Quote/s of the Day – 28 August – The Memorial of St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him the greatest adventure; to find Him the greatest human achievement.”
“Only the “new” person can sing a new song to the Lord: the person restored from a fallen condition, through the grace of God. Let us sing a new song – not with our lips but with our lives!”
“You ask what you might offer to God? Offer yourself! What does God expect from you, except yourself?”
“Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet.”
“God does not command impossibilities but by commanding, admonishes you do what you can and to PRAY for what you cannot and AIDS you that you may be able.”
“God has no need of your money but the poor have. You give it to the poor and God receives it.”
“Our life and our death are with our neighbour.”
“Do you wish to RISE? Begin by DESCENDING. You plan a tower that will pierce the CLOUDS? Lay first the foundation of HUMILITY.”
One Minute Reflection – 28 August – Tuesday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 23:23–26 and The Memorial of St Augustine (354-430) – Doctor of Grace
“You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.”…Matthew 23:26
REFLECTION – “You are before God. Question your heart: see what you have done and what you have been yearning for there—your salvation or the windy praise of men. Look within, for a person cannot judge one whom he cannot see. If we are assuring our heart, let us assure it in his presence.
“Because if our heart thinks badly”—that is, if it accuses us within, because we aren’t acting with the spirit with which we should be acting —“God is greater than our heart, and he knows all things” (v.20). You hide your heart from man – hide it from God if you can. How will you hide it from Him to whom it was said by a certain sinner in fear and confession: “Where shall 1 go from your spirit, and where shed! I flee from your face?”… For where does God not exist? “If,” he said, “I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to hell, you are present” (Ps 139[138]:7-8). Where will you go? Where will you flee? Do you want to hear some advice? If you want to flee from Him, flee to Him. Flee to Him by Confessing, not from Him by hiding, for you cannot hide, but you can Confess. Tell Him. “You are my refuge” (Ps 32[31]:7) and let there be nursed in you the love that alone leads to life.”…St Augustine (354-430) – Doctor of Grace
PRAYER – Lord God, renew Your Church with the Spirit of wisdom and love which You gave to St Augustine. Lead us by that same Spirit, to seek You, the only fountain of true wisdom and the source of everlasting love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, in union with the Spirit, one God, forever and ever. St Augustine, pray for the Church and for us all, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 28 August – The Memorial of St Edmund Arrowsmith S.J. (1585 – 1628) – Martyr
Your Soldiers Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
O Lion of the Tribe of Judah,
the Root of David,
Who fights the good fight
and has called on all men to join You,
give Your courage and strength
to all Your soldiers over the whole earth,
who are fighting under the standard of Your Cross.
Be with Your missionaries in pagan lands,
put right words into their mouths,
prosper their labours
and sustain them under their sufferings
with Your consolations
and carry them on,
even through torments
and blood (if it be necessary)
to their reward in Heaven.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 28 August – St Edmund Arrowsmith S.J. (1585 – 1628) Priest & Martyr – born in 1585 at Haydock, Lancashire, England as Brian Arrowsmith, his confirmation name was Edmund and he preferred to use it – died by being hanged, drawn and quartered on 28 August 1628 at Lancaster, England. Additional Memorials – 25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, 7 August as one of the Lancashire Martyrs and 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai.
The main source of information on St Edmund is a contemporary account written by an eyewitness and published a short time after his death. This document, conforming to the ancient style of the “Acts of Martyrs” includes the story of the execution of another 17th-century Recusant martyr, Blessed Richard Herst (died 1628).
Bryan Arrowsmith was born at Haydock, Lancashire, England, in 1585, the eldest child of Robert Arrowsmith, a yeoman farmer, who had served in Sir William Stanley’s regiment which fought for Spain in the Low Countries. His mother was Margery Gerard, a member of the Lancashire Gerard family. Among his mother’s relations was Father John Gerard, who wrote The Diary of an Elizabethan Priest, as well as another martyr, the Blessed Miles Gerard. He was baptised Brian, but always used his confirmation name of Edmund, after an uncle who trained English priests in France. The family was constantly harassed for its adherence to Roman Catholicism. One of his grandfathers died a confessor in prison. On one occasion, as a child, he was left shivering in his night-clothes by the pursuivants, who carried his parents off to Lancaster jail; he and his three siblings were cared for by neighbours
Education
In 1605, at the age of twenty, Edmund left England and went to the English College, Douai, to study for the priesthood. He was soon forced to return to England due to ill health but recovered and returned to Douai in 1607.
Ecclesiastical career
He was ordained in Arras on 9 December 1612 and sent on the English mission a year later. He ministered to the Catholics of Lancashire without incident until around 1622, when he was arrested and questioned by the Anglican Bishop of Chester. Edmund was released when King James I of England ordered an amnesty for all arrested priests, in furtherance of negotiations to arrange a Spanish marriage for his son Prince Charles. St Edmund joined the Jesuits in 1624.
