Our Morning Offering – 20 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Thursday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) “Doctor of Light”
Run, hasten, O Lady, I Call upon You By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
Run, hasten, O Lady, and in your mercy help your sinful servant, who calls upon you, and deliver him from the hands of the enemy. Who will not sigh to you? We sigh with love and grief, for we are oppressed on every side. How can we do otherwise than sigh to you, O solace of the miserable, refuge of outcasts, ransom of captives? We are certain that when you see our miseries, your compassion will hasten to relieve us. O our sovereign Lady and our Advocate, commend us to your Son. Grant, O blessed one, by the grace which you have merited, that He who through you was graciously pleased to become a partaker of our infirmity and misery, may also, through your intercession, make us partakers, of His happiness and glory. Amen
Saint of the Day – 20 August – Saint Oswine of Deira (Died 651) King, Martyr, King of Deira in northern England. Also known as Osuine, Oswin. Born a Prince, the son of King Osric of Deira in Northumbria and died by being murdered on 20 August 651 at Gilling, Yorkshire, England on the orders of his cousin Oswy. Patronage – betrayal victims (his location was betrayed to his murders by a one of his supposedly loyal nobles).
“King Oswine was of a goodly countenance and tall of stature, pleasant in discourse and courteous in behaviour; and bountiful to all, gentle and simple alike.
[…] He had given a beautiful horse to Bishop Aidan, to use either in crossing rivers, or in performing a journey upon any urgent necessity, though the Bishop was wont to travel ordinarily on foot. Some short time after, a poor man meeting the Bishop and asking alms, he immediately dismounted and ordered the horse, with all his royal trappings, to be given to the beggar; for he was very compassionate, a great friend to the poor and, in a manner, the father of the wretched.
This being told to the King, when they were going in to dinner, he said to the Bishop, “What did you mean, my lord Bishop, by giving the poor man that royal horse, which it was fitting that you should have for your own use? Had not we many other horses of less value, or things of other sorts, which would have been good enough to give to the poor, instead of giving that horse, which I had chosen and set apart for your own use?”
Thereupon the Bishop answered, “What do you say, O King? Is that son of a mare more dear to you than that son of God?”
Upon this they went in to dinner and the Bishop sat in his place but the King, who had come in from hunting, stood warming himself, with his attendants, at the fire. Then, on a sudden, whilst he was warming himself, calling to mind what the Bishop had said to him, he ungirt his sword and gave it to a servant and hastened to the Bishop and fell down at his feet’ beseeching him to forgive him:
“For from this time forward,” said he, “I will never speak anymore of this, nor will I judge of what or how much of our money you shall give to the sons of God.” […] The King, at the Bishop’s command and request, was comforted but the Bishop, on the other hand, grew sad and was moved even to tears. His Priest then asking him, in the language of his country, which the King and his servants did not understand, why he wept.
“I know,” said he, “that the King will not live long, for I never before saw a humble King, whence I perceive that he will soon be snatched out of this life, because this nation is not worthy of such a ruler.” Not long after, the Bishop’s gloomy foreboding was fulfilled by the King’s sad death….”
The Venerable Bede (673-735): Ecclesiastical History of England, 3
St Oswine ruled as King of Deira (southern Northumbria) from 644-651, in the second generation after England’s conversion to Christianity by St Augustine of Canterbury. His father had been murdered by the warlord Cadwalla and young Oswine had been spirited away to safety in Wessex shortly afterwards. Following the death of his kinsman, Oswald, at the hands of King Penda of Mercia in 642, he returned to Deira and became King around 644 . His kinsman Oswy ruled Bernicia, the northern part of Northumbria.
Oswine had a great reputation for sanctity and justice and for seven years the kingdom of Deira enjoyed great happiness and prosperity. But his kinsmen Oswy, jealous of his power, made war upon Oswine. Oswine found himself unable to best the armies of Oswy and so he disbanded them and fled to Humwald of Gilling, whom had recently pledged allegiance to Oswine. But the unscrupulous Humwald quickly betrayed the saintly King Oswin to some of Oswy’s officers who murdered him at Gilling in 651. The slain king was immediately venerated as a Saint as St Bede explained above.
He was buried at Gilling, but his remains were lost during the Danish troubles. Only one year before the Norman Conquest (1065), St Oswine appeared in a vision to a monk named Edmund and revealed the location of his body. On 20 August 1103 his body was transferred solemnly to its final resting place. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries during Henry VIII’s reign, his body was found to be intact in the tomb but it was sacrilegiously destroyed. Only a fragment remained, which is now kept at Durham Cathedral.
As a side note, Eanfleda, the wife of Oswine’s murderer Oswy and daughter of St Edwin, persuaded her husband to do penance for Oswine’s murder by endowing a Monastery at Gilling, which he promptly did. Some remains of the Monastery can still be seen today, though it was destroyed by the Danes in the 11th century.
St Brogan St Burchard of Worms St Christopher of Cordoba St Cristòfol Baqués Almirall St Edbert of Northumbria Bl Georg Hafner Bl Gervais-Protais Brunel St Gobert of Apremont St Haduin of Le Mans St Heliodorus of Persia St Herbert Hoscam St Leovigild of Cordoba Bl Louis-François Lebrun St Lucius of Cyprus Bl Maria de Mattias ASC (1805-1866) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/08/20/saint-of-the-day-20-august-st-maria-de-mattias-a-s-c-1805-1866/
St Maximus of Chinon St Oswine of Deira (Died 651) King, Martyr St Philibert of Jumièges (c 608–684) About St Philibert: https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/20/saint-of-the-day-20-august-saint-philibert-of-jumieges-c-608-684/ St Porphyrius of Palestrina St Ronald of Orkney St Samuel the Patriarch Bl Wladyslaw Maczkowski St Zacchaeus the Publican — Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: 8 Beati Enrique Rodríguez Tortosa Francesc Llagostera Bonet Ismael Barrio Marquilla José Tapia Díaz Magí Albaigés Escoda Manuel López Álvarez María Climent Mateu Serapio Sanz Iranzo Tomás Campo Marín
Quote/s of the Day – 19 August – The Memorial of St John Eudes Orat. (1601-1680) “Apostle of Two Hearts”
“I ask you to consider, that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head and that you are a member of His body. He belongs to you as the head belongs to the body. All that is His is yours – breath, heart, body, soul and all His faculties. All of these you must use, as if they belonged to you, so that in serving Him, you may give Him praise, love and glory.”
“A man is no true Christian if he has no devotion to the Mother of Jesus Christ.
“Every Saint belongs to the Court of the Queen of All Saints.”
One Minute Reflection -19 August – Wednesday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 34: 1-11, Psalms 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6, Matthew 20:1-16 and The Memorial of St John Eudes Orat. (1601-1680) “Apostle of Two Hearts” and St Louis of Toulouse OFM (1274-1297)
“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first and the first last.” … Matthew 20:15-16
REFLECTION – “One of the robbers crucified with Jesus cried out: “Lord, remember me; it is to you I now turn (…). Remember not my works, for of these I am afraid. Every man has a feeling for his fellow-traveller; I am travelling with you towards death; remember me, your fellow-wayfarer. I do not say, Remember me now, but, “when you come in your kingdom” (Lk 23:42).
What power, O robber, led you to the Light? Who taught you to worship that despised Man, your companion on the cross? O Light Eternal, which gives light to them that are in darkness! (Lk 1:79) “Take courage! Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” because “today you have heard my voice, and have not hardened your heart” (Ps 95[94]:8). Very speedily I passed sentence upon Adam (…) but you, who today have obeyed the faith, today is your salvation. By the tree Adam fell away; by the tree you are brought into paradise (…)
O mighty and ineffable grace! The faithful Abraham had not yet entered but the robber enters! Paul also wondered at this before you, saying, “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more” (Rom 5:20). They who had borne the heat of the day had not yet entered and he of the eleventh hour entered. Let none murmur against the Master of the House, for He says, “My friend, I am not cheating you. Am I not free to do as I wish with what is my own?” The robber has a will to work righteousness … I accept his faith … I, the Shepherd, have “found the sheep that was lost”; I lay it on my shoulders (Lk 15:5); since he himself has said, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Lord, remember me when You come in Your kingdom.” … St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Bishop of Jerusalem, Father, Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Father of mercies and God of all consolation, You gave us the loving Heart of Your own beloved Son, because of the boundless love by which You have loved us, which no tongue can describe. May we render You a love that is perfect with hearts made one with His. Grant, we pray, that our hearts may be brought to perfect unity, each heart with the other and all hearts with the Heart of Jesus….and may the rightful yearnings of our hearts find fulfilment through Him, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. – Collect from Saint John Eudes’ Mass, Gaudeamus, 1668 St John Eudes and St Louis of Toulouse, Pray for us! amen.
