Category: SAINT of the DAY

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame de Bolougne-sur-Mer / Our Lady of Bolougne-sur-Mer, France (633) and Memorials of the Saints – 20 February

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Notre-Dame de Bolougne-sur-Mer / Our Lady of Bolougne-sur-Mer, France (633) – 20 February:

In the year 636, a small group of people standing on the seashore witnessed a ship without oars or sails came into the harbour of Boulogne. It finally came to rest in the estuary, seemingly of its own accord. One of the witnesses boarded the boat and confirmed that there was no-one aboard and that the vessel had no rudder, oars or sails.
The ship, however, bore a luminous statue of Our Lady. Taking hold of it to bring it to land, a voice was heard saying, “I choose your City as a place of grace.” The citizens welcomed Mary to their city by erecting a Shrine to her, which reached its height of glory in the 12th Century.

King Henry VIII is reported to have stolen the Statue of Our Lady of Boulogne and taken it to England. After many negotiations, the French managed to get it back. The image had been stolen and hidden many other times but always saved and returned.
World War II almost completely destroyed the Statue. In modern times, four exact replicas of Our Lady of Boulogne toured France for more than seven years, as a symbol of French devotion to Mary. One of these was taken to Walsingham, England in 1948 and carried in procession by the “Cross-bearing pilgrimate” when many other Statues and images of the Virgin visited England.
Bologne was one of the most important Lady shrines of medieval France; among its noted pilgrims have been: Henry III, Edward II, the Black Prince, John of Gaunt.
Marian Feast Day, 10 July: The dedication of a new Church built in honour of Our Lady of Boulogne was consecrated in the year 1469 by Bishop Chartier of Paris. The confraternity of Our Lady of Boulogne was so celebrated, that six French kings have chosen to belong to it.

At the French Revolution, the Statue was burnt to ashes and the Church pulled down. A new Shrine and Statue was made in 1803 and pilgrimages began again. The image represents the Mother with the Child in her arms, standing in a boat, with an angel on either side. At the Marian Congress in Bolougne in 1938, a custom began to take replicas of this Statue “in turn” in France and abroad. A branch of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Compassion at Bolougne has been established for the reconciliation of the Church of England.
The Sanctuary Church at Bolougne was badly damaged during World War II and Mary’s image smashed but the return, the “Great Return” of one of the copies of the Statue which had been sheltered at Lourdes, took place in 1943 and the occasion will long be remembered by lovers of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The shrine of Our Lady of Boulogne-sur-Mer, built in 1866.

Most remarkable about the Grand Return was the unprecedented avalanche of graces, especially of conversions and penance. Thousands upon thousands of atheists, communists, freemasons and fallen-away Catholics converted on the spot when they saw Our Lady enter their village. One bishop described the effect on the faithful:

“The passing of Our Lady in my Diocese is the most extraordinary contemporary religious event of our times and the most significant. Crowds of people rose up, motivated and enthusiastic. In fact, the confessionals and communion rails were besieged during the holy vigils, while the recitation of the mysteries of the Rosary kept the faithful praying in the Churches. In some Parishes, there were tremendous conversions like never seen before on the missions.”

Young men of the French Boy Scouts, barefoot in the spirit of penance, carry Our Lady of the Grand Return in February 1946.

St Amata of Assisi OSC (Died c 1250)
St Bolcan of Derken
St Colgan
St Eleutherius of Tournai (c 456-532) Bishop and Martyr
St Eucherius of Orleans OSB (c 687-743)
About St Eucherius:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/20/saint-of-the-day-20-february-saint-eucherius-of-orleans-c-687-743/
St Falco of Maastricht
St Francisco Marto (1908-1919)
St Jacinta Marto (1910-1920)
Today (2021) is the Fifth Anniversary of their Canonisation: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/20/saints-of-the-day-20-february-saints-francisco-1908-1919-and-jacinta-marta-1910-1920
St Leo of Catania
St Nemesius of Cyprus
St Pothamius of Cyprus
St Serapion of Alexandria
St Silvanus of Emesa
Blessed Stanislawa/Julia Rodzinska OP (1899-1945) Martyr
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/20/saint-of-the-day-20-february-blessed-julia-rodzinska-op-1899-1945-martyr/
St Valerius of Courserans
St Wulfric of Haselbury
St Zenobius of Antioch

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on MERIT, QUOTES on SIN, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 February – “Then they will fast” – Matthew 9:15

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One Minute Reflection – 19 February – Friday after Ash Wednesday, Readings: Isaiah 58:1-9, Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 18-19, Matthew 9:14-15 and the Memorial of Blessed Alvarez of Cordova OP (c 1350–c 1430)

“Then they will fast” – Matthew 9:15

REFLECTION – “Although it is true, that the washing of regeneration is what chiefly makes “people new” (cf. Eph 4,24 – Col 3,10) nevertheless, because there is still for all of us, a daily renewal against the rust of mortality and in the path of progress, there is no-one, who ought not always to be better. In general, we still have to struggle, so that in the Day of Redemption, no-one may be found in sins of long standing.

What, therefore, dearly beloved, any Christian ought, at all times to do, should now be pursued more carefully and more devotedly, to fulfil the apostolic institution of forty days of fast, not only by scant food but especially by fasting from sins…To these reasonable and holy fasts, nothing is joined more carefully, than the works of almsgiving, which under the one name of mercy, includes many praiseworthy acts of devotion, so that the spirits of all the faithful can be equal in merit, even with unequal means.” – St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father and Doctor – 6th Sermon for Lent, 1-2; SC 49

PRAYER – Lord God, bestow a full measure of Your grace upon us, who seek to make our lenten journey fruitful. Confirm us in Your service and help us to bear witness to You in the society in which we live by our lives, our fasting and prayer, our gift of self. Listen kindly we pray, to the prayers of Bl Alvarez who so avidly followed in the footsteps of our Saviour, Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name, with the Holy Spirit, we pray, one God forever, amen.

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 19 February – Blessed Alvarez of Cordova OP (c 1350–c 1430) Priest

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 19 February – Blessed Alvarez of Cordova OP (c 1350–c 1430) Priest of the Order of Preachers, Confessor, Ascetic, Royal Advisor and Tutor, founder of many Churches and Convents, miracle-worker – born in c 1350 in either Lisbon, Portugal or Cordova, Spain (sources vary) and died in c1430 at Escalaceli near Cordova, Spain of natural causes, aged around 80 and is buried there. By his preaching and contemplation of the Lord’s Passion he spread the practice of the Way of the Cross, throughout the West.

Blessed Alvarez is claimed by both Spain and Portugal. He received the habit in the Convent of Saint Paul in Cordova in 1368 and had been preaching there for some time in Castile and Andalusia, when Saint Vincent Ferrer began preaching in Catalonia. Having gone to Italy and the Holy Land on a pilgrimage, Alvarez returned to Castile and preached the crusade against the infidels. He was spiritual advisor to the Queen-mother of Spain, Catherine daughter of John of Gaunt and tutor to her son who would become King John II. Alvarez had the work of preparing the people spiritually, for the desperate effort to banish the Moors from Spain. He also opposed the Avignon Pope Peter de Luna nd encouraged all to resist him.

Blessed Alvarez is remembered and honoured as a builder of Churches and Convents, an activity which was symbolic of the work he did in the souls of those among whom he preached. He founded, in one place, a Convent to shelter a famous image of Our Lady, which had been discovered in a miraculous manner. Near Cordova he built the famous Convent of Scala Coeli, a haven of regular observance. It had great influence for many years. His building enterprises were often aided by the angels, who, during the night, carried wood and stones to spots convenient for the workmen.

The austerities of Alvarez were all the more remarkable in that they were not performed by a hermit but by a man of action. He spent the night in prayer, as Saint Dominic had done; he wore a hairshirt and a penitential chain and he begged alms in the streets of Cordova, for the building of his churches, despite the fact, that he had great favour at court and could have obtained all the money he needed from the Queen. He had a deep devotion to the Passion and had scenes of the Lord’s sufferings made into small oratories in the garden of Scala Coeli.

On one occasion, when there was no food for the community but one head of lettuce, left from the night before, Blessed Alvarez called the community together in the refectory, said the customary prayers and sent the porter to the gate. There, the astonished brother found a stranger, leading a mule; the mule was loaded with bread, fish, wine and all things needed for a good meal. The porter turned to thank the benefactor and found that he had disappeared.

At another time, Blessed Alvarez was overcome with pity, at the sight of a dying man who lay untended in the street. Wrapping the man in his mantle, he started home with the sufferer and one of the brothers asked what he was carrying. “A poor sick man,” replied Alvarez. But when they opened the mantle, there was only a large Crucifix in his arms. This Crucifix is still preserved at Scala Coeli.

Blessed Alvarez died and was buried at Scala Coeli. An attempt wads made later to remove the relics to Cordova, but it could not be done because violent storms began each time the journey was resumed and stopped when the body was returned to its original resting place.

Blessed Alvarez founded Escalaceli (Ladder of Heaven), a Dominican house of strict observance in the mountains around Cordova. It became a well known centre of piety and learning. Alvarez spent his days there preaching, teaching, begging alms in the streets and spending his nights in prayer. In the gardens of the house, he set up a series of oratories with images of the Holy Lands and Passion, similar to modern Stations of the Cross.

A bell in the Chapel of Blessed Alvarez, in the Convent of Cordova, rings of itself when anyone in the Convent, or of special note in the Order, is about to die (Benedictines, Dorcy).

Alvarez was Beatified on 22 September 1741 At St Peter’s by Pope Benedict XIV.

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, franciscan OFM, JESUIT SJ, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre Dame-de-Bonne Nouvelle / Our Lady of Good Tidings, Lempdes, France (1500’s) and Memorials of the Saints – 19 February

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Notre Dame-de-Bonne Nouvelle / Our Lady of Good Tidings, Lempdes, France (1500’s) – 18 February:

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of Good Tidings, near Rouen, where a great number of people are seen, particularly on Saturdays.”

It was on 23 December 1563, when the Bishop of Lucon, Jean-Baptiste Tiercelin, consecrated the Church under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin, Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle. This first Chapel came into the world in the midst of religious convulsions that were then taking place in Switzerland, Germany and England, by the leaders of the ‘Reformation’ and must necessarily be seen, as an action bravely going against the tide. The religious wars that began raging in France ten years after its erection, began to be another reason for some concern for faithful Catholics but the pilgrimages to the Church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle continued undisturbed. From time immemorial, there had been venerated at Notre Dame a Statue of the Blessed Virgin, holding in her arm the Infant Jesus. Many went to her in procession, especially children, who came each year to ask Mary for perseverance after their first Communion.
The revolutionary turmoil in France, which was to take the throne and the altar, could not leave behind the parish of Our Lady of Good Tidings. In 1790 the National Assembly decreed a new law in which the Church of Our Lady of Good Tidings was dissolved. As the Priest, Fr M Fabre, had the courage to refuse the oath of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, he was thrown into the street.
A short time later, on 22 May 1791, the Abbot Fourquet de Damalis, convened in the Church an assembly of the faithful and there were very many who responded. This occurred under the noses of twelve national guardsmen and so the Police Commissioner, a man named Cafin, responded there quickly. He asked the Abbot why there was such a meeting and the Abbot answered him, that he was explaining to the faithful the decrees of the National Assembly for the public good. The Police Commissioner accepted the explanation and the meeting, having been perfectly peaceful, the police commissioner was obliged to agree to the monthly meetings and record it in his minutes.
One might think that the worship would be suspended at Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle during the Terror but we have evidence to the contrary. As at Chartres, a great number of the faithful remained active and opposed the removal of the sacred ornaments of the Church and defended their Priests and eager to fulfil their religious duties, they were not to be intimidated by the fear of imprisonment and even death. From the registry of marriages and baptisms, including a few that date back to 1793, we know that there were religious ceremonies such as baptisms and weddings held there secretly, sometimes in an oratory, sometimes in the Church.
In the year 1818, a severe epidemic was ravaging the country. The faithful vowed, with the agreement of their Bishop, to go in procession to Our Lady of Good Tidings and celebrate in perpetuity the feast of the Visitation, which was the feast of the Chapel. The procession took place and God quickly put an end to the scourge of the plague.
At about that time, a young boy began making regular visits to the Church of Our Lady of Good Tidings, who was the patroness of the village. He was a poor boy materially, for Lempdes was one of the poorer villages in France and he had been born into a peasant family, that was struggling to eke out a living in the wreck of post-revolutionary France. He kept the faith and when he grew up, Jean Baptiste Lamy was Ordained a Priest, eventually becoming the first Archbishop of Sana Fe, New Mexico.