In the summer of 1628, Fr Edmund was reportedly betrayed by a man named Holden, who denounced him to the authorities. Arrowsmith ministered to Catholics of Lancashire at the still-standing Arrowsmith House, located in Hoghton before being arrested and questioned on Brindle Moss where his horse refused to jump a ditch. He was convicted of being a Roman Catholic priest in England. He was sentenced to death, and hanged, drawn and quartered at Lancaster on 28 August 1628. His final confession was heard by Saint John Southworth (1592-1654) Martyr, who was imprisoned along with Edmund.
Edmund Arrowmith’s beatification occurred in 1929. He was canonszed as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales by Pope Paul VI in 1970. His hand was preserved and kept by the Arrowsmith family as a relic until he was beatified and it now rests in the Catholic Church of St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith, Ashton-in-Makerfield (see images below). Stonyhurst College retains the small trunk of vestments and equipment which he carried from house to house.
Adelindis of BuchauSt Agnes of CologneSt Alexander of ConstantinopleBl Alfons Maria MazurekSt Ambrose of SaintesBl Angelo da Pesche d’IserniaSt Anthes of SalernoBl Charles-Arnold HanusSt Edmund Arrowsmith S.J. (1585 – 1628) Martyr
St Facundinus of Taino
St Felix of Venosa
St Fortunatus of Salerno
St Gaius of Salerno
St Gorman of Schleswig
Bl Henry Webley
St Hermes of Rome
Bl Hugh More
Bl James Claxton
St Januarius of Venosa
St Joaquina Vedruna de Mas
St Julian of Auvergne
St Moses the Black
St Pelagius of Istria
St Restitutus of Carthage
St Rumwold the Prince
St Septiminus of Venosa
St Vivian of Saintes
Bl William Dean
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Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Martyrs of Griñon – 10 beati
Martyrs of Tarragona – 6 beati
• Blessed Agustín Bermejo Miranda
• Blessed Alejandro Iñiguez De Heredia Alzola
• Blessed Andrés Merino Báscones
• Blessed Antonio Solá Garriga
• Blessed Arturo Ros Montalt
• Blessed Aurelio da Vinalesa
• Blessed Celestino Ruiz Alegre
• Blessed Cesáreo España Ortiz
• Blessed Eladi Peres Bori
• Blessed Evencio Castellanos López
• Blessed Francisco López Navarette
• Blessed Germán Arribas y Arribas
• Blessed Graciliano Ortega Narganes
• Blessed Isidre Fábregas Gils
• Blessed Jaume Tarragó Iglesias
• Blessed Javier Pradas Vidal
• Blessed Joan Tomás Gibert
• Blessed Joaquim Oliveras Puljarás
• Blessed José Gorastazu Labayen
• Blessed Josep Camprubí Corrubí
• Blessed Juan Bautista Faubel Cano
• Blessed Lázaro Ruiz Peral
• Blessed Manoel José Sousa de Sousa
• Blessed Modest Godo Buscato
• Blessed Modest Pamplona Falguera
• Blessed Nicolás Rueda Barriocanal
• Blessed Serviliano Solá Jiménez
• Blessed Teodoro Pérez Gómez
The Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849) Apostle of England, Prayer for his Cause of Canonisation
As we celebrate the Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi, he who converted so many to the bosom of the Church in England, let us pray for his Canonisation and for that of his greatest convert, Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890), these two, forever linked in history.
Prayer for the Cause of Canonisation of Blessed Dominic Barberi (1792-1849)
O God, Who so lovingly raised Blessed Dominic to the heights of holiness, learning and apostolic zeal and made him a powerful minister of Your mercy, listen to our humble request. We pray that You will, in Your goodness, grant a miracle, we pray, through the intercession of Blessed Dominic, so that the Church may honour him on earth and that many more will come to know and invoke the help of this faithful servant of the Church. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen Mary, Mother of Holy Hope, pray for us Blessed Dominic Barberi, pray for us.
PRAYER FOR CANONISATION of Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
God our Father, You granted to Your servant, Blessed John Henry Newman, wonderful gifts of nature and of grace, that he should be a spiritual light in the darkness of this world, an eloquent herald of the Gospel and a devoted servant of the one Church of Christ. With confidence in his heavenly intercession, we make the petition for his Canonisation. For his insight into the mysteries of the kingdom, his zealous defence of the teachings of the Church and his priestly love for each of your children, we pray that he may soon be numbered among the Saints. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Nihil Obstat: Fr Pat McKinney S.T.L.
Imprimatur: + Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham
Thought for the Day – 27 August – The Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849) Apostle of England
Blessed Dominic Barberi, as described by the great English convert, Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890).
“On the Apennines, near Viterbo, there dwelt a shepherd-boy, in the first years of this century, whose mind had early been drawn heavenward and, one day, as he prayed before an image of the Madonna, he felt a vivid intimation that he was destined to preach the Gospel under the northern sky.
“There appeared no means by which a Roman peasant should be turned into a missionary; nor did the prospect open, when this youth found himself, first a lay brother, then a Father, in the Congregation of the Passion.
“Yet, though no external means appeared, the inward impression did not fade, on the contrary it became more definite and, in process of time, instead of the dim north, England was engraved on his heart.
