Saint of the Day – 28 January – Blessed Julian Maunoir SJ (1606-1683) Priest “The Apostle of Brittany,” “The Good Father of Brittany,” Missionary, Founder of the “Breton Missionaries” Apostolate. Born on 1 October 1606 at Saint-Georges-de-Reitembault, France and died on 8pm on 28 January 1683 at Plévin, France of natural causes. Also known as Julien. Additional Memorial – 2 July (Jesuits). Patronage – Brittany, France.
Julian was born in the tiny hamlet of Saint-George-de-Reintembault in 1606 and then studied at the Jesuit college in Rennes, where his teachers spoke often about the Jesuit Missionaries in China, Japan and Canada.
After he entered the Jesuits in 1625, he had several classmates who did become Missionaries and Saints and Martyrs, to foreign lands — including Saints Isaac Jogues and Gabriel Lalemant. But Maunoir’s path veered toward the people of Brittany after he learned to preach in the difficult Breton language during his period of formation. He is considered a noted orthographer of the Breton language, having completed a Breton grammar. He continued to preach in the hamlets of Brittany until he went to Tours to begin his theological studies, prior to Ordination.
The decision not to go to the foreign missions became clear, after he almost died when an infection in his arm became gangrenous. Maunoir was at the point of death, when he made a vow to devote his life to preaching to the Bretons if his health was restored. His rapid recovery showed God’s will and he was Ordained in 1637.
After finishing his studies, he returned to Quimper where he met Fr Michael Le Nobletz, an itinerant Missionary of Lower Brittany, who had retired because of ill health. The young Jesuit decided to follow the methods that Le Nobletz had used among the poor hardworking peasants and fisherman, the forgotten people of the peninsula and he was found to be uniquely suited for the difficult task of evangelising these impoverished people of Brittany in Northern France.
Accompanied by Father Pierre Bernard, Fr Julian visited cities and towns of the mainland as well as many offshore islands, some of which had not been visited by a Priest in many years. The two men gave missions that usually lasted four to five weeks and attempted to establish a good foundation in Christian doctrine. They used charts as visual aids showing the life of Christ, the seven deadly sins and key points of theology. They also used hymns that they had learned from Fr Nobletz but Maunoir also composed many new ones which the people learned during the missions. His methods managed to instil a deep spiritual meaning to what had sometimes become pious customs.
These missions were very successful. During the 43 years that Fr Maunoir travelled around Brittany, he gave approximately 400 missions. Often several Parishes came together for one mission, with up from 10,000 to 30,000 people taking part. The Parish Priests helped hear Confessions and teach Catechism and some of them asked permission of their Bishops to continue in the work with their Jesuit mentor. By 1683 there were almost 1,000 “Breton Missionaries” who carried on the work.
As he got older, Father Julian had to reduce the number of missions he gave. He was on his way to start a mission when he sensed that death was near. His Jesuit companions helped him to Plévin where he took to bed and contracted pneumonia. When he died several weeks later, the people demanded that he be buried in the Parish church there despite the Bishop’s desire that he be buried in the Quimper Cathedral. There is however a window in the Cathedral entitled “The Presentation of Fr Julian Maunoir to Monseigneur du Louët by Fr Michel Le Nobletz.”
The Presentation of Fr Julian Maunoir to Monseigneur du Louët by Fr Michel Le Nobletz.
Cathédrale Saint-Corentin de Quimper
On 20 May 1951 the Good Father Julian, Apostle of Brittany, was Beatified by Pope Pius XII.
St Aemilian of Trebi St Agatha Lin Bl Amadeus of Lausanne St Antimus of Brantôme St Archebran Bl Bartolomé Aiutamicristo St Brigid of Picardy St Callinicus St Cannera of Inis Cathaig Bl Charlemagne (a decree of Canonisation was issued by the anti-pope Paschal III but this was never ratified by valid authority.) St Constantly St Flavian of Civita Vecchia St Glastian of Kinglassie Bl James the Almsgiver St James the Hermit St Jerome Lu St John of Reomay St Joseph Freinademetz SVD (1852-1908) St Joseph’s Life: https://anastpaul.com/2020/01/28/saint-of-the-day-28-january-saint-joseph-freinademetz-svd-1852-1908-fu-shenfu-lucky-priest/
Blessed Julian Maunoir SJ (1606-1683) Priest “The Apostle of Brittany” St Julian of Cuenca St Lawrence Wang St Leucius of Apollonia Bl María Luisa Montesinos Orduña St Maura of Picardy Bl Mosè Tovini Bl Odo of Beauvais Bl Olympia Bida St Palladius of Antioch St Paulinus of Aquileia Bl Peter Won Si-jang St Richard of Vaucelles St Thyrsus of Apollonia — Martyrs of Alexandria: A group of 4th-century parishioners in Alexandria, Egypt. During the celebration of Mass one day an Arian officer named Syrianus led a troop of soldiers into their church and proceded to murder all the orthodox Christians in the place. 356 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Grant Us This Day, O Lord By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus Doctor Communis
Grant us this day, O Lord a vigilant heart, that no alien thought can lure away from Thee, a pure heart. that no unworthy love can soil, an upright heart, that no crooked intentions can lead astray. And give us Lord, understanding to know Thee, zeal to seek Thee, wisdom to find Thee and a hope, that will one day take hold of Thee. Amen
Saint of the Day – 27 January – Blessed Manfredo Settala (12th Century-1217) Priest and Hermit, known as “The Hermit of Monte San Giorgio,” miracle-worker – born in the latter 12th century in Milan, Italy and died on 27 January 1217 in Riva San Vitale, Lombardy, Italy of natural causes. Patronage – Riva San Vitale. His body is incorrupt.
Manfredo belonged to the ancient Milanese Settala family and was born at the end of the 12th century.
He was Ordained and became the Parish Priest of Cuasso in the Diocese of Milan near the south-western branch of Lake Lugano.
Manfredo felt a deep call to the hermit life and after gaining permission, he left pastoral care and withdrew to the heights of San Giorgio, the solitary mountain wedged between the southern arms of the Ceresio, where he led a life of solitude, prayer and contemplation of the Divine Mysteries.
Attracted by the fame of his holiness, many faithful of the surrounding regions, flocked to him, begging for advice and intercession for their illnesses both spiritual and bodily. The holy hermit exhorted them to make pilgrimages to the tomb of St Gerardo, who had recently died in Monza (6 June 1207). Once the pious pilgrimage was done devoutly, the disease suddenly disappeared and the people of Olgiate, with unanimous decision raised in the village, in honour of St Gerardo a beautiful Church, which later became a destination for devotion and pilgrimages and which, in 1938 was restored and embellished. The people of Olgiate, every year, process to the tomb of the saint, in memory of the miracles.
Manfredo’s historiography, based on ancient traditions and respectable documents, is full of wonders attributed to the intercession of the holy hermit. It is certain, that the blessed died on 27 January 1217. It is reported the miraculous sound of the bells of the neighbouring villages at the hour of his death and the choice of the place of burial, claimed by many of the area’s Churches – left to the whim of the oxen yoked to the hearse.
Settala’s body was buried in the Church of Riva San Vitale, at the foot of Mount San Giorgio. In 1387, by order of the Bishop of Como, Beltramo da Brossano, the body of the Blessed was placed in a marble tomb at the foot of the Altar, so that in the future, all the faithful Christians may be given greater devotion and reverence to the memory of Blessed Manfredo.
In 1633, the body was placed in a precious urn and given the place of honour under high altar, where it is currently venerated and where various Parishes in the region, on separate Sundays, meet on a annual pilgrimages.
On the walls of the Baptistry, there are two beautiful paintings by Giovanni Battista Bagutti (1774-1823) of Rovio, depicting the passage of the blessed into mountain of solitude and his transport from San Giorgio to the Church of Riva. The liturgical feast is celebrated on 27 January, which in Riva, is considered a public holiday; while on the following Sunday, a procession and Holy Mass, is celebrated, with large numbers of pilgrims attending. The streets are decorated for devotion to the blessed, is still very much alive in the region.
One of Bl Manfredo’s most famous miracles was the transformation of stones into bread during a period of famine. On the eve of his feast, it is still customary, to distribute blessed bread to all families.
