Martyrs of Ravenna – (4 saints): A group of Christians martyred together. Four names and no other information has survived – Agricola, Concordius, Navalis and Valentine. c 305 at Ravenna, Italy.
Advent Reflection – 12 December – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Readings: Zechariah 2:14-17, Judith 13:18, 19, Luke 1:26-38.
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus.” – Luke 1:30-31
REFLECTION – “Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb ” For all ages will call you blessed, as you said (Lk 1:48). The daughters of Jerusalem, that is to say, the Church, saw you and proclaimed your happiness … For you are the royal throne near which the angels stood contemplating their Master and Creator, who was seated on it (Dan 7:9). You have become the spiritual Eden, more sacred and more divine than the former one. The earthly Adam lived in the former; in you, lives the Lord who came from heaven (1 Cor 15:47). Noah’s ark was a prefiguration of you; it saved the seed of the second creation, for you gave birth to Christ, the world’s salvation, who submerged sin and pacified the floods.
It was you whom the burning bush described ahead of time, whom the tablets depicted, on which God wrote (Ex 31:18), which the ark of the covenant told about; it is you whom the golden urn, the candelabra … and Aaron’s staff that blossomed (Num 17:23) clearly prefigured. … I almost left out Jacob’s ladder. Just as Jacob saw heaven united with the earth by means of the two ends of the ladder and the angels descending and ascending on it and as the one who is really the strong and invincible one engaged in a symbolic struggle with him, thus you yourself became the mediator and ladder by which God came down to us and took upon Himself the weakness of our substance, embracing it and closely uniting it to Himself.” – St John Damascene (675-749) Monk, Theologian, Father and Doctor of the Church – 1st Sermon on the Dormition
PRAYER – Lord Jesus Christ my Lord, help me to become a devoted client of Your holy Mother Mary. Through Your grace, may I receive the spiritual strength she has promised to all her clients. May I, in simplicity, like St Juan Diego, become her vessel to share Your Light, throughout my world. Our Lady of Guadalupe Pray for us! Jesus Christ, our Lord, one God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for all ages, amen.
Saint of the Day – 12 December – Saint Vicelinus of Oldenburg (1086-1154) Bishop, Missionary, “the Apostle of Holstei,” zealous Preacher and as Bishop, he concentrated on education of his Priests and the spiritual growth of his Diocese as well as the needs of the poor, founder of numerous monasteries. Born in 1086 in the castle at Hemelin on the Weser, Lower Saxony, Germany and died on 12 December 1154 at Neumunster, Lorraine, France of natural causes. Also known as – Apostle of Obodriten, of the Wends, Vicelinus, Vincelin, Vizelin, Wissel, Witzel, Wizelin.
St Vicelinus distributes food to the needy. Oil painting by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, 1812
Vicelinus was born in Hemelin around 1086. He was orphaned at an early age and thereafter, raised by his uncle Ludolf, a Priest in a neighbouring village. He left to join the Cathedral school at Paderborn, where he soon surpassed his companions and assisted in the management of the Cathedral school.
Vicelinus was called to Bremen to act as teacher and principal of the school and was offered a canonry by Archbishop Frederick of the Archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen. In 1122 he may have gone to Laon to complete his studies under St Abelard. In 1126, Vicelinus decided to travel to Madgeburg, in order to see St Norbert, who at that time was the Archbishop. He hoped that St Norbert would ordain him a Priest and he could begin missionary work among the Slavs. For one reason or another this plan failed and so Vicelinus returned to Bremen, where Bishop Albero Ordained him. Hamburg-Bremen’s Archbishop Adalbero sent him among the Polabian Slavs and in the fall of 1126 Henry, Prince of the Obotrites, gave him a Church in Liubice, near the site of the later Lübeck. At the death of Henry (22 March 1127) Vicelinus returned to Bremen and was appointed Parish Priest at Wippenthorp. This gave him an opportunity to work among the Wagrians and neighbouring Obotrites.
Vicelinus’s preaching gathered crowds of eager listeners and many Priests aided him in founding a new monastery in 1127 known as Neumünster. The monastery followed the Rule of St Augustine and was liberally endowed by the Archbishop. Wars among the tribes in 1137 caused the missionaries to abandon their labours for two years. Vicelinus sent two Priests to Liubice but with little success. In 1134 he founded a second monastery at Segeberg.
Some years later Vicelinus established a monastery at Hogersdorf. Archbishop Hartwig I made him Bishop of Starigard (or today’s Oldenburg) in 1149. There he did much for the spiritual and temporal welfare of his Diocese. In 1152 he was struck by paralysis and lingered amid much suffering for two years before dying in Neumünster.
In 1330 the Augustine canon-law college moved to Bordesholm and St Vicelinus relics were transferred there too in 1332 and his body was buried before the main altar.
Bl Ludwik Bartosik Bl Martin Sanz St Simon Phan Ðac Hòa St Spyridon of Cyprus St Synesius St Vicelinus of Oldenburg (1086-1154) Bishop
Martyrs of Alexandria – (6 saints): A group of six Christians martyred for their faith during the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than five of their names – Alexander, Ammonaria, Dionysia, Epimachus and Mercuria. They were burned to death c 250 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Trier – (4 saints): A group of six Christians martyred for their faith during the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than five of their names – Alexander, Ammonaria, Dionysia, Epimachus and Mercuria. They were burned to death c 250 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Saint of the Day – 11 December – Saint Daniel the Stylite of Constantinople (c 409–493) Priest, Monk, Abbot, Hermit, miracle-worker – born in c 409 at Maratha, Syria and died in 493 near Constantinople of natural causes.
Daniel was born in Maratha, Syria in 409 and became a monk in nearby Samosata on the Upper Euphrates. He learned of St Simeon Stylite, who lived on a pillar at Antioch and twice went to see him twice.
At the age of forty-two, Daniel decided that he too wanted to become a stylite (from the Greek word “stylos”, meaning pillar) and live on a pillar at a spot near Constantinople.
Emperor Leo I, built a series of pillars with a platform on top for him and Daniel was ordained there by St Gennadius. The saint quickly became an attraction for the people. He celebrated the Eucharist on his pillar, preached sermons, dispensed spiritual advice and cured the sick who were brought up to him. He also gave prudent counsel to Emperors Leo and Zeno and the Patriarch of Constantinople.