“And, strange to say, as years went on, without his seeking, for he was simply under obedience, our peasant found himself at length upon the very shore of the stormy northern sea, whence Caesar of old looked out for a new world to conquer; yet that he should cross the strait was still as little likely as before.
“However, it was as likely as that he should ever have got so near it and he used to eye the restless, godless waves and wonder with himself whether the day would ever come when he should be carried over them.
“And come it did, not however by any determination of his own, but by the same Providence which thirty years before had given him the anticipation of it…The thought of England came into his ordinary prayers and in his last years, after a vision during Mass, as if he had been Augustine or Mellitus, he talked of his ‘sons’ in England.”
Fr Dominic of the Mother of God was a spiritual son of St Paul of the Cross (1694-1775), the founder of the Passionists.
John Henry Newman, Loss and Gain: The Story of a Convert, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1986, pp.291-292.
The work of Dominic with Newman and the new converts of Littlemore was not limited to receiving them into the Church. The esteem that Dominic had, even before the conversion of Newman, for the little group of Littlemore was impressive. He touchingly and lovingly wrote to Dalgairns in September 1845:
“Dear Littlemore, I love Thee! A little more still and we shall see happy results from Littlemore. When the learned and holy Superior of Littlemore will come, then I hope we shall see again the happy days of Augustine, of Lanfranc and Thomas. England will be once more the Isle of Saints and the nurse of new Christian nations, destined to carry the light of the Gospels coram gentibus et regibus et filiis Israel”.
His compassion, kindness and love are our lessons today!
Quote/s of the Day – 27 August – The Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849) Apostle of England
“The door opened and what a spectacle it was for me to see, at my feet, John Henry Newman, begging me to hear his confession and admit him into the bosom of the Catholic Church.”
Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849)
“When his form came within sight, I was moved to the depths in the strangest way. The gaiety and affability of his manner, in the midst of his sanctity, was itself a holy sermon.”
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890) speaking of
Blessed Dominic Barberi (1792-1849)
One Minute Reflection – 27 August – The Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849)
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”…Matthew 26:26
REFLECTION – “Jesus Christ said over the consecrated elements, “This is my body” you say “No. It is not his body!” Who then am I to believe? I prefer to believe Jesus Christ.”…Blessed Dominic Barberi (1792-1849)
PRAYER – O God, who so lovingly raised Blessed Dominic to the heights of holiness, learning and apostolic zeal and made him a powerful minister of Your mercy for the return of many of our separated brethren to the Catholic Church, grant to us here below, an abundant share of his virtues and deign, through his intercession, to grant us this particular grace. May we too, according to our state, contribute to the realisation of his desire for the union of all Christians in the one True Fold under the one Shepherd. We ask this through our Lord Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 27 August – The Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849)
One of Bl Dominic’s major Conversions, Bl John Henry, will do the honours today.
Raise My Heart Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
O my God,
whatever is nearer to me than You,
things of this earth
and things more naturally pleasing to me,
will be sure to interrupt the sight of You,
unless Your grace interfere.
Keep You my eyes,
my ears,
my heart,
from any such miserable tyranny.
Keep my whole being fixed on You.
Let me never lose sight of You
and while I gaze on You,
let my love of You
grow more and more every day.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 27 August – Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849) Apostle to England – Passionist Priest, Theologian, Confessor, Teacher, Spiritual Direcotor, Writer, Missionary, Evangelist – born on 22 June 1792 at Viterbo, Italy and died at 3pm on 27 August 1849 at Reading, Berkshire, England of a heart attack. Patronage – England. St Dominic was an Italian, a member of the Passionist Congregation and was extremely prominent in spreading Catholicism in England. He was a very positive influence on and instrumental in, the conversion of Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890). Dominic was born to a poor family of Italian farmers in 1792. He was orphaned at the tender age of eight and an uncle and aunt raised him in the town of Merlano. Young Dominic was not sent to school but instead was taught to shepherd sheep. But the child always found time to pray as he tended the sheep and he also diligently taught himself to read and write.
When Napoleon closed all the religious houses in Italy, Dominic became acquainted with several Passionists living in exile near his town. During this time, Dominic experienced a divine message to join the Passionists and one day go to England.
Dominic had promised God that if he were not drafted, he would become a Passionist. Dominic’s uncle and aunt had also planned a marriage for him. But just before the arranged marriage was to take place, he slipped away and instead entered the nearby Passionist monastery at Vetralla. Dominic studied eagerly, for he had a brilliant mind. He was ordained in Rome on 1 March 1821. For the next nineteen years he shared the life and ministries of the Passionists in Italy but his heart was in England.
Mission in England
In 1833, Dominic became a delegate to the General Chapter. In this capacity, he was able to plant the seed to send missionaries to England. By the time of the 1839 General Chapter, changes in the Congregation were afoot. The new General Superior was the charismatic Father Anthony Testa. By April of 1840, Father Testa decided that Dominic should go to England, though he worried for Dominic’s failing health. He sent him with three companions to Belgium to make a foundation in that country with the hope that from Belgium the mission to England could be realised. Dominic established the first Passionist monastery outside of Italy in 1840, at Ere in Belgium.