Notre-Dame-de-Vie / Our Lady of Life, Provence, France – 27 January:
The town of Mougins is really an ancient village located in the south of France. Only a short drive from Cannes, it is completely surrounded by dense forests and there are a variety of tall pines and other trees growing amidst the town’s buildings. Like so many other places in Europe, the village was once also surrounded by a stone wall set with strong towers, though most of those walls have long since fallen down. Many of the charming older residences, however, are still in use, opposite newer dwellings. It was sometime during the 11th century, when a local nobleman gave the hill, which overlooks the village, to the Monks to Saint Honorat, who cared for the local populace until the time of the French Revolution. The Monks built a Chapel on the hill known as Saint Marie, though very little of that original structure still remains. The Chapel of Our Lady of Life, or Notre Dame de Vie in French, was built in 1646 and stands upon the former site of that much earlier Church.
The Altar of Our Lady of Life in the new Church
If one were to visit the hermitage of Notre Dame de Vie, Our Lady of Life, they would find it situated on a beautiful site still overlooking the village, set in a long meadow bordered by two rows of giant cypresses. There is a natural peace and quietude, that seems to invade the soul at this place, which was once a site of many miracles. The name of the first Chapel was changed from Saint Mary to Notre Dame de Vie, Our Lady of Life, when it was discovered that one could find a heavenly respite there. Notre Dame de Vie soon became famous throughout the area as a special sanctuary of grace, for if still-born babies were brought there, they would be miraculously brought back to life long enough to be Baptised during the Mass. “At the present day, the chapel has fallen to ruin and a stone cross broken in half, rises alone amid the ruins but underneath these ruins there are subterraneous vaults and a stone altar, still tells where they still come to lay those little children whom death had smitten on the threshold of life and, who have been unable to receive the sacred sign which would have made them like unto the angels.” “No sooner are they laid upon this stone, says the mountaineer who serves as a guide to the traveller in this dark crypt, than their eyes open again, a slight breathing escapes from their little lips closed by death, the water of Baptism flows upon their foreheads and then, they fall asleep again, to ascend to heaven.” “By digging a little into the ground, the remains of these poor little flowers of humanity, which withered at the icy breath of death in the first hour of their morning, are found round about the altar dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, who raises up the little children to life, that they may go to Jesus Christ; that ignorant, but exalted tenderness of feeling which came to beg the miracle of Mary, interred them beneath her wing, that she might not forget them!“ “Let incredulity be indignant at this superstition of the heart; tender and pious souls will find in it, only a motive for gentle commiseration. No doubt, more than one mother has been deceived in thinking that she saw the cold lips of her child become reanimated with her kisses to receive the sacred water but. whoever should dare to advance that Mary cannot perform miracles as great when she pleases, would be, to say the truth, a bold mortal.” (*from Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the History of Devotion to Her, by Mathieu Orsini, translated from the French.) The Chapel is home to an ancient statue in polychrome wood of the Virgin and Child. It is piously believed, that through this image, the Blessed Virgin has often restored to life children who had died without Baptism. In 1730 the practice was prohibited for unknown reasons. There is a tomb in an adjacent enclosure that contains the remains of the tiny bodies of those who were Baptised and have passed to paradise.
St Gilduin Bl Gonzalo Diaz di Amarante St Henry de Osso y Cervello St John Maria Muzeyi Bl John of Warneton St Julian of Le Mans St Julian of Sora St Lupus of Châlons Blessed Manfredo Settala (12 Century-1217) Priest and Hermit “The Hermit of Monte San Giorgio” St Marius of Bodon Bl Michael Pini St Natalis of Ulster St Paul Josef Nardini Bl Rosalie du Verdier de la Sorinière St Theodoric of Orléans St Pope Vitalian — Martyrs of North Africa – 30 saints: A group of 30 Christians martyred together by Arian Vandals. The only details to have survived are four of their names – Datius, Julian, Reatrus and Vincent. c 500 in North Africa.
One Minute Reflection – 26 January – Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 2 Timothy 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5, Psalms 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 10, Mark 3:31-35 and The Memorial of Sts Timothy and Titus – Bishops and Disciples and Companions of the Apostle Paul
“Here are my mother and my brethren! Whoever does the will of God, is my brother and sister and mother.”…Mark 3:34-35
REFLECTION – “He did not treat us as our sins deserved. For we are now sons of God. How do we show this? The only Son of God died for us, so that He might not remain alone. He who died as the only Son, did not want to remain as the only Son. For the only Son of God made many sons of God. He bought brothers for Himself by His blood, He made them welcome by being rejected, He ransomed them by being sold, He honoured them by being dishonoured, He gave them life by being put to death.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace – An excerpt from his Sermon 171
PRAYER – Almighty God, You endowed Saints Timothy and Titus with power to preach Your Word. Grant that, living a life of integrity and holiness in this world, reaching out to teach the Gospel both by our lives and our words, we may, through their prayers, come to our true home in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 26 January – Saint Paula of Rome (347-404) Widow, Foundress- early Desert Mother, Foundress of the Order of St Jerome (the Hieronymites), life-long friend and associate of St Jerome. Born on 5 May 347 at Rome, Italy and died in 404 at Bethlehem, of natural causes. Also known as Paula the Widow, Paulina, Pauline. Patronages – widows and Co-Patron with St Jerome of the Order of Saint Jerome.
sts Paula, Eustochium and Jerome
Paula was a member of one of the richest senatorial families which claimed descent from Agamemnon. Paula was the daughter of Blesilla and Rogatus, from the great clan of the Furii Camilli.At the age of 16, Paula was married to the nobleman Toxotius, with whom she had four daughters, Blaesilla, Paulina, Eustochium, and Rufina and a son who was named after his father.
Paula was very virtuous as a married woman and with her husband, they became icons of Rome by their example. However, Paula had her flaws, particularly that of a certain love of worldly life, which was difficult to avoid due to her high social position. Information about Paula’s early life is recorded by Saint Jerome. In his Letter 108, he states that she had led a luxurious life and held a great status. She dressed in silks and had been carried about the city by her eunuch slaves. At first, Paula did not realise this secret tendency of her heart but the death of her husband, which occurred when she was 33 years old, opened her eyes. Through the influence of Saint Marcella and her group, Paula became an enthusiastic member of this semi-monastic group of women. In 382, she met Saint Jerome, who had come to Rome with Saint Epiphanius and Bishop St Paulinus of Antioch.
Blesila, the eldest daughter of Paula, died suddenly, which caused the pious widow immense suffering. Saint Jerome, who had just returned from Bethlehem, wrote her a letter of consolation, but, nevertheless, he rebuked her therein, for the excessive grief she manifested without thinking that her daughter had gone to receive the heavenly prize. Paulina, her second daughter, was married to Pamaquio and died seven years before her mother. Saint Eustochium , her third daughter, was her inseparable companion. Rufina died while still young. Toxotius, at first not a Christian but baptised in 385, married Laeta, daughter of the pagan priest Albinus. Of this marriage was born Paula the Younger, who in eventually joined Eustochium in the Holy Land and in 420 closed the eyes of St Jerome. These are the names which recur frequently in the letters of St Jerome, where they are inseparable from that of Paula.
Sts Eustochum and Paula
A year after the death of her husband, Paula pursued a pilgrimage to tour all of the holy sites, travelling with large entourages of both men and women including her daughter Eustochium and Jerome himself. Paula could undertake this voyage, due to her widow status, which left her a significant fortune allowing her exemption from remarriage. Additionally, having had a male heir and two married daughters provided supplementary financial insurance. Her travels are documented by Jerome in his later writing addressed to Eustochium which discusses how Paula participated in the environments they toured. He discusses that Paula exemplified an intimate and emotional connection with the sights, experiencing visual vividness of biblical events at each locale. Concluding her journey, Paula decided to remain in Bethlehem to develop a Monastery and spiritual retreat with Jerome.
Sts Paula and Eustachium depart for the Holy Land Artist – Giuseppe Bottani
Once settled in Bethlehem, Paula and Jerome built a double Monastery including one for Paula and her Nuns and another for Jerome and his Monks. The addition of a roadside hostel was also constructed to serve as an economic source to fund the Monasteries. This development took three years to complete and was primarily sourced by Paula who, during this time of construction, lived at another double Monastery called Mount Olives.
