Saint Abraham the Patriarch, originally Abram, was the founder of the Hebrew nation and father of all believers in the true God. He was born at Ur, Chaldea, 1948 years after the creation of the world.
Thare had three sons, Abram, Nachor, and Aran. Abram married Sarai. Thare took Abram and his wife, Sarai, and Lot, the son of Aran, who was dead, and leaving Ur of the Chaldees, came to Haran and dwelt there till he died. Then, at the call of God, Abram, with his wife, Sarai, and Lot, and the rest of his belongings, went into the Land of Chanaan.
During his travels and adventures, which took him to Egypt as well as had him battle kings, he met Melchisedech, king of Salem,who brought forth bread and wine, and blessed him. Abram gave him tithes of all he had; but for himself he reserved nothing. God promised Abram that his seed should be as the stars of heaven, and he would possess the land of Chanaan.
Abraham was told of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah but obtained from God the promise that He would not destroy them if He found ten just men therein. The next morning Abraham, looking from his tent towards Sodom, saw the smoke of destruction ascending to heaven.
Abraham had a dispute with Abimelech over a well at Bersabee, which ended in a covenant being made between them. It was after this that the great trial of the faith of Abraham took place. God commanded him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. When Abraham had his arm raised and was in the very act of striking, an angel stayed his hand and made the most wonderful promises to him of the greatness of his posterity because of his complete trust in God.
Sarah died at the age of 127, and Abraham, having purchased from Ephron the Hethite the cave in Machpelah near Mambre, buried her there. He married Cetura, and had by her six children. Finally, leaving all his possessions to Isaac, he died at age 170, and was buried by Isaac and Ismael in the cave of Machpelah.
St Denis of Paris (Died c 258) and Companions – the First Bishop of Paris, Martyr, Confessor (Optional Memorial) One of the 14 Holy Helpers
St John Leonardi (1541-1609) (Optional Memorial) Priest, Founder of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca, wherein he assumed the name of “Giovanni of the Mother of God”, Confessor, Reformer, Apostle of the Holy Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration, Marian devotee.
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 Donnino of Città di Castello (Died 610) Lay Hermit St Eleutherius St Geminus St Gislenus St Goswin Bl Gunther
St Lambert
St Louis Bertrand OP (1526-1581) “Apostle of South America” – Dominican Priest, Missionary, Preacher, Confessor, Teacher, Spiritual Director, Miracle-Worker.
St Publia St Rusticus St Sabinus of the Lavedan St Valerius — Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War – Martyrs of Astoria – (9 saints): Also known as Martyrs of Turon: A group of Brothers of the Christian Schools and a Passionist priest martyred in the persecutions during the Spanish Civil War. They are – • Aniceto Adolfo • Augusto Andrés • Benito de Jesús • Benjamín Julián • Cirilo Bertrán • Inocencio de la Immaculada • Julián Alfredo • Marciano José • Victoriano Pío They were martyred on 9 October 1934 in Turón, Spain and Canonised on 21 November 1999 by St Pope John Paul II. — Martyrs of Laodicea – (3 saints): Three Christians martyred together in Laodicea, but no other information about them has survived but their names – Didymus, Diodorus and Diomedes. They were martyred in Laodicea, Syria.
One Minute Reflection – 9 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ecclus 42:15-16, Ps 95:1, 2 Cor 4:1-6; 4:15-18, Luke 10:1-9
And whatever town you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you, and cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’
Luke 10:1-9
REFLECTION – One day I was pondering over what I could do to save souls; a phrase from the Gospel showed me a clear light: Jesus said to his disciples, pointing to the fields of ripe corn, “Look up and see the fields ripe for harvest” and a little later, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers”. How mysterious it is! Is not Jesus all-powerful? Do not creatures belong to Him who made them? Why then does Jesus say: “Pray the master of the harvest to send out laborers”? Why?
Ah! Jesus has so incomprehensible a love for us, that He wants us to have a share with Him in the salvation of souls. He wants to do nothing without us. The creator of the universe waits for the prayer of a poor little soul to save other souls redeemed like itself at the price of all His blood.
Our vocation, yours and mine, is not to go harvesting in the fields of ripe corn; Jesus does not say to us; "Lower your eyes, look at the fields, and go and reap them"; our mission is still loftier. Here are Jesus' words: "Lift up your eyes and see." See how in my Heaven there are places empty; it is for you to fill them. Each one of you is my Moses praying on the mountain; ask Me for laborers and I shall send them, I await only a prayer, a sigh from your heart!
St Thérèse of the Child Jesus
PRAYER – “O my God, whatever is nearer to me than You, things of this earth and things more naturally pleasing to me, will be sure to interrupt the sight of You, unless Your grace interfere. Keep You my eyes, my ears, my heart, from any such miserable tyranny. Keep my whole being fixed on You. Let me never lose sight of You and while I gaze on You, let my love of You grow more and more every day.” St John Leonardi, may we run the race in obedience and love of the Will of our God, always seeking His Face in those who are the least. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Make Me Like Yourself, Mary My Mother By St Louis-Marie de Montfort (1673-1716)
My powerful Queen, you are all mine, through your mercy and I am all yours. Take away from me, all that may displease God and cultivate in me, all that is pleasing to Him. May the light of your faith, dispel the darkness of my mind, your deep humility, take the place of my pride, your continual sight of God, fill my memory, with His presence. May the love of your heart inflame the lukewarmness, of mine. May your virtues, take the place of my sins. May your merits, be my enrichment and make up for allthat is wanting in me, before God. My beloved Mother, grant that I may have, no other spirit but your spirit, to know Jesus Christ and His Divine will and to praise and glorify the Lord, that I may love God, with burning love like yours. Amen
Even though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For our present light affliction, which is for the moment, prepares for us an eternal weight of glory that is beyond all measure; while we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen.