All the while, Daniel lived his particular type of pillar spirituality. He came down from his perch only once in thirty-three years – to turn Emperor Baliscus away from backing the heresy of Monophysitism.
Daniel died in 493 and after St Simeon, became the best-known and venerated Stylite.
The life of St Daniel the Stylite is an apt reminder that there are many ways to live the spiritual life. All of us have our own way to be close to God everyday. Our task is to find that way and follow it to the very end.
Bl Martín Lumbreras Peralta Bl Martino de Melgar Bl Melchor Sánchez PérezPens Bl Pilar Villalonga Villalba Bl Severin Ott Martyrs of Saint Aux-Bois – (3 saints): Two Christian missionaries and one of their local defenders who faith in the persecutions of governor Rictiovarus – Fuscian, Gentian and Victoricus. They were beheaded in 287 in Saint Aux-Bois, Gaul (in modern France).
Martyrs of Rome – (3 saints): Three Christians murdered in the persecutions of Diocletian for giving aid to Christian prisoners – Pontian, Practextatus and Trason. They were imperial Roman citizens. They were martyred in c 303 in Rome, Italy.
Saint of the Day – 10 December – Saint Eulalia of Mérida (Died 304) Virgin Martyr. Born c 290 in Spain and died by being tortured and burned alive in c 304 in Merida, Spain. Eulalia was a devout Christian virgin, aged 12–14, whose mother sequestered her in the countryside because all citizens were required to avow faith in the Roman gods. Also known as Aulaire, Aulazie, Olalla. Patronages – Mérida, Spain; Oviedo, Spain; runaways, torture victims, widows, inclement weather.
St Eulalia was a native of Merida, in Spain. She was but twelve years old when the bloody edicts of Diocletian were issued. Eulalia ran away from her safe home in the countryside and presented herself at the law court of the cruel Governor Dacian at Emerita. She professed herself a Christian, reproached him for attempting to destroy souls by compelling them to renounce the only true God. She insulted the pagan gods and emperor Maximian and challenged the authorities to martyr her.
The Governor commanded her to be seized and at first tried to win her over by flattery but failing in this, he had recourse to threats and caused the most dreadful instruments of torture to be placed before her eyes, saying to her: “All this you shall escape if you will but touch a little salt and frankincense with the tip of your finger.”
Provoked at these seducing flatteries, our Saint threw down the idol and trampled upon the cake which was laid for the sacrifice. At the judge’s order, two executioners tore her tender sides with iron hooks, so as to leave the very bones bare. Next lighted torches were applied to her breasts and sides; under which torment, instead of groans, nothing was heard from her mouth but thanksgivings. The fire at length catching her hair, surrounded her head and face and the Saint was stifled by the smoke and flame. As she expired a dove flew out of her mouth. This frightened away the soldiers and allowed a miraculous snow to cover her nakedness, its whiteness indicating her purity and Sainthood.
Saint Eulalia, by John William Waterhouse, 1885
A shrine over Eulalia’s tomb was soon erected. Veneration of Eulalia was already popular with Christians by 350. The Roman poet Prudentius of the fifth century, who devoted book 3 of his Peristephanon (“About martyrs”) to Eulalia, increased her fame and her relics were distributed through Iberia. Bishop Fidelis of Mérida rebuilt a Basilica in her honour around 560. Her shrine was the most popular in Spain. Around 780 her body was transferred to Oviedo by King Silo. It lies in a sarcophagus of Arab silver donated by Alfonso VI in 1075. In 1639, she was made co-patron Saint of Oviedo.
Between 30 November and 10 December, Totana a town of Mérida, celebrates its annual fiesta in honour of Santa Eulalia, the figure of whom spends most of the year in the sanctuary of La Santa high above Totana in the mountains of Sierra Espuña (a glorious location with an extraordinary church!) but is carried down into Totana on 8 December for the festive season. Most of the events of the fiestas occur around that date. On her feast day, 10 December, the Eucharist is celebrated at the church of Santiago and thereafter, the Statue is processed through the streets of the town. St Eulalia will then not return to her sanctuary until 7 January.
Our Lady of Loreto The Holy House of Loreto The title Our Lady of Loreto refers to the Holy House of Loreto, the house in which Mary was born and where the Annunciation occurred and to an ancient statue of Our Lady which is found there. Tradition says that a band of angels scooped up the little house from the Holy Land and transported it first to Tersato, Dalmatia in 1291, then Recanati, Italy in 1294 and finally to Loreto, Italy where it has been for centuries. It was this flight that led to her patronage of people involved in aviation and the long life of the house that has led to the patronage of builders, construction workers, etc. It is the first shrine of international renown dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and has been known as a Marian centre for centuries. Popes have always held the Shrine of Loreto in special esteem and it is under their direct authority and protection.
The Holy House of Loreto – The feast is so named from the tradition that the house where the Holy Family lived in Nazareth, was transported by angels to the city of Loreto, Italy. The Holy House is now encased by a basilica. It has been one of the famous shrines of the Blessed Virgin since the 13th century. A complete background here:
St Abundius St Albert of Sassovivo St Angelina of Serbia Bl Brian Lacey BL Bruno of Rommersdorf St Caesarius of Epidamnus St Carpophorus St Deusdedit of Brescia St Eulalia of Mérida (Died 304) Virgin Martyr St Edmund Gennings St Emérico Martín Rubio St Florentius of Carracedo St Fulgentius of Afflighem St Gemellus of Ancyra St Gonzalo Viñes Masip St Pope Gregory III (Died 741) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/10/saint-of-the-day-10-december-st-pope-gregory-iii-died-741/ Bl Guglielmo de Carraria St Guitmarus St Hildemar of Beauvais Bl Jerome Ranuzzi Bl John Mason St Julia of Merida St Lucerius Bl Marco Antonio Durando St Maurus of Rome St Mercury of Lentini St Pope Miltiades St Polydore Plasden Bl Sebastian Montanol Bl Sidney Hodgson St Sindulf of Vienne St Swithun Wells St Thomas of Farfa Bl Thomas Somers St Valeria Martyrs of Alexandria – 3 saints – A group of Christians murdered for their faith in the persecutions of Galerius Maximian – c312. The only details that have survived are three of the names – Eugraphus, Hermogenes and Mennas.