It is in Jerome’s writing’s, in a letter to Eustochium, that provide the most insight on Paula’s life during her years of service at the Monastery. She is noted as maintaining her ascetic devotion through intensive studies of the Old and New Testaments, often under the guidance of Jerome. With this, she also practiced a strict fasting regimen, abstinence and pursued a penitent lifestyle “to preserve a singular attachment to God” as stated by Jerome. While practising this life of isolation, Paula still continued to interact with local clergy and Bishops and maintained devout attention to teaching the nuns under her care. Jerome’s letter from 404, moreover, indicates Saint Paula’s first-hand connection with relics from Christ’s passion, “she was shown the pillar of the church which supports the colonnade and which was stained with the Lord’s blood. He is said to have been tied to it when he was scourged.”
Jerome made explicit in his letter how Paula, through these practices, became a recognised figure in the Christian community. At one point, while travelling to Nitria, she was earnestly received by renowned Monks from Egypt and once her death arrived on 26 January 404, her funeral was noted as having a significant portion of the Palestine population arrive in her honour. A year after her passing, Paula was recognised by the Church as a Saint, with feast day on 26 January.
St Jerome grieved over her death but knowing how innocently she had lived, he was sure she was already in Paradise. “O dear Saint Paula,” he prayed, “help me now by your prayers and do not forget me, who taught you to live for God and Heaven. Your faith and your piety, have already placed you in the bosom of God and I know, He cannot now refuse to hear you. Oh, then, my child, pray, pray for me.”
Paula helped Jerome in his translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. The work was done at her suggestion and she provided the reference works necessary for the undertaking. Being versed in Hebrew, she edited Jerome’s manuscripts. She and her daughter Eustochium copied the work for circulation.
An anecdote told of Jerome, of twelfth-century origin, tells that Roman clergy hostile to Jerome planned to have him expelled from the city by planting a woman’s robe next to his bed. When Jerome awoke in the middle of the night to attend the service of matins, he absentmindedly put on the female robes. He was thus accused of having had a woman in his bed. This story acknowledges, while at the same time discrediting as a malicious slander, Jerome’s relationship with women, such as he is presumed to have had with Paula.
Palladius, a contemporary of Jerome, believed that Paula was hindered by Jerome: “For though she was able to surpass all, having great abilities, he hindered her by his jealousy, having induced her to serve his own plan.”
When Jerome died in early 420, he was buried beneath the north aisle of the Church of the Nativity, near the graves of Paula and Eustochium and tradition tells us that St Paula the Younger attended him in his last hours and when he lost his speech, she made the Sign of the Cross on his lips.
Nuestra Señora de Atocha / Our Lady of Atocha/Our Lady of Long Fields, Madrid, Spain (1261) – 26 January:
For a long time part of Madrid was nothing but a field of matreeds (tules) particularly in the district of Atocha. Here is a Shrine to Our Lady of Atocha, a Spanish contraction for “Theotokos”, meaning “Mother of God,” or a simplification of “Antiocha” which, in the 12th Century under this title, was already ancient and beloved. Today the Statue stands in a business centre, a dark little Madonna with an enigmatic smile on her face. Nobody knows where she came from but everyone, from gold-braided officers, to the ragged street urchins, pay her the most polite respect and give her most unqualified love. Our Lady of Atocha was in Madrid when there was only a field of reeds and a hermitage. The Moor and the Moslem came – they respected her and left her alone. When Toledo was sacked in 1170, she remained there calm and accessible, watching over her children. In 1525 Charles V brought her his bride and asked her blessing upon their marriage; Don Juan of Austria, departing for the Battle of Lepanto, knelt at her feet and pledged his sword to her; after his victory, he sent in thanksgiving, his sword to her along with the captured Moorish banners. Despite all these trappings of the high and wealthy, she still remains Our Lady of all the people, beloved of kings and farmers, such as St Isidore. Our Lady of Atocha is Madrid’s royal shrine: there is not a Spaniard of public importance for a thousand years who would not kneel to ask her help. Her gowns are made from the bridal gowns of queens; yet no shrine better demonstrates how little it matters where we rank in the world, or what we do for a living. One of her supplicants asks her for victory for his armies, one for rain for his thirsty fields; Our Lady of Atocha answers all, impartially and lovingly.
Artist – Juan Antonio Salvador Carmona
In the year 1554 the Spanish Missionaries brought Our Lady of Atocha to Mexico with them. She was brought to a sanctuary called The Santuario De Plateros, which is a Church about 30 minutes from the small town of Fresnillo. There were many miracles that occurred after the arrival of the famous statue. After the first miracle was reported, the Infant of Atocha was separated from the rest of the statue. He was seated instead by Himself in a splendid crystal niche on the main altar, and He can still be seen there today. In His left hand He holds a jug, which for centuries was used by pilgrims to carry their liquids for drinking. In His right hand is a small basket of food. The face of the Infant is dark and bright. He has long curls and wears a small hat trimmed with gold and feathers on the side. His clothing is velvet, with exquisite embroidering and has the initials JHS. Finally, on his feet he wears solid gold sandals. The Holy Infant is so small and attractive He is like a magnet to everyone. He is actually a figure of admiration to the faithful. He grants them the favours they ask for and gives grace instantly. He usually works during the night visiting the sick and the poor, therefore, He is also known as The Night Walking Infant of Atocha. It is not unusual to see HIs little chair empty while He is out on a mission. In the morning when He returns the sisters dust off His sandals after His all night journeys. Pilgrimages are daily occurrences at the Santuario De Plateros. Thousands of pilgrims go to the Santuario on their knees, singing and praying. The pilgrims come for miles away on foot carrying flowers. The children come also and the little infants are carried in the mother’s shawl. It is impossible to count the testimonials that cover the walls. Pictures, wheel chairs, crutches, braids of hair, have been brought in by those who received miraculous cures. All testimonials are framed with a picture of The Little Infant of Atocha, a picture of the moment of the miracle and they also indicate time, date and place.
St Alphonsus of Astorga St Ansurius of Orense St Athanasius of Sorrento St Conan of Iona Bl Eystein Erlandsön Bl José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero Bl Marie de la Dive veuve du Verdier de la Sorinière Bl Michaël Kozal St Paula of Rome (347-404) Widow, Foundress St Theofrid of Corbie St Theogenes of Hippo St Tortgith of Barking — Martyred Family of Constantinople: Saint Mary and Saint Xenophon were married and the parents of Saint John and Saint Arcadius. Theirs was a wealthy family of Senatorial rank in 5th century imperial Constantinople, but were known as a Christians who lived simple lives. To give their sons a good education, Xenophon and Mary sent them to university in Beirut, Phoenicia. However, their ship wrecked, there was no communication from them, and the couple assumed, naturally, that the young men had died at sea. In reality, John and Arcadius had survived and decided that instead of continuing to Beirut, they were going to follow a calling to religious life and became monks, eventually living in a monastery in Jerusalem. Years later, Mary and Xenophon made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem – where they encountered their sons. Grateful to have their family re-united and taking it as a sign, Xenophon and Mary gave up their positions in society in Constantinople, and lived the rest of their lives as a monk and anchoress in Jerusalem. A few years later, the entire family was martyred together. They were martyred in 5th century Jerusalem. St Xenophon St Mary St John St Arcadius
Saint of the Day – 24 January – Blessed Antonio Migliorati OSA (1355-1450) Priest and Friar of the Order of St Augustine, missionary Preacher, Confessor, Mystc, Sacristan of the Augustinian Church in Tolentino, Italy, the Church that housed the tomb of Saint Nicholas, noted for his zeal for the faith, his devotion to the poor. Also known as Antonio of Amandola. Born on 17 January 1355 in Amandola, Ascoli Piceno, Italy and died on 25 January 1450 in the Saint Augustine Monastery of Amandola, Ascoli Piceno, Italy of natural causes, aged 95. Additional Memorial – 29 January (Augustinians). Patronage – Amandola. His body is incorrupt.
Antonio was born on 17 January, 1355 the son of Simpliciano and Giovanna Migliorati, a farmer, whose family had little wealth but great faith. Antonia was Baptised on the day of birth. The various biographers are in agreement, in describing the first influence of the parents on the child. The names of Jesus and Mary were the first placed on the lips and heart of the child and he cultivated them with tender devotion throughout his life. The learning of the first prayers and the love of prayer, the acceptance of sacrifice and the hardness of life, the devotion to the Passion of Jesus and the sufferings of his Mother, the appreciation of the values of the spirit, were things that the little Antonio began to learn very early.