Our Morning Offering – 19 August – Monday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time and The Memorial of St John Eudes Orat. (1601-1680) “Apostle of Two Hearts”
Be the Heart of My Heart By St John Eudes (1501-1680)
O Heart all lovable and all loving of my Saviour, be the Heart of my heart, the Soul of my soul, the Spirit of my spirit, the Life of my life and the sole principle of all my thoughts, words and actions, of all the faculties of my soul and of all my senses, both interior and exterior. Amen
Saint of the Day – 19 August – Saint Louis of Toulouse OFM (1274-1297) Prince and Bishop, Neapolitan prince of the Capetian House of Anjou, Franciscan Friar and Priest, Apostle of prayer, of penance and of the poor and the sick – born in February 1274 at Nocera, Italy and died on 19 August 1297 at Brignolles, Italy of natural causes, aged just 23. Also known as Louis of Anjou. Patronages – Valencia (Spain), Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, Baler (Philippines).
Louis was the son of Charles II of Naples and Sicily and was born in 1274 and named after his uncle, the holy St Louis IX (1214-1270), King of France. (His life here https://anastpaul.com/2017/08/25/saint-of-the-day-25-august-st-louis-king-of-france/). It was the great concern of his mother, the niece of St Elizabeth, to rear her many children as true servants of the King of Kings.
The devout queen observed in her son, Louis, particularly blessed results of her maternal solicitude. He loved prayer, was reserved and gentle and his whole conduct radiated angelic purity. Even as a child he practised mortification. On a certain occasion, after he had retired, his mother found him sleeping on a rug on the floor of his room instead of in his comfortable bed.
Sweets and delicious foods he carried to the poor and sick with his mother’s permission. It is related that once he was leaving the dining room with a roasted pullet under his mantle and so met his father. The King wished to see what he was carrying. Timidly the boy laid back his mantle and lo, it was a beautiful bouquet of flowers!
When he was 14, Louis was taken to Barcelona with two of his brothers, as a hostage for the release of his father, who had been taken a prisoner of war. Gladly did Louis accept this misfortune to obtain his father’s freedom but, at the same time, the disposition with which he accepted it was astonishing in a boy of his age.
“Misfortune,” he said, “is more useful to the friends of God than good fortune, for on such occasions they can prove their loyalty to their Lord.”
Under the guidance of several excellent Franciscan friars who were appointed teachers to the young princes, Louis made remarkable progress in virtue as well as in secular knowledge. In public debates he manifested his mastery of the various branches of knowledge, both sacred and secular. Theology was his favourite subject. So devoid was he of ambition, that he planned to renounce his claims to the throne in order to devote himself entirely to the service of God.
About this time he became seriously ill. He made a vow that if he recovered, he would join the Order of Friars Minor. The sickness immediately took a turn for the better but the Superiors of the Order hesitated to receive the young prince without the consent of the king, his father. Louis was thus obliged to defer his pious design.
At the end of six years his captivity ended. On returning home, after much pleading, he finally obtained the permission of his father to settle his claims on his brother Robert and to become a Priest.
Not very long after his Ordination and although he was only 21 years old, he was selected by Pope Boniface VIII for the Bishopric of Toulouse.
“Whatever is lacking to the young Priest in age and experience,” said the Pope, “his extraordinary knowledge, his maturity of mind and his holiness of life will amply supply.”
Saint Louis had to yield to the Pope’s wishes but he requested that he might first be admitted into the Order of Friars Minor. That request was granted. The royal Prince was overjoyed to be permitted, for a time at least, to perform the humblest exercises in the garb of a son of St Francis; in Rome he went from door to door gathering alms.
The Pope himself, officiated at the ceremony of Episcopal Consecration and shortly afterward, Saint Louis left to assume the government of his Diocese His noble birth and above all the fame of his sanctity, caused him to be received at Toulouse like a messenger from heaven. The entire city went out to meet him and everybody was enchanted with his modesty, sweetness and angelic virtue which radiated from his face and bearing.
A sinner who for many years had lived a wicked life, cried out at the sight of him: “Truly, this man is a saint!” and then turned away from his sinful habits and led a better life.
A woman who doubted the sanctity of the young man went to church one morning to attend the Mass which the Bishop was celebrating. Then she, too, cried out: “Ah, yes, our Bishop is a saint!”
Bishop Louis led the poor and rigorous life of a Friar Minor and devoted himself with all solicitude to the welfare of his Diocese. The poor were his best friend, and he fed 25 of them daily at his own table. His ministry, however, was destined to be short-lived.
Saint Louis died in the 24th year of his life, having been Bishop no longer than a year and a half.
He had received the last sacraments on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady and on the 19th of August, 1297, while pronouncing the holy name of Mary, he yielded his soul to God. Because of the many miracles that were wrought at his tomb, he was Canonised as early as 1317, during the lifetime of his mother.
St Andrew the Tribune St Badulf of Ainay St Bertulf of Luxeuil St Calminius St Credan of Evesham St Donatus of Mount Jura St Elaphius of Châlons St Ezekiel Moreno Y Diaz St Guenninus Bl Guerricus Bl Hugh Green Blessed Jordan of Pisa OP (c 1255–1311) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/19/saint-of-the-day-blessed-jordan-of-pisa-op-c-1255-1311/ St Julius of Rome St Louis of Toulouse OFM (1274-1297) Prince and Bishop
St Magnus of Anagni St Magnus of Avignon St Magnus of Cuneo St Marianus of Entreaigues St Marinus of Besalu St Magino of Tarragona St Mochta St Namadia of Marsat St Rufinus of Mantua St Sarah the Matriarch St Sebaldus St Thecla of Caesarea St Timothy of Gaza — Martyrs of Nagasaki – 15 beati: A group of missionaries and their laymen supporters who were executed for spreading Christianity in Japan. • Antonius Yamada • Bartholomaeus Mohyoe • Iacobus Matsuo Denji • Ioachim Díaz Hirayama • Ioannes Miyazaki Soemon • Ioannes Nagata Matashichi • Ioannes Yago • Laurentius Ikegami Rokusuke • Leo Sukeemon • Ludovic Frarijn • Marcus Takenoshita Shin’emon • Michaël Díaz Hori • Paulus Sankichi • Pedro de Zúñiga • Thomas Koyanagi They were beheaded on 19 August 1622 at Nagasaki, Japan and Beatified on 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War Martyred Carmelite Sisters of Charity – 9 beati Martyred Salesians of Ciudad Real – 8 beati Martyred Subiaco Benedictines of Barcelona – 7 beati • Blessed Agueda Hernández Amorós • Blessed Agustí Busquets Creixell • Blessed Andrés Pradas Lahoz • Blessed Antolín Martínez y Martínez • Blessed Antoni Pedró Minguella • Blessed Càndid Feliu Soler • Blessed Cipriano González Millán • Blessed Damián Gómez Jiménez • Blessed Elvira Torrentallé Paraire • Blessed Félix González Bustos • Blessed Francisca de Amézua Ibaibarriaga • Blessed Francisco de Paula Ibáñez y Ibáñez • Blessed Ignasi Guilà Ximenes • Blessed Isidro Muñoz Antolín • Blessed Joan Roca Bosch
Our Morning Offering – 18 August – Tuesday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of Saint Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850) Monk, Abbot, Defender of Icons, miracle worker
To You, O Master By St Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850)
To You, O Master,
who loves all mankind
I hasten on rising from sleep.
By Your mercy,
I go out to do Your work
and I make my prayer to You.
Help me at all times and in all things.
Deliver me from every evil thing of this world
and from pursuit by the devil.
Save me and bring me to Your eternal kingdom,
For You are my Creator,
You inspire all good thoughts in me.
In You is all my hope
and to You I give glory,
now and forever.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 18 August – Blessed Rinaldo of Concorezzo (c 1245 – 1321) Bishop of Vicenza from 1296 until his 1303 appointment as the Archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia holding that until his death, Doctor of Canon Law, Papal envoy, Arbitrator and peace-maker. Rinaldo served as a close confidante to Pope Boniface VIII before the latter was elected as Pontiff and is known for attempting to secure the rehabilitation of the Knights Templar. Archbishop Rinaldo was also a close friend of Dante Alighieri.
Rinaldo was a son of the noble Da Concoregio family, he was born in Milan between 1240 and 1250. Nothing is known about his youth, we have first knowledge of him in Bologna at the University. In his adolescence he completed his studies in Bologna and began to teach Canon law in Lodi from October 1286. In May 1287, the Bishop of Lodi asked him for legal opinions, this makes us understand that he enjoyed a reputation as a jurist and in fact had the academic title of ‘Doctor’ in 1295. We presume that during this time he completed his theological studies and was Ordained.