Blessed Alvarez of Cordova OP (c 1350–c 1430) Priest
St Auxibius
St Baoithin
St Barbatus of Benevento (c 610-682)
About St Barbatus:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/19/saint-of-the-day-19-february-st-barbatus-of-benevento-c-610-682-apostle-of-the-south/
St Beatus
St Belina
St Boniface of Lausanne
St Conon of Alexandria
St Conrad of Piacenza TOSF (c 1290-1351)
The Life of St Conrad:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/19/saint-of-the-day-19-february-st-conrad-of-piacenza-tosf-c-1290-1351/

Bl Elizabeth of Mantua
St Gabinus
St George of Lodeve

Blessed John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)
His life:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/19/saint-of-the-day-19-february-blessed-john-sullivan-s-j-1861-1933/

Bl Józef Zaplata
St Lucia Yi Zhenmei
St Mansuetus of Milan
St Odran
St Proclus of Bisignano
St Quodvultdeus
St Valerius of Antibes
St Zambdas of Jerusalem

Posted in "Follow Me", GOD is LOVE, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, LENT 2021, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on TRUTH, SACRED HEART QUOTES, SACRED HEART REFLECTIONS, SAINT of the DAY, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The SIGN of the CROSS

One Minute Reflection – 18 February – ‘The world, mad, doesn’t listen.’ – Luke 9:22-25

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One Minute Reflection – 18 February – Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Readings Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4, and 6, Luke 9:22-25 and the Memorial of St Theotinius (1082-1162) The First Saint of Portugal

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” – Luke 9:23

REFLECTION – “What joy to live in the Cross of Christ!
Who could complain of suffering?
Only the insensate man who does not adore the Passion of Christ, the Cross of Christ, the Heart of Christ, can in his own griefs, give way to despair… How good it is to live united with the Cross of Christ.
Christ Jesus… teach me that truth, which consists in rejoicing in scorn, injury, degradation; teach me to suffer with that humble, silent joy of the saints; teach me to be gentle towards those who don’t love me or who despise me; teach me that truth, which from the mound of Calvary You reveal to the whole world.
But I know: a very gentle voice within me explains it all; I feel something in me which comes from You and which I don’t know how to put into words; so much mystery is revealed that man cannot apprehend it.
I, Lord, in my way, do understand it.
It is love.
In that is everything.
I know it, Lord, nothing more is needed, nothing more, it is love!
Who shall describe the love of Christ?
Let men, creatures and all things, keep silent, so that we may hear in the stillness, the whisperings of love, meek, patient, immense, infinite, which from the Cross, Jesus offers us with His arms open.
The world, mad, doesn’t listen.” – St Raphael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938) a Spanish Trappist Monk – Spiritual writings 07/04/1938

PRAYER – God of mercy, teach us to live as You have ordained. Help us to follow Your commandments with courage and steadfast devotion. Let our Saviour be our Master, help us to learn from Him, the ways of prayer in silence, the ways of love. Fill us with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that we may learn. Grant blessed Trinity, that by the prayers of St Theotonius, we may grow in holiness. Through Jesus our Lord, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 18 February – Saint Theotinius OSC (1082-1162)

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Saint of the Day – 18 February – Saint Theotinius OSC (1082-1162) Priest of the Canons Regular, Reformer of religious life in Portugal, Royal Counsellor, Apostle of the poor, Founder of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, now known as “The Crosiers,” abbreviation OSC..Theotinius had a great devotion to the Passion, the Blessed Virgin and to Holy Souls in Purgatory and instituted a regular Friday devotion. He is the first Portuguese Saint. Born in 1086 at Gonfeo, Spain and died in 1162 of natural causes. Patronages – the Cities of Viseu and Valença, Portugal.

Born in 1082 into a wealthy and pious family in northern Portugal. His parents, Oveco and Eugenia were both wealthy and pious. He was called “Theotonius,” a Greek name meaning ‘godly.’ His uncle Dom Crescónio, Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery near Tuy, was his first teacher. When Dom Crescónio became Bishop of Coimbra in 1092, he brought the ten-year-old Theotonius with him and entrusted his further education to the care of a young seminarian, Tello.

After the death of Bishop Crescónio in 1098, Theotonius went to Viseu, where his Uncle named Teodorico was Prior of the Cathedral Chapter of Santa Maria. During his time of preparation for the priesthood, Theotonius progressed through the minor ecclesiastic orders with great diligence and piety. The first of these was that of porter, with the responsibility to open the Church and Sacristy and ring the bell. After serving a period of time as a Lector, he became an Exorcist. One of the chief duties of Exorcists was to take part in the Baptismal Exorcism of Catechumens. Completing his term as an Acolyte, Theotonius was ordained a Sub-deacon. Holy Orders were conferred upon him sometime before the year 1109, by the Bishop of Coimbra. The young Priest was appointed a Canon of the Cathedral Chapter of Viseu – though not without reluctance – which was a college of clerics who served as Advisors to the Bishop.

The Countess Teresa of Portugal (referred to by Pope Paschal II in 1116 as “Queen,” a title that remained from that time onwards) and her husband, Henry of Burgundy, with the consent of the clergy and at the urging of the people, often sought to appoint Theotonius as Bishop of Coimbra but he always refused.

In an effort to dissuade the Queen from her intentions, Theotonius resigned his office as Prior of the Cathedral Chapter and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After he returned to Portugal, he resumed his work as a Priest and Chapter member in Viseu but refused to take up again the office of Prior.

Theotonius was a trusted advisor of Portugal’s first King, Afonso Henriques (ruled 1139-85). The King attributed his success at the Battle of Ourique to the prayers of Theotonius, who was thus able to persuade the King to release Mozarabic Christians captured during forays into land held by the Moors.

Although his counsel was sought by Afonso Henriques, Theotonius did not hesitate to reprove the King or Queen if he thought them in the wrong. Theotonius was fearless in rebuking sinful behaviour, in public or in private. In one instance, the now widowed Queen was attending Holy Mass celebrated by Theotonius. She was accompanied by the Galician nobleman Fernando Pérez de Traba and the nature of their scandalous relationship had become well-known. Theotonius’ sermon, though not naming them, was clearly directed at their conduct.

On another occasion, Theotonius was about to begin Holy Mass when the Queen had a message sent asking him to say the Mass quickly. He replied simply that there was another Queen in heaven, far more noble, for whom he ought to say the Mass with the greatest reverence and devotion. If the Queen did not wish to stay, she was free to leave but he would not rush – Theotonius was ever insistent on the exact and reverent recitation of holy prayers.

Theotonius left his Parish with a large number of pilgrims and set out once more to Jerusalem. His experience in the Holy Land resulted in both an increased devotion to the Passion and an intention to found a religious order following the Augustinian Rule. Theotonius helped to found the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross in Coimbra. Archdeacon Tello (his former tutor), purchased the site of the Monastery. The construction gained the backing of the Infante and Bernardo, Bishop of Coimbra. Work began on the Monastery of the Holy Cross and of the Blessed Mary Mother of God, on 28 June 1131. On 22 February 1132, the Monastery was completed and the community took the habit and rule of Saint Augustine. It opened with 72 members, with Theotonius as Prior.

Theotonius’s priestly life was distinguished by a great love for the poor and for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for whom he offered Mass every Friday. The Mass was followed by a procession to the cemetery and large sums were donated to the Priest but Theotonius distributed the money to the poor.

Theotonius retired from his pastoral office of Prior, after 30 years of service. He then became a Hermit in solitude. He kept with him through his old age a shepherd’s staff which St Bernard, the first Abbot of Clairvaux, had sent to him as a present when he heard of his sanctity. On Saturday, 18 February 1162, Theotonius died at the age of 80. The entire city of Coimbra showed their admiration and grief for him. King Afonso I of Portugal, Queen Teresa’s son and the first King of Portugal, who was a good friend of Theotonius’ was taken by such grief, that he said of him, “His soul will be in Heaven before his body is in the tomb.”

During his life, St Theotonius was known for his humility and piety. His cultus was approved and he was Canonised by Pope Benedict XIV. His feast day is 18 February. Portugal issued postal stamps with the image of St. Theotonius that circulated from July 1958 to October 1961.

The Royal Confraternity of Saint Theotonius, founded on 2 November 2000, under the Royal protection of Dom Miguel de Bragança, Duke of Viseu, Infante of Portugal, is a secular organisation of the faithful with common ends, a group of men willingly desiring to defend the origins and Christian values, maintain and honour the spirit of and remember and promote, devotion to Saint Theotonius.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame de Laon / Our Lady of Laon, Rheims, France (500) and Memorials of the Saints – 18 February

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Notre-Dame de Laon / Our Lady of Laon, Rheims, France (500), founded by St Remigius – 18 February:

Our Lady with St Gabriel at the Annunciation on the North-west Entrance

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “The Shrine or Chapel of Our Lady of Laon was erected into a Cathedral and founded by Saint Remigius, Archbishop of Rheims, about the year 500, where he consecrated as his first Bishop Saint Geneband, his nephew. Miracles were wrought there and, among others, we read that in the year 1395, there was seen on the steeple, the picture of a Crucifix, the wounds of which bled.”
The present Cathedral located in Laon, Picardy, France, the Laon Cathedral, or Notre-Dame de Laon, was begun in about 1155 and completed in 1235. It was built on the foundation of an earlier Cathedral that was consecrated in the year 800 but burned to the ground in the year 1111 during an uprising, and was, therefore, not the same Cathedral founded by Saint Remigius.
The people of Laon took pride in their Cathedral and tried to make it rival the great shrine of Chartres. They did not succeed but the result is the sum of an emotion, clear and strong as love and much stronger than logic and clearer; the charm of the Laon cathedral lies in its unstable balance; which without doubt Our Lady accepted in love as it was meant by her devoted children. It was one of the first Cathedrals constructed in the new Gothic style.

One other unusual aspect of the Cathedral, is that there are sixteen carved bullocks carved in stone like gargoyles. There is a tradition that once when some of the stone was being hauled up the slope for use in the construction of the Church, at one point, the animals hauling the wagon could go no further under the strain of the load. A huge ox appeared at that moment and assisted them in moving the load up into position but then disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Much of the stained-glass is original and, as at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, there is a beautiful rose window dating from the 13th century. It depicts the Blessed Virgin seated on a throne with her Divine Child between Saint John the Baptist and the prophet Isaiah. The interior of the Cathedral was finished with white stone, it is considerably brighter than Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

St Esuperia of Vercelli
St Ethelina
St Flavian (Died 449) Archbishop Martyr
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/18/saint-of-the-day-18-february-st-flavian-of-constantinople-died-449-martyr/

St Francis Regis Clet CM (1748-1820) Priest, Martyr
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/18/saint-of-the-day-18-february-saint-francis-regis-clet-cm-1748-1820-priest-and-martyr/

Blessed John of Fiesole/Fra Angelico OP – The Angelic Friar Giovanni (1387-1455)
The Artist:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/saint-of-the-day-18-february-blessed-john-of-fiesole-fra-angelico-o-p-1387-1455/

St Gertrude Caterina Comensoli
St Helladius of Toledo
St Ioannes Chen Xianheng
St Ioannes Zhang Tianshen
St Jean-François-Régis Clet
St Jean-Pierre Néel
Bl Jerzy Kaszyra
Bl John Pibush – one of the Martyrs of Douai
St Leo of Patera
St Martinus Wu Xuesheng
Bl Matthew Malaventino
St Paregorius of Patara
St Sadoth of Seleucia
St Simeon
St Tarasius of Constantinople
St Theotonius (1082-1162) Priest
Bl William Harrington
—
Martyrs of North Africa – 7 saints: Group of Christians who were martyred together, date unknown. We know nothing else but seven of their names – Classicus, Fructulus, Lucius, Maximus, Rutulus, Secundinus and Silvanus.
They were born and martyred in North Africa.