Antonio soon began to frequent the nearby Church of Sts Vincenzo and Anastasio and to spend time there in prayer. He had discovered contact with God and this was one of the determining factors of his life. He attended school at the Benedictine Monastery in his town, where he became a favoured and much-loved student. In fact, he had been adopted by the entire town, he was everyone’s son, everyone’s assistant, everyone’s favourite child, eveyone’s comfort.
Inspired by the life and work of St Nicola of Tolentino (1254-1305), Antonio, wishing to imitate St Nicholas’ virtues, joined the Augustinians of his native town, where he was Ordained a Priest. He lived about twelve years in the convent of Tolentino, after which he was for some time in Bari.
In 1400 he returned to his hometown of Amandola. His return was meant to be humble and hidden but, as he approached, a festive and spontaneous ringing from the various towers enveloped the city. He had left about fifteen years earlier, the joy and affection with which he was received home was well imaginable. He didn’t get upset. He was already accustomed to supporting the enthusiasm of his admirers with modesty and humility. Antonio once again became everyone’s comfort and defence. He spent many hours in the confessional, which was increasingly in demand, as his fame spread from land to land; real conversions came out, real comfort, real joy. There is no doubt that many also went there, for more practical and more material reasons but many too went with the hope that Antonio would cure their ills. Antonio blessed, prayed and cured but he knew how to take advantage of everything, to lift hearts to a more spiritual level.
Antonio rushed from the confessional to the homes of the needy and from these, with a hurried step, to the Convent, when the bell called the Monks to prayer and other community commitments. Wherever he was, in fact, when he heard the bell, he rushed to the call of that life he had chosen and sincerely loved. This love for the community was a constant feature, even after his death. In fact, it is said that several times the Friars heard his voice in the choir when the body was now buried under the door of the sacristy and that, if the person in charge forgot or delayed to ring the choir bell, it rang by itself, almost touched by the hands of Antonio.
He also worked to rebuild the old Augustinian Monastery and to build a new Church which was originally named for Saint Augustine of Hippo, but after his death was renamed in honour of Blessed Antonio himself, who led it, for many of his remaining 50 years there.
The death of Blessed Antonio has been handed down to us with an abundance of details. There is no mention of disease. He went out like a candle, of mere old age. He was 95 years old and had just begun the year 1450. Three years earlier he had had the great joy of the Canonisation of his dear St Nicholas, which had aroused so much joy in the world. He had received from the Celestial Mother, the revelation that his death was approaching and he communicated this to his confreres to help him with prayer.
A few days passed thus. When he felt that the end was imminent, he called all the Friars to his cell and, with humility and sincerity, asked that, if he had given some bad example or some sorrow, for the love of God and His Most Holy Mother, they would grant him their pardon. Then he confessed and received Communion with supreme devotion as Viaticum for eternity and Extreme Unction.
Finally, with full clarity of mind, always surrounded by his confreres, he turned to Fr Prior, who was Fr Giambattista Stazzi and asked to express his last wish. The Prior agreed, pledging to satisfy him whatever he asked. Then the dying man asked that his body be buried in the bare earth in front of the choir door; the religious, going to pray, would have passed over it and would have always remember him to the mercy of the Lord.
It was 25 January 1450.
The veneration that he had aroused in life, through humility, a spirit of obedience and mortification and a singular apostolic zeal, did not diminish with death. Already during his life, Antonio was considered a saint but the cult exploded immediately after his death and expanded in the lands near Amandola and throughout the Piceno area and then, through his Augustinian brothers, throughout the world. Antonio was invoked in every need. More and more frequent and numerous groups began to flock to his tomb. Among them there were often the miraculous ones who came to give thanks.
And so a very interesting custom began immediately – a book was created that was called the “Book of Miracles,” in which the most notable miracles were gradually recorded by dictation of the miraculous ones and written most often by the public notary. The book goes back to 1756 and records sudden healings of the crippled, paralysed, blind, epileptic, plagued, deliveries from grave misfortunes and even resurrections of the dead. The manuscript book was kept under the urn. It is from this book above all, that the 155 miracles examined for the Beatification of Anthony were deduced.
In 1453 his body, was discovered to be incorrupt when it was removed from the common sepulcher of the friars, was placed in a wooden ark on an Altar which was named after him, while the wonders (even the resurrection of the dead) multiplied. By 1460, his memorial was a civic holiday in Amandola, Italy
In 1641 it was placed in a wooden sarcophagus, worked by Domenico Malpiedi, which in 1897 was replaced by the marble one, which can now be seen in the recently built Chapel. In 1798 the revolutionary soldiers extracted from the sarcophagus and vilified the body of Antonio. A gold crown was placed on his head in 1899. His incorrupt body is still on display in the same church.
Since his death, the people of Amandola have venerated him and celebrated his “dies natalis.” On 11 July 1759 Pope Clement XIII ascribed Antonio in the number of blessed, recognising his cult “ab immemorabili,” and on 20 April 1890 Pope Leo XIII granted a plenary indulgence to visitors to his sanctuary.
PRAYER TO BLESSED ANTONIO (composed by Archbishop Norberto Perini of Fermo)
We come to You, O Lord, full of gratitude and filial confidence because You are rich in graces and ready to forgive. In the name of Blessed Anthony, Your faithful servant and our protector, we ask You to bless our country; to make families prosper by preserving prayer, peace, mutual love; to make young people docile, job-loving, honest; to give bread to the poor who suffer so much; to instill serenity and patience in the sick so that their pain becomes a means of purification for all; to comfort our elders; to assist the dying with Your grace so that, having overcome the last trials, they come to enjoy You in Your paradise. O Blessed Anthony, we all honour you and invoke your intercession with the Lord, so that He may allow us to always live your faith and to imitate your example made up of few words and many good works. Amen
St Agape the Martyr St Agileus of Carthage St Amarinus of Clermont St Ananias of Damascus Blessed Antonio Migliorati OSA (1355-1450) Priest Bl Antoni Swiadek St Apollo of Heliopolis St Artemas of Pozzuoli St Auxentius of Epirus St Bretannion of Tomi St Donatus the Martyr St Dwynwen St Emilia Fernández Rodríguez de Cortés St Eochod of Galloway St Joel of Pulsano St Juventinus of Antioch Bl Manuel Domingo y Sol St Maximinus of Antioch St Palaemon St Poppo of Stavelot (977-1048) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2020/01/25/saint-of-the-day-25-january-saint-poppo-of-stavelot-977-1048/ St Praejectus of Clermont St Publius of Zeugma St Racho of Autun St Sabinus the Martyr
Quote/s of the Day – 24 January – The Memorial of St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
“Faith is like a bright ray of sunlight. It enables us to see God in all things, as well as, all things in God.”
“He who trusts in God can do all things.”
“Man is the perfection of the Universe. The spirit is the perfection of man. Love is the perfection of the spirit and charity, that of love. Therefore, the love of God is the end, the perfection of the Universe.”
“Our business is to love what we have. He wills our vocation as it is. Let us love that and not trifle away our time hankering after other people’s vocations.”
“Every moment comes to us, pregnant with a command from God, only to pass on and plunge into eternity, there to remain forever, what we have made of it!”
“By giving yourself to God, you not only receive Himself in exchange but, eternal life as well!”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritatis “The Gentle Christ of Geneva” “The Gentleman Saint”
Saint of the Day – 24 January – Saint Felician of Foligno (c 158-c 250) Bishop and Martyr, Confessor – born in c 158 in Foligno, Italy and died in c 250 just outside the City of Foligno as the result of his tortures and scourgings. Felician was one of the first Christian Bishops of northern Italy. Patronage – Foligno.
Felician was born in present-day Foligno, of a Christian family, around 158. He was the spiritual student of Pope Eleuterus and evangelised in Foligno, Spello, Bevagna, Assisi, Perugia, Norcia, Plestia, Trevi and Spoleto.
In c 204 he was Consecrated as the Bishop of Foligno by Pope Victor I. St Felician was the first Bishop to receive the Pallium as a symbol of his office.
He ordained St Valentine of Rome as a Priest. His Episcopate lasted for more than 50 years. he was one of the first Christian Bishops of northern Italy.
He was arrested at an advanced age (he was in his nineties) for refusing to sacrifice to the Roman gods during the persecutions of Decius.
Martyrdom of St Felician
He was tortured and scourged and died outside Foligno while being conveyed to Rome for his execution.
