Our Morning Offering – 7 October – The Memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Bl Bartholomew Longo (1841-1926) – Apostle of the Holy Rosary and the Month of the Holy Rosary
Excerpt from the Petition to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii also known as Supplication to the Queen of the Holy Rosary By Blessed Bartholomew Longo (1841-1926)
O Blessed Rosary of Mary,
sweet Chain,
which binds us to God,
Bond of love,
which unites us to the Angels,
Tower of salvation
against the assaults of hell,
safe Port in our universal shipwreck,
we shall never abandon you.
You will be our comfort
in the hour of agony.
To you, the last kiss of our dying life.
And the last word from our lips
will be your sweet name,
O Queen of the Rosary of Pompeii,
O dearest Mother,
O Refuge of Sinners,
O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted.
Be Blessed everywhere,
today and always,
on earth and in Heaven.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 7 October – St Libaire the Great (Died 362) Virgin, Martyr and a Holy Cephalophoria (like St Denis – one who carries his head in his hands and walks away). Also known as Lievière. Patronage – Sainte-Livière, Haute-Marne, France . Additional Memorials – 8 October (Toul-Nancy, France), Pentecost Monday (procession in Grand, France commemorating the return of the relics) and on the 1st Sunday in October (procession in Grand, France). These Memorials relate to the translation of the Relics of St Libaire in these towns.
Libaire the Great was born to an imperial Roman patrician Christian family, the daughter of Bacchus Lientrude. Her six sisters are also Saints, they are Amée, France, Gertrude, Hilda, Lintrude, Menne, Ode, Pusinne and Suzanne.
She worked for her family as a shepherdess, spending her time with the flocks spinning, praying and singing hymns.
While travelling on his mission to re-convert Gaul to paganism, emperor Julian the Apostate found her in the field, guarding her sheep. She was on her knees praying and singing. Julian tried to get her to renounce Christianity by showing her a golden statue of Apollo, with a sparkling brilliance. She struck it with her distaff and the statue fell apart. He was furious and had her beheaded.
Legend says that a healing spring sprang from the place of her murder and that her body picked up the severed head and carried it back to town where she combed out the hair to make it more presentable before burial.
St Libaire’s relics have been enshrined in many towns in France and are venerated by various feasts in the Churches built in her honour. They are in Grand, Rambervillers, Burey-en-Vaux, Affracourt, Damelevieres, Lépanges-sur-Vologne, Toul-Nancy and in her own town, Sainte-Livière, Haute-Marne.
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (Memorial) – (Commemorating the Victory of Lepanto)
(1571): On Sunday 7 October 1571 the combined Christian fleets under Don John of Austria achieved a significant naval victory over the Turks in the Straits of Lepanto. Thousands of Christians were liberated, the Turkish fleet was destroyed and they suffered their first great defeat at sea. In gratitude to God and Our Lady, Pope Saint Pius V ordered an annual commemoration to be made of Our Lady of Victory. In 1573 Pope Gregory XIII transferred the feast to the first Sunday of October with the title Feast of the Most Holy Rosary since the victory was won through invocation of Our Lady of the Rosary. In 1716 Pope Clement XII extended the feast to the whole Latin Rite calendar, assigning it to the first Sunday in October. Saint Pope Pius X changed the date to 7 October in 1913. In 1969 Pope Paul VI changed the name of the feast to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
St Adalgis of Novara
St Apuleius of Capua
St Augustus of Bourges
St Canog ap Brychan
St Dubtach of Armagh
St Gerold of Cologne
St Helanus St Libaire the Great (Died 362) Martyr
Bl Jean Hunot
St Julia the Martyr
St Justina of Padua
St Marcellus of Capua St Pope Mark (Died 336) St Pope Mark’s Life: https://anastpaul.com/2018/10/07/saint-of-the-day-7-october-st-pope-mark-died-336/
St Martin Cid
Bl Matthew Carreri
St Osith
St Palladius of Saintes
St Quarto of Capua
St Rigaldo
Martyrs of Arima: Eight lay people Japan who were martyred together in the persecutions of Christianity in Japan:
• Blessed Hadrianus Takahashi Mondo
• Blessed Ioanna Takahashi
• Blessed Leo Hayashida Sukeemon
• Blessed Martha Hayashida
• Blessed Magdalena Hayashida
• Blessed Didacus Hayashida
• Blessed Leo Takedomi Kan’Emon
• Blessed Paulus Takedomi Dan’Emon
They were martyred on 7 October 1613 in Arima, Hyogo, Japan and Beatified on 24 November 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Mercedarian Nuns of Seville: Five Mercedarian nuns at the monastery of the Assumption in Seville, Spain noted for their piety – Sisters Agnese, Bianca, Caterina, Maddalena and Marianna.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War
• Blessed José Llosá Balaguer
Thought for the Day – 6 October – Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 17:5–10 and the Memorial of St Bruno O.Cart. (c 1030-1101)
This saint has the honour of having founded a religious order which, as the saying goes, has never had to be reformed because it was never deformed. No doubt, both the founder and the members would reject such high praise but it is an indication of the saint’s intense love of a penitential life in solitude.
Bruno was born in Cologne, Germany, became a famous teacher at Rheims and was appointed Chancellor of the Archdiocese at the age of 45. He supported Pope Gregory VII in his fight against the decadence of the clergy and took part in the removal of his own scandalous Archbishop, Manasses. Bruno suffered the plundering of his house for his pains.
He had a dream of living in solitude and prayer and persuaded a few friends to join him in a hermitage. After a while, he felt the place unsuitable and through a friend, was given some land which was to become famous for his foundation “in the Chartreuse”—from which comes the word Carthusians. The climate, desert, mountainous terrain and inaccessibility guaranteed silence, poverty and small numbers.
Bruno and his friends built an oratory with small individual cells at a distance from each other. They met for Matins and Vespers each day and spent the rest of the time in solitude, eating together only on great feasts. Their chief work was copying manuscripts.