Martyrs of Rome – 5 saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know nothing else but their names – Alexander, Claudius, Cutias, Maximus and Praepedigna. They were martyred in 295 in Rome, Italy.

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2021, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 17 February – ‘Going to your room …’ St Augustine

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One Minute Reflection – 17 February – Ash Wednesday, Readings Joel 2:12-18, Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17, 2 Corinthians 5:20, 6:2, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 and the Memorial of The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order OSM – Formation on 15 August 1233.

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” – Matthew 6:6

REFLECTION – “Going to your room, is returning to your heart. Blest are they who rejoice at returning to their heart and who find nothing bad there…

They are greatly to be pitied who, returning home, have to fear they will be chased away because of bitter fights with their family. But how much unhappier are they, who do not dare return to their own conscience, for fear of being chased away by remorse for their sins. If you want to return to your heart with pleasure, purify it. “Blest are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” (Mt 5,8) Remove from your heart the stains of covetousness, the spots of miserliness, the ulcer of superstition, remove the sacrilege, the evil thoughts, the hatred. I’m not only speaking of those things against your friends but even of those against your enemies. Remove them all, then return to your heart and you will be happy.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Father & Doctor of the Church – 2nd Discourse on Psalm 33, <8; PL 36,312

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, just as the Seven Holy Founders, were chosen to be messengers of Your love and forgiveness, grant we pray, that by their prayers, we too may bcome bearers of Your gracious love. Holy Father, You have given Yourself to us in the Face of Your Divine Son.   You have given Him to us to be our food and our portion.   You have consoled us with His presence on the Altar of Offering and washed us with His blood, day by day, You have sacrificed Him to save us.  We pray for the assistance of our holy Mother, during our journey to the eternal glory of the kingdom. Through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 17 February – Saint Fintan of Clonenagh (c 524 – 603) “Father of the Irish Monks.”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 17 February – Saint Fintan of Clonenagh (c 524 – 603) Abbot, disciple of St Columba of Iona (521-597), Hermit in Clonenagh, Leix, Ireland. When disciples gathered around his hermitage he became their Abbot. A miracle-worker, Fintan was granted the gifts of prophecy and miracles. He also performed very austere penances. Known as the “Father of the Irish Monks.” Patronage – County Laois.

Saint Fintan was born in Leinster about 52, the son of Christians. He received his religious formation in Terryglass, Co Tipperary under the Abbot Columba and was deeply influenced by his penitential practices and the severity of the Rule.
Fintan spent his early years in Carlow before making his own foundation in Clonenagh, Co Laois. His disciples included St Colmán of Oughaval, St Comgall of Bangor, and St Aengus the Culdee. He has been compared by the Irish annalists to St Benedict and is styled “Father of the Irish Monks.”
Though he is sometimes confused with Saint Fintán or Munnu, Abbot of Taghmon, they are distinct.

Fintan gave his Monks very strict rules not to consume any animal products. The community did not have even one cow and so they had neither milk nor butter. The Monks complained they couldn’t do hard work on so meagre a diet. A deputation of local clergy headed by Canice of Aghaboe came to urge him to improve it. He agreed for his Monks but he elected to keep to the strict diet himself. Fintan was reported to have lived on only “bread of woody barley and clayey water of clay.”

An ancient biography of St Fintan is extant, as well as that of his brother St Finlugh and it was published by Fr Colgan, the great hagiographer. It is thought that they were brought up in Co Limerick but little is known of their early lives. There are different accounts of their father, some naming him Pippan, others calling him Diman, who was a descendant of an Ulster King. Their mother was called, Aliuna (or Ailgend, daughter of Lenin) and was also of noble birth.

There is an account of an irreligious King who ordered his men to bar St Fintan from visiting him. However, a mighty tempest arose immediately and mature crops blazed with fire, thus blinding the men, who, thereafter, asked forgiveness of the saint. St Fintan blessed some water and after applying it to their eyes, their sight was restored and they bound themselves and their people to his service, including that King. This is one of several instances in the Lives of the Irish Saints, whereby individuals, families and even whole clans bound themselves and their posterity, to the service and support of a particular Saint. These services are not always defined precisely but would appear to include giving tribute in money or kind, for building and maintenance of Churches, Monasteries and Schools.

St Fintan is said to have been trained under St Comgal at Bangor, Co Down. While there, he is credited with many miracles: e.g. he miraculously gained a copy of the Gospels, which were extremely valuable in those days, when attacking pirates were overcome as a sudden storm uprooted a large tree and destroyed their ships with it. St Fintan recovered the Gospels from the pirates who had stolen them elsewhere.

During Springtime a leper asked for bread but the Monastery did not have any flour. St Fintan caused the corn seed to grow fully immediately, so that the bread could be made. He also exorcised demons. He caused a mill to grind for three days without the use of the usual water power.

St Fintan left Bangor and attempted to settle near a hill called Cabhair but an angel appeared to him and instructed him otherwise. However, in order that St Fintan should be honoured in that place, a bell miraculously came there through the air. It was called Dubh-labhar, meaning Black-toller and it and St Fintan, were venerated there, ever since.

St Fintan was known for his extraordinary sanctity. Peace, compassion and piety were enthroned in his heart. He maintained a heavenly serenity and equanimity of temper. He ministered to his guests and his brethren. He had no guile, no condemnation for anyone and was never angry or disturbed, he returned no evil for evil and he had no grief in any calamity.

He flourished in the second half of the 6th century and that most of his missionary work was confined to the Southern half of the country. He founded his Monastery and School at Dunbleisque, now Doon, Co Limerick, which the Lord had designated for his habitation. There is a Holy Well to his memory, where pilgrims still arrive and where miracles are still attested to but the exact site of his Monastery in nowadays uncertain.

Knowing his end awas pproaching, St Fintan assembled his Monks and named Fintan Maeldubh as his successor. He died on 17 February 603.

St Fintan’s Tree, Clonenagh – This tree, an acer pseudoplatanus, was planted in the late 18th or early 19th century at the site of the Early Christian monastic site of Clonenagh. The tree is dedicated to St Fintan and it became custom to insert coins into the tree, from which the tree suffered and was believed to be dead until the tree started to recover with some new shoots.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

ASH WEDNESDAY +2021, Our Lady of Constantinople, Bari, Turkey (566) and Memorials of the Saints – 17 February

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ASH WEDNESDAY +2021

Our Lady of Constantinople, Bari, Turkey (566) – 17 February:

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of Constantinople, formerly the synagogue of the Jews, which was converted into a Church of the Blessed Virgin by the Emperor Justin the Younger, in the year 566.”
The remains of the great Byzantine Church of Sainte-Marie-du-Rosaire, called Notre-Dame de Constantinople, which is encumbered by later wild constructions and debris of all kinds, are scarcely representative of what this important sanctuary had once been.
In the 1930’s, Paul Schatzmann, a Swiss archaeologist, had made important discoveries here, supplemented by another archaeologist, Stephan Westphalen, a German, in the 1990’s. We do not know much about the Byzantine past of the building, we only know for certain, that the Church was transferred to the Dominicans in 1475 and it took the name of Our Lady of Constantinople and later, that of Saint Mary of the Rosary.
In 1640 Our Lady of Constantinople was converted into a mosque in the name of Kemankes, then Odalar camii. Much of the substructure had been rebuilt before the fire of 1919, which led to its eventual abandonment.
Despite the painstaking searches conducted by the two archaeologists, it is not easy to have a very clear idea of the scale of the building and its dependencies. However, the proximity of the mosque Kasim Aga, which also has Byzantine structures and the Aetius (Ipek Bodrumu) suggest that the Church belonged to a large monastery, whose name remains unknown.
From the point of view of the two archaeologists, the foundations of the Church date from the seventh century but the final form of the Church was given after the fire of 1203. After the reconstruction and expansion of the Church in the thirteenth century, the foundations of the old Church were used as a mausoleum, while two slightly asymmetrical chapels were added in the apse. Part of the old Church was filled to construct the new Church with the Greek cross plan. Nothing suggests that the substructure of the second building was originally a funerary chapel, as its primary function was to provide a basis for a monumental Church. It appears the sub-structure was gradually used for tombs of the faithful.
In the upper part, there are paintings of the life of the Blessed Virgin dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Fragments of frescoes have been discovered on several walls. In the small central chamber of the crypt, a crowned Virgin surrounded by angels suggests that a Marian relic may have once been enshrined here.

__
Seven Founders of Servants of Mary (Optional Memorial)
• St Alexis Falconieri (c (1200–1310) One of the Seven Founders of the Servites
• St Bartholomew degli Amidei
• St Benedict dell’Antella
• St Buonfiglio Monaldi
• St Gherardino Sostegni
• St Hugh dei Lippi-Uguccioni
• St John Buonagiunta Monetti

About these holy men:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/17/saints-of-the-day-17-february-the-seven-holy-founders-of-the-servite-order-osm-formation-on-15-august-1233/

St Alexis Falconieri – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS (13th century –1310)
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/17/saint-of-the-day-17-february-saint-alexis-falconieri-13th-century-1310/
St Antoni Leszczewicz
St Bartholomew degli Amidei – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Benedict dell’Antella – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Benedict of Cagliari
St Buonfiglio Monaldi – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Bonosus of Trier
Bl Constabilis of Cava
St Donatus the Martyr
Bl Elisabetta Sanna
St Evermod of Ratzeburg
St Faustinus the Martyr
St Finan of Iona
St Fintan of Clonenagh (c 524 – 603) Abbot, “Father of the Irish Monks”
St Flavian of Constantinople
St Fortchern of Trim
St Gherardino Sostegni – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Guevrock
St Habet-Deus
St Hugh dei Lippi-Uguccioni – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St John Buonagiunta Monetti – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Julian of Caesarea
St Loman of Trim
Blessed Luke Belludi (c 1200- c 1285)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/17/saint-of-the-day-17-february-blessed-luke-belludi-ofm-c-1200-c-1285/
St Lupiano
Bl Martí Tarrés Puigpelat
St Mesrop the Teacher
St Petrus Yu Chong-nyul
St Polychronius of Babylon
St Romulus the Martyr
St Secundian the Martyr
St Silvinus of Auchy
St Theodulus of Caesarea
Bl William Richardson

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY GHOST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 16 February – “Do you not yet understand or comprehend?” – Mark 8:17

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 16 February – Readings: Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10, Psalms 29:1 and 2, 3-4, 3 and 9-10, Mark 8:14-21 and the Memorial of Blessed Philippa Mareri OSC (c 1195-1236)

“Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened?” – Mark 8:17

REFLECTION – “I know, O Lord God Almighty, that I owe You, as the chief duty of my life, the devotion of all my words and thoughts, to Yourself… In our want we shall pray for the things we need. We shall bring an untiring energy to the study of Your prophets and apostles and we shall knock for entrance at every gate of hidden knowledge.
But it is Yours to answer the prayer, to grant the thing we seek, to open the door on which we beat (Lk 11,9). Our minds are born with dull and clouded vision, our feeble intellect is penned within the barriers of an impassable ignorance concerning Your mysteries.
But the study of Your revelation, elevates our soul to the comprehension of sacred truth and submission to the faith, is the path to a certainty beyond the reach of unassisted reason. And, therefore, we look to Your support for the first trembling steps of this undertaking, to Your aid, that it may gain strength and prosper. We look to You, to give us the fellowship of that Spirit who guided the prophets and apostles, that we may take their words in the sense in which they spoke and assign its right shade of meaning, to every utterance… Grant us, therefore, precision of language, soundness of argument, grace of style, loyalty to truth. Enable us to utter the things that we believe.” – St Hilary (315-368) Bishop of Poitiers, Father and Doctor of the Church – The Trinity, I, 37-38

PRAYER – God of mercy, teach us to live as You have ordained. Help us to follow Your commandments with courage and steadfast devotion. Let our Saviour, true Light of the world, be our master. Fill us with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that we grow in holiness. Grant blessed Trinity, that by the prayers of Bl Philippa Mareri, we may strive towards our heavenly home. Through Jesus our Lord, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen

Posted in franciscan OFM, INCORRUPTIBLES

Saint of the Day – 16 February – Blessed Philippa Mareri OSC (c 1195-1236)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 16 February – Blessed Philippa Mareri OSC (c 1195-1236) Religious Nun of the Poor Clares, foundress of the monastery of Franciscan Sisters of Saint Philippa Mareri of the Poor Clares, Penitent and disciple of the teachings of St Francis of Assisi. Born in c 1195 in Mareri, Rieti, Italy and died on 16 February 1236 in Borgo San Pietro, Rieti, Italy of natural causes aged 41. Also known as Filippa Mareria. Patronage – Sulmona, Italy. Her heart is incorrupt.