Sculpture of St Felician in Foligno Cathedral
A Church (now a Cathedral) was built over his grave at Foligno. His relics were transferred to Metz on 4 October 970. In 965 some relics were translated to Minden in Germany; Felician was thus erroneously considered a bishop of that German city (and he had a separate feast day of 20 October), an error that entered the Roman Martyrology. Some of his relics were later returned to Foligno in 1673-4.
Foligno Cathedral
Foligno Cathedral preserves a statue of the saint, of silver and bronze.
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time +2021 Third Sunday after Epiphany (Traditional Calendar) +2021
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)– Doctor of the Church: Doctor caritatis (Doctor of Charity) “The Gentle Christ of Geneva” and the “Gentleman Saint” – (Memorial)
St Anicet Hryciuk St Artemius of Clermont St Bartlomiej Osypiuk Bertrand of Saint Quentin St Daniel Karmasz St Exuperantius of Cingoli St Felician of Foligno (c 158-c 250) Bishop and Martyr St Filip Geryluk Bl Francesc de Paula Colomer Prísas St Guasacht St Ignacy Franczuk Bl John Grove St Julian Sabas the Elder St Luigj Prendushi St Macedonius Kritophagos Bl Marcolino of Forli Bl Marie Poussepin Blessed Paola Gambara Costa TOSF (1463-1515) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2020/01/24/saint-of-the-day-24-january-blessed-paola-gambara-costa-tosf-1463-1515/ St Projectus St Sabinian of Troyes St Suranus of Sora St Thyrsus Bl William Ireland — Martyrs of Asia Minor – 4 saints: A group of Christians martyred together for their faith. The only details to survive are four of their names – Eugene, Mardonius, Metellus and Musonius. They were burned at the stake in Asia Minor.
Martyrs of Podlasie – 13 beati: Podlasie is an area in modern eastern Poland that, in the 18th-century, was governed by the Russian Empire. Russian sovereigns sought to bring all Eastern-rite Catholics into the Orthodox Church. Catherine II suppressed the Greek Catholic church in Ukraine in 1784. Nicholas I did the same in Belarus and Lithuania in 1839. Alexander II did the same in the Byzantine-rite Eparchy of Chelm in 1874 and officially suppressed the Eparchy in 1875. The bishop and the priests who refused to join the Orthodox Church were deported to Siberia or imprisoned. The laity, left on their own, had to defend their Church, their liturgy, and their union with Rome. On 24 January 1874 soldiers entered the village of Pratulin to transfer the parish to Orthodox control. Many of the faithful gathered to defend their parish and church. The soldiers tried to disperse the people, but failed. Their commander tried to bribe the parishioners to abandon Rome but failed. He threatened them with assorted punishments but this failed to move them. Deciding that a show of force was needed, the commander ordered his troops to fire on the unarmed, hymn-singing laymen. Thirteen of the faithful died, most married men with families, ordinary men with great faith. We know almost nothing about their lives outside of this incident. Their families were not allowed to honour them or participate in the funerals and the authorities hoped they would be forgotten. Their names are: • Anicet Hryciuk • Bartlomiej Osypiuk • Daniel Karmasz • Filip Geryluk • Ignacy Franczuk • Jan Andrzejuk • Konstanty Bojko • Konstanty Lukaszuk • Lukasz Bojko • Maksym Hawryluk • Michal Wawryszuk • Onufry Wasyluk • Wincenty Lewoniuk Martyrdom: • shot on 14 January 1874 by Russian soldiers in Podlasie, Poland • buried nearby without rites by those soldiers Beatified 6 October 1996 by Pope John Paul II
Martyrs of Antioch: Babylas Epolonius Prilidian Urban
Quote/s of the Day – 23 January – “Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus” and The Memorial of Blessed Henry Suso OP (1295-1366)
“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name is the greatest spiritual force in the world today. It is a source of joy and inspiration in our youth; of strength in our manhood, when only His Holy Name and His grace, can enable us to overcome temptation; of hope, consolation and confidence at the hour of our death, when more than ever before, we realise, that the meaning of Jesus is ‘Lord, the Saviour.’ We should bow in reverence to His Name and submission to His Holy Will.”
“Suffering is the ancient law of love; there is no quest without pain; there is no lover who is not also a martyr.”
“Remember, that you will derive strength by reflecting, that the saints yearn for you to join their ranks; desire to see you fight bravely and, that you behave like true knights in your encounters with the same adversities which they had to conquer. That breath-taking joy is theirs and your eternal reward for having endured a few years of temporal pain. Every drop of earthly bitterness will be changed into an ocean of heavenly sweetness!”
“I have often repented of having spoken. I have never repented of silence.”
“Let each look to himself and see what God wants of him and attend to this, leaving all else alone.”
One Minute Reflection – 23 January – Saturday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Hebrews 9: 2-3, 11-14, Psalms 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9, Mark 3: 20-21 and the Memorial of St John the Almoner (Died c 620)
“For a tabernacle was constructed, the outer one, in which were the lampstand, the table and the bread of offering, this is called the Holy Place…” Hebrews 9:2
REFLECTION – “Each one of us can build a tabernacle for God, in himself. For if, as some before us have said, this tabernacle represents a figure of the whole world and if, each individual can have an image of the world in oneself, why should not each individual, be able to fulfil the form of the tabernacle in oneself? . . . For that part within you, which is most valuable of all, can act the part of priest—the part which some call the first principle of the heart, others the rational sense or the substance of the mind, or whatever other name, one wishes to give to that part of us, which makes us capable of receiving God.” – Origen of Alexandria (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father – Homilies on Exodus, 9
PRAYER – Lord God, true light and creator of light, grant us the grace to see clearly by the light who is Light, Your only Son. Lead us in His path and send us Your Spirit. Grant us the strength to grow in holiness so that our struggle against the powers of darkness may we a victory over temptation. May the intercession of the extraordinary charity of St John the Almoner, help us to obtain such charity in purity of heart. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 23 January – The Memorial of St Ildephonsus (c 607-670) and a Marian Saturday
Let Me Love Your Jesus By St Ildephonsus (c 607-670)
Virgin Mary, hear my prayer, through the Holy Spirit, you became the Mother of Jesus, from the Holy Spirit, may I too have Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, your flesh conceived Jesus, through the same Spirit, may my soul receive Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, you were able to know Jesus, to possess Jesus and to bring Him into the world. Through the Holy Spirit, may I too come to know your Jesus. Imbued with the Spirit, Mary, you could say “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word,” in the Holy Spirit, lowly as I am, let me proclaim the great truths about Jesus. In the Spirit, you now adore Jesus as Lord and look on Him as Son, in the same Spirit, Mary, let me love your Jesus. Amen
Saint of the Day – 23 January – St John the Almoner (Died c 620) Bishop of Alexandria, Widower, Confessor, Apostle of the poor, Reformer – both within the Church and within the civic structures – born in c 552 at Amathus, Cyprus and died in c 620 in Cyprus of natural causes. Patronages – Egypt and Cyprus. Also known as John the Almsgiver, John the Merciful, John V of Alexandria, John Eleymon and Johannes Eleemon. St John’s hagiography was written by his contemporary Bishop, Leontios of Neapolis at the instruction of their Archbishop.
John the Almoner, second half of the 15th century, Warsaw National Museum
John was born at Amathus as the son of Epiphanius, Governor of Cyprus and was of noble descent. In early life he was married and had children but his wife and children soon died, after which he entered religious life. He gave away all he possessed and became known throughout the East as the Almoner.
On the death of the Patriarch Theodore, the Alexandrians besought Emperor Phocas to appoint John his successor, which was accordingly done. One of the first steps he took was to make a list of several thousand needy persons, whom he took under his especial care. He always referred to the poor as his “lords and masters” because of their mighty influence at the Court of the Most High. He assisted people of every class who were in need. In his youth John had had a vision of a beautiful maiden with a garland of olives on her head, who said that she was Compassion, the eldest daughter of the Great King. This had evidently made a deep impression on John’s heart and soul and, now that he had the opportunity of exercising benevolence on a large scale, he soon became widely known all over the East for his liberality towards the poor.
He was a reformer who attacked simony and fought heresy by means of improvements in religious education. He also reorganised the system of weights and measures for the sake of the poor and decried and managed to cease the practice of corruption among the civic officials. He increased the number of Churches in Alexandria from seven to seventy.