Saint of the Day – 9 December – Saint Leocadia of Toledo (Died c 304) Virgin Martyr – Patronage – Toledo and its Archdiocese.
St Leocadia was a native of Toledo and was apprehended by an order of Dacian, the cruel governor under Diocletian in 304. Hearing of the Martyrdom of St Eulalia, she prayed that God would not prolong her exile but unite her speedily with her beloved Lord in His glory. By order of the governor, Decianus, described in the martyrology as the most furious persecutor of the Christians in Spain, she was seized and cruelly tortured in order to make her apostatise but she remained steadfast. She sent back to prison, where she died from the effects of the torture. Thus her prayer was answered and she went happily to meet her beloved Lord.
Buriel of St Leocadia
A Cathedral was built over her grave and later three famous churches in Toledo also bear her name. She is honoured as the principal Patroness of that city. In the Cathedral of Saint Leocadia most of the councils of Toledo were held.
This painting resides in the Chapel of St Leocadia in the Toledo Cathedral
She was buried in the local cemetery, near the Tagus, where soon a cult sprung up around her grave. It is thought that the Cathedral was built in the fourth century and later improved upon in 618 by St Sisebut. The seventh century saw a flourishing of her cult.
During the reign of Alfonso X of Castile, the prison where she is said to have been incarcerated still carried proof of her habitation. A contemporary witness records: “There still existed and we touched it, a sign of the cross impressed in the stone because the martyr constantly touched the walls with her fingers that sign of our redemption.”
The Exterior of the Holy Chamber of St Leocadia
During the ninth century, her relics were moved during the persecutions of the Moors. They were moved to Oviedo where St Alfonso the Chaste erected a Basilica there in her honour. In the eleventh century, a Count of Hainault arrived in Spain as a pilgrim to Compostela. He fought alongside Alfonso VI of Castile in campaigns of the Reconquista and received, in recompense, the relics of Saint Leocadia and Saint Sulpicius. Thus, her relics were taken out of Spain.
Jose’ Bernardo de la Meana, St. Leocadia, ca. 1753-62 in Oviedo Cathedral
Her relics were known to have been located at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Ghislain, in present-day Belgium and were venerated there by Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile, who recovered for Toledo a tibia of the saint. The Abbey of Saint-Ghislain suffered depredations in the wars of the 16th century. Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba attempted unsuccessfully to rescue the rest of her relics. However, a Jesuit named Miguel Hernández, a native of Toledo Province, found her relics in 1583. After many travels, he brought them to Rome in 1586. They were brought to Valencia by sea and then finally brought to Toledo from Cuenca. Philip II of Spain presided over a solemn ceremony commemorating the final translation of her relics to Toledo, in April 1587.
The small town of Leocadia, near Samaraes, between Braga and Guimarães in Northern Portugal, is named after her.
St Adam Scotus Bl Agustín García Calvo * Bl Antonio Martín Hernández * St Auditor of Saint-Nectaire St Balda of Jouarre St Bernhard Mariea Silvestrelli St Budoc of Brittany Bl Carmen Rodríguez Banazal * St Caesar of Korone St Cephas Bl Clara Isabella Fornari St Cyprian of Perigueux Bl Dolores Broseta Bonet * Bl Estefanía Irisarri Irigaray * St Ethelgiva of Shaftesbury St Gorgonia Bl Isidora Izquierdo García * Bl José Ferrer Esteve * Bl José Giménez López * Bl Josefa Laborra Goyeneche * Bl Josep Lluís Carrera Comas * St Julian of Apamea Bl Julián Rodríguez Sánchez * St Leocadia of Toledo (Died c 304) Virgin Martyr Blessed Liborius Wagner (1593-1631) Priest and Martyr His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/09/saint-of-the-day-9-december-blessed-liborius-wagner-1593-1631-priest-and-martyr/ Bl María Pilar Nalda Franco * St Michaela Andrusikiewicz St Nectarius of Auvergne
St Proculus of Verona Bl Recaredo de Los Ríos Fabregat * St Syrus of Pavia St Valeria of Limoges St Wulfric of Holme
Blessed Mercedarian Fathers – (10 beati): The memorial of ten Mercedarian friars who were especially celebrated for their holiness. • Arnaldo de Querol • Berengario Pic • Bernardo de Collotorto • Domenico de Ripparia • Giovanni de Mora • Guglielmo Pagesi • Lorenzo da Lorca • Pietro Serra • Raimondo Binezes • Sancio de Vaillo
Martyred Salesians of Valencia – (5 beati) Martyrs of North Africa – (4 saints): Twenty-four Christians murdered together in North Africa for their faith. The only details to survive are four of their names – Bassian, Peter, Primitivus and Successus.
Martyrs of Paterna – (7 beati) Martyrs of Samosata – (7 saints): Seven martyrs crucified in 297 in Samosata (an area of modern Turkey) for refusing to perform a pagan rite in celebration of the victory of Emperor Maximian over the Persians. They are – Abibus, Hipparchus, James, Lollian, Paragnus, Philotheus and Romanus. They were crucified in 297 in Samosata (an area in modern Turkey).
Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War – (13 beati): • Blessed Agustín García Calvo • Blessed Antonio Martín Hernández • Blessed Carmen Rodríguez Banazal • Blessed Dolores Broseta Bonet • Blessed Estefanía Irisarri Irigaray • Blessed Isidora Izquierdo García • Blessed José Ferrer Esteve • Blessed José Giménez López • Blessed Josefa Laborra Goyeneche • Blessed Josep Lluís Carrera Comas • Blessed Julián Rodríguez Sánchez • Blessed María Pilar Nalda Franco • Blessed Recaredo de Los Ríos Fabregat
Bl Alojzy Liguda St Anastasia of Pomerania St Anthusa of Africa St Antonio García Fernández St Casari of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon St Eucharius of Trier St Pope Eutychian (Died 283) The 27th Pope Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/08/saint-of-the-day-8-december-saint-pope-eutychian-died-283/ St Gunthildis of Ohrdruf Bl Jacob Gwon Sang-yeon Bl Johanna of Cáceres Bl José María Zabal Blasco St Macarius of Alexandria St Marin Shkurti St Patapius Bl Paul Yun Ji-chung St Rafael Román Donaire St Romaric of Remiremont St Sofronius of Cyprus
Quote/s of the Day – 7 December – The Memorial of St Ambrose (c 340-397) – Father and Doctor of the Church
“And this Body, which we make present, is the Body born of the Virgin. Why do you expect to find in this case, that nature takes its ordinary course in regard to the Body of Christ, when the Lord Himself was born of the Virgin in a manner above and beyond the order of nature? This is indeed the true flesh of Christ, which was crucified and buried. This is then, in truth, the Sacrament of His Flesh.”
“Rise, you who were lying fast asleep… Rise and hurry to the Church: here is the Father, here is the Son, here is the Holy Spirit.”
“Let your door stand open to receive Him, unlock your soul to Him, offer Him a welcome in your mind and then you will see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the joy of grace. Throw wide the gate of your heart, stand before the sun of the everlasting light.”
“Prayer is the wing, wherewith the soul flies to heaven and meditation, the eye, wherewith we see God.”
“When we speak about WISDOM, we are speaking about CHRIST. When we speak about VIRTUE, we are speaking about CHRIST. When we speak about JUSTICE, we are speaking about CHRIST. When we speak about PEACE, we are speaking about CHRIST. When we speak about TRUTH and LIFE and REDEMPTION, we are speaking about CHRIST.”
St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
Advent Reflection – 7 December – Monday of the Second Week of Advent, Readings: Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalms 85:9 and 10, 11-12, 13-14, Luke 5:17-26 and the Memorial of St Ambrose (c 340-397)- Father and Doctor of the Church
Let us adore the Lord, the King who is to come.
And amazement seized them all and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”- Luke 5:26
REFLECTION – “The Word of God has come to dwell in man; he became “Son of man” in order to accustom man to receive God and God to dwell in man, as it has pleased the Father. See now why the sign of our salvation, Emmanuel born of a Virgin, has been given by the Saviour Himself (Is 7:14). Indeed, it is the Saviour Himself who saves men, since of themselves they cannot save themselves. (…) The prophet Isaiah has said: “Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak! Take courage, frightened hearts; be strong, fear not! Here is your God who comes with vindication; he himself comes, he comes to save us,” (Is 35:3-4). For it is only by God’s help and not of ourselves, that we can stand up to our salvation.
And here is another text where Isaiah predicted that the one who saves us is neither simply a man nor an incorporeal being: “It was not a messenger or an angel but the Lord himself who saved his people. Because of his love and pity he forgave them; he redeemed them himself,” (Is 63:9). Yet this Saviour is also truly man, truly visible: “City of Zion, behold: your eyes shall see our Saviour” (…) And another prophet has said: “He will again have compassion on us and cast into the depths of the sea all our sins,” (Mi 7:19) (…) From the land of Judah, from Bethlehem (Mi 5:1) will come the Son of God, He who is also God, to pour out His praise on all the earth (…) Thus God has become man indeed and the Lord Himself has saved us, by giving us the sign of the Virgin.” – St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 130-c 202) Bishop, Church Father, Theologian and Martyr – Against the heresies III
PRAYER – Prayer of St Ambrose O Lord, who has mercy upon all, take away from me my sins and mercifully kindle in me the fire of Your Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore You, a heart to delight in You, to follow and enjoy You, for Christ’s sake. Amen
Saint of the Day – 7 December – Saint Sabinus of Spoleto (Died c 303) Bishop of Assisi, Martyr, miracle-worker. Additional Memorial – 30 December. Patronages – Fermo, Ivrea and Spoleto all in Italy.
An entry in the Roman Martyrology under 30 December records: “At Spoleto, the birthday of the holy martyrs: Sabinus, Bishop; Exuperantius and Marcellus, Deacons; also of Venustian, governor, with his wife and sons, under the Emperor Maximian. Marcellus and Exuperantius were first racked, then severely beaten with rods; afterwards, being mangled with iron hooks and burned in the sides, they terminated their martyrdom. Not long after, Venustian was put to the sword with his wife and sons. St Sabinus, after having his hands cut off and being a long time confined in prison, was scourged to death. The martyrdom of these saints is commemorated on the same day, although it occurred at different times.”
The legend of St Sabinus seems to have been compiled in the 5th or early 6th century. He was recorded in at least three of the important 9th century Martyrologies.
The legend is set in the reign of the Emperor Maximian (286-305). It relates that Venustianus, Governor of Tuscany arrested a Bishop, St Sabinus at Assisi in 303 and ordered him to adore an idol. When he dashed it to the ground, his hands were cut off and he was forced to watch as his Deacons, Sts Exuperanzius and Marcellus were tortured and killed.
St Sabinus survived and soon after cured the blind son (or perhaps the nephew) of the widow St Serena. Venustianus also suffered from a sight disorder, so he sent for St Sabinus. When he and his family agreed to be Baptised, he was cured. The Emperor then sent another legate, Lucius to Spoleto and he ordered the arrest of Sts Sabinus and Venustianus.
Saint Sabinus before Venustian, preaching the gospel. Pietro Lorenzetti.
All except one of the surviving versions of the legend say that they were martyred in Rome (usually at the Circus Maximus) on 18 May. His followers collected his body and buried it on 7 December. However, another version says that the Emperor Maximian and the senate, meeting in Rome, ordered the execution, which took place near Spoleto. It adds that he was buried “miliario secundo a civitate Spolitana” (at the second milestone from Spoleto.) The burial is usually attributed to the widow St Serena and the place of burial was probably the Christian cemetery near the site of the present church of San Sabino.
St Sabinus is venerated at Assisi as an early bishop of that city. Some relics stolen in 954 by Duke Conrad of Spoleto, and taken to Ivrea, Italy in order to combat an epidemic that was raging in the city; miracles reported in connection with the relics and they were processed through the centre of the old city every 7 July for centuries.