Blessed Philippa Mareri, who belonged to the illustrious family of the Mareri, saw the light of day at the castle of her parents near Rieti in Italy, toward the close of the twelfth century. At a very early age she was the favourite of all who knew her, not only because of her natural gifts but principally because of her steady advancement in perfection. As a young woman she lived quietly at home, devoted to prayer and the cultivation of her high mental endowments. She took particular pleasure in reading the Holy Scriptures and studying the Latin language, in which she became very proficient.

About this time, St Francis often visited the valley of Rieti, where he established several convents and sometimes called at the home of the devout Mareri. His forceful admonitions, filled with holy simplicity and unction and his severe life of penance, made a deep impression on Philippa.

It was not long before Blessed Philippa Mareri resolved to imitate our holy Father, foregoing wealth and consecrating herself entirely to God. She rejected a proposal to marry with the words:

“I already have a spouse, the noblest and the greatest, Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Neither the remonstrances of her parents, nor the ridicule of her brother Thomas, had any effect in changing her mind. She cut off her hair, donned a very coarse garmen, and with several companions withdrew to a cave in the rocks of a nearby mountain.

Her austere life of penance and intimate union with God changed the resentment and mockery of her family into admiration. Thomas visited the mountain recess to ask Philippa’s forgiveness and placed at her disposal, the Church of St Peter and an adjacent convent once occupied by the Benedictines, over which he was the patron. Full of joy, the young community took up its abode there, accepting the place as a gift from heaven. They lived according to the rule of St Clare under the direction of Blessed Roger of Todi, to whom St Francis had entrusted the care of their souls.

The new foundation flourished remarkably and many of the noblest young women joined their ranks. Philippa’s excellent example and loving manner were particularly instrumental in bringing about these results. Although she filled the capacity of Superior, she was the humblest member of the community. She had no equal in zeal for prayer and mortification, and, like St Francis and Blessed Roger, she held poverty in the highest esteem. Blessed Philippa Mareri exhorted her sisters to have no care for the morrow and more than once, in times of need, her trust in God was signally rewarded with miraculous assistance.

Blessed Philippa Mareri had lived and laboured and made sacrifices for God for many a year, when it was revealed to her that the time of her death was at hand. She was seized with a fatal illness. Gathering her sisters around her deathbed, she bade them farewell and exhorted them to persevere in their efforts toward perfection and to remain united in sisterly love. Having received the last sacraments at the hands of Blessed Roger, she addressed to her sisters the words of the Apostle:

“The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

She then expired quietly and went home, on 16 February 1236.

Striking miracles occurred on the very day of her burial and many more have occurred since then throughout the years. Shortly after her death Pope Innocent IV approved the veneration paid to her and on 30 April 1806 by Pope Pius VII (cultus confirmation; decree of heroic virtues) -renewed the approbation. Blessed Philippa’s incorrupt heart is preserved today in a silver reliquary, while her other remains are preserved in the Monastery of Borgo San Pietro in the Valle del Salto. Today, nearly eight centuries after her death, the devotion to the Saint and the Pilgrimage Site has kept on growing, not only in her homeland but also in many other countries and other continents.

The Sanctuary and Statue of Blessed Philippa

The Grotta di Santa Philippa is the place where the noble woman, belonging to the important Mareri family, took refuge, when she abandoned luxury and comfort to follow her faith. Located near Petrella Salto, it is immersed in the green nature of the Valley. Here Philippa Mareri took refuge in the thirteenth century with some companions, to escape the pressures of family members who opposed her choice of religious life. Today the cave has been transformed into a graceful and simple rock church, the destination of many faithful and reachable via the pilgrim’s path. Inside there is a statue of the saint and a marble altar covered by a wooden canopy.

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame de l’ Epine / Our Lady of the Thorn, Chalons-sur-Marne, France (1400) and Memorials of the Saints – 16 February

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Notre-Dame de l’ Epine / Our Lady of the Thorn, Chalons-sur-Marne, France (1400) – 16 February:

On the night of the Feast of the Annunciation, 24 March in the year 1400, some shepherds tending their flocks were attracted by a bright light coming from the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist near Chalons, France. As they approached the light, they saw that it was actually a thorn bush fully engulfed in flames and they discovered a statue of the Blessed Virgin standing unharmed in the midst of the flames. In fact, though the fire burned brightly, the branches and leaves of the thorn bush were unaffected by the flames.
The miracle continued all that night and into the next day and news of the miracle spread quickly. Mobs of people crowded around the burning bush that was so reminiscent of the one witnessed by Moses on Mount Horeb. The Bishop of Chalons, Charles of Poiters, also witnessed the burning bush and the miraculous statue – both still unaffected by the fire.
When the flames finally did die down, the bishop reverently took the statue and carried it in his own hands to the nearby Chapel of Saint John. On the very site of the miracle, construction of a Church was begun for the enshrinement of the miraculous statue. Since the Church was built so rapidly – in a little over 24 years – a charming local legend claims that angels continued the work at night after the labourers had left for home.
Our Lady of the Thorn (Notre Dame de l’ Epine) became a place of pilgrimage very rapidly. Today, a minor Basilica, the Shrine proved to be so beautiful that the people considered it a worthy place to venerate the Blessed Virgin. The flamboyant Gothic church boasts majestic great doors, a splendid rosette decorating the principle entrance and two chiselled stone spires, rise high and imposing on the plain in Champagne.
During the terrible French Revolution, the statue of Our Lady of Thorns was removed from the main altar and hidden for safekeeping. After it had ended, the statue was brought back out for veneration.
Many miracles have also been reported at the Shrine, many verified by physicians. The beautiful Basilica of Our Lady of the Thorn has been recognised by several Popes, including Pope Calixtis III, Pius II and Gregory XV. Pope Leo XIII ordered the solemn coronation of the miraculous statue, saying, “Yes, Our Lady of the Thorn will be crowned in my name. Prepare for her a diadem worthy of the Mother of God and the people whom she protects…”

It is a place of grandeur where Christian souls can expand in adoration of the Son of God and many are the pilgrims of all descriptions, who have visited the Shrine over the years, including Saint Joan of Arc in 1429.

St Aganus of Airola
Blessed Bernard Scammacca OP (1430-1487)
About St Bernard:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/saint-of-the-day-16-february-blessed-bernard-scammacca-o-p-1430-1487/
St Faustinus of Brescia
St Gilbert of Sempringham
St Honestus of Nimes
St John III of Constantinople
Blessed Joseph Allamano (1851–1926)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/16/saint-of-the-day-16-february-blessed-joseph-allamano-1851-1926/
St Julian of Egypt
St Juliana of Campania
St Juliana of Nicomedia
Blessed Nicola Paglia OP (1197-1256)
Blessed Nicola’s Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/16/saint-of-the-day-16-february-blessed-nicola-paglia-op-1197-1256/
St Onesimus of Ephesus
Blessed Philippa Mareria OSC (c 1195-1236)

Martyrs of Cilicia – 12 saints: A group of Christians who ministered to other Christians who were condemned to work the mines of Cilicia in the persecutions of Maximus. They were arrested, tortured and martryed by order of the governor Firmilian.
• Daniel
• Elias
• Isaias
• Jeremy
• Samuel
The group also includes the three known have been sentenced to the mines –
• Pamphilus
• Paul of Jamnia
• Valens of Jerusalem
and those who were exposed as Christians as a result of these murders –
• Julian of Cappadocia
• Porphyrius of Caesarea
• Seleucius of Caesarea
• Theodule the Servant
They were martyred in 309 in Cilicia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey).

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SACRED HEART QUOTES, SAINT of the DAY, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST

Quote/s of the Day – 15 February – St Claude de la Colombiere

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Quote/s of the Day – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”

“He promises to be [our] strength,
in proportion to the trust
which [we] place in Him.”

“… Make use of Our Lord
as an armour which covers [us] all about,
by means of which [we] shall resist
every device of [our] enemies.
You shall then be my Strength, O my God!
You shall be my Guide,
my Director,
my Counsellor,
my Patience,
my Knowledge,
my Peace,
my Justice
and my Prudence.”

“[Prayer] is the one means for our purification,
the one way to union with God,
the one channel by which God may unite Himself with us,
that He may do anything with us, for His glory.
To obtain the virtues of an apostle,
we must pray;
to make them of use to our neighbour,
we must pray;
to prevent our losing them,
while we use them in His service,
we must pray.
The counsel, or rather the commandment:
Pray always, seems to me extremely sweet
and by no means impossible.
It secures the practice of the presence of God …”

St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682)
“Apostle of the Sacred Heart”

More Here:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/02/15/quote-s-of-the-day-15-february-the-memorial-of-st-claude-de-la-colombiere-s-j-1641-1682/

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, JESUIT SJ, MIRACLES, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on FAITH, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 15 February – ‘Be very attentive to what you see and believe what you do not see.’ – Mark 8:11-13

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 15 February – Readings: Genesis 4:1-15, 25, Psalms 50:1 and 8,16-17, 20-21, Mark 8:11-13 and the Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”

And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?” – Mark 8:12

REFLECTION – “Admire God’s wonderful work, come out of your sleep. Are you only going to admire extraordinary miracles? But are they any greater than those that daily take place before your eyes? Are people astonished because our Lord Jesus Christ satisfied several thousand persons with five loaves (Mt 14,19f) and are not surprised that a few seeds are enough to cover the ground with abundant harvests? They are filled with wonder when they see our Saviour change water into wine (Jn 2,19); isn’t it the same thing when rain goes through the roots of the vine? The author of both these miracles is the same…

Our Lord worked miracles and yet many despised him… They said to themselves : ‘The works are divine but, as for Him, he is only a man.’ Therefore, you see two things: divine works on the one hand and a Man on the other. If those divine works can only be carried out by God, could it not be because God is hidden in this Man? Yes. Be very attentive to what you see and believe what you do not see. He who calls on you to believe, has not abandoned you to yourself, even if He asks you to believe what you cannot see, He has not left you without anything to see, to help you believe what is unseen. Isn’t creation itself a faint sign, a faint manifestation of the Creator? In addition, look at Him who comes into the world and works miracles. You were unable to see God but you were able to see a Man – therefore God became Man, so that what you see and what you believe, should be but One!” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo (North Africa), Father and Doctor of the Church – Sermon 126, 4-5

PRAYER – Almighty Lord and God, protect us by Your power throughout the course of this day, even as You have enabled us to begin it. Your grace is all that we need, to see the loving kindness of Your Son, our Lord Jesus in all we see and do and think. Do not let us turn aside from His path but by the faith You have granted us, let us find meaning in all, which is the sign of Your glory. Do not let us turn aside to sin and may the intercession of St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682), grant us courage and peace. Through Jesus Christ, our Saviour, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 15 February – Blessed Angelus de Scarpetti OSA (Died c 1306)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 15 February – Blessed Angelus de Scarpetti OSA (Died c 1306) Religious of the Order of the Hermits of St Augustine, Missionary, miracle-worker. Born at Borgo San Sepolcro modern Sansepolcro, Italy and died in 1306 at Borgo San Sepolcro modern Sansepolcro, Italy. Also known as – Angelo de Scarpetti, Angelus of Sansepolcro, Angelo of Borgo San Sepolcro

Angelus was born into the Scarpetti family in Sansepolcro, Italy, in the first half of the thirteenth century. He entered the convent in his city of the Hermits of St John the Good in approximately 1254. In 1256 the convent passed to the new Order of the Hermit Friars of St Augustine. There he became a fellow-student with Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.