Hearing of Bruno’s holiness, the pope called for his assistance in Rome. When the pope had to flee Rome, Bruno pulled up stakes again and after refusing a bishopric, spent his last years in the wilderness of Calabria.
Bruno was never formally Canonised, because the Carthusians were averse to all occasions of publicity. However, Pope Clement X extended his feast to the whole Church in 1674.
If there is always a certain uneasy questioning of the contemplative life, there is an even greater puzzlement about the extremely penitential combination of community and hermit life lived by the Carthusians, but this ‘into the silence and solitude’ is the perfect environment to touch God.
St Bruno wrote to his Carthusians:
“Rejoice, my dearest brothers, because you are blessed and because of the bountiful hand of God’s grace upon you. Rejoice, because you have escaped the various dangers and shipwrecks of the stormy world. Rejoice, because you have reached the quiet and safe anchorage of a secret harbour. Many wish to come into this port and many make great efforts to do so, yet do not achieve it. Indeed many, after reaching it, have been thrust out, since it was not granted them from above. By your work you show what you love and what you know. When you observe true obedience with prudence and enthusiasm, it is clear, that you wisely pick the most delightful and nourishing fruit of divine Scripture.”
May we mirror Bruno’s quest for holiness and unity with God.
One Minute Reflection – 6 October – Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 17:5–10 and the Memorial of St Mary Frances of the Five Wounds (1715-1791)
‘Prepare supper for me’ ...Luke 17:8
REFLECTION – “To believe is not simply to sit back and wait until the Lord comes and serves us with His grace. Faith receives it’s incomprehensible efficacy (tossing a tree into the ocean), in the course of serving the Lord, who, after all, has become the servant of us all and cannot stand to see anyone lazily let himself be served by Him (sola fides). Instead, He takes it as self-evident, that His followers serve alongside Him, which really means they serve Him, for “where I am, there will my servant also be” (Jn 12:26).
Moreover, this serving does not take place in haughty pride over how useful to the Lord my co-service may be (as if He could not do anything without me). Just the opposite, in modesty, the servant knows the words of Jesus – “Without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
Since He has already done everything for us, the correct estimation of ourselves, is the one commanded by the Lord Himself and expressed in the Confession – “We are useless servants, we have only done our duty.” … Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, whose love surpasses all that we ask or deserve, guide us to perfect obedience to conform ourselves to Your holy will, that in the manner of St Mary Frances, our only wish may be to serve and find You. May we always serve in modesty and humility and know that only in Your Son, are we complete. May the prayers of St Mary Frances of the Five Wounds be a source of strength on our journey home. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
Saint of the Day – 6 October – Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds TOSF (1715-1791) – Virgin, Third Order Franciscan, Mystic, Stigmatist, Apostle of Charity, born Anna Maria Gallo on 25 March 1715 at Naples, Italy and died on 6 October 1791 at Naples, Italy of natural causes. Patronages – Quartieri Spagnoli of Naples (co-patronof the Gallo World Family Foundation, expectant mothers, women seeking to have children.
She was born the daughter of Francesco Gallo and Barbara Basinsin, in the Quartieri Spagnoli (Spanish Quarter) of Naples, a red-light district of the city, still known for its high crime. According to tradition, another saint, the Jesuit, Francis de Geronimo (1642-1716), predicted her future sanctity while she was still an infant. Her family was of the middle class but her father, a weaver of gold lace, was a very violent man, who regularly abused his family physically, often severely.
When Gallo was sixteen, her father attempted to force her into a marriage with a young man of means, who was seeking her hand. She refused and asked to join the Franciscan Third Order, through which she could live out a religious life in the family home. The friars of Naples were part of the reform of St Peter of Alcantara and they and the tertiaries under their rul,e were known for the strictness of their lives. Through the intervention of a friar, Father Theophilus, permission to enter the Order was eventually granted by her father.
Gallo was received into the Order on 8 September 1731 and began wearing the religious habit of the Order, which was an uncommon practice during that time. She also adopted the use of the religious name she took upon being received into the Order, out of her devotion to the Blessed Mother, St Francis of Assisi and the Passion of Christ. She continued to live in the family home to serve God as a consecrated virgin, as was customary in those days.
She took as her spiritual director, the Franciscan friar, St John Joseph of the Cross OFM (1654–1739), while her confessor was the Barnabite priest, Francis Xavier Bianchi and she began to be known among her neighbours for her work of charity, helping the poor of the sector. She was a person of deep prayer, often spending long hours in meditation.
In 1753 she joined with another Franciscan tertiary, known only as Maria Felice and they moved into a small palace owned by a priest, Giovanni Pessiri, who became their spiritual director. The two women occupied the second floor, sleeping on the floor and the priest the floor above. She is said to have received the wounds of the stigmata while living there and suffered patiently many physical afflictions and spiritual trials. She would wear gloves to cover the marks on her hands, while she did her work. She is also said to have had visions of Saint Raphael the Archangel, who healed her of several afflictions.
Mary Frances was buried in the Franciscan Church of Santa Lucia al Monte in Naples, which she attended during her life. This church also contains the tomb of John Joseph, now also declared a saint.
Mary Frances was declared Venerable by Pope Pius VII, on 18 May 1803. She was Beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on 12 November 1843 and Canonised by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1867.
Statue in Santa Chiara, Naples
Devotion to Mary Frances has long continued to be strong in the neighbourhood where she lived and of which she is the patron saint. The residents credit her intercession with the little damage the sector endured during World War II, when over 100 bombs were dropped on it. Her home has been preserved as a chapel and museum.
Pope Pius IX, who Canonised Mary Frances, declared her to be a patroness of expectant mothers and of women having difficulty conceiving. She is also the patroness of the Gallo World Family Foundation, which was founded to promote the development of Judeo-Christian values, for the betterment of the world, by members of the Gallo family scattered worldwide.
On 6 October 2001, her remains were transferred from the Church of Santa Lucia to the house where she had spent the last half of her life. It is now the Shrine of St Mary Frances of the Five Wounds.