The cult of St Sabinus is widely dispersed, generally following the dispersal of his relics:
In 598, Pope Gregory I asked Bishop Chrysanthus of Spoleto to send relics of the Saint for use in an oratory in his honour that was being built in Fermo. He also arranged for other relics to be sent to Ascoli and Rieti.
Duke Alberic I may have taken relics to Rome – a reliquary is recorded at what is now Santa Maria del Priorato on the Aventine Hill, Rome, a complex founded by his son, Alberic II in 939.
In 954, Conrad, son of Duke Berengar II of Ivrea was briefly Duke of Spoleto. He fled back to Ivrea to escape an epidemic, taking with him relics of St Sabinus. St Sabinus is still a patron saint of Ivrea. His feast is celebrated there on 7th July, which is presumably the date of the translation.
In c 970, a representative of Bishop Theoderic I of Metz acquired the relics of St Serena (see St Sabinus) from San Sabino, along with other relics that were documented, perhaps incorrectly, as those of St Gregory. Theoderic took them back to Metz. These remains and the supposed relics of St Sabinus himself turned up at the Premonstratensian Abbey of Windberg (near Regensburg) in the late 12th century. This abbey is dedicated to the Virgin and SS Sabinus and Serena – the statue below is located there.
A sarcophagus (5th or 6th century) that is thought to have housed a relic of St Sabinus survives in the church of San Savino in Fusignano, a small town near Faenza and Ravenna. It is not known why or when this relic was taken to Fusignano. Astorre II Manfredi, Duke of Imola and Faenza, transferred them to the cathedral of Faenza in 1448 and they are still venerated there. Documents written at the time of the translation refer to St Sabinus as having been the Bishop of Assisi and to the relic in question as an arm.
The cathedral of Siena first claimed the body of St Sabinus in 1215.
Vigil of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – 7 December On this vigil day, Catholics stand in the remains of the night as the dawn makes its appearance. This resplendent dawn is that Singular Conception, the Immaculate Conception, who ushers in the Light of Christ. A day of Fast and Abstinence following the Rubrics of Pope Pius X for the Universal Calendar of the Church.
“It is through the most Blessed Virgin Mary, that Jesus Christ came into the world and, it is also through her, that He will reign in the world.” – St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)
St Agatho of Alexandria St Anianas of Chartres St Antonius of Siya St Athenodoros of Mesopotamia St Buithe of Monasterboice St Burgundofara St Diuma St Geretrannus of Bayeux Bl Humbert of Clairvaux St Martin of Saujon St Maria Giuseppa Rosello FdM (1811-1880) Founder About St Maria Giuseppa: https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/07/saint-of-the-day-7-december-st-maria-giuseppa-rosello-fdm-1811-1880/ St Nilus of Stolbensk St Polycarp of Antioch St Sabinus of Spoleto (Died c 303) Bishop Martyr St Servus the Martyr St Theodore of Antioch St Urban of Teano St Victor of Piacenza
Saint of the Day – 6 December – Saint Abraham of Kratia ( c 474–c 558) Bishop, Monk, Hermit – born in c 474 at Emesa, Syria and died in c 558 in Palestine of natural causes.
Abraham of Kratia was born in Emesa, Syria, in 474. After becoming a Monk, the community in his Monastery was dispersed by nomadic raiders. Abraham himself fled to Constantinople.
In Constantinople, Abraham became procurator of another Monastery and at the age of only twenty-six he was made Abbot of a house at Kratia in Bithynia. After some ten years as Abbot, he secretly went to Palestine to seek out solitude and a life of contemplation but his holiness, administrative qualities and love of the Church made him a perfect candidate for the ecclesiastical honour of the role of a Bishop. He was, therefore, forced to return by his Bishop to be made the Bishop of Kratia.
After thirteen years as Bishop, he once more fled to Palestine looking for a life of solitude and prayer. His remaining days were spent in a Palestinian Monastery as a Hermit and he died there around 558.
St Abraham of Kratia ( c 474–c 558) Bishop St Aemilianus the Martyr Bl Angelica of Milazzo St Asella of Rome St Boniface the Martyr St Dativa the Martyr St Dionysia the Martyr St Gerard of La Charite St Gertrude the Elder St Giuse Nguyen Duy Khang St Isserninus of Ireland Bl Janos Scheffler St Leontia the Martyr St Majoricus the Martyr St Peter Pascual (Died 1299) Martyr His life and death: https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/06/saint-of-the-day-6-december-saint-peter-pascual-died-1299-bishop-and-martyr/ St Polychronius St Tertus — Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Esteban Vázquez Alonso • Blessed Florencio Rodríguez Guemes • Blessed Gregorio Cermeño Barceló • Blessed Heliodoro Ramos García • Blessed Ireneo Rodríguez González • Blessed Juan Lorenzo Larragueta Garay • Blessed Luis Martínez Alvarellos • Blessed Luisa María Frías Cañizares • Blessed Miguel Lasaga Carazo • Blessed Narciso Pascual y Pascual • Blessed Pascual Castro Herrera • Blessed Vicente Vilumbrales Fuente
Saint of the Day – 5 December – St Sabbas (439–532) Priest, a Cappadocian-Syrian Monk, founder of several Monasteries, most notably the one known as Mar Saba. Born in 439 at Motalala, Cappadocia and died in 532 of natural causes. Also known as Sabbas of Mar Saba, Sabbas the Sanctified, Sabbas the Great, Sabas, Sava.
Sabbas is one of the most highly regarded patriarchs among the Monks of Palestine and is considered one of the founders of Eastern Monasticism.
After an unhappy childhood in which he was abused and ran away several times, Sabbas finally sought refuge in a Monastery. While family members tried to persuade him to return home, the young boy felt drawn to monastic life. Although the youngest Monk in the house, he excelled in virtue.
At age 18 he travelled to Jerusalem, seeking to learn more about living in solitude. Soon he asked to be accepted as a disciple of a well-known local solitary, although he was regarded as too young to live completely as a hermit. Initially, Sabbas lived in a Monastery, where he worked during the day and spent much of the night in prayer. At the age of 30 he was given permission to spend five days each week in a nearby remote cave, engaging in prayer and manual labour in the form of weaving baskets. Following the death of his mentor, Saint Euthymius, Sabbas moved farther into the desert near Jericho. There he lived for several years in a cave near the brook Cedron. A rope was his means of access. Wild herbs among the rocks were his food. Occasionally men brought him other food and items, while he had to go a distance for his water.