In 1289 he entered the staff of the Vice Chancellor of the Roman Curia Cardinal Pietro Peregrosso and he became an heir of the Cardinal in the latter’s will after he died in 1295. Rinaldo became a private aide and later the Chaplain to Cardinal Benedetto Caetani who became Pope Boniface VIII in 1294.
On 13 October 1296 the Pope appointed him Bishop of Vicenza, a See which he reached in a stormy way because in the meantime, the Vicentines had elected another bishop. In the end, the Pope’s authority prevailed and Rinaldo received his Episcopal Consecration and was installed as Bishop.
In that period he had special diplomatic and arbitration posts in the disputes that stirred between France and England. He was appointed by King Charles of Valois (1270-1325), called by the Pope to Florence to act as Arbirtrator and as Papal Nuncio (1302) in Romagna, later becoming the spiritual and temporal rector of the Region.
And in this function he found himself involved in the known turbulence of the area in continuous guerrilla warfare, in Forlì his headquarters, he took to the streets to bring peace but was attacked and seriously wounded, miraculously healed from deep wounds and continued his mission but sadly, without success.
The death of Boniface VIII came as a slight blow to the Bishop though Pope Benedict XI appointed him on 19 November 1303 as the Archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia and Rinaldo was installed in his new Archdiocese in October 1305.
He convoked a provincial council in 1307 and then resumed the old practice of visiting all parishes contained within the Archdiocese. He held a second in 1309 and another in 1311 all in Ravenna. He visited northern Italian cities in tumult to reconcile them with the empire’s monarch Henry VII. In 1314 he called the fourth council in Argenta in order to restore discipline to priests and liturgical matters. He called for the fifth and last in Bologna in 1317.
He attempted to defend and secure the rehabilitation of the Knights Templar at the Council of Ravenna. He was the architect of the acquittal of the Italian Templars in the Council of Ravenna, which was under investigation and threatened with the dissolution of the Order at the behest of Philip the Beautiful. Together with his suffragan Bishops. He condemned torture and terror as a means of obtaining confessions, not accepting them if extorted with these methods and in this he also opposed the will of Pope Clement V who wanted them to be dissolved.
Moreover, in the Council of Vienne (1311-1312) while dissolving the Order of the Templars by authority, Pope Clement V, together with the King of France, had to admit, that none of the accusations had been proven and Rinaldo who participated in the Council, had thus a total and complete confirmation to his right action.
He travelled a great deal due to the heavy assignments he received from both the Pope and the King of France. He travelled around the various Lombard cities to try to make peace on behalf of Henry VII, King of Germany.
In 1314, he convened the fourth provincial council in Argenta, with the aim of recovering the assets of the Church, restoring the discipline of the clergy, the faithful and worship. A fifth and last Provincial Council was held in Bologna in 1317.
With impressive works he restored the Cathedral of St Bear, increasing preaching in the vernacular. From 1314, now ill in health, he settled in the castle of Argenta and governed the Episcopal See of Ravenna through Vicars, gradually estranging himself from political action and limiting himself to the care of the Diocese.
He died in that castle on 18 August 1321 and was interred in the Ravenna Cathedral. He was exhumed in 1566 and found incorrupt with his long beard still intact.
The cult of Rinaldo has always been a constant tradition of the Ravenna Church – in a document of 1340 he was given the title of ‘blessed’; in 1413 the Franciscan Niccolò da Rimini wrote his ‘Acts and miracles’.
His relics are in Lodi, Concorezzo and Vicenza, places where he is also venerated. The official cult was granted to the Diocese of Ravenna on 15 January 1852. Pope Pius IX approved his Beatification on 18 August 1852.
Blessed Rinaldo’s Sarcophagus in Ravenna Cathedral
Bl Antoine Bannassat
St Crispus of Rome
St Daig Maccairaill
Bl Domenico de Molinar
St Eonus of Arles
St Ernan
St Evan of Ayrshire
St Firminus of Metz
St Florus of Illyria
Bl Francus of Francavilla
Bl Gaspar di Salamanca St Helena (c 250 – c 330) Mother of Constantine the Great St Helena’s Story: https://anastpaul.com/2018/08/18/saint-of-the-day-18-august-st-helena-c%e2%80%89250-c-%e2%80%89330/
St Hermas of Rome
St John of Rome
St Juliana of Myra
St Juliana of Stobylum
St Laurus of Illyria
St Leo of Myra
Bl Leonard of Cava St Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/18/saint-of-the-day-18-august-saint-macarius-the-wonder-worker-died-850/
Bl Martín Martínez Pascual (1910-1936) Martyr
St Maximus of Illyria
Bl Milo of Fontenelle
St Polyaenus of Rome
St Proculus of Illyria Blessed Rinaldo of Concorezzo (c 1245 – 1321) Bishop
St Ronan of Iona
St Serapion of Rome
—
Massa Candida: Also known as –
• Martyrs of Utica
• White Company
Three hundred 3rd century Christians at Carthage who were ordered to burn incense to Jupiter or face death by fire. Martyrs. Saint Augustine of Hippo and the poet Prudentius wrote about them. They jumped into a pit of burning lime c 253 at Carthage, North Africa.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Martyred Carmelites of Carabanchel Bajo – 8 beati:
Martyrs of La Tejera – 4 beati:
• Blessed Adalberto Vicente y Vicente
• Blessed Agustín Pedro Calvo
• Blessed Angelo Reguilón Lobato
• Blessed Atanasio Vidaurreta Labra
• Blessed Aurelio García Anton
• Blessed Celestino José Alonso Villar
• Blessed Daniel García Antón
• Blessed Eliseo María Camargo Montes
• Blessed Eudald Rodas Saurina
• Blessed Fermín Gellida Cornelles
• Blessed Francisco Arias Martín
• Blessed Francisco Pérez y Pérez
• Blessed Gregorio Díez Pérez
• Blessed Jaume Falgarona Vilanova
• Blessed José María Ruiz Cardeñosa
• Blessed José Sánchez Rodríguez
• Blessed Joseph Chamayoux Auclés
• Blessed Liberio González Nombela
• Blessed María Luisa Bermúdez Ruiz
• Blessed Micaela Hernán Martínez
• Blessed Nicomedes Andrés Vecilla
• Blessed Patricio Gellida Llorach
• Blessed Rosario Ciércoles Gascón
• Blessed Santiago Franco Mayo
• Blessed Silvano Villanueva González
• Blessed Vicente María Izquierdo Alcón
Saint of the Day – 17 August – St Nicolò Politi (1117-1167) Basilian Monk and Hermit, He was known for his miracles even during his childhood and was Venerated as a saint even before his death. Born on 6 September in 1117 in Adranò, Catania, Sicily, Italy and died at dawn on 17 August 1167 in Arcaria, Sicily, Italy. Patronages – Adrano, Alcara li Fusi, Sicily, Italy.
In Adranò, in the 12th Century, lived the noble and historic family of the Politi, represented mainly by Almidoro and his wife Alpina. This couple, living a pure and Christian faith, was very wealthy and yearned for a child to inherit their many riches. Almidoro and Alpina incessantly prayed to the Lord to grant them the grace of having a child. As the story is told, following a devout tradition that on 1 December 1116, the Politi couple travelled to Alcara in order to help with the huge festivities which followed for the celebration in honour of Saint Nicola Vescovo, Bishop. Many foreigners came to the festival to honour of his many miracles. With love and deep devotion, Almidoro and Alpina prayed to Saint Nicola Vescovo for the Lord to grant them the grace of having a child, promising that they would name him Nicola. After nine months, on 6 September 1117, the Politi Palace was blessed with the joy of a new baby boy whom they, as promised, named Nicola. The historians narrate that the water of the first tear that he cried, miraculously forged a fountain of fresh spring water. They also write that from the tender age fof three days to one week old, he refused to eat.
As he grew older, he revealed the goodness of his mind, the purity of his soul, his charity for the poor and the sufferers, his mercy, vivid intelligence and his love of study. His teacher, Fr Andrea, was amazed by his intelligence and by the way that Nicola learned several disciplines, particularly the languages Greek and Latin and the works of the Byzantine Fathers.
At the age of 17, Nicola was already a sturdy, prudent young person, admired by all for its exemplary gifts, his works of beneficence and his devotional life. In the year 1134, his proud parents, decided he should marry. Nicola, as soon as he heard the news, opposed their decision and refused his parents’ wishes. Even though he was a very devoted son, he told them he planned only to serve the Lord with purity of spirit and body for the remainder of his life. Hoping that Nicola would change his mind, his parents found a beautiful, rich and noble young woman. They spoke to her family and arranged the wedding. But Nicola, the night before the wedding, escaped from his parents’ home and settled on a life of solitude, sheltered in a cave on the outskirts of the city of Etna, in Sicily.