Finally, the time came to establish the first Passionist residence in England. Father Dominic and a companion went to England and obtained a house at Aston Hall in Staffordshire. One of his first ministries was the celebration of the 1842 Holy Week services.
While in Italy and later in Belgium, Barberi had always kept up a keen interest in the Oxford Movement. In 1841 a letter by John Dobree Dalgairns appeared in L’Univers explaining the position of the Anglican High Church party. Barberi decided to respond to this letter in the mistaken belief that it represented the views of the entire faculty of Oxford University. (Dalgairns was an undergraduate when he wrote the letter.) Barberi’s “Letter to University Professors at Oxford” describes his long hopes for the conversion of England and his belief that the men of Oxford would be instrumental in such a conversion. The letter, through the help of Ignatius Spencer, eventually ended up in the hands of Dalgairns, who was residing with John Henry Newman at Littlemore. Barberi repudiated the Anglican claim that the 39 Articles could be interpreted in a Catholic light. In their continued correspondence Dalgairns and Barberi debated the Catholic position and Dalgairns requested copies of the Passionist Rule and Dominic’s ‘The Lament of England’. Eventually Dalgairns was received into the Catholic Church by Barberi at Aston in September 1845.
In October of that same year Barberi visited Littlemore, where Newman made his confession to him. Newman relates in his “Apologia” how Barberi arrived soaked from the rain and as was drying himself by the fire when Newman knelt and asked to be received into the Catholic Church. This event is marked by a sculpture in the Catholic Church of Blessed Dominic Barberi at Littlemore. Two of Newman’s companions at Littlemore were also received, and Barberi celebrated Mass for them the following morning. Subsequently, Newman and Barberi always took note of each other’s careers.
Dominic felt immensely blessed to have received the famous Anglican into the Catholic Church. “What a spectacle it was for me to see Newman at my feet! All that I have suffered since I left Italy has been well compensated by this event. I hope the effects of such a conversion may be great.”
English vocations were few but Dominic was deeply consoled by the arrival of Father George Spencer who received the habit on 5 January 1847. Spencer was a convert of some years and already ordained, when Dominic came to England in 1841. Now as a fellow Passionist, he proved a great comfort to Dominic and the Passionists. A little note of interest – Venerable Ignatius Spencer of St Paul (1799-1864) born as Hon George Spencer, was a son of the Second Earl Spencer. He converted from Anglicanism to the Roman Catholic Church, entered the Passionist Order in 1841 at the age of 31, scandalising some in the Victorian society and spent his life working for the conversion of England to the Catholic faith. He is also known as the ‘Apostle of Prayer for England’ and the great-great uncle of Princess Diana (died 1997).
Blessed Dominic Barberi and Venerble Ignatius Spencer
In August, 1849, Dominic was returning to Aston Hall from London. About five miles from Reading, Dominic got desperately sick. He was taken off the train to be attended by a doctor but there was not a room for him at the small station of Pangbourne. Father Louis put him back on the train for Reading. He died there from a heart attack at 3:00 p.m., 27 August 1849.
In the tradition of Blessed Dominic (he was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1963), Passionists would be aware that ecumenism is an essential part of their heritage. At the time of the Second Vatican Council, Passionists accepted with joy the call to engage in ecumenical ministries. The “renewal” of the Congregation in the spirit of Vatican II would challenge the modern Passionist to this ecumenical mission.
In his years in England Dominic established three churches and several chapels, preached innumerable missions and received hundreds of converts, not only Newman but others such as Spencer and Dalgairns and many unknown by name.
St Agilo of Sithin
Bl Angelus of Foligno
St Anthusa the Younger
St Arontius of Potenza
St Baculus of Sorrento
St Caesarius of Arles
St Carpophorus
St David Lewis
St Decuman
Bl Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849)
St Ebbo of Sens
St Etherius of Lyons
St Euthalia of Leontini
St Fortunatus of Potenza
Bl Gabriel Mary
St Gebhard of Constance
St Giovanni of Pavia
St Honoratus of Potenza
Bl Jean Baptiste Guillaume
Bl Jean-Baptiste Souzy
St John of Pavia
St Licerius of Couserans
St Malrubius of Merns
Bl Maria del Pilar Izquierdo Albero
St Narnus of Bergamo
St Phanurius
St Poemen
Bl Roger Cadwallador
St Rufus of Capua
St Sabinian of Potenza
St Syagrius of Autun
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Martyrs of Tomi – 5 saints: A group of 17 Christians imprisoned and excuted for their faith during the persecutions of Diocletian. They miraculously were unburned by fire and untouched by wild animals. We know the names and a few details on five of them – John, Mannea, Marcellinus, Peter and Serapion. They were tied to stakes and burned alive; they emerged unharmed – thrown to wild animals in the amphitheatre; the animals ignored them; they were beheaded in 304 in Tomi, Mesia (modern Costanza, Romania).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Buenaventura Gabika-Etxebarria Gerrikabeitia
• Blessed Esteban Barrenechea Arriaga
• Blessed Fernando González Añon
• Blessed Francisco Euba Gorroño
• Blessed Hermenegildo Iza Aregita
• Blessed José María López Carrillo
• Blessed Juan Antonio Salútregui Iribarren
• Blessed Pedro Ibáñez Alonso
• Blessed Pelayo José Granado Prieto
• Blessed Plácido Camino Fernández
• Blessed Quirino Díez del Blanco
• Blessed Ramón Martí Soriano
Quote/s of the Day – 26 August – The Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa,
Queen of Poland
“Let Mary never be far from your lips and from your heart. Following her, you will never lose your way. Praying to her, you will never sink into despair. Contemplating her, you will never go wrong.”