Some of these men came to him desiring to join him in his solitude. At first he refused. But not long after, relenting, his followers swelled to more than 150, all of them living in individual huts grouped around a church.
The Bishop persuaded a reluctant Sabbas, then in his early 50s, to prepare for the priesthood so that he could better serve his monastic community in leadership. While functioning as Abbot among a large community of Monks, he felt ever called to live the life of a hermit. Throughout each year—consistently in Lent—he left his Monks for long periods of time, often to their distress. A group of 60 men left the Monastery, settling at a nearby ruined facility. When Sabbas learned of the difficulties they were facing, he generously gave them supplies and assisted in the repair of their Church.
Over the years Sabbas travelled throughout Palestine, preaching the true faith and successfully bringing back many to the Church. At the age of 91, in response to a plea from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sabas undertook a journey to Constantinople in conjunction with the Samaritan revolt and its violent repression. He fell ill and soon after his return, died at the Monastery of Mar Saba.
Sabbas’s relics were taken by Crusaders in the 12th century and remained in Italy in the Church of Saint Anthony in Venice, until Pope Paul VI returned them to the Monastery in 1965, as a gesture of good will towards the Orthodox.
St Sabbas’ Relics at Mar Saba
The Monastery of Mar Saba long continued to be the most influential in those parts and produced several distinguished Monks, among them St John Damascene, the Father and Doctor of the Church, whose Feast we celebrated yesterday.
Today the Monastery is still inhabited by monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In Rome the Church of Saint Saba is dedicated to him. Saint Sabbas is regarded as one of the most noteworthy figures of early monasticism.
St Abercius St Anastasius St Aper of Sens St Bartholomew Fanti of Mantua St Basilissa of Øhren St Bassus of Lucera St Bassus of Nice St Cawrdaf of Fferreg St Christina of Markyate St Consolata of Genoa St Crispina St Cyrinus of Salerno St Dalmatius of Pavia St Firminus of Verdun St Gerald of Braga St Gerbold St Gratus Blessed Jean-Baptiste Fouque (1851-1926) The Life of the St Vincent de Paul of Marseilles: https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/05/saint-of-the-day-5-december-blessed-jean-baptiste-fouque-1851-1926-saint-vincent-de-paul-of-marseilles/ St Joaquín Jovaní Marín St John Almond Bl Giovanni/John Gradenigo St Justinian St Martiniano of Pecco Bl Narcyz Putz St Nicetius of Trier Bl Niels Stenson St Pelinus of Confinium Blessed Philip Rinaldi SDB (1856-1931) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2017/12/05/saint-of-the-day-5-december-blessed-philip-rinaldi-s-d-b-1856-1931/ St Sabbas of Mar Saba (439–532) Priest St Vicente Jovaní Ávila — Martyrs of Thagura – (12 saints): A group of twelve African Christians who were martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details about them that have survived are five of their names – Crispin, Felix, Gratus, Juliua and Potamia. 302 in Thagura, Numidia
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Joaquín Jovaní Marín • Blessed Vicente Jovaní Ávila
Quote/s of the Day – 4 December – The Memorial of St John Damascene (676-749) – Father and Doctor of the Church
“The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God.”
“The Son is the Counsel and Wisdom and Power of the Father.”
“All who ask receive, those who seek find and to those who knock it shall be opened. Therefore, let us knock at the beautiful garden of Scripture. It is fragrant, sweet and blooming with various sounds of spiritual and divinely inspired birds. They sing all around our ears, capture our hearts, comfort the mourners, pacify the angry and fill us with everlasting joy.”
“Images are books for the illiterate and silent heralds of the honour of the saints, teaching those who see, with a soundless voice and sanctifying the sight.”
“The saints must be honoured as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, … Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory.”
“Having confidence in you, O Mother of God, I shall be saved. Being under you protection, I shall fear nothing. With your help, I shall give battle to my enemies and put them to flight, for devotion to you, is an arm of Salvation.”
St John Damascene (676-749) Father and Doctor of the Church
Our Morning Offering – 4 December – Friday of the First Week of Advent and the Memorial of St John Damascene (675-749) Father and Doctor of the Church
God, my God, May I Always Abide in You By St John Damascene (675-749)
God, my God, unextinguishable and invisible fire, You make Your angels flaming fire. Out of Your inexpressible love, You have given me Your divine Flesh as food and through this communion of Your immaculate Body and precious Blood, You receive me as a partaker of Your divinity. Permeate all my body and soul, all my bones and sinews. Consume my sins in fire. Enlighten my soul and illumine my mind. Sanctify my body and make Your abode in me together with Your blessed Father and all-holy Spirit, that I may always abide in You, through the intercession of Your immaculate Mother and all Your saints. Amen
Saint of the Day – 4 December – Saint Osmund (Died 1099) Bishop of Salisbury, Confessor, Count of Sées, was a Norman noble, Lord Chancellor (c 1070-1078). Osmund is Also known as Edimund, Edmund, Osimund. Additional Memorial – 16 July (translation of his relics). St Osmund was born at Seez, Normandy, France and died during the night of 3 or early hours of 4 December in 1099 at Salisbury, England of natural causes. Patronages – against insanity or mental illness, against paralysis, against ruptures, against toothache, of paralysed people.
Osmund, a native of Normandy, was the son of Count Henry of Seez and Isabella, half-sister of King William the Conqueror of England. He took part in the Norman Conquest and served William as his Chancellor and accompanied him to England and was made Chancellor of the realm about 1070. He was employed in many civil transactions and was engaged as one of the Chief Commissioners for drawing up the Do0mesday Book. He was created Earl of Dorset at the same time but he did not refer to himself with that title.