Three years later, in 1137, Almidoro was coming close to finding his son. Nicola, receiving a warning from the Heavens and with the guide of an Eagle, left Etna and headed towards Alcara. In the evening, he reached Maniace and stayed overnight in the Monastery of the Bassilian Monks where he met young Lorenzo from Frazzanò. The next morning, he went to confession, attended the Mass and afterwards, together with Lorenzo, set out again on foot. At the top of the mountain of Moele, the two young men separated – Lorenzo continued towards Frazzanò and Nicola followed the Eagle that would guide him to his new home.
Reaching the western areas of Monte Calanna, tired and thirsty, he implored the Heavens for divine intervention. He poked a cross-shaped stick at a pebble and a gush a fresh water sprang forth, which still exists today and is named “Aqua Santa.” A little later that day, the Eagle landed on top of a grotto where Nicola would then live. The day after, according to Lorenzo, Nicola came upon the Monastery of the Rogato, where he knew Father Cusmano d’ Alcara, the most scholarly clergyman, theologian and holyman. He became Nicola’s spiritual father and the Monastery the place in which, for thirty years, he would go to Mass every Saturday at the Vigil he would confess and receive Holy Communion from him.
In his grotto, Nicola lived in prayer, meditation and penance, feeding himself off the grass and the bread that every day the protective Eagle carried to him. In 1162 at the Monastery, he found his friend Lorenzo, now a member of the Convent of Fragalà. He wanted to accompany Nicola to his grotto where he was astonished at the serious state of poverty in which Nicola lived. That day the Eagle carried an entire loaf of bread and not the usual half. In the morning Lorenzo left for the Monastery. On the 14 August 1167 Nicola, received another warning from the heavens and learned that in 3 days he would die.
The next morning, Feast of Assumption, he went to the Monastery where he confided with joy, to Fr Cusmano, that on the 17th he would render his spirit to God. After Holy Mass he said his farewells to the Monks and returned to the grotto. Before arriving, he stopped beside the road, tired and thirsty. Two women with baskets full of fruit passed by. Nicola asked the women, in the name of God, for the charity of one fruit. The first one refused and made fun of him and her fruit turned rotten and full of worms. The second one kindly offered the fruit and her basket was filled with roses and calla lilies.
Finally reaching the grotto, exhausted, Nicola prepared for his death with fervent prayers to the Lord and with supplication to the Virgin Mary, the Angels and the Saints. On Thursday, 17 August 1167, the pure and Holy Spirit of Nicola left his body and ascended to Heaven. At the moment of his blessed passing, the bells of Alcara and the Monastery, began to ring festively for about an hour, without the aid of any human hand. The clergy, the town’s governors and the people ran into church but nobody could offer an explanation of the blessed event. A message arrived that Fr Cusmano had died but instead, Fr Cusmano realised Nicola had died. He, of course, did not know where the grotto was in which Nicola lived. Many in Alcara and at the Monastery began a novena of prayer to the Virgin Mary, the protector of the town, asking for confirmation of the death of the Saint and therefore, the miraculous ringing of the bells.
At the end of the novena, Saturday, 26 August, the bells began ringing again on their own, just as Leone Rancuglia reached Alcara and reportsed to the clergy and the people re-united in church, of having recovered, in a grotto, the body of a hermit and to have touched it with a stick which left his arm paralysed. The clergy, the magistrates and the people left immediately and met up with the nuns of Rogato at the Canale. Together, going to the grotto, Rancuglia pointed to the body of the Saint and his affected arm returned to normal functioning. The Body, still kneeling, with the cross and the book opened on his hands, was carried outside and placed in open arch. Then Fr Cusmano stood on a rock and was inspired to narrate the story of the blessed life of St Nicola, to whom for thirty years he had been a confidante and spiritual father. While numerous miracles happened – the crippled walked normally and the people that were blind, deaf and the dumb received their sight, their hearing and their senses.
The people shouted: “Our Patron lives! Nicolò Politi!” The townspeople gathered to take him to Alcara but as they arrived near the bearers had to stop to rest.
Amazed at what was happening, the clergy and the faithful asked for God’s help. That is when a baby wrapped in cloth, son of the woman who had offered the fruit to Nicola, sat up in his mother’s arms and yelled in a strong and clear voice: “To the Rogato!! To the Rogato!!” Fr Cusmano cried out to all in the commotion, that he had promised Nicola, during his last visit, that alive or dead he would be returned to the Rogato. The Bier became light again and he was brought to the Monastery and placed to rest in the Monastary Church of Rogato. His remains are now behind gates in the main church, Chiesa Madre, in Alcara Li Fusi. Below is his Shrine and relics.
St Nicolò was Canonised on 7 June 1507, at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, by Pope Julius II.
Feast day of St Nicolò in Alcara
Miracles Do Still Happen! Believe it not!
On Thursday 28 May 2009 all of Alcara li Fusi, Sicily, Italy was abuzz with spectacular news of an event involving San Nicolo`Politi. Television camera crews from all over descended on the town with long lines of followers walking to the L’Aqua Santa location carrying jugs and bottles to fill with Holy water.
A group of school children, on a field trip with their teacher, witnessed the miracle of a statue of St Nicolò opening and closing his eyes. One child recorded the event on his cell phone. They excitedly started screaming and the teacher fainted. Afterward they all began to cry and pray.
As of yet, it has not recurred again nor has it been verified by the Catholic Church, although they are in the process of investigating the event. This is the biggest news to hit our town in centuries! The video, news reports and articles are all over the Internet. Do a search on Google, YouTube, etc. using the search words:
san nicolo politi miracolo alcara
St Nicolò was born in the town of Adrano but chose to live his life in Alcara. He spent the last 30 years of his life there. We should all feel blessed knowing that we were either born there or are direct descendants of people that were and that is where San Nicolò now rests in peace.
His message is loud and clear – Open Your Eyes!
The video below is of St Nicolò visit to his home town of Adrano after 880 years.
St Jacobo Kyushei Gorobioye Tomonaga
St James the Deacon St Jeanne of the Cross Delanoue (1666-1736) About St Jeanne: https://anastpaul.com/2018/08/17/saint-of-the-day-17-august-st-jeanne-delanoue-1666-1736/
St Jeroen of Noordwijk
St Juliana of Ptolemais
St Leopoldina Naudet
St Mamas
Bl Marie-Élisabeth Turgeon
St Michaël Kurobyoie
St Myron of Cyzicus St Nicolò Politi (1117-1167) Basilian Monk and Hermit
Bl Noël-Hilaire Le Conte
St Paul of Ptolemais
St Theodore of Grammont
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Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Bl Antoni Carmaniú Mercarder, Bl Facundo Escanciano Tejerina, Bl Eugenio Sanz-Orozco Mortera, Bl Enric Canadell Quintana, Florencio López Egea and see below –
Martyrs of Malaga – 8 beati: A priest and seven brothers, all members of the Hospitallers of Saint John of God, all martyred together in the Spanish Civil War:
• Antonio del Charco Horques
• Eusebio Ballesteros Rodríguez
• Florentino Alonso Antonio
• Isidro Valentín Peña Ojea
• Juan Antonio García Moreno
• Manuel Sanz y Sanz
• Pedro Pastor García
• Silvestre Perez Laguna
17 August 1936 in Málaga, Spain – they were Beatified on 13 October 2013 by Pope Francis.
Martyrs of Maspujols – 3 beati: Three priests in the archdiocese of Tarragona, Spain.
Martyred together in the Spanish Civil War:
• Josep Mañé March
• Magí Civit Roca
• Miquel Rué Gené
17 August 1936 in Maspujols, Tarragona, Spain. They were Beatified on 13 October 2013 by Pope Francis. The beatification ceremony was celebrated in Tarragona, Spain.
One Minute Reflection – 16 August – Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Isaiah 56,1.6-7. Psalms 67(66),2-3.5.6.8, Romans 11,13-15.29-32, Matthew 15,21-28 and Saint Armel of Brittany (Died c 570)
“She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” … Matthew 15:27.
REFLECTION – “See her humility as well as her faith! For He had called the Jews “children” but she was not satisfied with this. She even called them “masters,” so far was she from grieving at the praises of others. She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Behold the woman’s wisdom! She did not venture so much as to say a word against anyone else. She was not stung to see others praised, nor was she indignant to be reproached. Behold her constancy. When He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” she said, “Yes, Lord.” He called them “children” but she called them “masters.” He used the name of a dog but she described the action of the dog. Do you see this woman’s humility?
Then compare her humility with the proud language of the Jews: “We are Abraham’s seed and were never in bondage to any man.”“We are born of God.” But not so this woman. Rather, she calls herself a dog and them masters. So for this reason she became a child. For what does Christ then say? “O woman, great is your faith.”