He was sent to England as a Missionary but we have little information of his time there.

His reputation for sanctity was endowed by some miraculous episodes that occurred during his lifetime, including the resurrection of an innocent man who was condemned to death. Angelus had made a formal request for the innocent man’s pardon but it was refused and the man was executed. However, by Angelus’ fervent entreaties to the only Judge, the man was raised to life.

Since the sixteenth century, Augustinian writers have noted his profound humility, unflinching charity and his spotless purity of spirit and body. All of these gained him, among his countrymen, renown as a man acceptable to God, who God made full of supernatural gifts.

Angelus died in Sansepolcro in 1306. In 1905 the local Diocese began the process for his Beatification, which reached a successful conclusion in 1922.

His body is currently kept in a carved, gilt wooden casket that is decorated with scenes from his life and is kept under the main altar of the Church of Sant’Agostino in Sansepolcro.

Angelus was Beatified on 27 July 1921 by Pope Benedict XV.

Posted in JESUIT SJ, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame de Paris / Our Lady of Paris, France (522) and Memorials of the Saints – 15 February

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Notre-Dame de Paris / Our Lady of Paris, France (522) – 15 February:

There does not seem to be a great deal of information about Our Lady of Paris; it is an ancient title and can be traced well back before the 12th Century, when the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) was begun. Some authorities say that veneration of the Blessed Virgin in Paris can be traced to the first apostles of the city. Since Saint Paul was in Gaul (France) during his travels, it may be assumed that this veneration dates to the first century of the Christian era. And, if Mary was venerated in Paris at that early date, it is possible that she was, even then, known as Our Lady of Paris. Briefly, as long as Christian minds can remember, Paris was consecrated to the Virgin Mary, whom the inhabitants always venerated.
It is known that Our Lady of Paris was a Church first built by King Childebert in the year 522. About the year 1257, the King, Saint Louis IX assisted in the construction of a larger Church carried on in the same place, on the foundations which King Philip Augustus had laid in the year 1191. The older Church built by King Childebert, which had been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, had became too ruinous to be repaired, so Maurice, Bishop of Paris, decided to rebuild it and, at the same time, adorn Paris with a Cathedral that would outshine all those which had hitherto been built anywhere.

Plans were drawn up during the reign of King Louis VII and work had actually begun on Notre Dame de Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, in 1162. The cornerstone was laid in the presence of Pope Alexander III. Notre Dame is a huge Gothic Cathedral on the Ile de la Cite, with beautiful flying buttresses to support the tremendous height of the walls and are adorned with stylish gargoyles. It is home to a reliquary which contains Christ’s Crown of Thorns. By the beginning of the fourteenth century, perhaps 1345, the Cathedral was finished, virtually as it stands today. Sometime during the building of the Cathedral, a statue of Our Lady was fashioned and installed in place.
As was typical, the Cathedral was desecrated during the French Revolution and many of the religious artifacts were lost to future generations, although the incredible stained glass windows were not destroyed, including the three spectacular “rose window” that can still be seen today.

A smoke detector first alerted building staff to a fire beneath the roof at 6:18 pm on 15 April 2019, f Notre-Dame de Paris. By the time it was extinguished, the building’s spire collapsed and most of its roof had been destroyed and its upper walls severely damaged. Extensive damage to the interior was prevented by its stone vaulted ceiling, which largely contained the burning roof as it collapsed.

The restoration in early 2020

Many works of art and religious relics were moved to safety early in the emergency but others suffered some smoke damage and some exterior art was damaged or destroyed. The Cathedral’s altar, two pipe organs, and its three 13th-century rose windows suffered little to no damage.

The Nave before the fire
The Nave after the fire

Three emergency workers were injured. French President, Emmanuel Macron, said that the Cathedral would be restored by 2024 and launched a fundraising campaign which brought in pledges of over €1 billion as of 22 April 2019. A complete restoration could require twenty years or more.
On 25 December 2019, the Cathedral did not host ChristmasMass for the first time since 1803.

St Agape of Terni
Blessed Angelus de Scarpetti OSA (Died c 1306)
St Berach of Kilbarry
St Claude de la Colombierre SJ (1641-1682)
Beautiful St Claude of the Sacred Heart:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/saint-of-the-day-15-february-st-claude-de-la-colombiere-s-j-1641-1682/

St Craton
St Decorosus of Capua
St Dochow
St Druthmar of Corvey
St Eusebius of Asehia
St Farannan of Iona
St Faustinus
St Faustus of Monte Cassino
St Georgia
St Joseph of Antioch
St Jovita
Blessed Michał Sopoćko (1888-1975)
Blessed Michal’s Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/15/saint-of-the-day-15-february-blessed-father-michal-sopocko-1888-1975-priest-apostle-of-divine-mercy/

St Onesimus the Slave
St Quinidius of Vaison
St Sigfrid of Sweden (Died 11th Century) Apostle of Sweden
About St Sigfrid:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/15/saint-of-the-day-15-february-saint-sigfrid-of-sweden-died-11th-century-apostle-of-sweden/
St Severus of Abruzzi
St Walfrid
—
Martyrs of Antioch: 5 saints
A group of Christians murdered together. We know the names of five of them – Agapev, Baralo, Isicio, Joseph and Zosimus.

Martyrs of Passae:
Castulus
Lucius
Magnus
Saturninus

Martyrs of Prague – 14 beati – Franciscan Friars Minor martyred together by a mob led by Lutherans –
• Blessed Antonín of Prague
• Blessed Bartolomeo Dalmasoni
• Blessed Bedrich Bachstein
• Blessed Christoffel Zelt
• Blessed Didak Jan
• Blessed Emmanuel of Prague
• Blessed Gaspare Daverio
• Blessed Giovanni Bodeo
• Blessed Girolamo degli Arese
• Blessed Jakob of Prague
• Blessed Jan of Prague
• Blessed Juan Martínez
• Blessed Klemens of Prague
• BlessedSimon of Prague
They were martyred on
• Shrove Tuesday 15 February 1611 at the Church of Our Lady of the Snows in Prague, Czech Republic
• body dumped nearby but given Christian burial on 19 February 1611 in the monastery
• re-interred in the side chapel of the church in 1616.
Beatified
13 October 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI

Martyrs of Sweden:
Sigfrid
Sunaman
Unaman
Winaman

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Pere Vallmitjana Abarca

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DESPAIR, QUOTES on DOUBT, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on VIRTUE, SAINT of the DAY, The HEART, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 February – “You can make me clean” – Mark 1:40-45

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One Minute Reflection – 14 February – Readings: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46, Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 11, 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1, Mark 1:40-45 and the Memorial of Sts Cyril and Methodius, “Apostles to the Slavs”- Patrons of Europe

“You can make me clean” – Mark 1:40

REFLECTION – “You must never fail to trust in God, nor despair of His mercy. I should not like you to doubt, or despair of becoming better. For even if the devil were able to throw you down, from the heights of virtue, to the depths of wickedness, how much more, can God recall you to the summit of goodness. And, not just bring you back to the state you were in before your fall but He can make you much happier, than you seemed to be before.
Do not lose heart, I beg you and do not close your eyes to the hope of good, for fear that what happens to people, who don’t love God, should happen to you. For it is not, the great number of one’s sins, that leads the soul to despair but disdain for God.
As the Wise man says: “It is the characteristic of the impious to despair of salvation and hold it in contempt since they have fallen into the pit of sin” (cf. Prv 18,3 Vg).

Therefore, every thought that takes our hope away, follows on from a lack of faith, like a heavy stone around our neck, it forces us to be always looking downwards, to the earth and doesn’t allow us to raise our eyes to the Lord.
But those with a brave heart and enlightened mind, know how to release their necks from this horrid weight.
“Behold, as the eyes of servants are on the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid are on the hands of her mistress, so our eyes are on the Lord our God till he have pity on us” (Ps 123,2). – St Rabanus Maurus OSB (776-856) Archbishop, Monk, Abbot,Theologian, Poet – Three books dedicated to Bonosus, Bk 3, 4

PRAYER – To those who love You, Lord, You promise to come with Your Son and make Your home within them. If You will, You can make us clean, come then with Your purifying grace and make our hearts a place where You can dwell. May the prayers of intercession of Saints Cyril and Methodius, help us to reach our everlasting home with You. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 14 February – Saint Antoninus of Sorrento OSB (c 555-625) Abbot

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Saint of the Day – 14 February – Saint Antoninus of Sorrento OSB (c 555-625) Abbot, Hermit, miracle-worker – born in c 555 in Campagna, Italy and died in 625 in Sorrento, Naples of natural causes. Patronages – Campagna and Sorento. Also known as – Antoninus of Campagna, Antoninus Cacciottolo, Antony the Abbot, Antonino, Anthony of Sorrento.

Antoninus was born at Campagna. He left his native town to become a monk at Monte Cassino. During that time, Italy was suffering from barbarian invasions and Antoninus was forced to leave this Monastery. Monte Cassino had been plundered by the Lombards and the Monks escaped to Rome to seek protection from Pope Pelagius II. Antoninus, however, headed for Campagna where he ended up at Castellammare di Stabia. Here Saint Catellus was the Bishop. Catellus, wishing to become a hermit, gave up his office as Bishop and entrusted Antoninus with the task of serving as the town’s Bishop. Catellus withdrew to Monte Aureo.

The desire to remain a Hermit himself, led Antoninus to convince Catellus to return to his see. Antoninus retired to Monte Aureo himself and lived in a natural grotto. However, Catellus again decided to withdraw to this mountain and dedicate himself only sporadically to the cares of his Diocese.

An apparition of Saint Michael is said to have convinced the two to construct the stone Church now known as Monte San Angelo. Subsequently, Catellus was accused of witchcraft by a Priest named Tibeius (Tibeio) of Stabia and was held captive at Rome until the new Pope released him. Catellus returned to Stabia and dedicated himself to expanding the church that he had helped found.

Inhabitants of Sorrento, meanwhile, convinced Antoninus to settle at Sorrento. Antoninus became an Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery of San Agrippino, succeeding Boniface in this capacity.

A miracle attributed to Saint Antoninus states that he saved a young child from a whale after it had been swallowed up by this sea creature. The Sorrentini erected a Crypt and Basilica in honour of Antoninus. He saved the City from many dangers – a Moorish naval invasion; the revolt of the Sorrento leader Giovanni Grillo against Spanish domination; demonic possession; bubonic plague and cholera.

If you ask anyone from Sorrento what is celebrated on 14 February, do not be surprised at the answer! Forget Valentine’s Day, on this day all around the town of Sorrento, people celebrate the death of the Patron Saint of Sorrento, St Anthoninus Abbot, which occurred on the 14th of February, in 265.