The apostolate of St Vitalis of Gaza, a Monk who worked among the prostitutes of the city, was a noteworthy episode of John’s reign. The Bishop was considered to have behaved with wisdom for not punishing this Monk who was notorious for visiting the seedy part of town, his intentions of course, being viciously misread and his judgement was vindicated only after the death of Vitalis when the story of the Monk’s mission of mercy became known. St Vitalis’ life here: https://anastpaul.com/2018/01/11/saint-of-the-day-11-january-st-vitalis-of-gaza-died-c-625/
John he visited the hospitals three times every week and he freed a great many slaves. He is said to have devoted the entire revenues of his see to the alleviation of those in need.
Titian, Saint John the Almsgiver, 1545-50
Many of the works of John are legendary as is the following – a rich man presented him with a magnificent bed covering; he accepted it for one night but then sold it and disposed of the money in alms. The rich man “bought back” the article and again presented it to John, with the same result. This was repeated several times but John drily remarked: “We will see who tires first.”
An instance of his piety was that he caused his own grave to be dug but only partly so and appointed a servant to come before him on all state occasions and say “My Lord, your tomb is unfinished, pray give orders for its completion, for you know not the hour when death may seize you.”
When the Sassanachs sacked Jerusalem in 614, John sent large supplies of food, wine and money to the fleeing Christians. But eventually the Persians occupied Alexandria and John himself, in his old age, was forced to flee to his native country, where he died.
From Cyprus his body was moved to Constantinople, then in 1249 to Venice, where there is a Church dedicated to him, the Chiesa di San Giovanni Elemosinario, although his relics are preserved in another Church, San Giovanni in Bragora, in a separate Chapel.
Saint John the Almoner at the Church of San Giovanni in Bragora, Venice
Another relic of his was sent by Sultan Bayezid II in 1489 to King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. It was placed in the private Royal Chapel in Buda Castle, which was dedicated to him. Now his body lies in the St John the Almoner Chapel in St Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Feast in honour of the Blessed Virgin’s Espousal to Saint Joseph. It is certain that a real Matrimony was contracted by Joseph and Mary. Still Mary is called “espoused” to Joseph (“his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph”, Matthew 1:18) because the matrimony was never consummated. The term, ‘spouse’ is applied to married people until their marriage is consummated.
The first definite knowledge of a Feast in honour or the Espousals of Mary dates from 29 August1517, when it was granted by Pope Leo X to the Nuns of the Annunciation. It was celebrated on 22 October. It appears in the Missal of the Franciscans, to whom it was granted on 21 August 1537, for 7 March, while the Servites obtained the Feast for 8 March. Although the Feast of the Espousal has never been extended to the Universal Church ,it is observed in nearly the entire Latin Church on 23 January and in the Spanish-speaking countries on 26 November.
Bl Joan Font Taulat St John the Almoner (Died c 620) Bishop of Alexandria Bl Juan Infante St Jurmin St Lufthild St Maimbod Bl Margaret of Ravenna Martyrius of Valeria St Messalina of Foligno St Ormond of Mairé St Parmenas the Deacon St Severian the Martyr
Quote/s of the Day – 24 January – The Memorial of St Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850)
“Immediately after rising and throughout the day, all make the Sign of the Cross and renew their trust in God: to be strengthened by the power of the Father, to be enlightened by the wisdom of the Son and to be sanctified by the love of the Holy Spirit. And as they bless themselves, they may say: Of myself I can do nothing, with God I can do everything, I want to do everything for love of God.”
From the Rule of the Pallottines
Our life is: “To breathe God in and out. To find God in everything. To reveal God to all. To radiate the presence of God.”
“Remember that the Christian life is one of action, not of speech and daydreams. Let there be few words and many deeds and let them be done well.”
“Since God is perfect in loving man, man must be perfect in loving his neighbour.”
Our Morning Offering – 22 January – The memorial of St Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850)
My God, In Your Infinite Love By St Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850)
“My God, in Your infinite love You created me according to Your image and likeness. You gave me a free will. Help me to use Your gifts and improve myself so as to become totally Your living image, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, an image of Your infinite qualities and perfections. Amen
Saint/s of the Day – 22 January – Saint Valerius of Saragossa (Died 315) Bishop of Saragossa, Spain from 290 until his death. Patronage – Saragossa.
There are few records of Valerius but tradition holds that he had a speech impediment, and that the Deacon, St Vincent of Saragossa, acted as his spokesman.
Both Valerius and Vincent suffered imprisonment under Diocletian. Vincent was Martyred at Valencia. Valerius was exiled for a time to a place called Enet, near Barbastro but is known to have been present at the Council Elvira, (c 306).
A chapel dedicated to him can be found at La Seo Cathedral in Saragossa. It includes a baroque entryway of gilded wood from the seventeenth century with scenes of the saints Valerius, Vincent, and Lawrence.
Statue of St Valerius at the Monastery of Santa María de Veruel, Spain
Vincent of Saragossa was one of the Church’s three most illustrious Deacons, the other two being Stephen and Lawrence. He is also Spain’s most renowned martyr. Ordained Deacon by St Valerius of Saragossa, he was taken in chains to Valencia during the Diocletian persecution and put to death. From legend we have the following details of his martyrdom. After brutal scourging in the presence of many witnesses, he was stretched on the rack but neither torture, nor blandishments, nor threats, could undermine the strength and courage of his faith. Next, he was cast on a heated grating, lacerated with iron hooks and seared with hot metal plates. Then he was returned to prison, where the floor was heavily strewn with pieces of broken glass. A heavenly brightness flooded the entire dungeon, filling all who saw it with greatest awe.
After this he was placed on a soft bed in the hope that lenient treatment would induce apostasy, since torture had proven ineffective. But strengthened by faith in Christ Jesus and the hope of everlasting life, Vincent maintained an invincible spirit and overcame all efforts, whether by fire, sword, rack, or torture, to induce defection. He persevered to the end and gained the heavenly crown of martyrdom.
The Ambrosian Breviary has selected several verses of this long Poem, for one of its Hymns and there are offered to you.
O blessed Martyr! bless this day of thy feast, whereon the crown is given to thee, the Conquero and thou didst purchase it by thy blood.
This is the day which took thee from this dark world to heaven and restored thee in triumph to Christ, for thou hadst conquered thy torturer and thy judge.
Fellow now of the Angels, thou shinest in thy bright stole, which thou didst wash in the stream of thy blood, for thou wast the invincible witness of Christ.
Thou wast a levite of the holy tribe, a Minister of God’s altar, which is surrounded by its seven snow-white pillars and, by thy noble triumph, thou art a Martyr of Christ.
Thou alone, O doubly noble! didst bear away the palms of a double victory and wreathe two laurels for thy brow.
Conqueror, once, in the hard death thou didst endure and, then, after death, thou wast conqueror over the tyrant-thief and, with thy body alone, didst gloriously defeat him.
Oh! by thy chains and fires and hooks; by thy prison-chains; by the potsherds, strewed to enhance thy glory.
Assist us now and hear the humble prayers of thy suppliants and make intercession for us sinners at the throne of God. Amen.
To God the Father and to His Only Son and to the Holy Paraclete, be glory now and for all ages. Amen
St Anastasius the Persian St Antonio della Chiesa St Blaesilla of Rome St Brithwald of Ramsbury St Caterina Volpicelli St Dominic of Sora Bl Esteve Santacana Armengol St Francis Gil de Frederich de Sans
One Minute Reflection – 23 January – Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Hebrews 7:25 – 8:6, Psalms 40:7-8,8-9, 10, 17, Mark 3:7-12 and the Memorial of Saint Agnes (c 291- c 304) Virgin and Martyr and Saint Meinrad of Einsiedeln OSB (c 797–861) Martyr, Priest, Monk, Hermit
“A great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him.” – Mark 3:7-8
REFLECTION – “God did not create man to be lost but so that he might live eternally; this intention remains unchanging … For He “wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth,” (1 Tm 2:4). It is the will of your Father in heaven, says Jesus, “that not one of these little ones be lost,” (Mt 18:14). It is also written elsewhere: “Neither will God have a soul to perish but brought back” meaning, that he that is cast off should not altogether perish, ( 2 Sm 14:14 Vulg [Douai]; cf. 2 Pt 3:9). God is true; He does not lie when He promises on oath: “As I live! I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man but rather in the wicked man’s conversion, that he may live,” (Ez 33:11).