It is still a common practice for expectant mothers to go there to be blessed with her relic. Many votive offerings from mothers who credit her with their successful deliveries are displayed in the sanctuary.
Bl Adalbero of Lambach
St Alberta of Agen
Bl Artaldo of Belley
St Aurea of Boves
St Ceollach
St Epiphania
St Erotis
St Faith of Agen
St Francis Trung Von Tran
Bl François Hunot
Bl Isidore of Saint Joseph
St Iwi
St John Xenos
Bl Juan de Prunera
St Magnus of Orderzo St Mary Frances of the Five Wounds TOSF (1715-1791)
St Pardulf
St Renato of Sorrento
St Romanus of Auxerre
St Sagar of Laodicea
—
Martyrs of Capua – 4 saints: A group of martyrs who were either killed in Capua, Italy, or that’s where their relics were first enshrined. We now know nothing but their names – Aemilius, Castus, Marcellus and Saturninus.
Martyrs of Kyoto – 52 beati: Fifty-two Japanese lay people, some single, some married, some parents, some children, who were martyred together during one of the government sponsored persecutions of Christians.
Martyrs of Trier: Commemorates the large number of martyrs who died in Trier, Germany in the persecutions of Diocletian. 287 in Trier, Germany.
Thought for the Day – 5 October – The Memorial of St Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
And you, Faustina, a gift of God to our time, a gift from the land of Poland to the whole Church, obtain for us an awareness of the depth of divine mercy, help us to have a living experience of it and to bear witness to it among our brothers and sisters.
May your message of light and hope spread throughout the world, spurring sinners to conversion, calming rivalries and hatred and opening individuals and nations to
the practice of brotherhood.
Today, fixing our gaze with you on the Face of the risen Christ, let us make our own your prayer of trusting abandonment and say with firm hope:
Christ Jesus, I trust in you! Jezu, ufam tobie!
(From St John Paul’s Canonisation Homily, St Peter’s Square, 30 April 2000)
The red and pale white rays, emanating from the Heart of Jesus, in the Image of Divine Mercy represent the blood and water, which gushed forth from His pierced Heart on Good Friday. Jesus asked that all who venerate His mercy, honour His Passion, by remembering Him with this prayer, at 3 O’Clock in the afternoon.
Divine Mercy 3 O’Clock Prayer St Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938)
You expired, O Jesus,
but the source of life
gushed forth for souls
and an ocean of mercy
opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life,
unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world
and empty Yourself out upon us.
O Blood and Water,
which gushed forth
from the Heart of Jesus
as a fount of mercy for us,
I trust in You.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 5 October – The Memorial of St Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
“Oh, how great, is the goodness of God, greater than we can understand. There are moments and there are mysteries, of the Divine Mercy over which, the heavens are astounded. Let our judgement of souls cease, for God’s mercy upon them, is extraordinary.”
“I know well that the greater and more beautiful the work is, the more terrible will be the storms, that rage against it.”
One Minute Reflection – 5 October – Saturday of the Twenty Sixth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 10:17–24 and the Memorial of St Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” … Luke 10:17
REFLECTION – “Christian joy is, essentially, a spiritual participation in the boundless joy, at the same time both divine and human, in the heart of Jesus Christ glorified… Let us now pause to contemplate the person of Jesus during His earthly life. In His humanity, He had experienced our joys. He has manifestly known, appreciated and celebrated a whole range of human joys, those simple daily joys within the reach of everyone. The depth of His interior life did not blunt His concrete attitude or His sensitivity. He admires the birds of heaven, the lilies of the field. He immediately grasps God’s attitude towards creation at the dawn of history. He willingly extols the joy of the sower and the harvester, the joy of the man who finds a hidden treasure, the joy of the shepherd who recovers his sheep or of the woman who finds her lost coin, the joy of those invited to the feast, the joy of a marriage celebration, the joy of the father who embraces his son returning from a prodigal life and the joy of the woman who has just brought her child into the world.
For Jesus, these joys are real because for Him they are the signs of the spiritual joys of the kingdom of God, the joy of people who enter this kingdom return there or work there, the joy of the Father who welcomes them. And for His part Jesus Himself manifests His satisfaction and His tenderness when He meets children wishing to approach Him, a rich young man who is faithful and wants to do more, friends who open their home to Him, like Martha, Mary and Lazarus. His happiness is, above all, to see the Word accepted, the possessed delivered, a sinful woman or a publican like Zacchaeus converted, a widow taking from her poverty and giving. He even exults with joy when He states that the little ones have the revelation of the kingdom which remains hidden from the wise and able. Yes, because Christ was “a man like us in all things but sin,” (PE 4) He accepted and experienced affective and spiritual joys, as a gift of God. And He did not rest until “to the poor he proclaimed the good news of salvation…and to those in sorrow, joy.” … St Paul VI (1897-1978) Pope from 1963-1978 – Apostolic exhortation on Christian joy ‘Gaudete in Domino’ (PE 4; cf Lk 4:10).
PRAYER – Lord God, You called St Faustina to serve You in a life of complete communion with Your Son and your people. Amidst this world’s changes, help us, by her prayers, to set out hearts always on You. Heavenly Father, let me realise that You guide our lives through Your Providence, Your Word, Your Mercy and Sacraments. Help me to be obedient to the rules for my state in life and so be obedient to Your will for me. Grant that the prayers of St Faustina may assist us as we strive to grow in humility and in joy! Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Your Son in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 5 October – Saturday of the Twenty Sixth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, the Memorial of St Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) and a Marian Saturday
O Mary, My Mother By St Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938)
O Mary, my Mother
and my Lady,
I offer You my soul, my body,
my life and my death
and all that will follow it.
I place everything in Your hands.
O my Mother,
cover my soul with Your virginal mantle
and grant me the grace
of purity of heart, soul and body.
Defend me with Your power against all enemies
and especially against those
who hide their malice
behind the mask of virtue.
O lovely lily!