One Minute Reflection – 26 August – 21st Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel: John 6:60–69
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”...John 6:68-69
REFLECTION – “He does not say “where shall we go?” but “to whom shall we go?” The underlying problem, is not about leaving and abandoning the work undertaken but to whom to go. From Peter’s question, we understand, that fidelity to God is a question of fidelity to a person, to whom we bind ourselves, to walk together on the same road. And this person is Jesus. All that we have in the world does not satisfy our infinite hunger. We need Jesus, to be with Him, to be nourished at His table, on His words of eternal life!”…Pope Francis (Angelus, 23 August 2015)
“Be patient and persevere in the practice of meditation. Be content, to start with, to make progress only by degrees. Later on you will have legs that will ask for nothing but to run or, better, wings for flying with.
Be happy to obey. It’s never easy but it is God we have chosen as our portion. Accept that, as yet, you are only a little bee in its nest but, very quickly, it will become one of those wonderful workers so skilful in making honey. Always remain humble before God and men, in love. Then our Lord will speak to you in truth and enrich you with His gifts.”…St Pio of Pietrelcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)
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 Pope Zephyrinus, bring us strength and courage. As it was Your will heavenly Father, that, at the angel’s message, Your Word should be conceived by the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that as we believe her to be truly the Mother of God, so may we be helped always, by her intercession. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, ‘totus tuus’ Maria – please pray for us, amen.
Saint of the Day – 25 August – St Pope Zephyrinus (died 217) Martyr, he was Bishop of Rome or Pope from 199 to his death in 217. He was born in Rome. His predecessor was Pope Victor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his principal advisor, Pope Callixtus I. He is known for combatting heresies and defending the divinity of Christ.
Saint Zephyrinus, a native of Rome, succeeded Victor I in the pontificate in the year 198. In 202 Septimus Severus, a military despot, raised the fifth and most bloody persecution against the Church, which continued for nine years until the death of the emperor in 211. Until this furious storm ended, the holy pastor remained concealed for the sake of his flock, supporting and comforting the distressed disciples of Christ. He suffered by charity and compassion, what every confessor underwent. The triumphs of the martyrs were indeed his joy but his heart received many deep wounds from the fall of apostates and heretics. Nor did this latter affliction cease, when peace was restored to the Church.
The holy Pope had the affliction of witnessing the fall of Tertullian. He saw to his joy, however, the conversion of Natalis, who had become a heretical bishop when he lapsed into the Theodotian heresy. God, wishing to bring him back to the Church, sent him a solid correction which opened his eyes and he came to kneel at the feet of the Vicar of Christ, wearing a hair shirt and humbly asking pardon for his revolt.
Eusebius tells us that this holy Pope exerted his zeal so strenuously against the blasphemies of the heretics, that they treated him with the utmost contempt. To his glory, however, they also called him the principal defender of Christ’s divinity.
St Zephyrinus filled the pontifical chair nineteen years, dying in 217 . He was buried in his own cemetery, on the 26th of August. He is, in some Martyrologies, styled a martyr, which title he might deserve by what he suffered in the persecution, though he perhaps did not die by the executioner.
St Abundius the Martyr
St Alexander of Bergamo
St Anastasius the Fuller
St Bregwin of Canterbury
St Elias of Syracuse
St Eleutherius of Auxerre
St Felix of Pistoia
Bl Herluin
Bl Ioachim Watanabe Jirozaemon
St Irenaeus of Rome
Bl Jacques Retouret
St Jeanne Elizabeth des Bichier des Anges
Bl Jean Bassano
Bl Jean of Caramola
Bl Juan Urgel
Bl Levkadia Herasymiv
Bl Margaret of Faenza
St Mary of Jesus Crucified
St Maximilian of Rome
St Melchizedek the Patriarch
St Orontius of Lecce
St Pandwyna
St Rufinus of Capua
St Secundus the Theban
Bl Stanislaus Han Jeong-Heum
St Teresa de Gesu, Jornet y Ibars
St Victor of Caesarea
St Victor the Martyr
St Vyevain of York
St Pope Zephyrinus (died 217) Martyr
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Martyrs of Celano – 3 saints: Three Christians, Constantius, Simplicius and Victorinus, martyred in the same area at roughly the same time. That’s really all we know, though it didn’t stop writers in later centuries from inventing colourful histories, making them a father and sons, adding saintly family members, earthquakes, close escapes, etc.