Words are not enough to describe how much this local feast is truly felt! The celebration is preceded by a Novena beginning on 5 February with the tolling of Church bells, that advise the people of Sorrento, that the feast is soon to be and as a result, also the coming of spring.

On the eve of the feast, from the early morning hours, the prodigious silver statue of the Saint is exposed on the high altar of the Basilica of Sant’Antonino, ready to accommodate the flow of faithful who celebrate the entrance of the Saint to eternal life.

During the festival the statue is carried by sailors from Marina Piccola on their shoulders, throughout the main streets of Sorrento, by the Archbishop and by the civil and military authorities.

After the statue is brought around town, it is then carried to the Basilica where the Archbishop celebrates the Eucharist. The Basilica is indeed the true focus of the celebration, where locals come and “greet” the patron.

“Not inside, not outside the walls,” these were the last words of St Anthoninus about his burial and this explains the exact location of the Basilica which houses the mortal remains of the Saint, which is situated amongst the ancient town walls of Sorrento.

The most visited part of the Church is the Crypt, more commonly known as Succorpo, which houses the remains of St Anthoninus. It occupies the entire left side of the building and is placed at a lower level, accessible by two staircases.
Once down below in the Crypt, the first thing that attracts the eye is the Altar, placed at the centre of theCrypt, around which a path leads the devotees to pay homage to the Saint.

Behind the same Altar, an oil lamp with silver foil is touched and followed by reciting prayers. This is nothing more than a story of a miracle healing of a Bishop of Sorrento. The Bishop was riding a mule and then thrown off and, therefore, fractured his leg. During that night, the Bishop dreamed about Sain tAntoninus taking an oil vial that had been blessed by the the Virgin Mary. The Bishop woke up with a cured leg.

The silver statue itself was a miracle – it seems that during the invasion of the Turks (1558) it was stolen and Sorrento, not having enough money to make another, had to accept the fact of it’s loss. It was on that occasion, that St Anthoninus appeared in flesh and blood to the sculptor, who reproduced him from his own image!

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Quinquagesima Sunday +2021, Notre-Dame de Bourbourg / Our Lady of Bourbourg, Flanders (1383) and Memorials of the Saints – 14 February

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Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time +2021
Quinquagesima Sunday (Traditional Calendar) +2021 – From Latin quinquagesimus meaning “fiftieth,” therefore, this is the period of fifty days before Easter. It begins with the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, called Dominica in Quinquagesima or Esto Mihi from the beginning of the Introit of the Mass; it is a Sunday of the second class and the colour the Mass and Office is violet.

Notre-Dame de Bourbourg / Our Lady of Bourbourg, Flanders (1383) – 14 February:

Jean Froissart, born in the 1330s, was a man devoted to literature. His famous Chronicles was aimed at a knightly and aristocratic audience and was devoted to “the honourable enterprises, noble adventures and deeds of arms, performed in the wars between England and France…to the end that brave men taking example from them may be encouraged in their well-doing.” His history is one of the most important sources for the first half of the Hundred Years’ War, and certain events of the era, such as the battles of Crecy and Poitiers and the English Peasant Revolt of 1381. He was also an eyewitness to the miracles of Our Lady of Bourbourg that occurred in the year 1383.
“When the king of France came before Bourbourg there were never seen such fine men at arms nor such numbers as he had with him. The lords and their men were all drawn up, and eager for the attack. Those who had reconnoitred the place, said it could not hold out long. The Bretons, Burgundians, Normans, Germans and others, who knew there was much wealth in the place, which, if taken by storm, would probably fall to their share, began to skirmish with the infantry at the barriers, without waiting for orders from the constable or marshals of the army.
This skirmish increased so much that the French set fire to the town by means of fire-arrows and cannons, so that such a flame and smoke came from the houses of Bourbourg as might have been seen forty leagues off. Many gallant deeds were done and the assailants leaped cheerfully into the mud of the ditches above the knees when they engaged with the English at the palisade and barriers.
The garrison defended themselves handsomely, indeed, they had need of their exertions, for they knew not on which side to turn themselves. They were attacked on all part and the houses of the town were blazing with fire, which more confounded the English than anything else. This, however, did not throw them off their guard, nor cause them to quit their posts. Sir Matthew Redman and Sir Nicholas Drayton, with their men, in the centre of the town, endeavoured to check the progress of the fire but it was such a dry season, that the smallest spark set the houses in flames. It is certain, that if the attack had begun earlier, or had not the night come on soon, the town must have been taken by storm but the approach of night put an end to it.
On the attack ceasing, the French retired to their quarters, to attend the sick and bury the dead. They said that on the morrow they would renew the attac, and it should be irresistible. The English were employed in repairing the palisades which had been broken, in putting all things in a good state and in extinguishing the fires in the town. They were in a most perilous situation, being surrounded on all sides, without means of escaping by flight.
The Duke of Brittany, who was on the opposite side of the town to the King, entered into negotiations with the English, aware of the peril they were in. He advised them to surrender the town, on their lives and fortunes being spared. This they were very willing to do and they entreated the Duke, through love of God and in honour of his gentility, to undertake the business. The King of France replied, that, in God’s name, he would willingly agree to a treaty. The English had been much renowned for gallantry and deeds of arms and it was settled that the English should depart from Bourbourg and Gravelines and carry away with them as much of their wealth as they could. Several of the Bretons, French, Normans and Burgundians were much vexed at this treaty, for they thought of partaking of the spoils but the King and his council had ordered it otherwise.
The whole of Tuesday they employed in shoeing their horses and in packing up all their wealth, of which they had much and in making preparations for their departure. On the Wednesday morning they loaded their baggage-horses and began their march, passing through the army with passports from the King. The Bretons were much exasperated when they saw them so loaded, waiting at Calais for a favourable wind to return to England.
The King of France and all the lords of his army, with their attendants, entered Bourbourg on Thursday morning. The Bretons began to plunder it, without exception, even the Church of St John. In that Church a pillager stood upon an Altar with the intent of forcing out a precious stone that was in the crown of an image of Our Lady. As he reached to steal the stone, the image suddenly turned about and the pillager in his fright, fell from the Altar and was instantly struck dead. This is a certain truth, for many persons were witnesses of it. Shortly afterwards, another pillager came with a similar intent of robbing the image but all the bells began a peal without anyone touching them, for no-one could have rung them, the bell-ropes being drawn up and fastened.
On account of these miracles, the Church was visited by large crowds. The King made a handsome present to the Church, as did all the lords, so that the amount of their gifts was upwards of three thousand francs.”
__

St Cyril (827-869) (Memorial)
St Methodius (826-885) (Memorial)
The great Saints Cyril & Methodius: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/14/saints-of-the-day-14-february-sts-cyril-827-869-methodius-826-885/

St Valentine (176-273) Priest and Martyr (Optional Memorial)
The story of Saint Valentine: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/02/14/blessed-memorial-of-st-valentine-14-february/

St Abraham of Harran
St Antoninus of Sorrento OSB (c 555-625) Abbot
St Auxentius of Bithynia
St Conran of Orkney
St Eleuchadius
St Juan García López-Rico O.SS.T. (1561-1613)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/14/saint-of-the-day-14-february-st-juan-garcia-lopez-rico-o-ss-t-1561-1613/
St Nostrianus of Naples
St Theodosius of Vaison
St Valentine of Terni
Blessed Vicente Vilar David (1889-1937) Martyr
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/14/saint-of-the-day-14-february-blessed-vicente-vilar-david-1889-1937-martyr/
St Vitale of Spoleto
—
20 Mercedarians of Palermo
Martyrs of Alexandria – 16 saints
Martyrs of Rome
Felicula
Vitalis
Zeno

Martyrs of Terni: Three Christians who gave proper burial to Saint Valentine of Terni. Martyred in the persecutions of Aurelius.
273 in Terni, Italy – Apollonius, Ephebus, Proculus.

Martyrs of Alexandria: A group of Christians murdered in various ways for their faith in Alexandria, Egypt. We know the names and a few details about 16 of them – Agatho, Agatone, Ammonio, Ammonius, Antonius, Bassiano, Bassianus, Cirione, Cyrio, Dionysius, Dionysius, Lucio, Moses, Moses, Proto and Tonione.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 13 February – ‘ … The mystery of the Word of God …’ Mark 8:1-10

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One Minute Reflection – 13 February – Readings: Genesis 3:9-24, Psalms 90:2, 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, Mark 8:1-10 and the Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony OP (1190-1237)

“And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” – Mark 8:3

REFLECTION – “Lord Jesus, how well I know You have no wish to allow these people here with me, to remain hungry but to feed them, with the food You distribute, and so, strengthened with Your food, they will have no fear of collapsing from hunger. I know, too, that You have no wish to send us away hungry, either… As You have said – You do not want them to collapse on the way, meaning to collapse in the byways of this life, before reaching the end of the road, before coming to the Father and understanding that You come from the Father…

Our Lord takes pity, then, so that none may collapse along the way… Just as He makes it rain on the just as well as the unjust (Mt 5,45) so He feeds the just, as well as the unjust. Was it not thanks to the strength of the food, that the holy prophet Elijah, when he was collapsing on the way, was able to walk for forty days? (1Kgs 19,8). It was an angel who gave that food to him but, in your case, it is Christ Himself who feeds you. If you preserve the food you have received, in this way, then you will walk, not forty days and forty nights… but for forty years, from your departure from the borders of Egypt to your arrival in the land of plenty, the land where milk and honey flow (Ex 3,8)…

And so Christ shares out the foodstuffs and, there is no question, He wants to give it to all. He withholds it from no-one, for He provides for everyone. Nevertheless, when He breaks the loaves and gives them to the disciples, unless you hold out your hands to receive your portion, you will collapse along the way… This bread that Jesus breaks, is the mystery of the Word of God, it increases as it is distributed. With only a few words Jesus has provided abundant nourishment for all peoples. He has given us His words as bread and, while we are tasting them, they increase in our mouths… Even as the crowds are eating, the pieces increase and become more numerous to such an extent that, in the end, the leftovers are even more plentiful than the loaves that were shared.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church – Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, VI, 73-88

PRAYER – Lord support us as we pray, protect us day and night. Grant us the grace of total trust and teach us to hear Your Voice and do Your Will. By Your Word You teach and lead us and Your Word, we share with all. May Your food always strengthen us for the journey that we may reach the end of the road in Heaven. May the prayers of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, help us and strengthen us that we may grow in worthiness to receive Your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, MARIAN Antiphons, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN Saturdays, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 13 February – Salve Regina, Hail Holy Queen

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Our Morning Offering – 13 February – The Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony OP (1190-1237) and a blessed Marian Saturday

It was Jordan who initiated the custom of singing the Salve Regina in procession each night after Compline, to ask Our Lady’s protection of the brothers against temptations from the devil. This is a custom still practised by Dominicans throughout the world and by our community each night.

Salve Regina
Hail Holy Queen
By Blessed Herman the Cripple of Reichenau (1013–1054)

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry,
Poor banished children of Eve;
To thee do we send up our sighs,
Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
Thine eyes of mercy toward us;
And after this our exile,
Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

This line, below, by St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church

O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.

℣ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
℟ that we may be made worthy
of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
Almighty, everlasting God,
who by the co-operation of the Holy Spirit
didst prepare the body and soul
of the glorious Virgin-Mother Mary
to become a dwelling-place fit for Thy Son,
grant that as we rejoice in her commemoration,
so by her fervent intercession,
we may be delivered from present evils
and from everlasting death.
Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 13 February – Saint Fulcran of Lodève (Died 1006) Bishop

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Saint of the Day – 13 February – Saint Fulcran of Lodève (Died 1006) Bishop of Lodève, Reformer, especially within the clergy and religious orders, builder of many Churches, Convents and Hospitals, apostle of the poor and needy, miracle-worker. Unknown birth date – died on 13 February 1006 of natural causes. Patronage – co-Patron of the Diocese of Lodève.