You are for me a mirror,
O my Mother!
Amen
Saint of the Day – 5 October – Saint Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) Maria Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament “Apostle of Divine Mercy”, “Secretary of Divine Mercy”, Virgin, Religious, Mystic – born “Helena” on 25 August 1905 at Glogowiec, Poland as Elena (Helena) Kowalska and died on 5 October 1938 at Krakow, Poland of tuberculosis.
Sister Mary Faustina, an apostle of the Divine Mercy, belongs today to the group of the most popular and well-known saints of the Church. Through her, the Lord Jesus communicates to the world, the great message of God’s mercy and reveals the pattern of Christian perfection, based on trust in God and on the attitude of mercy toward one’s neighbours.
She was born on 25 August 1905 in Gogowiec in Poland of a poor and religious family of peasants, the third of ten children. She was baptised with the name Helena in the parish Church of Ðwinice Warckie. From a very tender age she stood out because of her love of prayer, work, obedience and also her sensitivity to the poor. At the age of nine she made her first Holy Communion, living this moment very profoundly in her awareness of the presence of the Divine Guest within her soul. She attended school for three years . At the age of sixteen she left home and went to work as a housekeeper in order to find the means of supporting herself and of helping her parents.
At the age of seven she had already felt the first stirrings of a religious vocation. After finishing school, she wanted to enter the convent but her parents would not give her permission. Called during a vision of the Suffering Christ, on 1 August 1925 she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and took the name Sister Maria Faustina. She lived in the Congregation for thirteen years and lived in several religious houses. She spent time at Kraków, Pock and Vilnius, where she worked as a cook, gardener and porter.
Externally, nothing revealed her rich mystical interior life. She zealously performed her tasks and faithfully observed the rule of religious life. She was recollected and at the same time very natural, serene and full of kindness and disinterested love for her neighbour. Although her life was apparently insignificant, monotonous and dull, she hid within herself an extraordinary union with God.
It is the mystery of the Mercy of God which she contemplated in the word of God, as well as in the everyday activities of her life, that forms the basis of her spirituality. The process of contemplating and getting to know the mystery of God’s mercy, helped develop within Sr Faustina the attitude of child-like trust in God as well as mercy toward the neighbours. “O my Jesus, each of Your saints reflects one of Your virtues; I desire to reflect Your compassionate heart, full of mercy, I want to glorify it. Let Your mercy, O Jesus, be impressed upon my heart and soul like a seal and this will be my badge in this and the future life” (Diary 1242).
Sister Faustina was a faithful daughter of the Church which she loved like a Mother and a Mystic Body of Jesus Christ. Conscious of her role in the Church, she co-operated with God’s mercy in the task of saving lost souls. At the specific request of and following the example of the Lord Jesus, she made a sacrifice of her own life for this very goal. In her spiritual life she also distinguished herself with a love of the Eucharist and a deep devotion to the Mother of Mercy.
The years she had spent at the convent were filled with extraordinary gifts, such as: revelations, visions, hidden stigmata, participation in the Passion of the Lord, the gift of bilocation, the reading of human souls, the gift of prophecy, or the rare gift of mystical engagement and marriage. The living relationship with God, the Blessed Mother, the Angels, the Saints, the souls in Purgatory — with the entire supernatural world — was as equally real for her, as was the world she perceived with her senses . In spite of being so richly endowed with extraordinary graces, Sr Faustina knew that they do not in fact constitute sanctity. In her Diary she wrote: “Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God.” (Diary 1107).
The Lord Jesus chose Sr Maria Faustina as the Apostle and “Secretary” of His Mercy, so that she could tell the world about His great message. “In the Old Covenant — He said to her — I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart.” (Diary 1588).
The original Image of the Divine Mercy, painted under the guidance of Saint Faustina by Kazimierowski (1934)
The mission of Sister Mary Faustina consists in 3 tasks:
– reminding the world of the truth of our faith revealed in the Holy Scripture about the merciful love of God toward every human being.
– Entreating God’s mercy for the whole world and particularly for sinners, among others through the practice of new forms of devotion to the Divine Mercy presented by the Lord Jesus, such as – the veneration of the image of the Divine Mercy with the inscription: Jesus, I Trust in You, the feast of the Divine Mercy celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, chaplet to the Divine Mercy and prayer at the Hour of Mercy (3 p.m.). The Lord Jesus attached great promises to the above forms of devotion, provided one entrusted one’s life to God and practised active love of one’s neighbour.
– The third task in Sr Faustina’s mission consists in initiating the apostolic movement of the Divine Mercy which undertakes the task of proclaiming and entreating God’s mercy for the world and strives for Christian perfection, following the precepts laid down by the Blessed Sr Faustina. The precepts in question require the faithful to display an attitude of child-like trust in God, which expresses itself in fulfilling His will, as well as in the attitude of mercy toward one’s neighbours. Today, this movement within the Church involves millions of people throughout the world, it comprises religious congregations, lay institutes, religious, brotherhoods, associations, various communities of apostles of the Divine Mercy, as well as individual people who take up the tasks which the Lord Jesus communicated to them through Sr Faustina.
The mission of the Blessed Sr Faustina was recorded in her Diary which she kept at the specific request of the Lord Jesus and her confessors. In it, she recorded faithfully all of the Lord Jesus’ wishes and also described the encounters between her soul and Him. “Secretary of My most profound mystery— the Lord Jesus said to Sr Faustina — know that your task is to write down everything that I make known to you about My mercy, for the benefit of those who by reading these things will be comforted in their souls and will have the courage to approach Me.” (Diary 1693).
In an extraordinary way, Sr Faustina’s work sheds light on the mystery of the Divine Mercy. It delights, not only the simple and uneducated people but also scholars, who look upon it as an additional source of theological research. The Diary has been translated into many languages, among others, English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Hungarian, Czech and Slovak.