They were martyred in c 159 in the Marsica region of Italy. At some point their relics were interred under the main altar of the San Giovanni Vecchio church in the Collegiata di Celano and were authenticated in 1057 by Pope Stephen IX. The city was depopulated in 1222; when it was re-built, the relics were re-enshrined in the church of San Vittorino on 10 June 1406. Patronage – Celano, Italy.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Emilio Serrano Lizarralde
• Blessed Francesc Casademunt Ribas
• Blessed Josep Maria Tolaguera Oliva
• Blessed Luis Valls Matamales
• Blessed María de Los Ángeles Ginard Martí
• Blessed Pere Sisterna Torrent
Thought for the Day – 25 August – The memorial of St Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648) Founder
St Joseph Calasanz followed the inner indications of God in his heart. Besides the service of the school, he was open to help at any time, especially when circumstances were adverse. For example, when the river Tiber was over flooded, there he was saving lives.
In 1601, King Philip III sent a messenger to share the good news that he had granted Joseph a canonry in Seville, one of the most important and beautiful cities in Spain. But he declined the offer, and said NO, with this words: “I have found the definitive to serve God doing good to these little ones and I will never leave it for anything in the world.”
Calasanz had burned the boats of his first dreams and ambitions and he never again went back to his native land. He remained in Rome giving education to poor children, for the rest of his life. Much of his strength came from his great devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. He signed his letters – ‘Joseph of the Mother of God’. A clear and powerful sign that his congregation and his person, were placed under the loving
protection of the Mother of Jesus Christ, God‐with‐us. Saint Joseph Calasanz, wanted that all meetings and gatherings finished with this beautiful prayer:
“We fly to thy patronage, oh Holy Mother of God, Despise not our petitions in all our necessities, But from all kind of dangers always deliver us Oh, ever blessed Virgin Mary.”
Calasanz gave an order to build a sanctuary dedicated to the Mother of God in Frascati, where the Piarists had the first foundation outside Rome, in 1616. He brought the image of our Lady personally. It consists in an icon of Mary, crowned as Queen, holding tenderly her Son Jesus. Joseph urged his sons to pray constantly to Mary, for her patronage and protection is the stronghold of those loved by God.
He was a humble and simple person, ready to abase himself and do whatever necessary for love of the little ones: he swept the classrooms, prepared the ink in the inkwells, had prepared the fountain pens, went to the streets begging for alms for the schools, washed the dishes took care of the order and discipline of the schools, and he liked to visit the students –above all little ones‐ in the classrooms. Besides he accompanied them back home after the school period. For Calasanz, a Piarist plays the role of the guardian angel we all have from the moment of our conception and birth.
This was Saint Joseph Calasanz: without evading the sweetness of heart he remained persistent in his inner convictions in favour of the needy, for whom he became their voice, a sheer opportunity to improve themselves through the exceptional gift of the
education for all, beginning by the least and the last, the poorest among the poor. He never lost hope that one day his religious order would be restored and poor children would be served through it throughout the world.
The Piarist Fathers, are a beautiful reality today, through which the Risen Lord is proclaimed alive, following the footsteps of their Holy Founder. To be a Piarist is a way to a joyful holiness, ministering generously to children and young people, especially the poorest. The Piarists do not seek honours and privileges, their life is simple and they prepare themselves to be good educators and evangelisers, according to the present circumstances of our time.
Today they are present in 35 different countries. They are about 1400 religious, distributed in 250 communities. Though their most natural ambience is the school, they also give importance to missions, to non‐formal education, youth groups, parishes, small Christian communities, development programs, Calasanzian Fraternities, schools of Christian leadership, etc. All this in communion with the Church, for they are her children. They ask you all to lean on our Mother, to run to her, to ask and pray for humility that you too may serve all who are in need of your love!
Quote of the Day – 25 August – The Memorial of St Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648) Founder
“As Scripture says, “Those who instruct many in justice will shine as stars for all eternity.” They will attain this more easily, if they make a covenant of perpetual obedience and strive to cling to Christ and please Him alone because, in His words, “What you did to one of the least of my brethren, you did to me.”
One Minute Reflection – 25 August – Saturday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time, Year B, Today’s Gospel: Matthew 23:1–12 – The Memorials of Sts Louis IX, (1214-1270) King of France and St Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648) Founder
“….so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach but do not practice.”...Matthew 23:3
REFLECTION – “Someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit speaks different languages (Acts 2:4). These different languages are differing testimonies to Christ, such as humility, poverty, patience and obedience. We speak them when, in practising them ourselves, we show them to others. The word is alive when it is our actions that speak. Please, I beg you, let words be silenced and actions speak! We are full of words but empty of deeds and because of this the Lord curses us just as he cursed the fig tree on which he found no fruit but only leaves (Mk 11:13f.). Saint Gregory says that: “The Law has been made known to the preacher so that he might practice what he preaches.” A person who spoils his teaching by his deeds is wasting his time spreading knowledge of the law.
