérez • Blessed Ioannes Mukuno Chozaburo • Blessed Laurentius Kaida Hachizo • Blessed Mancius Yukimoto Ichizaemon • Blessed Martín Lumbreras Peralta • Blessed Melchor Sánchez Pérez • Blessed Michaël Ichinose Sukezaemon • Blessed Pedro de Zúñiga • Blessed Petrus Sawaguchi Kuhyoe • Blessed Thomas Jihyoe of Saint Augustine • Blessed Thomas Terai Kahyoe • Blessed Vicente Simões de Carvalho • Saint Magdalena of Nagasaki
Martyrs of Antioch – 37 Saints: A group of 30 soldiers and 7 civilians who were murdered together for their faith. The names that have come down to us are – Alexander, Alphinus, Heliodorus, Mark, Neon, Nicon and Zosumus. c 303 at Antioch, Pisidia (in modern Turkey).
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