Sister Maria Faustina, consumed by tuberculosis and by innumerable sufferings which she accepted as a voluntary sacrifice for sinners, died in Krakow at the age of just thirty three on 5 October 1938 with a reputation for spiritual maturity and a mystical union with God. The reputation of the holiness of her life grew as did the cult to the Divine Mercy and the graces she obtained from God through her intercession. In the years 1965-67, the investigative Process into her life and heroic virtues was undertaken in Krakow and in the year 1968, the Beatification Process was initiated in Rome. The latter came to an end in December 1992. On 18 April 1993 our Holy Father St John Paul II raised Sister Faustina to the glory of the altars. Sr Faustina’s remains rest at the Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy in Kraków-Łagiewniki, where she spent the end of her life and met confessor Józef Andrasz who also supported the message of mercy. . … Vatican.va
St Faustina was Canonised by St Pope John Paul on 30 April 2000.
Bl Alberto Marvelli
St Alexander of Trier
St Anna Schaeffer
St Apollinaris of Valence
St Attilanus of Zamora
St Aymard of Cluny Bl Bartholomew Longo (1841-1926) Apostle of the Holy Rosary Biography here:
St Boniface of Trier
St Charitina of Amasa
St Eliano of Cagliari St Faustina Kowalska OLM (1905-1938) “Apostle of Divine Mercy”
St Firmatus of Auxerre
St Flaviana of Auxerre
Bl Flora of Beaulieu
St Gallo of Aosta
St Jerome of Nevers
Bl John Hewett
St Magdalveus of Verdun
St Mamlacha
St St Marcellinus of Ravenna
Bl Marian Skrzypczak
St Meinulph
St Palmatius of Trier
Bl Raymond of Capua
Bl Robert Sutton
Bl Sante of Cori
St Thraseas of Eumenia
St Tranquilino Ubiarco Robles
Bl William Hartley
—
Martyrs of Messina – 30 saints: A group of about 30 Benedictine monks and nuns, some blood relatives, who were sent in the early days of the order to establish monasteries in the vicinity of Messina, Sicily, Italy, and who were martyred. We know the names, and a few details, about seven of them –
• Donatus
• Eutychius
• Faustus
• Firmatus
• Flavia
• Placidus
• Victorinus
6th century Messina, Sicily, Italy.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Eugenio Andrés Amo
• Blessed Sebastià Segarra Barberá
• Blessed Rafael Alcocer Martínez
Thought for the Day – 4 October – The Memorial of St Francis of Assisi OFM (1181/2–1226)
We must be Simple, Humble and Pure
Saint Francis of Assisi Religious
An excerpt from his Letter Written to All the Faithful
It was through His archangel, Saint Gabriel, that the Father above, made known to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary, that the worthy, holy and glorious Word of the Father would come from heaven and take from her womb, the real flesh of our human frailty. Though He was wealthy beyond reckoning, He still willingly chose to be poor, with His blessed mother. And shortly before His passion, He celebrated the Passover with His disciples. Then He prayed to His Father saying – Father, if it be possible, let this cup be taken from me.
Nevertheless, He reposed His will in the will of His Father. The Father willed that His blessed and glorious Son, whom He gave to us and who was born for us, should, through His own blood, offer Himself as a sacrificial victim on the altar of the cross. This was to be done not for Himself, through whom all things were made but for our sins. It was intended to leave us an example of how to follow in His footsteps. And He desires all of us to be saved through Him and to receive Him with pure heart and chaste body.
O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord and do as the Lord Himself said, in the gospel – You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul and your neighbour as yourself. Therefore, let us love God and adore Him with pure heart and mind. This is His particular desire when He says – True worshippers adore the Father in spirit and truth. For all who adore Him must do so in the spirit of truth. Let us also direct to Him our praises and prayers saying – Our Father, who art in heaven, since we must always pray and never grow slack.
Furthermore, let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbours as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world but they carry with them, the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these, they will receive from the Lord, the reward and recompense they deserve. We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God’s sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father’s children who do His work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Quote of the Day – 4 October – The Memorial of St Francis of Assisi OFM (1181/2–1226)
The Angel to Gerontius
“There was a mortal, who is now above
In the mid-glory – he, when near to die,
Was given communion with the Crucified –
Such, that the Master’s very wounds were stamp’d
Upon his flesh and, from the agony
Which thrill’d through body and soul in that embrace
Learn, that the flame of the Everlasting Love
Doth burn, ere it transform ….”
From the Dream of Gerontius
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
One Minute Reflection – 4 October – Friday of the Twenty-sixth week in Ordinary Time, Year C Gospel: Luke 10:13-16 – The Memorial of St Francis of Assisi OFM (1181/2–1226)
“He who hears you, hears me and he who rejects you, rejects me and he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me.”…Luke 10:16
REFLECTION – “The truth is that St Francis really did have an extremely intimate relationship with Jesus and with the word of God, that he wanted to pursue sine glossa – just as it is, in all its radicality and truth. It is also true, that initially he did not intend to create an Order with the necessary canonical forms. Rather he simply wanted, through the word of God and the presence of the Lord, to renew the People of God, to call them back to listening to the word and to literal obedience to Christ.”…Pope Benedict XVI – Catechesis on St Francis – General Audience, 27 January 2010
“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received—only what you have given – a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”….St Francis of Assisi
PRAYER – Lord God, You made St Francis of Assisi, Christ-like in his poverty and humility, his gentleness and charity, his love and courage. Help us to walk in his ways that, with joy and love, we may follow Christ Your Son and be united with You. May the intercession of St Francis, be an assistance on our journey. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 4 October – The Memorial of St Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)
Morning Prayer of St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)
Lord, help me to live this day,
quietly, easily;
to lean on Your great strength,
trustfully, restfully;
to wait for the unfolding of Your will,
patiently, serenely;
to meet others,
peacefully, joyfully;
to face tomorrow,
confidently, courageously.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 4 October – Saint Petronius (Died c 450) – Bishop of Bologna, Italy. Patronages – Bologna, Italy, Archdiocese of and the City of Bologna.