But the apostles spoke according to the Spirit’s gift. Happy are those who speak according to the Spirit’s gift and not according to their own feelings… So let us speak as the Spirit gives us utterance. Let us humbly and devoutly ask Him to shed His grace within us.”..St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church (Sermons)
“All who undertake to teach must be endowed with deep love, the greatest of patience and, most of all, profound humility. They must perform their work with earnest zeal. Then, through their humble prayers, the Lord will find them worthy to become fellow workers with Him in the cause of truth.”…St Joseph Calasanz
PRAYER – God our Father, help us to teach others about You by our example as well as our words. Grant that we may spread Your truth and Your light wherever we go. St Louis, this is exactly what you sought to do, constantly serving God in penitence and prayer, ever mindful of His people. You lived the greatest commandment and strove always to be an example to your people through your great love for our Lord and for His Church. You gave St Joseph of Calasanz, remarkable gifts of priestly charity and patience. Grant that while we honour him as a master of wisdom, we may imitate him, by teaching the truth by our way of life. St Louis, St Joseph, please pray for our Priests and for us all! Amen
Our Morning Offering – 25 August – The Memorial of St Louis IX (1214-1270) – King of France
Prayer inspired by St Louis’ Last Instructions to his Eldest Son, Philip
(Perhaps Philip prayed thus)
O God, we love You.
We want to do nothing to displease You.
If we have troubles, let us thank You.
If we don’t, we also humbly thank You.
Let us look for ways to grow closer to You,
whether in Confession, prayer, or at Mass.
Let us open our hearts to afflicted people
and do what we can to comfort them.
Let us look for ways to improve our society.
Thank You for friends who help us bear
our burdens and help us grow in holiness.
Let us turn away from gossip or swearing.
Let us always do what is right for those
we serve and promote peace among our neighbours.
Let us be quick to defend our Faith.
O Holy Trinity, all You holy saints,
please defend us from all evils.
Please give us grace to do Your will always,
so that You are honoured
and so we may be with You forever.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 27 August – St Joseph Calasanz Sch.P. (1557-1648) (Also known as: Joseph Calasanctius, Joseph of Our Lady, Josephus a Matre Dei, Joseph Calsanza) was a Spanish Catholic Priest, Teacher, Lawyer, Founder of the Pious Schools, (providing free education to the sons of the poor) and the Religious Order that ran them, commonly known as the Piarists. He was born on 11 September 1556 at Peralta, Barbastro, Aragon, Spain in his father’s castle and died on 25 August 1648 at Rome, Italy of natural causes. Patronages – Catholic schools (proclaimed on 13 August 1948 by Pope Pius XII), schools, colleges, universities, students, schoolchildren, the Piarists and the Congregation of Christian Workers of Saint Joseph Calasanz.
Joseph Calasanz was born in Aragon, Spain, in 1556 of a noble family, who gave him a very Christian education. When only five years old, he led a troop of children through the streets to find the devil and slay him. He became a lawyer and then a Priest (after a serious illness caused his father to relent in his opposition) and was engaged in various reforms when he heard a voice saying, “go to Rome, Joseph” and had a vision of many children who were being taught by him and by a company of Angels. When he reached the Holy City, his heart was moved by the vice and ignorance of the children of the poor and he saw clearly that ignorance was the mother of vice and misery. Sunday Catechism lessons were insufficient to remedy the situation. When he could find no collaboration under the existing frameworks, the children’s need mastered his profound humility and he undertook to found personally, the Order of Clerks Regular of the Pious Schools, or the Piarists.
The parish priest of Saint Dorothy’s Church in Trastevere, placed two rooms at his disposition and assisted him in all things. Two other good priests joined the founders, and the school soon had several hundred children. He taught the children catechism, reading, writing and arithmetic and he himself provided all that was necessary for the program of instruction, receiving nothing in payment. Other schools were organised elsewhere in Rome and the holy priest had scholars of every rank under his care. Each lesson began with prayer. Every half-hour, piety was renewed by acts of faith, hope and charity. At the end of the day the children were escorted home by the masters, so as to escape all harm on the way. An annual retreat was given them during the Easter season. Clement XIII approved the new Congregation, which became an Order with the ordinary three vows and in addition a definitive commitment to the instruction of the indigent.
Calasanz was a friend of Galileo Galilei and sent some distinguished Piarists as disciples of the great scientist. He shared and defended his controversial view of the cosmos. When Galileo fell into disgrace, Calasanz instructed members of his congregation to provide him with whatever assistance he needed and authorised the Piarists to continue studying mathematics and science with him. Unfortunately, those opposed to Calasanz and his work used the Piarists’ support and assistance to Galileo as an excuse to attack them. Despite such attacks, Calasanz continued to support Galileo. When, in 1637, Galileo lost his sight, Calasanz ordered the Piarist Clemente Settimi to serve as his secretary. But enemies arose against Saint Joseph, however, from among his own subjects, thus imposing on the Founder the most sorrowful of all crosses, resembling that of the Lord Himself. They accused him to the Holy Office and at the age of eighty-six he was led through the streets to prison, where he was briefly held and interrogated by the Inquisition.