So we might surmise that this is the reason He put her off, in order that He might proclaim aloud this saying and that He might crown the woman: “Be it done for you as you desire.” This means “Your faith, indeed, is able to effect even greater things than these. Nevertheless be it unto you even as you wish.” This voice was at one with the voice that said, “Let the heaven be” and it was.
“And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” Do you see how this woman, too, contributed not a little to the healing of her daughter? For note, that Christ did not say, “Let your little daughter be made whole,” but “Great is your faith, be it done for you as you desire.” These words were not uttered at random, nor were they flattering words but great was the power of her faith and for our learning.
He left the certain test and demonstration, however, to the issue of events. Her daughter accordingly was immediately healed.” … St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor – The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 52.
PRAYER – Lord, by Your grace, we are made one in mind and heart. Give us a love for what You command and a longing for what You promise, so that, amid this world’s changes, our hearts may be set on the world of lasting joy. May the intercession of Your faithful servant, St Armel, bring us strength and courage. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, God now and for all eternity, amen.
Saint of the Day – 16 August – Saint Armel of Brittany (Died c 570) Priest, Monk, Missionary, Confessor, Evangeliser, spiritual adviser, miracle-worker – Born in south Wales and died in Brittany, France in c 570. Also known as Armagillus, Erme, Armael, Armagil, Armagilus, Armahel, Armail, Arthmael, Arthfael, Artmaglus, Arthmail, Arzel, Ermel, Ermin, Ermyn, Hermel, Thiarmail. Patronages – to cure headaches, fever, colic, gout and rheumatism. He is also the Patron of hospitals.
Armel is said to have been a Breton prince, born to the wife of King Hoel while they were living in Glamorgan in Wales in the late 5th century. He was a cousin of Saint Samson and Saint Cadfan, with whom it is believed, crossed the English Channel to Brittany.
He founded the Abbey of Plouarzel in Brittany and was, from there, called to attend the Court of King Childebert I of Paris. On the journey, he established Churches at Ergué-Armel, Ploermel and Saint-Armel, which is named after him.
The life of St Armel in stained glass at Ploermel
He remained for seven years at the Royal Court, as a spiritual adviser and teacher. There, he cured the lame and the blind. Armel provided clean water for the people of Loutéhel. He struck the ground with his staff and a spring immediately flowed. Some of the stories of his miracles have been lost but we can guess at them from pictures and carvings showing the saint in action. The King, in gratitude for his service and holiness, gave him land at Saint-Armel-des-Bochaux in Ille-et-Vilaine where he founded a second Monastery. After his years at the Court he then retired to the Forest of Teil to spend his time in prayer and penance in the Monastery he had established there.
A modern statue of St Armel in the Church of Ploermel
The most famous story about Armel was something that happened at St Armel-des-Boscheaux. The district around Armel’s Monastery was being ravaged by a dragon. The local people came to Armel for help. He defeated the dragon, tied it up with his stole and led it to the top of a hill called Mount St Armel. From there, he commanded it to throw itself into the river Sèche. He died in this Monastery around 570.
A church called Saint Erme is dedicated to him in Cornwall, perhaps because King Henry VII of England believed that Armel’s intercession saved him from shipwreck off the coast of Brittany. His earliest known “vita” dates only from the 12th century but his cultus spread from Brittany to Normandy, Anjou and Touraine. His feast was added to the Sarum Calendar in 1498.
There is a statue, below, of Armel in Henry VII’s chapel at Westminster and another on Cardinal Morton’s tomb at Canterbury. In paintings on the altar pieces of Romsey Abbey and elsewhere, he may be represented in armour and a chasuble, leading a dragon with a stole around it’s neck.
A small chapel is dedicated to him just north of Westminster Abbey, where the St Ermyn Hotel is now. (The name St Ermyn is a corruption of St Armel). Pilgrims went there to ask the Saint for help. He was particularly famous for healing gout, ague and other fevers.
In the later Middle Ages, Pilgrimages to Rome or Compostela or even to the Holy Land were still popular but there were also many small-scale local pilgrimages. It was easy enough to walk from the bustling City of London through the fields and along the river Thames to Westminster on a sunny Sunday afternoon. You could visit some of the Shrines there, including St Armel’s Chapel, have a drink or a meal in one of the many taverns around the Abbey and walk home in the evening light. There were shops and stalls where you could buy souvenirs, cheap little pewter badges to put on your hat.
Literally thousands of these badges have been dug up on building sites in the City of London, several of them showing St Armel with the dragon.
St Armel of Brittany (Died c 570) Priest, Monk
St Arsacius of Nicomedia
St Frambaldo
Bl Iacobus Bunzo Gengoro
Bl Jean-Baptiste Menestrel
Bl John of Saint Martha
Bl Laurence Loricatus
Bl Magdalena Kiyota Bokusai
Bl Maria Gengoro
Bl Ralph de la Futaye St Roch (1295-1327) “Pilgrim” The story of St Roch here:https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/08/16/saint-of-the-day-16-august-st-roch/
St Serena
Bl Simon Kiyota Bokusai
Bl Thomas Gengoro
St Titus the Deacon
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Martyrs of Palestine – 33 saints: Thirty-three Christians martyred in Palestine; they are commemorated in old martyrologies, but the date and exact location have been lost.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Amadeu Monje Altés
Bl Antonio María Rodríguez Blanco
Bl José María Sanchís Mompó
Bl Laurentí Basil Matas
Bl Plácido García Gilabert
Saint of the Day – 15 August – Blessed Alfred of Hildesheim OSB (Died 874) Bishop, Benedictine Monk, Confessor, Founder of Essen Abbey, Hildesheim Cathedral, many Convents, Schools and Seminaries, Royal Spiritual Adviser to the East Frankish King Louis the German, Diplomatic Peacemaker, he was know for his great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Born in the early 9th century in Cologne, Germany and died on 15 August 874 of natural causes. Patronage – Hildesheim, Essen, Germany.
Alfred was born into an aristocratic family in Saxony, Germany at around 800. Not long before he was born, King Charlemagne of the Franconian Empire, conquered the Saxons after some long and bitter battles. The Saxons were converted to Christianity. St Alfred was born to a family of new converts.
He was probably educated at a convent. At the time, there were only two sources of education – schools opened by imperial courts and schools run by convents.
Alfred became a monk at Corvey Abbey and in 851 he was appointed Bishop of Hildesheim and initiated the construction of the first Cathedral of the city. On 1 November 872, the Cathedral was Consecrated by the saint himself and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, St Cosmas and St Damian, St Cecilia, St Valerian and St Tiburtius as Patron Saints. A Cathedral school was also opened, which became the foundation of the educational system in Hildesheim.
Even before his Consecration as Bishop, Alfred had been active in the foundation of several female religious communities. The most important one was the Canonesses Convent in Essen. He funded this Convent which was built on his inherited land. With donations from generous donors across generations, the Convent became one of the richest in Germany. The Church therein was consecrated by Alfred and was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, the Holy Mother of God, St Cosmas and St. Damian. Between 845-847 Alfred had acquired the relics of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Rome.
Bishops at that time were greatly revered in the kingdom and were often given duties by the kings. Alfred’s level of involvement in the politics of his time may be a little unimaginable to us today. After King Charlemagne’s death, his descendants divided up his kingdom. Disputes and feuds happened often as the princes fought for expansion of power. As Alfred was a good friend and adviser to Ludwig der Deutsche, king of East Fraconia, he was often given diplomatic duties to negotiate with the king’s brothers and nephews.
His adherence to justice and his political wisdom had brought successes to his diplomatic missions and earned him the reputation of peace-maker.
On 15 August 874, Alfred died “rich in days” after some two decades as Bishop of Hildesheim. The place of Altfrid’s death is not known, although the date is recorded by Abbot Altbert of Lobbes as the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, 15 August 874, which occurred on a Sunday that year. He was buried, according to his wishes, in the church of Essen Abbey. A Gothic tomb stands over his grave in the east crypt, which is named after him.
Blessed Alfred’s Tomb
After his death Alfred was particularly venerated at his tomb in Essen. Many miracles were reported at his grave, which greatly increased the veneration and the effects of a healing spring close to the Church were also ascribed to his intercession. After a serious fire in the Church in the 13th century a Gothic stone sarcophagus was obtained for his bones. Alfred’s feast day – which in Essen was celebrated on 16 August, rather than on 15 August – is the most festive in the Abbey’s yearly calendar.
The almanac of Bishops of Essen which was edited in the 12th century has a record that says: – “Alfred passed away at an advanced age and joined rank with the saints. He was buried at the Essen Cathedral which he built and Consecrated. Ever since then, there have been many miracles. Pilgrims from other places bear witness to these matters.”
In 1965, Pope Paul VI approved a feast day for Alfred, Bishop and Confessor, who had been regarded as a saint for centuries. Mass in his honour has since been celebrated. The long-time devotion to the saint was finally recognised by the Church.