The only certain historical information we possess concerning St Petronius is derived from a letter written by Bishop Eucherius of Lyons (died 450-5) to Valerianus and from Gennadius of Massilia (died c 496) “De viris illustribus.” Eucherius writes, that the holy Bishop Petronius was then renowned in Italy for his virtues.
From Gennadius we receive more detailed personal information – Petronius belonged to a noble family, whose members occupied high positions at the imperial Court at Milan and, in the provincial administrations, at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth centuries. His father (also named Petronius) was probably a governor, since a Petronius filled this office in Gaul in 402-8. Eucherius also seems to suggest that the future bishop also held an important secular position.
Even in his youth Petronius devoted himself to the practices of asceticism and seems to have visited the Holy Places in Jerusalem, perhaps on a pilgrimage.
About 432 he was elected and consecrated Bishop of Bologna, where he erected a church to St Stephen, the building design of which, was in imitation of the shrines on Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
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According to Gennadius, Petronius died during the reign of Emperor Theodosius and Valentinian, i. e., before 450., of natural causes. A biography and relics, were discovered in 1141. Shortly afterwards, a church was erected in his honour at Bologna, a second, planned on a larger site, was begun in 1390 and partially completed. In 1659 the building work was resumed and the glorious Italian-Gothic church completed as it stands to-day.
In iconography, he is depicted as a bishop holding a model of Bologna in his hand.
St Adauctus of Ephesus
Bl Alfonso Tabela
St Ammon the Great
St Aurea
Berenice
St Caius of Corinth
St Callisthene of Ephesus
St Crispus of Corinth
St Damaris of Athens
St Diogenes of Milan
St Domnina
St Hierotheus
Bl Julian Majali
St Lucius of Alexandria
St Peter of Damascus St Petronius (Died c 450)
St Prosdoce
St Quintius of Tours
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – 2+ saints: A group of Christians, men and women, young and old, murdered together for their faith. The only names that have come down to us are the brothers Mark and Marcian.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Alfredo Pellicer Muñoz
• Blessed Avelí Martínez de Arenzana Candela
• Blessed Dionisio Ibáñez López
• Blessed Francisco Martínez Granero
• Blessed Fulgencio Martínez García
• Blessed José Aloy Doménech
• Blessed José Gafo Muñiz
• Blessed José Miguel Peñarroya Dolz
• Blessed Juan de Francisco Pío
• Blessed Juan José Orayen Aizcorbe
• Blessed Martina Vázquez Gordo
• Blessed Publio Fernández González
• Blessed Tomás Barrios Pérez
Thought for the Day – 3 October – Thursday of the Twenty Sixth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 10:1-12 and the Memorial of Blessed Szilárd István Bogdánffy (1911-1953) Martyr
“Let us thank God for this heroic pastor of the Church who followed the Lamb to the very end! May his witness bring comfort to those, who even today, are persecuted for the sake of the Gospel.”
Pope Benedict XVI
We must always pray to the “Lord of the harvest”, namely, God the Father, that He send labourers into His field which is the world.
These imperatives show that the mission is based on prayer, that it is itinerant – it is not idle, it is itinerant, that it requires separation and poverty, that it brings peace and healing, signs of the closeness of the Kingdom of God, that it is not proselytism but proclamation and witness and that, it also requires frankness and the evangelical freedom, to leave, while highlighting the responsibility of having rejected the message of salvation but without condemnation and cursing.
If lived in these terms, the mission of the Church will be characterised by joy.
And how does this passage end? The 72 “returned with joy” (cf. v. 17). It is not an ephemeral joy, which flows from the success of the mission – on the contrary, it is a joy rooted in the promise that — as Jesus says – “your names are written in heaven” (v. 20).
Saint of the Day – 3 October – Blessed Szilárd István Bogdánffy (1911-1953) aged 42, Bishop (auxilliary), Martyr, Spiritual Director, Professor – Patronages – Bishops, Priests.
Szilárd Bogdánffy was born to Hungarian parents on 21 February 1911 in the village of Feketetó, then part of Torontál County, Austria-Hungary. He lived there with his family until 1925. He was baptised in the parish church of Čoka to which his village belonged and where his father was a cantor.
The Bogdánffy family is a Transylvanian Armenian family which was granted nobility by the Habsburgs. The Bogdánffys are a branch of an ancient Armenian Gajzágó family, one of the families that built the Transylvanian town of Szamosujvár (Armenopolis, Gherla now in Rumania) in the 18th century and which gave many Armenian Catholic (in union with Rome) Priests to the town which became the Armenian Catholic Bishopric of Transylvania.
Bogdánffy went to elementary school in Crna Bara until 1925, when the Bogdánffy family moved to Timişoara, a city in Eastern part of Banat. There he went to the Piarists high school. After his final exams, he was accepted to the Catholic seminary of the Latin-rite Diocese of Oradea. He was ordained a Priest by the Bishop of Oradea Stefan Fiedler on 29 June 1934. He continued his studies at the University of Budapest, where he earned a PhD in philosophy and dogmatics (with a thesis on “Apocalyptics in the Synoptic Gospels”). Upon his return to Romania he became professor of the Catholic seminary in Oradea and confessor at the Ursuline convent in the city. In 1939 he was followed by the Royal Romanian Secret Services for alleged anti-Romanian activity. During World War II – because he was hiding Jews – he was also interrogated by the Hungarian Fascist “Nyílas” gendarmes.
After the end of the war, the new Romanian communist leadership started a campaign against the Christian religion (especially against catholic Christians). As a consequence, the Vatican allowed secret consecration of bishops. Fr Szilárd Bogdánffy was consecrated as Bishop of Oradea of the Latins and Auxiliary Bishop of Satu Mare on 14 February 1949 by Gerald Patrick O’Hara, Regent of the Apostolic Nunciature to Bucharest. The new Bishop was arrested and imprisoned only two months later.