Can we then think, without gross sacrilege, that He might not want the salvation of all in general but only of a few? Anyone who is lost, is lost contrary to God’s will. He cries out to him every day: “Turn, turn from your evil ways! Why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ex 33:11). And again, He protests: “Why do these people rebel with obstinate insistence? They set their faces harder than stone and refuse to return,” (Jr 8:5; 5:3).The grace of Christ is, therefore, always available to us. Since He desires that all men should be saved, He calls to all without exception: “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened and I will give you rest,” (Mt 11:28). – St John Cassian (c 360-435) Father, Monk, Founder of Monasteries, Disciple of St John Chrysostom – Conference 13
PRAYER – Lord God, true light and creator of light, grant us the grace to see clearly by the light who is Light, Your only Son. Lead us in His path and send us Your Spirit. Grant us the strength to grow in holiness so that our struggle against the powers of darkness may we a victory over temptation. May the intercession of the extraordinary fortitude and love of Your holy Martyrs St Agnes and Meinrad, help us and protect us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
Saint of the Day – 21 January – Saint Meinrad of Einsiedeln OSB (c 797–861) Martyr, Benedictine Priest and Monk, Hermit, known as “Martyr of Hospitality” – born at Solgen, Swabia (Sülichgau near Wurtemberg, Germay) and died by being beaten to death with clubs by robbers, on 21 January 861 at Einsiedeln, Switzerland. Patronage – Hospitality, Einsiedeln Monastery in the United States.
Meinrad received his education and entered the Order of St Benedict at Reichenau Abbey in his native Germany. After Ordination to the Priesthood around the year 824, he taught at Reichenau and then served at the Benedictine Priory at Benken in Switzerland.
Around the year 835, seeking greater solitude, he was allowed to establish a Hermitage and Chapel on Mount Etzel, the present site of Einsiedeln Abbey. He had with him a small miraculous statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, given to him by Hildegard, Abbess of Zurich, which is now known as Our Lady of Einsiedeln.
His life of simple austerity and his reputation for holiness soon drew pilgrims to his remote hut and they brought him gifts and alms which Meinrad distributed to the poor and needy. He always welcomed all visitors with Christian hospitality, even the two robbers who finally took his life after 26 years in that lonely place. In 835 he retreated to a Hermitage in the forest on the site of today’s Monastery in Einsiedeln. Inspired by the Desert Fathers, Meinrad practiced a strict asceticism. He was killed in 861 by two robbers who wanted the treasures which pilgrims left at the shrine. Meinrad is known as the Martyr of Hospitality.
When his brother Monks found his body, they buried him at the at Reichenau Abbey on Reichenau Island.
Over the next eighty years, the Hermitage was occupied by a succession of hermits. One of them, named Eberhard, previously Provost of Strasburg, erected a Monastery, Einsiedeln Abbey and became its first Abbot.
In 1039, the year of Meinrad’s Canonisation as a Saint, his remains were brought back to Einsiedeln. During the French Revolution, Meinrad’s relics were hidden at Tyrol, Austria, by Abbot Conrad Tanner and his reliquary is now enshrined in the Grace Chapel of the Abbey Church at Einsiedeln.
During the Middle Ages, Einsiedeln became a popular place of pilgrimage for people from southern Germany, Switzerland and the Alsace. Meinrad’s cell became the Shrine of the Black Madonna of Einsiedel. Over the years dust and the smoke of candles, oil lamps and incense darkened the image. In 1803 the hands and face were painted black.
The Chapel St Meinrad at the summit of the Etzel Pass is first mentioned in the 13th century. The Chapel and a nearby inn are located on the pilgrimage route of Camino de Santiago.
Virgen de la Altagracia/ Our Lady of Altagracia, Dominican Republic (c 1502) – 21 January – Also known as: Our Lady of High Grace (Altagracia) – Our Lady of Grace – Protector and Queen of the hearts of the Dominicans – Tatica from Higuey – Virgen de la Altagracia – Virgin of Altagracia. Today is Día de la Altagracia, or Altagracia Day!
A portrait of the Virgin Mary in a Nativity scene. It is 13 inches (33 centimeters) wide by 18 inches (45 centimeters) high and is painted on cloth. It is a primitive work of the Spanish school, painted c 1500. The Spanish brothers Alfonso and Antonio Trejo, two of the first European settlers on Santo Domingo, brought the portrait to the island some time prior to 1502 and eventually donated it to the Parish Church at Higuey. It’s first Shrine was finished in 1572 and in 1971 it was moved to its present Basilica. The image was crowned on 15 August 1922 during the Pontificate of Pius XI. Due to its age, centuries of handling by the faithful and exposure to candle smoke, it was in sad shape, and was restored in 1978. On 25 January 1979 St Pope John Paul II crowned the image with a gold and silver tiara, his gift to the Virgin. It’s frame is made of gold, enamel and precious stones and was constructed by an unknown 18th century artisan. The Dominicans see the image as exemplifying Our Lady watching over the island and the growth of Christianity there. The feast day is marked by services, all-night vigils, singing, dancing and festivals in many of the towns. Legend says that the pious daughter of a rich merchant asked her father to bring her a portrait of Our Lady of Altagracia from Santo Domingo but no-one had heard of that title. The merchant, staying overnight at a friend’s house in Higuey, described his problem as they sat outdoors after dinner. An old man with a long beard, who just happened to be passing by, pulled a rolled up painting from his cloak, gave it to the merchant and said, “This is what you are looking for.” It was the Virgin of Altagracia. They gave the old man a place to stay for the night but by dawn he was gone, not to be seen again. The merchant placed the image on their mantle but it repeatedly disappeared only to be found outside and the family finally returned it to the church.
St Agnes of Aislinger St Alban Bartholomew Roe St Anastasius of Constantinople St Aquila of Trebizond St Brigid of Kilbride St Candidus of Trebizond Bl Edward Stransham St Epiphanius of Pavia St Eugenius of Trebizond Bl Franciscus Bang St Gunthildis of Biblisheim Blessed Josefa María Inés de Benigánim OAD (1625–1696) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2020/01/21/saint-of-the-day-21-january-blessed-josefa-maria-ines-de-beniganim-oad-1625-1696/ St John Yi Yun-on St Lawdog St Maccallin of Waulsort St Meinrad of Einsiedeln OSB (c 797–861) Martyr, Priest, Monk
St Nicholas Woodfen St Patroclus of Troyes St Publius of Malta Bl Thomas Reynolds St Valerian of Trebizond St Vimin of Holywood St Zacharias the Angelic —
Blessed Martyrs of Laval – 19 beati: Fifteen men and four women who were martyred in Laval, France by anti-Catholic French Revolutionaries. • Blessed André Duliou • Blessed Augustin-Emmanuel Philippot • Blessed François Duchesne • Blessed François Migoret-Lamberdière • Blessed Françoise Mézière • Blessed Françoise Tréhet • Blessed Jacques André • Blessed Jacques Burin • Blessed Jean-Baptiste Triquerie • Blessed Jean-Marie Gallot • Blessed Jeanne Veron • Blessed John Baptist Turpin du Cormier • Blessed Joseph Pellé • Blessed Julien Moulé • Blessed Julien-François Morin • Blessed Louis Gastineau • Blessed Marie Lhuilier • Blessed Pierre Thomas • Blessed René-Louis Ambroise The were born in French and they were martyred on several dates in 1794 in Laval, Mayenne, France. They were beatified on 19 June 1955 by Pope Pius XII at Rome, Italy.
Martyrs of Rome – 30 saints: Thirty Christian soldiers executed together in the persecutions of Diocletian. They were martyred in 304 in Rome, Italy.
Martyrs of Tarragona: Augurius, Eulogius, Fructuosus
Saint of the Day – 20 January – Saint Euthymius (c 377–473) Abbot, Hermit, Ascetic, founder of Monasteries, spiritual teacher. Born in c 377 at Melitine, Armenia (modern Malatya, Turkey) and died on 20 January 473 of natural causes. Also known as Euthymius the Great.
Euthymius was educated by Bishop Otreius of Melitene, who afterwards Ordained him Priest and placed him in charge of all the Monasteries in the Diocese of Melitene.