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (however, in most countries of Africa, the Solemnity will be celebrated on the Sunday following the 15th).
The Feast celebrates the Assumption of the body of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven upon her death. According to Pope Benedict XIV, it is a probable opinion, which it is impious to deny, though not an article of faith but has since in 1950 has been raised to a DOGMA of the Faith. The origin of the Feast day is not known but it was celebrated in Palestine before the year 500.
It is a holy day of obligation, it’s vigil being a fast day, in many English-speaking countries. Among the many masters who have painted the subject of the Assumption are Fra Angelico, Ghirlandajo, Rubens, Del Sarto and Titian. Patronages – Acadians, Cajuns, Cistercian Order, Cistercians, fish dealers, fish-mongers, French air crews, harness makers, France, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Malta, Paraguay, Slovakia, east Africa (region of east Africa which includes diverse countries, proclaimed on 15 March 1952 by Pope Pius XII) South Africa (this is not a region but a country) and the Assumption is, therefore, the Patronal Feast of the Country of South Africa – proclaimed on 15 March 1952 by Pope Pius XII), 24 dioceses, 38 cities.
Martyrs of Nicomedia – 3 saints: Three Christians martyred together. No details survive but the names – Eutychian, Philip and Straton. They were martyred in Nicomedia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey).
Martyred in the Mexican Revolution: 4 Saints –
St David Roldán Lara
St Luis Batiz Sainz
St Manuel Moralez
St Salvador Lara Puente
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 Agustì Ibarra Angüela
• Blessed Carmelo Sastre y Sastre
• Blessed Clemente Vea Balaguer
• Blessed Francisco Míguez Fernández
• Blessed Ildefonso Alberto Flos
• Blessed Jaume Bonet Nadal
• Blessed Joan Ceró Cedó
• Blessed Josep Santonja Pinsach
• Blessed Juan Francisco Barahona Martín
• Blessed Juan Mesonero Huerta
• Blessed Luis Ros Ezcurra
• Blessed Manuel Formigo Giráldez
• Blessed Miguel Alberto Flos
• Blessed Sebastià Balcells Tonijuan
• Blessed Severiano Montes Fernández
Quote/s of the Day – 14 August – The Memorial of Blessed St Maximillian Kolbe OFM Conv (1894 -1941)
“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so, for one reason: HOLY COMMUNION.”
“Let us remember, that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving. Without sacrifice, there is no love.”
“When we dedicate ourselves to Mary, we become instruments in her hands, just as she is an instrument in God’s hands. Let us then be guided by her, for she will provide for the needs of body and soul and overcome all difficulties and anxieties.”
“Jesus honoured her before all ages and will honour her for all ages. No-one comes to Him, nor even near Him, no-one is saved or sanctified, if he too will not honour her. This is the lot of Angels and of men.”
“Modern times are dominated by Satan and will be more so in the future. The conflict with hell cannot be engaged by men, even the most clever. The Immaculata alone, has from God, the promise of victory over Satan. However, assumed into Heaven, the Mother of God now requires our co-operation. She seeks souls, who will consecrate themselves entirely to her, who will become in her hands effective instruments for the defeat of Satan and the spreading of God’s kingdom upon earth.”
One Minute Reflection – 14 August – Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63, Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6, Matthew 19:3-12 and the Memorial of Blessed St Maximillian Kolbe OFM Conv (1894 -1941)
‘And the two shall become one flesh’ … Matthew 19:5
REFLECTION – “Lord our God,
look with kindness on N. and N.,
whom You have united in marriage,
and pour out Your blessings upon them,
may they be united in one love
as they progress together
towards one holiness of life.
May they rejoice to share in Your creative love
and bring up their children together.
May they live in justice and charity,
showing Your light to all who seek You.
May their household be ever open to the service of their brothers and sisters and may they be always ready to answer to their needs.
May they be strengthened by the joys and sacrifices of their life together and bear witness to the Gospel.
May they have a long life together, without misfortune or sickness
and may the work of both be blessed.
May they see their children grow up in peace
and enjoy the support of a happy family.
May they come at last, with all those who have gone before them,
to the dwelling where their love will last eternally.
N. and N. and all you who are present here,
may God the all-powerful bless you,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” … The Roman Missal – Ritual of Marriage : Solemn blessing
PRAYER – Almighty Father, let Your light so penetrate our hearts and minds, that walking by Your commandments, we may always follow You, our teacher and our guide. Grant that the prayers of St Maximillian Kolbe may continue to strengthen us. Through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 14 August – Saint Eusebius of Rome (Died 357) Priest, Confessor – birth date and place unknown and died in 357 of maltreatment in prison in Rome, Italy.
Glory of Sant’Eusebio, (1757) Anton Raphael Mengs
St Eusebius was a Roman Patrician and Priest and is mentioned with distinction in Latin Martyrologies. The ancient Martyrology of Usuard styles him Confessor at Rome under the Arian Emperor Constantius and adds, that he was buried in the cemetery of Callistus. Some later Martyrologies call him a martyr.
Saint Eusebius, among the Christians of his time, distinguished himself by his spirit of prayer and his apostolic virtues. The “Acta Eusebii”, discovered in 1479 tells the history of his arrest – When Pope Liberius was permitted by Constantius II to return to Rome, supposedly at the price of his orthodoxy, by subscribing to the Arian formula of Sirmium, Eusebius, a Priest, an ardent defender of the Nicene Creed, publicly preached against both Pope and Emperor, branding them as heretics. When the orthodox party who supported the rival and orthodox Pope Felix, were excluded from all the Churches, Eusebius continued to say Mass in his own house. He was arrested and brought before Liberius and Constantius and boldly reproved Liberius for deserting the Catholic faith. In consequence he was placed in a dungeon four feet wide, where he spent his time in prayer and died after seven months.
His body was buried in the cemetery of Callistus with the simple inscription: “Eusebio homini Dei.” This act of mercy was performed by two Priests, Gregory and Orosius, friends of Eusebius. Gregory was put into the same prison and also died there. He was buried by Orosius, who professes to be the writer of the “Acta Eusebii”.
The Church of St Eusebius on the Equiline in Rome is dedicated to him and is said to have been built on the site of his house. It is mentioned in the acts of a Council held in Rome under Pope Symmachus in 498 (Manai, VIII, 236-237) and was rebuilt by Pope Zacharias. It is a titular Church of the Cardinal-priest and the Station Church for the Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent. It once belonged to the Celestines (an order now extinct). Pope Leo XII gave it to the Jesuits. A masterful artwork picture representing the triumph of Eusebius, by Anton Raphael Mengs, 1759 is on the ceiling, see above.
Bl Aimo Taparelli
St Antony Primaldo St Arnold/Arnulf of Soissons (1040-1087) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/14/saint-of-the-day-14-august-saint-arnold-of-soissons-1040-1087/
St Athanasia of Timia
St Callistus of Todi
St Demetrius of Africa
St Domingo Ibáñez de Erquicia
St Eberhard of Einsiedeln
St Eusebius of Palestine St Eusebius of Rome (Died 357) Priest
St Fachanan of Ross
St Francisco Shoyemon
Bl Juliana Puricelli
St Marcellus of Apamea
Bl Sanctes Brancasino
St Ursicius of Nicomedia
St Werenfridus
__
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: 11 Beati
• Blessed Ángel de la Red Pérez
• Blessed Antonio María Martín Povea
• Blessed Basilio González Herrero
• Blessed Ezequiél Prieto Otero
• Blessed Joaquín Frade Eiras
• Blessed Jocund Bonet Mercadé
• Blessed José García Librán
• Blessed Ricardo Atanes Castro
• Blessed Segundo Pérez Arias
• Blessed Vicente Rubiols Castelló
Quote/s of the Day – 13 August – The Memorial of St Maximus the Confessor (c 580-662) Father of the Church
“For indeed, what is more dire than the evils which today afflict the world? … What is more terrible for the discerning than the unfolding events? What is more pitiable and frightening for those who endure them? To see a barbarous people of the desert overrunning another’s lands as though they were their own, to see civilisation itself, being ravaged by wild and untamed beasts whose form alone is human.”
“All the ends of the inhabited world … look directly to the most holy Church of the Romans and her confession and faith as to a sun of eternal light, receiving from her, the radiant beam of the patristic and holy doctrines.”
“Since He causes the darkness of ignorance and the evil of men to vanish, my Saviour and my God is called a lamp in Scripture. And since He is the only one able to obliterate the darkness of ignorance and disperse the shadows of sin, He has become the way of salvation for all … The lampstand is holy Church because the Word of God shines out through her preaching. This is how the beams of its truth can enlighten the whole world…”
“To harbour no envy, no anger, no resentment against an offender is still not to have charity for him. It is possible, without any charity, to avoid rendering evil for evil. But to render, spontaneously, good for evil – such belongs to a perfect spiritual love.”