According to the biography which Bernard Guidonis, Bishop of Lodève, who died in 1331, has left us, his saintly predecessor, Fulcran came of a distinguished family. From his youth led a pure and holy life and consecrated himself at an early age to the service of the Church and became a Priest.

When in 949, Theoderich, Bishop of Lodève, died, Fulcran, notwithstanding his unwillingness, was chosen as his successor and was Consecrated by the Archbishop of Narbonne on 4 February of the same year.

He was untiring in his efforts to conserve the moral life within his Diocese, especially among the clergy and the religious orders. He rebuilt many Churches and Convents, among them the Cathedral dedicated to St Genesius and the Church of the Holy Redeemer with the Benedictine Monastery attached to it.

The poor and the sick were the objects of his special care; for their support he founded Hospitals and endowed others, already existing.

St Fulcran in Lodève Cathedral

The following anecdote from his Vita is worthy of mention:

A Bishop of Gaul had fallen away from the Faith and had accepted Jewish teachings. When the news reached Fulcran, he exclaimed in an excess of zeal: “This bishop should be burned!” Shortly afterwards the renegade prelate was actually seized by his incensed flock and delivered up to death by fire. Fulcran was then filled with remorse that by his utterance he should have been the cause of the apostate’s death and, after doing severe penance, he made a pilgrimage to Rome, there to receive absolution for his supposed guilt.

After his death he was buried in the Cathedral of Lodève which was renamed after and dedicated to him and honoured as a saint. His body, which had been preserved intact, was burned by the Huguenots in 1572 and only a few particles of his remains were saved.

The City of Lodève celebrates the Fête de St Fulcran every year for a week, during which there are many festivities and liturgical celebrations amongst other events.

Posted in CARMELITES, DOMINICAN OP, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, MARIAN TITLES, SACRED HEART QUOTES, SAINT of the DAY

Mother of Mercy, Notre-Dame de Pellevoisin / Our Lady of Pellevoisin, France (1876) and Memorials of the Saints – 13 February

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Mother of Mercy, Notre-Dame de Pellevoisin / Our Lady of Pellevoisin, France (1876) – 13 February:
Pellevoisin is a little village not far from Tours in France. In 1876, a young woman, Estelle Faguette, lay dying from tuberculosis, at the aged of 33 – only five hours to live in the opinion of the doctors. With childlike faith, Estelle composed a letter to the Blessed Virgin Mary in which she asked for a cure. The letter was laid at the feet of a Statue of the Virgin in Montbel, the summer chateau of the Rochefoucaulds, about 3 km from Pellevoisin.

And, on the 13th of February, when all were expecting her death, Our Lady appeared near the sickbed. This occurred on three successive nights and then, as Our Lady had promised, the sick woman was instantly cured on a Saturday.
During the visits, Our Lady of Pellevoisin frequently spoke to Estelle, her theme being that which she so often has expressed during the past hundred years:

“I am all-merciful and have great influence over my Son. What distresses me most is the lack of respect for my Son. Publish my glory.”

For some months after her miraculous cure, Estelle continued to live quietly at Pellevoisin. She was at a loss to find the means of fulfilling the mission entrusted to her by Our Lady. Her heavenly visitor, however, was watching over her and Estelle was to see her again and receive more minute instructions as to what was required of her. On the feast of Our Lady’s Visitation in the same year, 1876, as Estelle was praying in her room, she was granted another vision. Our Lady, robed in white and wearing on her breast a white scapular with the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, appeared to her favoured friend. This was the first of a series of wonderful visions enjoyed by Estelle, ten in all. Again and again Mary pointed to the great need for penance and expiation – a return to God.
During one of these apparitions, Our Lady of Pellevoisin, taking her white scapular in her hand, held it before Estelle saying,

“I love this devotion.”

Immediately Estelle knew that her life’s work was to propagate devotion to the Sacred Heart by means of a scapular modeled on Mary’s. On her last appearance, December 8th, Our Lady commanded Estelle to approach her Bishop and give him a copy of the new scapular.

“Tell him to help you with all his power and that nothing would be more agreeable to me, than to see this badge on each one of my children, in reparation for the outrages that my Son suffers in the Sacrament of His Love. See, the graces I pour upon those who wear it with confidence and who help to make it known.”

The Prelate in question, the Archbishop of Bourges, Mnsgr de La Tour d’Auvergne, gave Estelle a favourable hearing and immediately set up a commission to investigate the whole matter. The result of all this was the establishment at Pellevoisin in 1894 by Pope Leo XIII of an Archconfraternity under the title of Mother of Mercy, Our Lady of Pellevoisin. The membership of this Confraternity has gone on increasing year after year, while Pellevoisin itself has become a centre of pilgrimages for thousands of Mary’s friends.
Estelle lived her quiet and peaceful life at Pellevoisin, neither desiring nor receiving any personal credit. She died in 1929. Her miraculous cure was recognised in 1983 by Monsignor Paul Vignancour. Although no formal approval has been granted acknowledging the authenticity of the events at Pellevoisi, either by the local bishop at Bourges or by the Holy See, numerous acts of secondary level of approval, including recognition of Mary’s scapular request, have been granted. Pope Leo XIII, by a Motu Proprio, granted indulgences to encourage the pilgrimage to Pellevoisin on 20 December 1892, and on 4 April 1900, The Congregation of Rites issued a decree granting approval to the Scapular of the Sacred Heart.

St Adolphus of Osnabruk
St Aimo of Meda
Blessed Archangela Girlani O Carm (1460-1494)
Her Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/13/saint-of-the-day-13-february-blessed-archangela-girlani-o-carm-1460-1494/
Bl Beatrix of Ornacieux
St Benignus of Todi
Bl Berengar of Assisi
St Castor of Karden
Blessed Christine of Spoleto OSA (1435-1458)
About Blessed Christine:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/13/saint-of-the-day-13-february-blessed-christine-of-spoleto-osa-1435-1458/
St Dyfnog
St Ermenilda of Ely
Bl Eustochium of Padua OSB (1444-1469) Virgin
St Fulcran of Lodève (Died 1006) Bishop
St Fusca of Ravenna
St Gilbert of Meaux
St Gosbert of Osnabruck
St Guimérra of Carcassone
St Huno
Blessed Jordan of Saxony OP (1190-1237)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/saint-of-the-day-13-february-blessed-jordan-of-saxony-o-p-1190-1237/

St Julian of Lyon
St Lucinus of Angers
St Marice
St Martinian the Hermit
St Maura of Ravenna
St Modomnoc
St Paulus Lio Hanzuo
St Peter I of Vercelli
St Phaolô Lê Van Loc
St Stephen of Lyons
St Stephen of Rieti

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 12 February – Saint Meletius of Antioch (Died 381) Bishop of Antioch

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 12 February – Saint Meletius of Antioch (Died 381) Bishop of Antioch from 360 until his death in 381, Confessor, Defender of the true Faith against heresies – born in the early 4th century Melitene, Lower Armenia (modern Malatya, Turkey) and died in 381 at Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) of natural causes. Meletius asceticism was remarkable in view of his great private wealth. He was opposed by a rival bishop named Paulinus and his episcopate was dominated by the schism, usually called the Meletian schism. As a result, he was exiled from Antioch in 361–362, 365–366 and 371–378. One of his last acts was to preside over the First Council of Constantinople in 381.

Meletius of Antioch is an important early Christian Saint, who became Bishop of one of the largest and most ancient congregations of Christianity—the Syrian city of Antioch.

Meletius was born at Melitene in Armenia in the first half of the fourth century. He was born into a distinguished and wealthy family, leading him to seek a distinguished ecclesial office in the Church. Meletius was appointed the Bishop of the Christian City of Sebaste.

During the fourth century, debates over the divinity of Christ raged throughout Eastern and Western Christianity. Antioch was, for a long time, a stronghold of orthodox Christianity, where Christians believed in Christ’s two natures—divine and human—united in the one person of Jesus.

Meletius resisted both the rise of Arianism and the Eastern emperor, Constantius II, who supported the Arian Christians. During these bickerings, the important Christian city of Antioch was being pulled between many different Bishops. The people of Antioch were divided between these heretical Bishops vying for the See. Finally, they appointed Meletius, who was an orthodox Christian but who focused mostly on the moral Christian life and living a life of Christian charity. The divided people of Antioch admired their saintly Bishop and adhered to his example.

Meletius became known as a hero among the faithful in Antioch, for uniting the church that had been divided by heresies. The good Bishop Meletius Consecrated as a Deacon, one of Antioch’s most famous Bishops, the great St John Chrysostom. John Chrysostom later praised him in one of his homilies, eulogising him for his great wisdom and his calm and holy leadership.

Meletius died soon after the opening of the First Council of Constantinople and the Emperor Theodosius, who had received him with special distinction, ordered his body to be carried to Antioch and buried with the honours of a saint. The Meletian schism, however, did not end immediately with his death. In spite of the advice of Gregory Nazianzus, Paulinus was not recognised as the sole bishop and Flavian was consecrated as Meletius’ successor.

Posted in MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Madonna del Pilerio, Our Lady of Argenteuil, Paris, France and Memorials of the Saints – 12 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Madonna del Pilerio, Italy (12th Century) – 12 February: is the Patron of the City of Cosenza and of the Archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano, Italy. The Madonna del Pilerio is depicted in an icon dating back to the twelfth century that is found since 1607 in the Chapel built specifically within the Cathedral of Cosenza , commissioned by Msgr Giovani Battista Costanzo ( 1591 – 1617 ). On 10 May 1981, the Cathedral of Cosenza was raised to the Shrine of Our Lady of Pilerio by the Archbishop Msgr Dino Trabalzini. The patronal feast of Cosenza is not celebrated on 8 September, the Feast of Our Lady of Pilerio and date to which the Nativity of the Virgin is recognised but 12 February, to remember the devastating earthquake that hit Calabria on that date, in 1854.

Official Prayer to the Madonna del Pilerio

Virgin of Pilerio, Mother of the Church,
You are for us Support, Help and Hope.
We thank you and bless you
but above all we love you.
You are our tender Mother,
given to us by Christ on the Cross.
Listen to your children’s prayer.
Do not let us ever turn away from you.
Strengthen our faith in us,
sustain hope, revive charity.
May you praise the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
Amen
O Madonna del Pilerio, our glorious Patron, pray for us.

Notre-Dame-de- Argenteuil / Our Lady of Argenteuil, Paris, France (c 500) – 12 February: Cathedral of Our Lady of Argenteuil, Paris, built by King Clovis I containing a portion of the Seamless Garment of Christ.
All about this Marian Title:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/12/feast-of-our-lady-of-argenteuil-and-the-seamless-tunic-12-february/

St Alexius of Kiev
St Ammonius of Alexandria
Bl Anthony of Saxony
St Anthony Kauleas
St Benedict of Aniane OSB (747-821)
About St Benedict:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/12/saint-of-the-day-12-february-st-benedict-of-aniane-747-821-the-second-benedict/

Bl Benedict Revelli
St Damian of Africa
St Damian of Rome
St Ethelwald of Lindisfarne
St Eulalia of Barcelona (c 290-c 303) Virgin Martyr
Her Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/12/saint-of-the-day-12-february-saint-eulalia-of-barcelona-c-290-c-303-virgin-and-martyr/

St Gaudentius of Verona
St Goscelinus of Turin
Bl Gregory of Tragurio
Bl Humbeline of Jully
St Jak Bushati
St Julian of Alexandria
St Julian the Hospitaller
About St Julian:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/02/12/saint-of-the-day-12-february-st-julian-the-hospitaller/
Bl Ladislaus of Hungary
Bl Ludan
St Meletius of Antioch (Died 381) Bishop

St Modestus of Alexandria
St Modestus of Carthage
St Modestus the Deacon
Bl Nicholas of Hungary
St Sedulius
Bl Thomas of Foligno
—
Martyrs of Albitina – 46 saints:
During the persecutions of Diocletian, troops were sent to the churches of Abitina, North Africa on a Sunday morning; they rounded up everyone who had arrived for Mass and took them all to Carthage for interrogation by pro-consul Anulinus. The 46 who proclaimed their Christianity were executed. We know some of their names and stories. They were tortured to death in 304 in prison at Albitina, North Africa.