Osmund became Bishop of Salisbury by authority of Pope Gregory VII and was consecrated by Blessed Archbishop Lanfranc (see link to Blessed Lanfranc’s life below) around 3 June 1078. His Diocese comprised the counties of Dorset, Wiltshire and Berkshire, having absorbed the former bishoprics of Sherborne and Ramsbury under its incumbent at the 1075 Council of London. In his Acts of the English Bishops, William of Malmesbury describes medieval Salisbury as a fortress rather than a city, placed on a high hill, surrounded by a massive wall. Peter of Blois later referred to the castle and Church as “the ark of God shut up in the temple of Baal.”
Salisbury Cathedral
He set about organising the new Diocese and providing it with its first Cathedral at Sarum. In establishing its constitution, he made it a model for many other such foundations. He is also regarded as the origin of the Sarum tradition of worship, even if it may have developed and been formalised later. Osmund also collected manuscripts for the Cathedral library, was a copier and binder of books, authored a life of St Aldhelm and was responsible for drawing up the books governing the liturgical matters for the Diocese such as the Mass and Divine Office, the so-called Sarum Use. Osmund also founded a Cathedral chapter of canons regular and a seminary for clerics.
Henry I’s biographer C Warren Hollister suggests the possibility that Osmund was in part responsible for Henry’s education; Henry was consistently in the Bishop’s company during his formative years, around 1080 to 1086.
Osmund assisted the king in assembling the massive census which became the Domesday Book and in 1086, he was present at the Great Gemot (political meeting) held at Old Sarum when the Domesday Book was accepted and the great landowners swore fealty to the sovereign.
In the dispute over investiture between King William II and St Anselm of Canterbury, Osmund initially sided with the king but later he admitted he had made a mistake and he begged Anselm’s forgiveness.
Osmund died in the night of 3 December 1099 and was succeeded, after the see had been vacant for eight years, by Roger of Salisbury, a statesman and counsellor of Henry I. His remains were buried at Old Sarum, translated to New Salisbury on 23 July 1457, and deposited in the Lady Chapel, where his sumptuous shrine was destroyed under Henry VIII. A flat slab with the simple inscription “MXCIX” has lain in various parts of the Cathedral. In 1644 it was in the middle of the Lady Chapel. It is now under the easternmost arch on the south side.
William of Malmesbury, in summing up Osmund’s character, says he was “so eminent for chastity that common fame would itself blush to speak otherwise than truthfully concerning his virtue. Stern he might appear to penitents but not more severe to them than to himself. Free from ambition, he neither imprudently wasted his own substance, nor sought the wealth of others.”
The cause for Osmund’s Canonisation began and was pursued from 1228. Pope Callistus III Canonised him in 1457. He was the last English person to be declared a Saint until the Canonisation of Sts Thomas More and John Fisher in 1935.
Prayer: Almighty God, the light of the faithful and shepherd of souls, who set Your servant Osmund to be a Bishop in the Church, to feed Your sheep by the word of Christ and to guide them by good example, give us grace to keep the faith of the Church and so to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, that we may, with Osmund, come to that everlasting joy which is His promise to us. Amen.
St Bernardo degli Uberti St Bertoara of Bourges St Christianus St Clement of Alexandria St Cyran of Brenne St Eraclius St Eulogio Álvarez López St Ezequiel Álvaro de La Fuente St Felix of Bologna Bl Francis Galvez St Francisco de la Vega González St Giovanni Calabria St Heraclas of Alexandria St Jacinto García Chicote Bl Jerome de Angelis St John the Wonder Worker St Maruthas St Melitus of Pontus St Osmund (Died 1099) Bishop Bl Pietro Tecelano St Prudens St Robustiano Mata Ubierna St Sigiranus Bl Simon Yempo St Sola St Theophanes
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Eulogio Álvarez López • Blessed Ezequiel Álvaro de La Fuente • Blessed Francisco de la Vega González • Blessed Jacinto García Chicote • Blessed Robustiano Mata Ubierna
Show forth Your power Lord and come. Come in Your great strength and save us.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” … Matthew 7:24-25
REFLECTION – “The just, (that is to say those who in baptism have put on the new man created in justice) live, insofar as they are just, by faith, by the light that the sacrament of illumination brings to them. The more they live by faith, the more they realise in themselves, the perfection of His divine adoption. Notice this expression carefully: ‘EX fide,’ the exact meaning of this is that faith ought to be the root of all our actions, of all our life. There are souls who live with faith (CUM fide). They have faith and one cannot deny that they practise it. But it is only on certain occasions … that they remember their faith to any purpose. … But when faith is living, strong, ardent, when we live by faith, that is to say, when in everything, we are actuated by the principles of faith, when faith is the root of all our actions, the inward principle of all our activity, then we become strong and steadfast, in spite of difficulties within and without, in spite of obscurities, contradictions and temptations. Why so? Because, by faith, we judge, we estimate all things as God sees and estimates them – we participate in the divine immutability and stability. Is not this what our Lord said? “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them” – that is to live by faith – “will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse.” For Jesus Christ immediately adds: “it had been set solidly on rock” (Mt 7:24-25).” … Bl Columba Marmion (1858-1923) Abbot – Our Faith, the Victory over the World (Christ, the Ideal of the Monk)
PRAYER – God our Father, You open the gates of the kingdom of heaven to those who are born again of water and the Holy Spirit. Increase the grace You have given, so that the people who have been purified from all sin, may not forfeit the promised blessing of Your love. Grant that we may ever keep Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, before our eyes and do all in Him and through Him and for Him. And may the prayers of Your great missioner, St Francis Xavier, he who lived Your words, strengthen our faith.
Our Morning Offering – 3 December – Thursday of the First week of Advent and The Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)
I Love Thee, God, I Love Thee By St Francis Xavier Translated by Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)
I love Thee, God, I love Thee— Not out of hope for heaven for me Nor fearing not to love and be In the everlasting burning. Thou, my Jesus, after me Didst reach Thine arms out dying, For my sake suffered nails and lance, Mocked and marred countenance, Sorrows passing number, Sweat and care and cumber, Yea and death and this for me, And Thou could see me sinning. Then I, why should not I love Thee, Jesu so much in love with me? Not for heaven’s sake, not to be Out of hell by loving Thee, Not for any gains I see, But just the way that Thou didst me I do love and will love Thee. What must I love Thee, Lord, for then? For being my king and God. Amen
Saint of the Day – 3 December – Saint Emma of Bremen (c 975–1038) Married Laywoman, Princess, mother and widow, apostle of the poor, founder of Churches. Also known as Emma of Lesum, Emma of Stiepel, Hemma, Imma. Born in c 975 and died on 3 December 1038 of natural causes.