2 Cor 4:15-18
St. Peter of Alcantara once visited a sick person who for a long time had endured a most painful illness with admirable patience. The saint, while sitting at the sufferer’s bedside, was rapt in ecstasy. Upon regaining consciousness, he turned to the sick man and exclaimed, ‘Oh, happy patient, God has shown and revealed to me how great a glory you have merited by your illness. You have merited more than others can gain by prayer, fasting, vigils, scourging, and other penitential exercises.
Words of Consolation for the Sick and Afflicted
When one loves the Cross, one is fearless to kiss it and even enjoys death.
Fr. Demaris (18th century)
St Bonaventure says, that those who make a point of announcing to others the glories of Mary are certain of heaven, and this opinion is confirmed by Richard of St Lawrence, who declares ‘that to honour this Queen of Angels is to gain eternal life’ and he adds, ‘that this most gracious Lady will honour in the next world those who honour her in this.’
St Alphonsus Liguori
Bona bonis mala malis (Good things to the good, bad things to the bad) Liber scriptvs proferetvr (A written book will be brought forth) Tempvs breve est (Time is short)
Undoubtedly the way of penance required by my commandments seems harsh and difficult to begin with, but the more it goes on the easier and sweeter it becomes, whereas the way of vice is pleasurable enough to begin with, but it becomes more and more bitter and painful as time goes on.
The Dialogue of St Catherine of Siena
A single one who is perfect will do more than many who are not.
MOTIVE SEVENTH The Angels assist us in spiritual things.
Properly speaking, man has but one affair—that of eternity. All that tends not to this great end is not worth a single thought. O ! how wretched and contemptible are all things which the world calls great! how unworthy the occupation of a Christian soul are its honours and pleasures ! It were well that this truth, “the world and its concupiscence passes away,” never departed from our minds: eternity would then occupy us, and the means of acquiring a happy one, among which the patronage of the Angels is not the least, would be more fully appreciated.
It is indeed true, that these blessed Angels do all that they can to procure for us a glorious immortality. They have been known to press apostolic men, as St. Paul and St. Francis Xavier, to announce the Gospel to those who sat in the shades of death.” They have often assisted evangelical labourers. How many children receive baptism by their means, who would otherwise perish in original sin ! Behold a wonderful example : In January, 1634, in the city of Vienna, three souls, freed from Purgatory, appeared, says Father Loret, of the Society of Jesus, to one of our religious, to thank him, for having by his prayers and mortifications, procured their release. On the day of your birth, said they, our good angels revealed to us, that you would one day be our liberator; and know that you are greatly indebted to your Angel Guardian, for without his care you would have been suffocated, through the carelessness of the attendant, before you received baptism.
After procuring for us the life of grace, the Angels endeavour to conserve us therein; and hence they prompt us to receive often the adorable Eucharist, which is the life of lives. They have often carried this vivifying sacrament to solitaries and recluses—St. Stanislas Kotska, S. J., received this favour. Nor do they forget the other means of our salvation. Prayer is one of the most powerful ; and it is by the Angels our petitions are carried before the throne of God : there is no exercise in which they are more present with us than this. Mortification is the sister of prayer—and what have not the Angels done to engage us to practise it? They have often visibly given their clients instructions thereon, suitable to their great lights, and convinced them of the absolute necessity of this virtue in all true Christians.
They are most anxious to inspire us with a love for that virtue which assimilates us to them, virginal purity.—What have they not done in its defence ? They have sometimes combated and destroyed those who attacked it—they have rendered invisible those who possessed it, to preserve them from danger—they, in fine, have sometimes procured from their Creator a temporary suspension of nature’s laws, to preserve a virtue, which, raising man above himself, causes him to live in a mortal body a life wholly divine.
But their great object is to inspire us with love for Jesus and his amiable Mother, knowing that the love of these sacred persons is the source of all good to our souls. St. Dominic, being one of the most fervent lovers of Jesus and Mary that ever existed, was in consequence the great favourite of the Angels. He received from them all sorts of assistance, during the long nights that love chained him to the altar steps, whilst pouring out his soul in the presence of his good Master, and invoking the patronage of his glorious Mistress. They were once seen, when the Saint happened to lodge in the house of the Bishop, lighting him with flambeaux from his chamber to and from the church, the doors of which they opened for him.
But this is not all. As for the practice of virtue, it is necessary that the will should be moved and the understanding enlightened, they often effect both. Thus they reveal the sublimest mysteries. It was an Angel who gave the law to Moses—an Angel who announced to the glorious Virgin the incarnation of the Word—to the Marys his resurrection, and to the apostles his last coming. They endeavour to preserve us from sin, or to free us from it, after having fallen into it.—Those lights which sometimes beam suddenly on the soul a clear knowledge of holy truths— those unforeseen movements which surprise us when we least expect them, and which move us so efficaciously to good, come to us by the agency of these blessed spirits.
In those happy moments, wherein we find ourselves strangely pressed to give ourselves to God, without knowing why, let us recognise the exertions of the Angels. They obtain for us a victory over our passions, the conquest of our bad inclinations, a knowledge of our faults and imperfections, and of our most hidden oppositions to grace—they invite us to penance, solicit us to make a good confession, and fully satisfy the divine justice. In fine, they support us in the way of virtue, console us in sufferings, quiet our fears, remove our scruples, and impart to us that holy joy and “divine peace, which surpasses all understanding.” When Raphael met Tobias, he wished him continual joy, and in leaving him, everlasting peace – Let us disengage ourselves from all created things, and the wishes of these holy Spirits for our happiness will be accomplished. To enjoy true and continual peace, it is necessary to live to God alone.
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