Martyred in England:
Bl George Haydock
Bl James Fenn
Bl John Nutter
Bl John Munden
Bl Thomas Hemeford

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Josep Gassol Montseny

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 11 February – Saint Lazarus of Milan (Died 449) Archbishop of Milan

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 11 February – Saint Lazarus of Milan (Died 449) Archbishop of Milan from 438 to 449.

We have almost no information about the life and episcopate of St Lazarus, though his name means “he who is assisted by God.” He probably studied in Milan and is reported to have been of stern appearance. A late tradition, with little historical basis, associates Lazarus with the Milan’s family of the Beccardi. It is believed that he resisted the Manichaeans, in the footsteps of St Pope Leo the Great.

St Lazarus became Bishop of Milan in 438. The times were volatile and troublesome, for the Goths were ravaging Italy and were masters of Milan but although Lazarus had much to suffer at their hands, he ruled his flock prudently and faithfully.

St Magnus Felix Ennodius (c 473-521), the Bishop of Pavia and Rhetorician and Poet (Feast day – 17 July), includes him in a list of twelve holy Bishops of Milan, of whom St Ambrose was the first and most eminent.

Lazarus is chiefly remembered in connextion with the Rogationtide litanies which, it is believed, he was the first to introduce. To invoke the protection of God at that distressful period, he ordered a three days’ fast with processions, litanies and visits to various Churches from the Monday to the Wednesday within the Octave of the Ascension. Afterwards, it is believed that St Mamertus introduced these litanies into the Diocese of Vienne and changed the date to the three days before Ascension day. The first Council of Orleans (511) ordered that this observance should be general throughout France and it spread quickly to England and elsewhere.

Later still, Archbishop Stephen Nardini and St Charles Borromeo did much to encourage and establish this custom in Milan, which continues to the present day. The word rogation comes from the Latin verb rogare, meaning “to ask,” which reflects the beseeching of God for the appeasement of His anger and for protection from calamities.

Lazarus died on 14 March in the year 449, after having been the Archbishop of Milan for eleven years but his Feast is kept on today, 11 February because Saints’ days are not celebrated during Lent, in the Diocese of Milan which, as is well known, follows its own Ambrosian rite.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, MIRACLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes / Our Lady of Lourdes and Memorials of the Saints – 11 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

 Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes / Our Lady of Lourdes (11 February and 16 July of 1858) – (Optional Memorial)
Our Lady of Lourdes:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/11/the-memorial-of-the-apparitions-of-our-lady-of-lourdes-our-lady-of-the-immaculate-conception-and-the-26th-world-day-of-prayer-for-the-sick/

In 1858, there lived in the village of Lourdes, a little peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, 14 years old, uneducated, simple, poor, good. On 11 February, she was sent with two more girls to collect wood. They walked to the Rock of Massabielle, where the two companions crossed a mountain stream; while Bernadette was removing her shoes to follow them, she became conscious of a ravishing beautiful Lady, standing in the hollow of the rock, looking at her. Bernadette fell involuntarily upon her knees, gazing enraptured at the lovely Lady, who smiled lovingly at Bernadette and then disappeared.
The mysterious Lady from heaven appeared in all, eighteen times to the little girl and among other things told her to drink the water from a mysterious fountain which was not yet observed. Bernadette scratched in the sand at a spot indicated and water began to trickle through the earth; after a few days there gushed forth every day 27,000 gallons of pure, clear spring water and this water flows still.

Bernadette was asked by Our Lady of Lourdes, who always showed her a sweet heavenly courtesy, to request the Priest to have a Church built on the spot, that processions should be made to the grotto, that people should drink of the water. The main emphasis of her message was that the faithful should visit the grotto in order to do penance for their sins and for those of the whole world.
In answer to Bernadette’s inquiry, “Who are you?” the Lady answered, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

The apparitions appeared for the last time on 16 July 1858. Bernadette never again had the supreme privilege of seeing and visiting with Our Lady. Later, Bernadette became a nun at Nevers and there spent the rest of her life. Through her, “Lourdes was destined to become a focus of faith and mercy; thousands of souls were to flock thither to increase their piety, to borrow new energy and resolution. Suffering and charity were to join hands under the eyes of the Divine Mother. Miracles were to be never-ceasing.”
Four years after, the Bishop declared, upon an exhaustive and scrupulous investigation, to the faithful, that they are “justified in believing the reality of the apparitions.”
In 1873, a Basilica was built on top of the rock and in 1883 another Church was built below and in front of the rock. From 1867 when records began to be kept until 1908, about 5,000,000 pilgrims had visited the grotto; now about 1,000,000 people visit Lourdes every year. Although Our Lady never at any time promised that pilgrims who visited the grotto would be healed of their physical ills, remarkable cures began at once and have continued ever since. Many of them are of such a character that they can be ascribed only to supernatural power.

There is no doubt that the cures are miraculous because every possible natural cause has been proved false. There is no chemical composition in the water to make it have curative properties. It has been claimed that the cures might be due to suggestion but Bernheim, head of the famous school of Nancy, says that although suggestion has a chance of success in certain functional diseases, it requires the co-operation of time. Suggestion cures slowly and progressively, while complete cures at Lourdes are instantaneous, the supreme Life Giver Himself is responsible for the many cures witnessed at this shrine of the Immaculate Conception and He chose a simple peasant to reveal to the world the love He bears all mankind, as the adopted children of His Blessed Mother.
Bernadette died in 1879 at the age of 35 and was later Canonised. The body of the blessed Saint can still be seen in its glass coffin, intact and incorrupt, looking as its photographs show, like a young woman asleep. The chair at which she prayed, the altar where she received her First Holy Communion, the bed in which she slept, the room in which she lived – all can be seen at Lourdes.
Lourdes is one of the greatest Marian shrines in the world. Here, praying to Our Lady of Lourdes, one may obtain refreshment, courage, energy and inspiration to continue the age-old struggle of the great Catholic Faith against the forces of darkness and disintegration. This great shrine, all its miracles and the streams of grace that are poured into the world through Our Lady of Lourdes, were made possible, through the faithfulness and the sanctity of a little peasant girl. Amen Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us, St Bernadette, pray for us!

—
29th World Day of the Sick +2021
—
St Ampelius of Africa
St Ardanus of Tournus
Bl Bartholomew of Olmedo
St Caedmon (Died c 680)
Biography of St Caedmon:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/11/saint-of-the-day-11-february-st-caedmon-died-c-680/

St Calocerus of Ravenna
St Castrensis of Capua
St Dativus the Senator
Bl Elizabeth Salviati
St Etchen of Clonfad
St Eutropius of Adrianopolis
St Felix the Senator
St Gobnata
St Pope Gregory II (669-731)
About “The Defender of Icons”
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/11/saint-of-the-day-11-february-saint-pope-gregory-ii-669-731-defender-of-icons/
Bl Gaudencia Benavides Herrero
St Helwisa
St Jonas of Muchon
St Lazarus of Milan (Died 449) Bishop

St Lucius of Adrianople
St Pope Paschal I
St Pedro de Jesús Maldonado-Lucero
St Saturninus of Africa
St Secundus of Puglia
St Severinus of Agaunum
St Soter of Rome
St Theodora the Empress
Bl Tobias Francisco Borrás Román
—
Guardians of the Holy Scriptures: Also known as –
• Anonymous Martyrs in Africa
• Martyrs of Africa
• Martyrs of Numidia
• Martyrs of the Holy Books
A large number of Christians tortured and murdered in Numidia (part of modern Algeria) during the persecutions of Diocletian, but whose names and individual stories have not survived. They were ordered to surrender their sacred books to be burned. They refused. Martyrs. c 303 in Numidia.

Martyrs of Africa – 5 saints: A group of five Christians who were martyred together; we know nothing else but the names of four of them – Cyriacus, Oecominius, Peleonicus and Zoticus.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRAYER, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 10 February – Be ‘a living monstrance of God’ … Mark 7:14-23

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 10 February Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17, Psalms 104:1-2,27-28, 29-30, Mark 7:14-23 and The Memorial of St Scholastica (480-547) Twin sister of St Benedict (480-547)

And he said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and they defile a man.” – Mark 7:20-23

REFLECTION – “It is a terrible misfortune, when there is not to be found, one really interior soul among all those at the head of important Catholic projects. Then, it seems, as though the supernatural had undergone an eclipse and the power of God, were in chains! And the saints teach us that, when this happens, a whole nation may fall into a decline and Providence will seem to have given evil men a free hand, to do all the harm they desire!
Make no mistake, there is a sort of instinct by which souls, without clearly defining what it is they sense, are aware of this radiation of the supernatural.
What else would bring the sinner, of his own accord, to cast himself at the feet of the Priest and ask pardon, recognising God Himself in His representative? …
“John, indeed, did no sign.” (Jn 10:41) Without working a single miracle, St John the Baptist attracted great crowds. St John Vianney, had a voice so weak, that it could not reach most of those in the crowd that surged around him. But, if people could hardly hear him, they saw him; they saw a living monstrance of God and the mere sight of him overwhelmed those who were there and, converted them!” – Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard OCSO (1858-1935) – The Soul of the Apostolate, Part 4, C

PRAYER – God our Saviour, through the grace of Baptism, You made us children of light. Hear our prayer, that we may always walk in that light and work for truth, as Your witnesses before men. May our hearts be purified by You grace and may our hands and lips speak with sincere words of love. May the prayers of St Scholastica and St Benedict, help us in this, our exile. We make our prayer, through Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 10 February – Saint Austrebertha of Pavilly OSB (630–704)

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Saint of the Day – 10 February – Saint Austrebertha of Pavilly OSB (630–704) Benedictine Nun and Abbess of Pavilly, France, miracle-worker. Born in 630 at Therouanne, Artois, France and died in 704 at Pavilly, Normandy, France. Patronage – Barentin, France. Also known as Austreberta, Eustreberta, Eustreverte.

Austrebertha was the daughter of Saint Framechildis and the Count Palatine Badefrid, she was born about 630 in Thérouanne, Pas-de-Calais. She refused to be part of an arranged marriage and in around 656 entered the Port-le-Grand Monastery in Ponthieu . She received the veil from Saint Omer before founding another Monastery in Marconne in Artois in the house of her parents. She later established a Monastery at Pavilly.

Although not well known outside of Upper Normandy, Austreberthe performed miracles during her lifetime. Once the water of a spring appeared near a Chapel and gave rise to a river that had healing properties for the disabled and lame.

Her most well-known miracle is that of the wolf. Austreberthe and her nuns used to wash the sacristy cloths of the Abbey of Jumieges a few leagues distant from Pavilly. A donkey used to carry the linen from one Monastery to another. One day, while looking for the donkey, she came across a wolf. The wolf admitted to killing the donkey and begged for forgiveness. Austrebertha reprimanded the wolf but forgave him and commanded that he carry the laundry himself, a task that the wolf performed for the rest of its life.

At the place of the death of the donkey a Chapel was erected in the seventh century, then, when it fell into ruin, a simple stone cross replaced it. It, in turn, was later replaced by an oak, in which was placed a statue of the Virgin.

The miracle of the wolf is depicted in the stained glass window of the Chapel in the village of Sainte-Austreberthe.

There is a Chapel in an open field, in Saint-Denis-le-Ferment, in the Eure where a pilgrimage takes place on Whit Monday. Some of her relics are said to have been brought to Canterbury by the Normans.

Austrebertha died in 704 at Pavilly at the aged of 74.

The two towns named Sainte-Austreberthe refer to her.