He had previously been approached, on several occasions, by representatives of the regime, with the request that he lead an “independent Romanian Latin-rite Church, with no ties to the Vatican” which he adamantly refused. Until his death he spent four years as a captive in various prisons throughout Romania, including the evil reputed Capul-Midia camp. He fell seriously ill, being affected by the atrocious conditions and regular torture. In Aiud Prison, as the Byzantine rite Catholic Bishop of Lugoj, Ioan Ploscaru recalled, Bishop Bogdánffy was “humble and serene, always ready to help his fellow sufferers.”Although suffering with serious pneumonia, the prison doctor refused him the necessary medication claiming he was not worthy of it. He died in solitary confinement on 3 October 1953 in the prison of Aiud, Romania.
His Beatification took place on 30 October 2010 in Oradea as approved by Pope Benedict XVI.
His Beatification Mass with 200 Priests, 42 Bishops and two Cardinal. Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, preached. Cardinal Angelo Amato, President of the Congregation for causes of the Saints, presided on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI.
He is the first Catholic martyred during the Communist regime in Romania to be elevated to the honour of the altars.
The second stamp shows the 3 Hungarian Saints and Blessed
St Adalgott of Chur
Bl Agostina of the Assumption
St Candidus the Martyr
St Cyprian of Toulon
Bl Damian de Portu
St Dionysius the Aeropagite
Bl Dominic Spadafora
St Emilie de Villeneuve (1811–1854)
St Ewald the Black
St Ewald the Fair
St Froilan St Gerard of Brogne (c 895 – 959) St Gerard’s Story:
Bl Utto of Metten
St Widradus
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – 9 saints: A number of Christian martyrs remembered together. We know the names Caius, Cheremone, Dionysius, Eusebio, Fausto, Lucio, Maximus, Paul, Peter and that there were at least two more whose names have not come down to us, and that’s about all we know.
Martyrs of Brazil – 30 beati: On 25 December 1597 an expedition of colonists, with two Jesuit and two Franciscan evangelists, arrived at Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The region was colonized by Portuguese Catholics but was invaded by Dutch Calvinists who soon took over the whole territory. They immediately made a policy of the persecution of Catholics. On Sunday 16 July 1645 at Cunhau, Brazil, 69 people were gathered in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Candles for Mass celebrated by Father Andre de Soveral. At the moment of the elevation a group of Dutch soldiers attack the Chapel, murdering many of the faithful including Father Andre; the parishioners died professing their faith and asking pardon for their sins. On 3 October 1645, 200 armed Indians and a band of Flemish troops, led by a fanatical Calvinist convert, hacked to death an unknown number of people of Rio Grande including:
• Blessed Ambrosio Francisco Ferro
• Blessed André de Soveral
• Blessed Antônio Baracho
• Blessed Antônio Vilela
• Blessed Antônio Vilela Cid
• Blessed Diogo Pereira
• Blessed Domingos Carvalho
• Blessed Estêvão Machado de Miranda
• Blessed Francisco de Bastos
• Blessed Francisco Mendes Pereira
• Blessed João da Silveira
• Blessed João Lostau Navarro
• Blessed João Martins
• Blessed José do Porto
• Blessed Manuel Rodrigues de Moura
• Blessed Mateus Moreira
• Blessed Simão Correia
• Blessed Vicente de Souza Pereira
and other lay people whose names have not come down to us. They were Beatified on 5 March 2000 at Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Crescencio García Pobo
• Blessed José María González Solís
• Blessed José María Poyatos-Ruiz
• Blessed Manuel Lucas Ibañez
• Blessed Raimundo Joaquín Castaño González
Thought for the Day – 2 October – The Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
Angels are messengers from God. The word angel comes from the Greek word for “messenger.” In a very real way, these powerful spirits point out to us the ways of God. Guardian Angels assist us in work or study. In times of temptation, these spiritual beings direct us to do good. St Thomas Aquinas said that angels are the most excellent of creatures because they have the greatest intelligence next to God.
Perhaps the Guardian Angels are best known for protecting us from physical danger but their main role is to care for the salvation of our souls. It is wonderful to know that God has promised to love, protect and be with us always. One way he does this is through the care of the angels. Whenever you meet with danger or discouragement, your Guardian Gngel is your personal, heavenly bodyguard. The angels also offer prayers to God for us. Because angels always see and hear God, they can intercede for us. We should love our Guardian Angels, respect them and pray to them.
In early Christianity there was no feast for the guardian angels, just one for the Archangels. But in the 15th and 16th centuries, the feast of the Guardian Angels was unofficially celebrated in Austria, Spain and Portugal. In 1608 Pope Paul V made it a universal feast. In doing so, he helped to make us aware of the guardian angels, not just one day in October but everyday of our lives.
My Oldest Friend By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
My oldest friend, mine from the hour
When first I drew my breath,
My faithful friend, that shall be mine,
Unfailing, till my death….
Mine when I stand before the Judge,
And mine, if spared to stay
Within the golden furnace, till
My sin is burn’d away.
And mine, O Brother of my soul,
When my release shall come,
Thy gentle arms shall lift me then,
Thy wings shall waft me home.
Quote/s of the Day – 2 October – The Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
“Be ever more convinced, that your guardian angel is really present, that he is ever at your side. St Frances of Rome always saw him standing before her, his arms clasped at his breast, his eyes uplifted to Heaven but at the slightest failing, he would cover his face as if in shame and at times, turn his back to her.”
St John Bosco (1815-1888)
“Do you not greet warmly, all the people you love and speak to them cordially? — Well, you and I are going to greet Jesus, Mary and Joseph and our Guardian Angels, many times a day. “
One Minute Reflection – 2 October – Wednesday of the Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 18:1–5,10 and The Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. …Matthew 18:10
REFLECTION – “Ah, Jesus, prince of peace and angel of great counsel, may You Yourself always be the guide at my right and the guardian of my pilgrimage, lest I move away and stray from You. And deign to send from heaven Your holy angel who, under Your lovingly-kind care, will be solicitous for me and, according to Your gracious purpose, direct me and lead me, perfect, along Your way back to You. (Ex 23:20).” … St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302) Benedictine nun – Exercises I.60-63, 71-76, 78-86, 99-103.