“He who busies himself with the sins of others, or judges his brother on suspicion, has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins…”
“We adore one Son, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning before all time, is now and ever shall be, for all time and for the time after time. Amen!”
Saint Maximus the Confessor (c 580-662)
Father of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 13 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Thursday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 12:1-12, Psalms 78: 56-57, 58-59, 61-62, Matthew 18: 21 – 19:1 and the Memorial of St Maximus the Confessor (c 580-662) Father of the Church
“Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?” …Matthew 18:33
REFLECTION – ““What is human mercy like? It makes you concerned for the hardship of the poor. What is divine mercy like? It forgives sinners…
In this world God is cold and hungry in all the poor, as He Himself said (Mt 25:40)… What sort of people are we? When God gives, we want to receive, when He asks, we refuse to give? When a poor man is hungry, Christ is in need, as He said Himself: “I was hungry and you gave me no food” (v. 42). Take care not to despise the hardship of the poor, if you would hope, without fear, to have your sins forgiven…
What He receives on earth He returns in heaven.
I put you this question, dearly beloved – what is it you want, what is it you are looking for, when you come to church? What indeed if not mercy? Show mercy on earth and you will receive mercy in heaven. A poor man is begging from you and you are begging from God, he asks for a scrap, you ask for eternal life… And so when you come to church give whatever alms you can to the poor in accordance with your means.” … St Caesarius of Arles (470-543) – Sermon 25
PRAYER – Lord God, who bestowed Your spirit of truth and of love in full measure onthe blessed Saint Maximus, grant that we, who are celebrating his feast, may be supported by his prayer and grow in perfection, as we follow his example. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 13 August – Saint Maximus the Confessor (c 580-662) Father of the Church, Monk, Abbot, Theologian, Confessor, Scholar, Writer – born in c 580 at Constantinople (some accounts say Palestine) and died on 13 August 662 at Batum near the Black Sea of the extreme suffering caused by the tortures he underwent at the age of 82. Also known as St Maximus of Constantinople and St Maximus the Theologian. St Maximus, a man of fearless courage in witnessing to – “confessing” – even while suffering, the integrity of his faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true man, Saviour of the world and of His Holy Catholic Church.
“All the ends of the inhabited world … look directly to the most holy Church of the Romans and her confession and faith as to a sun of eternal light, receiving from her, the radiant beam of the patristic and holy doctrines.”
St Maximus was born in Constantinople around the year 580 and died in exile on 13 August 662. As a boy he was initiated to the monastic life and the study of the Scriptures through the works of Origen, the great teacher who by the third century had already “established” the exegetic tradition of Alexandria.
He worked with Pope Martin I against the Monothelist heresy and attended the Lateran Council of 649. He was one of the chief doctors of the theology of the Incarnation and of ascetic mysticism and remarkable as a witness to the respect for the papacy held by the Greek Church in his day.
This great man came from a noble family of Constantinople. He became first secretary to Emperor Heraclius, who greatly valued him but despite the favour of the Emperor, Maximus resigned to the world and gave himself up to contemplation in a Monastery at Chrysopolis, near Constantinople. He became Abbot there – but seems to have left this retreat on account of it’s insecurity from hostile attacks.
“He was distinguished by his extreme courage in the defence of orthodoxy. Maximus refused to accept any reduction of Christ’s humanity. A theory had come into being, which held that there was only one will in Christ, the divine will. To defend the oneness of Christ’s Person, it was denied that He had his own true and proper human will. And, at first sight, it might seem to be a good thing that Christ had only one will. But St Maximus immediately realised that this would destroy the mystery of salvation, for humanity without a will, a man without a will, is not a real man but an amputated man. Had this been so, the man Jesus Christ would not have been a true man, He would not have experienced the drama of being human which consists, precisely, of conforming our will with the great truth of being.
Thus St Maximus declared, with great determination – “Sacred Scripture does not portray to us, an amputated man with no will but rather true and complete man – God, in Jesus Christ, really assumed the totality of being human – obviously with the exception of sin – hence also a human will.” And said like this, his point is clear – Christ either is or is not a man. If He is a man, He also has a will.”
St Maximus was already having problems defending this vision of man and of God. He was then summoned to Rome. In 649 he took an active part in the Lateran Council, convoked by Pope Martin I to defend the two wills of Christ against the Imperial Edict which forbade discussion of this matter. Pope Martin was made to pay dearly for his courage. Although he was in a precarious state of health, he was arrested and taken to Constantinople. Tried and condemned to death, the Pope obtained the commutation of his sentence into permanent exile in the Crimea, where he died on 16 September 655, after two long years of humiliation and torment.
It was Maximus’ turn shortly afterwards, in 662, as he too opposed the Emperor, repeating: “It cannot be said that Christ has a single will!” (cf. PG 91, cc. 268-269). Thus, together with his two disciples, both called Anastasius, Maximus was subjected to an exhausting trial, although he was then over 80 years of age. The Emperor’s tribunal condemned him with the accusation of heresy, sentencing him to the cruel mutilation of his tongue and his right hand – the two organs through which, by words and writing, Maximus had fought the erroneous doctrine of the single will of Christ. In the end, thus mutilated, the holy monk was finally exiled to the region of Colchis on the Black Sea where he died, worn out by the suffering he had endured, at the age of 82, on 13 August that same year, 662.
St Maximus died for orthodoxy and obedience to Rome. He has always been considered one of the chief theological writers of the Greek Church and has obtained the honourable title of the Theologian. He may be said to complete and close the series of patristic writings on the Incarnation, as they are summed up by St John of Damascus.
We have over 90 published works of St Maximus on mysticism, dogma, and theology. St Maximus the Confessor’s work on Cosmic Liturgy has been greatly praised as is his Life of the Virgin which is thought to be, one of the oldest biographies of Mary the Mother of God.
“We adore one Son together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning before all time, is now and ever shall be, for all time and for the time after time. Amen!” (St Maximus)
Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners/Refugium Peccatorum: St John Damascene calls Mary a city of refuge to all who flee to Her.
Blessed Antonio Baldinucci SJ (1665-1717) had a particular devotion to the Refugium Peccatorum image of Virgin Mary in the Church of the Gesu (Frascati) in Italy and commissioned a copy which he considered miraculous and carried it with him in his travels. The Jesuits spread copies of the image of the Madonna of Refuge in Mexico by the 19th century and it began to be depicted in missions there, often with clouds surrounding the lower portion of the image of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus.
The term “Refugium Pstjohnberchmanseccatorum” is also used other works of Roman Catholic Marian art. For instance, there is a marble statue representing the Virgin Mary, on the grand staircase of the old municipal palace in Venice, Italy. The name came from the fact that the convicts were allowed to stop in front of the Virgin Mary’s statue to pray for their soul on the way to the scaffold.
The traditional feast day of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners is today, 13 August.
St Nerses Glaietsi
St Patrick O’Healy
Bl Pierre Gabilhaud
St Radegund
St Radegunde
St Wigbert of Fritzlar
Bl William Freeman
—
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Francesc Castells Areny
• Blessed Inocencio García Díez
• Blessed José Bonet Nadal
• Blessed José Boher y Foix
• Blessed José Juan Perot y Juanmarti
• Blessed Jose Tàpies y Sirvant
• Blessed Josep Alsina Casas
• Blessed Luciano Hernández Ramírez
• Blessed Maria de Puiggraciós Badia Flaquer
• Blessed Mateo Despóns Tena
• Blessed Modesto García Martí
• Blessed Pascual Araguàs y Guàrdia
• Blessed Pedro Martret y Molet
• Blessed Silvestre Arnau y Pascuet
Martyred Claretians of Barbastro – 51 beati:
• Blessed Agustín Viela Ezcurdia
• Blessed Alfons Miquel Garriga
• Blessed Alfons Sorribes Teixidó
• Blessed Antolín Calvo y Calvo
• Blessed Antoni Dalmau Rosich
• Blessed Atanasio Vidaurreta Labra
• Blessed Eduardo Ripoll Diego
• Blessed Esteve Casadevall Puig
• Blessed Eusebi Maria Codina Millà
• Blessed Felipe de Jesús Munárriz Azcona
• Blessed Francesc Roura Farró
• Blessed Francisco Castán Meseguer
• Blessed Gregorio Chirivas Lacamba
• Blessed Hilario Llorente Martín
• Blessed Jaume Falgarona Vilanova
• Blessed Joan Baixeras Berenguer
• Blessed Joan Codinachs Tuneu
• Blessed José Amorós Hernández
• Blessed José Blasco Juan
• Blessed José Figuero Beltrán
• Blessed José Pavón Bueno
• Blessed Josep Maria Badía Mateu
• Blessed Josep Ormo Seró
• Blessed Josep Ros Florensa
• Blessed Juan Díaz Nosti
• Blessed Juan Echarri Vique
• Blessed Juan Sánchez Munárriz
• Blessed Leoncio Pérez Ramos
• Blessed Lluís Escalé Binefa
• Blessed Lluís Lladó Teixidor
• Blessed Lluís Masferrer Vila
• Blessed Manuel Buil Lalueza
• Blessed Manuel Martínez Jarauta
• Blessed Manuel Torras Sais
• Blessed Miquel Masip González
• Blessed Nicasio Sierra Ucar
• Blessed Pedro García Bernal
• Blessed Pere Cunill Padrós
• Blessed Rafael Briega Morales
• Blessed Ramon Illa Salvia
• Blessed Ramon Novich Rabionet
• Blessed Salvador Pigem Serra
• Blessed Sebastià Riera Coromina
• Blessed Sebastián Calvo Martínez
• Blessed Secundino Ortega García
• Blessed Teodoro Ruiz de Larrinaga García
• Blessed Tomàs Capdevila Miró
• Blessed Wenceslau Clarís Vilaregut
They were martyred on 2 August through 18 August 1936 in Barbastro, Huesca, Spain and Beatified on 25 October 1992 by Pope John Paul II.