At the age of twenty-nine he secretly set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and remained for some time with a settlement of Monks, about six miles east of Jerusalem. In 411 he withdrew, with St Theoctistus, a fellow-hermit, into the wilderness and lived for a while in a rough cavern on the banks of a torrent. When many disciples gathered around them, they turned the cavern into a Church and built a Monastery which was placed under the Abbacy of St Theoctistus.
A miraculous cure which Euthymius effected for Terebon, the son of the Saracen chief Aspebetus, spread the fame of the holy hermit far beyond the confines of Palestine. Aspebetus was afterwards Ordained Priest and became Bishop over his area and people, in which capacity, he attended the Council of Ephesus in 431.
When the report of this miracle had made the name of Euthymius famous throughout Palestine and large crowds came to visit him in his solitude, he retreated with his disciple Domitian, to the wilderness of Ruba, near the Dead Sea. Here he lived for some time on a remote mountain called Marda whence he afterwards withdrew to the desert of Zipho. When large crowds also followed him to this place, he returned to the neighbourhood of the Monastery of Theoctistus, where he took up his abode in a cavern.
Every Sunday he came to the Monastery to take part in the Divine services. At length, because numerous disciples desired him as their spiritual guide, he founded, in 420, on the right side of the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, a Monastery made up of separate cells or huts where the hermits met in a communal area for meals, similar to that of Pharan. The Church connected with this Monastery was dedicated in 428 by Juvenal, the first Patriarch of Jerusalem.
The remains of St Euthymius’ Monastery
When the Council of Chalcedon (451) condemned the errors of Eutyches, it was greatly due to the authority of Euthymius that most of the Eastern recluses accepted its decrees. The Empress Eudoxia was converted to Catholic unity through his efforts.
The Church celebrates his feastday on 20 January, the day of his death.
Notre-Dame-des-Tables / Our Lady of the Tables, Montpellier, France “Arms of the City of Montpellier” (1198) – 20 January: The Basilica of Our Lady of the Tables is intimately linked to the history of the city of Montpellier. It is located on the outskirts of town at Montpellier, France. The Shrine is said to have taken its name from the many tables of merchants and money changers who stood about the Church in the Middle Ages, for the Church was a stopping point for pilgrims to pray while on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
There once stood, at this site, a very ancient, renowned Church containing a shrine of Mary – the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her Son in her arms, extended over the City, so to say. She stood upon a byzantine pedestal or table and was fondly called the “Arms of the City of Montpellier.” In 1198, there were a series of miracles connected to devotion to the statue and attributed to Our Lady. The feast dates from the ninth Century and is annually celebrated on 20 January. The final destruction of the ancient Church of Our Lady of the Tables, built in 1230 and known as Arms of the City of Montpelier, occurred during the French Revolution and now only the wreck of the Crypt and burial vaults remain.
The original Church
This Statue housed at the Shrine was a famous Statue of black wood – Notre-Dame-des-Tables. In an attempt to preserve it during the Protestant uprisings the icon was hidden for a long time within a silver Statue of the Blessed Virgin, life-size and screened from the public view. It was stolen by the Calvinists and has since disappeared from history. The original Church was destroyed by the revolutionaries but the current Basilica was begun, after the French Revolution had ended and the cult transferred to a Jesuit chapel. The Jesuit Church of Montpellier, Notre Dame des Tables, was begun in 1707. Although the statue has disappeared, the people of Montpellier believe Mary still extends her arms over the children of the city, as mentioned above. Her arms of love wield miraculous power, for she is the Mother of God.
St Ascla of Antinoe Bl Basil Anthony Marie Moreau St Basilides the Senator St Bassus the Senator Bl Benedict Ricasoli Bl Bernardo of Poncelli Bl Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi St Daniel of Cambron Bl Didier of Thérouanne St Eusebius the Senator St Eustochia Calafato St Euthymius (c 377–473) Abbot, Hermit St Eustochia Smeraldo Calafato OSC (1434-1485) Her Life: https://anastpaul.com/2020/01/20/saint-of-the-day-20-january-st-eustochia-smeraldo-calafato-osc-1434-1485/ St Eutyches the Senator St Fechin of Fobhar Bl Francesco Paoli Bl Jeroni Fábregas Camí St Maria Cristina dell’Immacolata Concezione St Molagga of Fermoy St Neophytus of Nicaea St Stephen Min Kuk-ka St Wulfsin
Quote/s of the Day – 19 January – the Memorial of St Wulfstan (c 1008–1095) Bishop of Worcester
This is true love of Christ and His Church. O Lord, send us such men in our day, where have they gone!? Today, those we have, are hiding behind closed doors and locking the Churches from the faithful, withholding the Sacraments or reporting souls for not complying with satanic rules. They are co-operating in evil schemes to subject all peoples to a totalitarian rule, turning the sheep of the Good Shepherd, into goats, who will be cast into the flames!
“Let the man truly possessed by the love of Christ keep His commandments. Who can express the binding power of divine love? Who can find words for the splendour of its beauty? Beyond all description are the heights to which it lifts us. Love unites us to God; it cancels innumerable sins, has no limits to its endurance, bears everything patiently. Love is neither servile nor arrogant. It does not provoke schisms or form cliques but always acts, in harmony with others. By it, all God’s chosen ones, have been sanctified; without it, it is impossible to please Him. Out of love, the Lord took us to Himself because He loved us and it was God’s will, our Lord Jesus Christ gave His life’s blood for us— He gave His body for our body, His soul for our soul.”
St Clement I of Rome (c 35-99) Martyr for Christ, Bishop of Rome, Apostolic Father
“We unfortunates, are destroying the works of Saints, in order to win praise for ourselves. In that happy age, men were incapable of building for display; their way, was to sacrifice themselves to God, under any sort of roof and to encourage their subjects, to follow their example. But we strive to pile up stones while neglecting souls.”
St Wulfstan (c 1008–1095) Bishop of Worcester
“He who is not ANGRY when there is just cause for anger is IMMORAL. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid INJUSTICE WITHOUT ANGER, you are IMMORAL, as well as, UNJUST.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus Doctor Communis
“Better that only a few Catholics should be left, staunch and sincere in their religion, than that they should, remaining many, desire as it were, to be in collusion with the Church’s enemies and in conformity with the open foes of our faith.”
St Peter Canisius (1521-1397) Doctor of the Church
“The declared enemies of God and His Church, heretics and schismatics, must be criticised as much as possible …. It is a work of charity to shout: ‘Here is the wolf!’ when it enters the flock or anywhere else.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of Charity
“The sole reason why society is perishing is because, it has refused to hear the word of the Church, which is the word of God. All plans for salvation will be sterile, if the great word of the Catholic Church, is not restored in all it’s fullness!”
“Woe to me if I do not preach and warn [sinners], for I would be held responsible for their condemnation.”
St Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870)
“A day will come when the civilised world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted. She will be tempted to believe that man has become God. In our churches, Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them. Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, they will ask, ‘Where have they taken Him?’”
One Minute Reflection – 19 January – Tuesday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Hebrews 6:10-20, Psalms 111:1-2, 4-5,9 and 10, Mark 2:23-28 and the Memorial of St Wulfstan (c 1008–1095) Bishop of Worcester
Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” – Mark 2:27
REFLECTION – “‘When God rested on the seventh day from all His works and sanctified that day’, this is not to be understood in any childish way, as if God had toiled at His work, seeing that ‘he spoke and they were made’ by a Word, which was intelligible and eternal, not vocal and temporal. No, the ‘rest of god’ means the rest of those who find their rest in Him, just as the ‘joy of a house’ means the joy of those who rejoice in that house, even if it is not the house itself but, something else which is responsible for the joy. … And so, it is most appropriate that when God is said, on the authority of the prophetic narrative, to have ‘rested,’ what is meant, is the rest of those who find their rest in Him and to whom He gives rest. The prophecy promises this to men also, for it speaks to men and was in fact written for men’s benefit. It promises them, that they also, after the good works which God performs in them and through them, will have eternal rest in Him, if they have already, in some measure, drawn near to Him already in this life, through faith.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Father and Doctor of Grace – City of God – Book XI, Chapter VIII
PRAYER – Almighty Lord and God, shed Your clear light on our hearts so that we may praise You Lord with voice and mind and deed and, since life itself is Your gift, may all we have and are be Yours. Listen dear Lord, we pray, to the intercession of St Wulfstan, whose example to us, is one of total oblation. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all time and for all eternity, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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