PRAYER – Lord God of hosts, in Your all-wise providence, You send angels to guard and protect us. Surround us with their watchful care on earth and give us the joy of their company, forever in heaven. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord, with th Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
“He hath given his angels charge over thee.” O wonderful bounty and truly great love of charity! Who? For whom? Wherefore? What has He commanded? Let us study closely, brethren and let us diligently commit to our memory, this great mandate. Who is it that commands? Whose angels are they? Whose mandates do they fulfil? Whose will do they obey? In answer, “He hath given his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” And they do not hesitate even to lift thee up in their hands.
So the Supreme Majesty has given charge to the angels. Yes, He has given charge to His own angels. Think of it! To those sublime beings, who cling to Him so joyfully and intimately, to His very own He has given charge over you! Who are you? “What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visit him?” As if man were not rottenness and the son of man a worm! Now why, do you think, he Has given them charge over thee? — To guard thee!
With what great reverence should you treat this word! What devotion should you proffer it, what great confidence should you place in it. Reverence because of their presence, devotion because of their benevolence, confidence because of their solicitude. Walk carefully, in all thy ways, as one with whom the angels are presen,t as He has given them charge. In every lodging, at every corner, have reverence for thy Angel. Do not dare to do in his presence what you would not dare to do if I were there. Or do you doubt that he is present whom you do not behold? What if you should hear him? What if you should touch him? What if you should scent him? Remember that the presence of something is not proved only by the sight of things.
In this, therefore, brethren, let us affectionately love His angels as one day our future coheirs, meanwhile, however, as counsellors and defenders appointed by the Father and placed over us. Why should we fear under such guardians? Those who keep us in all our ways, can neither be overcome, nor be deceived, much less deceive. They are faithful, they are pruden, they are powerful, why do we tremble? Let us only follow them, let us remain close to them and in the protection of the God of heaven, let us abide. As often, therefore, as a most serious temptation is perceived to weigh upon you and an excessive trial is threatening, call to your guard, your leader, your helper in your needs, in your tribulation, cry to him and say: “Lord, save us; we perish!”
This excerpt from a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux (Sermo 12 in psalmum Qui habitat, 3. 6-8: Opera omnia, Edit. Cisterc. 4 [1966], 458-462) is used in the Roman Office of Readings for the memorial of the Guardian Angels on 2 October.
St Alfonso del Rio
St Andrea Ximenez Bl Antoine Chevrier TOSF (1825-1879) About Blessed Antoince: https://anastpaul.com/2018/10/02/saint-of-the-day-2-october-blessed-antoine-chevrier-t-o-s-f-1825-1879/
St Beregisius
St Eleutherius of Nicomedia
Bl Georges-Edme René
St Gerinus
St Leodegarius of Autun
St Leudomer
St Maria Antonina Kratochwil
St Modesto of Sardinia
St Saturius of Soria
St Theophilus of Bulgaria
St Ursicinus II
—
Martyred in Antioch, Syria: Martyred in one of the early persecutions, date unknown.
St Cyril of Antioch
St Primus of Antioch
St Secundarius of Antioch
Martyred in Nagasaki, Japan: A husband, wife and two sons, who were all martyred together in the persecutions in Japan. They were beheaded on 2 October 1622 in Nagasaki, Japan and Beatified by Pope Pius IX on 7 May 1867.
• Blessed Andreas Yakichi
• Blessed Franciscus Yakichi
• Blessed Lucia Yakichi
• Blessed Ludovicus Yakichi
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Elías Carbonell Molla
• Blessed Enrique Sáiz-Aparicio
• Blesssed Felipe González de Heredia Barahona
• Blessed Francisco Carceller Galindo
• Blessed Isidoro Bover Oliver
• Blessed Juan Carbonell Molla
• Blessed Juan Iñiguez de Ciriano Abechuco
• Blessed Manuel Borrajo Míguez
• Blessed María Francisca Ricart Olmos
• Blessed Mateu Garrolera Masferrer
• Blessed Pedro Artolozaga Mellique
• Blessed Pedro Salcedo Puchades
Thought for the Day – 1 October – The Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, OCD (1873 – 1897) Virgin and Doctor of the Church
In the Heart of the Church I will be Love
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus
Doctor of the Church
An excerpt from her autobiography
Since my longing for martyrdom was powerful and unsettling, I turned to the epistles of Saint Paul in the hope of finally finding an answer. By chance, the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of the first epistle to the Corinthians caught my attention and, in the first section, I read that not everyone can be an apostle, prophet or teacher, that the Church is composed of a variety of members and, that the eye cannot be the hand. Even with such an answer revealed before me, I was not satisfied and did not find peace.
I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander, until I found this encouraging theme – Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will show you the way which surpasses all others. For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind.
When I had looked upon the mystical body of the Church, I recognised myself in none of the members, which Saint Paul described and, what is more, I desired to distinguish myself more favourably within the whole body. Love appeared to me to be the hinge for my vocation. Indeed, I knew that the Church had a body composed of various members but in this body the necessary and more noble member was not lacking, I knew that the Church had a heart and that such a heart, appeared to be aflame with love. I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action, that if this love were extinguished, the apostles would have proclaimed the Gospel no longer, the martyrs would have shed their blood no more. I saw and realised, that love sets off the bounds of all vocations, that love is everything, that this same love, embraces every time and every place. In one word, that love is everlasting.
Then, nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed –
O Jesus, my Love, at last I have found my calling, my call is love. Certainly I have found my place in the Church and You gave me that very place, my God. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love and thus, I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction.
Quote of the Day – 1 October – The Memorial of Blessed Juan de Palafox Mendoza (1600–1659)
“He who finds himself benefiting without books finds himself in solitude without comfort, on a mountaintop without company, on a path without a walking stick, in the darkness without a guide.”
ther we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God’s sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father’s children who do His work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
AnaStpaul 
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