Emma was born into the Saxon noble family of the Immedinger, descendants of Widukind. She married Liudger, a son of the Saxon duke Hermann Billung and brother of Bernard I, Duke of Saxony. Emperor Otto III made the couple a present in 1001 of the Pfalz or palatium in Stiepel), where, in 1008 Emma had a church built dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which later became a popular place of pilgrimage. The only child of the marriage was Imad, who was Ordained a Priest and later was consecrated as the Bishop of Paderborn in 1051.
After the early death of her husband in 1011, Emma withdrew to the estate of Lesum (now Bremen-Burglesum) and with her fortune, generously supported Bremen Cathedral and granted the Cathedral chapter her property at Stiepel with its church.
She was portrayed as a great benefactress of the Church and indeed, founded a number of Churches in the Bremen area, although her greatest care was for the poor.
Emma was later venerated as a Saint, although there is no evidence that she was formally ever either beatified or canonised. She was buried in Bremen Cathedral, where her tomb was still to be seen in the 16th century. Her tomb is one of the biggest in the cemetery. When the tomb was opened, her body had crumbled to dust except for her right hand (the hand that dispensed the help to the needy and the poor). That relic was placed in the Abbey of Saint Ludger at Werden.
There is a well-known Bremen legend concerning her gift of a meadow to the town in 1032. When a delegation of the townspeople approached her with a request for more meadowland, Emma promised them as much meadow as a man could run round in an hour. Her brother-in-law Bernard or Benno, Duke of Saxony, with an appraising eye on his inheritance, suggested mockingly that she might as well give them as much land as a man could run round in a day. Emma agreed to this but Bernard asked to choose the man who was to do the running and when Emma agreed to that too, picked out a legless cripple past whom they had just walked. This man proved, however, to have extraordinary strength and endurance and by the end of the day had succeeded in making his way round a very substantial area, bigger even than the present Bremen town meadow.
This story has been current in various forms since at least the 18th century, although there is no documentary evidence for it but gives a whole meaning to the inclusion of the figure of the “cripple” at the feet of the statue of Bremen Roland, the protector of the City of Bremen.
“Cripple” at the feet of the Roland statue in Bremen
St Abbo of Auxerre St Abran St Agapius St Agricola of Pannonia St Alvaro González López St Anthemius of Poitiers St Attalia of Strasbourg Bl Bernard of Toulouse OP Martyr St Birinus of Dorchester St Cassian of Tangiers St Claudius of Africa St Claudius the Martyr St Crispin of Africa St Edward Coleman St Eloque of Lagny St Emma of Bremen (c 975–1038) St Ethernan St Francisco Delgado González St Francisco Fernández Escosura St Hilaria the Martyr St Jason the Martyr Blessed Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer (1777-1860) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/03/saint-of-the-day-3-december-blessed-johann-nepomuk-von-tschiderer-1777-1860/ St John of Africa St Juan Bautista Ferris Llopis St Julián Heredia Zubia St Lucius St Lucy the Chaste St Magina of Africa St Mamas St Manuel Santiago y Santiago St Marcos García Rodríguez St Maurus the Martyr St Seleucus St Stephen of Africa St Theodore of Alexandria St Theodulus of Edessa St Valeriano Rodríguez García St Veranus Zephaniah the Prophet
Martyrs of Nicomedia: Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian – Ambicus, Julius and Victor. c 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. • Blessed Alvaro González López • Blessed Francisco Delgado González • Blessed Francisco Fernández Escosura • Blessed Juan Bautista Ferris Llopis • Blessed Julián Heredia Zubia • Blessed Manuel Santiago y Santiago • Blessed Marcos García Rodríguez • Blessed Valeriano Rodríguez García
Quote of the Day – 2 December – Wednesday of the First Week of Advent and The Memorial of Bl Jan/John van Ruusbroec(k) (c 1293-1382)
“If we would God discern The world we must despise, His love and hate must learn, See all things with His eyes. And we must self forgo If God we would attain, His grace must in us grow And ease us from all pain. So shall we sing His praise And be at one with Him, In peace our voices raise In the celestial hymn, That with quadruple harmony And all mellifluous melody, In Heaven resounds eternally.”
Advent Reflection – 2 December – Wednesday of the First Week of Advent, Readings: Isaiah 25:6-10,Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6, Matthew 15:29-37 and the Memorial of Bl Jan/John van Ruysbroec(k) (c 1293-1382)
Come to us and save us, Lord God Almighty Let Your face smile on us and we shall be safe.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” … Matthew 15:32
REFLECTION – “The second coming of Christ our Bridegroom takes place daily in good persons; indeed, it takes place frequently and repeatedly, with new gifts and graces, in all those who prepare themselves for it to the best of their ability. We do not intend to speak here of a person’s initial conversion or of the graces, which were first bestowed when he turned from sin to virtue. Rather, we wish to speak of a day-to-day increase in new gifts and new virtues and of a present, daily coming of Christ our Bridegroom into our soul. (…)
This is [a] coming of Christ our Bridegroom which takes place daily with an increase in graces and new gifts, for when a person receives any of the sacraments with a humble heart and without placing any obstacle in the way of the sacrament’s effects, then he receives new gifts and an increase of grace because of his humility and because of the mysterious working of Christ in the sacraments. (…) It is, then, another coming of Christ our Bridegroom which is present to us everyday. We should reflect on it with a heart full of desire so that it might take place in ourselves, for this coming is necessary, if we are to remain steadfast or go forward into eternal life.” … Bl Jan van Ruysbroec (1293-1381) Canon Regular – The Spiritual Espousals, Pt. 2
PRAYER – Prepare our hearts, Lord, by the power of Your grace. When Christ comes, may He find us worthy to receive from His hand, the Bread of Heaven at the feast of eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, with the Holy Spirit, God now and for all eternity, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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