Quote/s of the Day – 12 August – The Memorial of St Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)
“Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to Him. That is all the doing, you have to worry about.”
“Follow your own way of speaking to our Lord, sincerely, lovingly, confidently and simply, as your heart dictates.”
“In prayer one must hold fast and never let go, because the one who gives up, loses all. If it seems that no-one is listening to you, then cry out even louder. If you are driven out of one door, go back in by the other.”
“The great method of prayer is to have none. If, in going to prayer, one can form in oneself, a pure capacity for receiving the spirit of God, that will suffice for all method.”
“In prayer, more is accomplished by listening than by talking.”
“Must you continue to be your own cross? No matter which way God leads you, you change everything into bitterness by constantly brooding over everything. For the love of God, replace all this self-scrutiny, with a pure and simple glance at God’s goodness.”
“Hell is full of the talented but Heaven, of the energetic.”
“Whatever you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.” … Matthew 18:18
REFLECTION – “For our well-being and salvation, all the Holy Scriptures warn us constantly and humbly, to confess our sins, not only before God but also before a holy and godfearing man. This is what the Holy Spirit advises us to do through the mouth of James the apostle: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed” (5:16) … and the psalmist says: “I confess my faults to the Lord and you took away the guilt of my sin” (Ps 32[31]:5).
We are always wounded by our sins and, in the same way, we should always have recourse to the medicine of confession. For indeed, if God wants us to confess our sins, it is not because He would be unable to know what they are but, because the devil wants to find something of which to accuse us before the judgement seat of the eternal Judge. That is why he would rather we thought more about excusing them than accusing ourselves of them. Our God, to the contrary, being good and merciful, wants us to confess them in this world, so that we may not be ashamed because of them in the next. So if we confess them then He, on His part, shows Himself to be merciful; if we acknowledge them then He forgives … As for ourselves, my brethren, we are really your spiritual physicians, seeking with all concern to heal your souls.” … St Caesarius of Arles (470-543) Bishop and Monk – Sermons to the laity, no. 59
PRAYER – Lord, You chose St Jane Frances to serve You, both in marriage and in religious life. By her prayers help us to be faithful in our vocation and always to work against our perverse inclinations. Only in You and with You and through You may we attain perfection. Lead us Lord! We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. St Jane de Chantal, pray for us, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 12 August – Wednesday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Jane Frances de Chantal VHM (1572-1641)
Prayer of Abandonment By St Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)
O sovereign goodness
of the sovereign Providence of my God!
I abandon myself forever to Thy arms.
Whether gentle or severe,
lead me henceforth whither Thou will.
I will not regard the way
through which Thou will have me pass
but keep my eyes fixed upon Thee,
my God, who guides me.
My soul finds no rest without the arms
and the bosom of this heavenly Providence,
my true Mother, my strength and my rampart.
Therefore I resolve with Thy Divine assistance,
0 my Saviour,
to follow Thy desires and Thy ordinances,
without regarding or examining
why Thou does this rather than that
but I will blindly follow Thee,
according to Thy Divine will,
without seeking my own inclinations.
Hence I am determined to leave all to Thee,
taking no part therein,
save by keeping myself in peace in Thy arms,
desiring nothing, except as Thou incites me to desire,
to will, to wish.
I offer Thee this desire, 0 my God,
beseeching Thee to bless it.
I undertake all it includes,
relying on Thy goodness,
liberality and mercy,
with entire confidence in Thee,
distrust of myself,
and knowledge of my infinite misery and infirmity.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 12 August – St Pedro del Barco (1088-1155) – Hermit, Penitent, Canon, Apostle of the needy, he is regarded as the father of the agricultural industry in Avila – born in 1088 in Ávila, Spain and died on 1 November 1155 of natural causes.
Born in the late eleventh century into a peasant family, his existence is known through popular and local legends that acquired written support in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, such as the Epilogue of things worthy of memory belonging to the illustrious , very magnificent and very noble city of Ávila, by Gonzalo de Ayora, published in 1519, or Las Grandezas, antiquity and nobility of Barco de Ávila and its origin , by Luis Álvarez, which was published in Madrid in 1625.
Some traditions consider him to be born in a house in Barco de Ávila that is on the corner of the cemetery of the Church of the Ascension and which has hosted, since 1663, a Chapel built by order of the magistrate Juan Antonio Mangíbar.
It is said that when his father died, he withdrew, together with his friend, Saint Pascual de Barco de Ávila (also born in Tormellas), to a forest near Barco de Ávila to lead the life of a penitent, alternating work and prayer in uninterrupted prayer. Pity for the poverty of the local people, he dismantled a mountainous massif, in one of whose caves he lived and transformed it into a plain suitable for cultivation, creating a fertile space in which the natives of the place could grow beans and other crops for their maintenance. This enterprise, granted him the title of Father of the Land in his region.
This saint, digger of new lands won from the forests and mountains, lived chained to shackles and ate bread in a wooden bowl. Tradition says that he preached to the birds and other animals of the forest who paid homage to him, his work companions being two roe deer that helped him in his work. He took pity on a gypsy woman who had been a prostitute and, repentant, wanted to enter a convent in Ávila, for which she sold part of her land in order to be able to endow her.
The Bishop of Segovia, Pedro de Agen, appointed him Canon of the Cathedral of Segovia and commissioned him, together with Íñigo Navarrón, a teacher in Theology, to govern the house and farm of Párraces, where a Convent of Canons regular was founded, under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin and governed by the Rule of St Benedict. Saint Pedro lived there until the death of the Bishop and the appointment of Navarrón as Bishop of Coria.
He returned to Barco de Ávila in 1149 to end his days as a Hermit and Penitent. One day, as an old man, while ploughing a field, he asked a boy to bring him water from a nearby spring. The fountain, called St Pedro, is a pilgrimage site for the people of Barco de Ávila, just like his hut, which was transformed into a Hermitage in 1490.
In the centre of town of Barco de Ávila, next to the Church of the Assumption, is the Hermitage of San Pedro del Barco (1088-1155), built in the 18th century on the remains of what was his original cell.
Upon his death, which occurred on 1 November 1155, the inhabitants of the towns in which he had preached, disputed the possession of his body – Piedrahita, Horcajada, Segovia, Párraces, Barco de Ávila and Ávila.
Unable to reach an agreement, they loaded a blind mule with the body of the Saint and left it to the mule’s will to determine the place where he should be buried.
The mule headed towards Ávila and, upon reaching the Romanesque Church consecrated to Saints Vicente, Sabina and Cristeta, located outside the city walls, it entered the interior of the temple, went to the south arm of the transept and struck with its hoof on the ground to mark a stone slab with his footprint and thus transmit the divine will, designating the place where his relics should rest.
At present, Saint Pedro del Barco de Ávila has an Altar and sepulchre in the south arm of the transept of the Church of San Vicente, a place where the footprint of the mule is also preserved, protected by a wrought iron fence. The first document that confirms the ownership of the Church as dedicated to the saints Vicente, Sabina, Cristeta and Pedro del Barco de Ávila, dates from the reign of Fernando III el Santo and is dated in 1252.
He is represented dressed in a black Benedictine habit, white hair and beard, with a wrinkled face, carrying a book with the Rule of Saint Benedict of Nursia and farming instruments in his hands or feet. Sometimes he is accompanied by a deer or a mule.
He defeated the dragon, tied it up with his stole and led it to the top of a hill called Mount St Armel. From there, he commanded it to throw itself into the river Sèche. He died in this Monastery around 570.
AnaStpaul 
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