The Order was reduced to a simple Congregation under local episcopal authority and was not restored to its former privileges until after the Saint’s death. Yet he died full of hope. My work, he said, was done solely for the love of God. Saint Joseph is the first to have given gratuitous instruction to the children of the people. Religion can claim for its own the instruction of the poor, both by birthright and by right of conquest.
St Joseph died at the age of 90 having always remained faithful in all things, admired for his holiness and courage by his students, their families, his fellow Piarists and the people of Rome. The body of Saint Joseph Calasanz reposes in the church of Saint Pantaleon in Rome, his heart and tongue are conserved incorrupt in a devotional chapel in the Piarist Motherhouse in Rome. Eight years after his death, Pope Alexander VII cleared the name of the Pious Schools. Joseph Calasanz was beatified on 7 August 1748, by Pope Benedict XIV. He was Canonised by Pope Clement XIII in 1767 and on 13 August 1948, Ven Pope Pius XII declared him to be the “Universal Patron of all Christian schools in the world.”
St Alessandro Dordi
Bl Andrea Bordino
St Andreas Gim Gwang-Ok
St Aredius of Limoges
St Ebbe the Elder
Bl Eduard Cabanach Majem
St Eusbius of Rome
Bl Fermí Martorell Vies
Bl Francesc Llach Candell
St Genesius of Arles
St Genesius of Brescello
St Genesius of Rome
St Gennadius of Constantinople
St Geruntius of Italica
St Gregory of Utrecht
St Gurloes of Sainte Croix
St Hermes of Eretum
St Hunegund of Homblieres
St Julian of Syria
St Julius of Eretum
Bl Ludovicus Baba
Bl Ludovicus Sasada
Bl Luis Cabrera Sotelo
St Maginus
St Marcian of Saignon
Bl María del Tránsito de Jesús Sacramentado
Bl Maria Troncatti
St Menas of Constantinople
Bl Miguel Carvalho
St Nemesius of Rome
St Patricia of Naples
Bl Paul-Jean Charles
Bl Pedro de Calidis
St Peregrinus of Rome
St Petrus Gim Jeong-Duk
St Pontian of Rome
St Severus of Agde
St Thomas of Hereford
St Vincent of Rome
—
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Antoni Prenafeta Soler
• Blessed Antoni Vilamassana Carulla
• Blessed Enric Salvá Ministral
• Blessed Florencio Alonso Ruiz
• Blessed Fortunato Merino Vegas
• Blessed Josep Maria Panadés Terré
• Blessed Juan Pérez Rodríguez
• Blessed Luis Gutiérrez Calvo
• Blessed Luis Urbano Lanaspa
• Blessed Manuel Fernández Ferro
• Blessed Miguel Grau Antolí
• Blessed Pere Farrés Valls
• Blessed Ramon Cabanach Majem
• Blessed Salvi Tolosa Alsina
• Blessed Vicente álvarez Cienfuegos
Thought for the Day – 24 August – The Feast of St Bartholomew, Apostle of Christ – Today’s Gospel: John 1:45–51
Bartholomew or Nathanael? We are confronted again with the fact that we know almost nothing about most of the apostles. Yet the unknown ones were also foundation stones, the 12 pillars of the new Israel whose 12 tribes now encompass the whole earth. Their personalities were secondary—without thereby being demeaned—to their great office of bearing tradition from their firsthand experience, speaking in the name of Jesus, putting the Word Made Flesh into human words for the enlightenment of the world. Their holiness was not an introverted contemplation of their status before God. It was a gift that they had to share with others. The Good News, was that, all are called to the holiness of being Christ’s members, by the gracious gift of God.
The simple fact is that humanity is totally meaningless unless God is its total concern. Then humanity, made holy with God’s own holiness, becomes the most precious creation of God…(via Franciscan Media)
Quote of the Day – 24 August – The Feast of St Bartholomew, Apostle
“Here is a true child of Israel. There is no guile in him.” Bartholomew/Nathanael answered him : “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
One Minute Reflection – 24 August – The Feast of St Bartholomew, Apostle of Christ – Today’s Gospel: John 1:45–51
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”…John 1:51
REFLECTION – “The apostles’ glory is so indistinguishable and so bonded together by the cement of so many graces that in celebrating the feast of one of them the common greatness of all is called to our interior attention. For they share together the same authority of supreme judge, the same honourable rank and they hold the same power to bind and loose (Mt 19:28; 18:18). They are those precious pearls that Saint John tells us he beheld in the Book of Revelation out of which are constructed the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem (Rv 21:21.14)… And indeed, whenever the apostles beam divine light through their signs or miracles, they open up the heavenly glory of Jerusalem to all those peoples who have been converted to the christian faith…
Of them, too, the prophet says: “Who are these who fly along like clouds?” (Is 60:8)… God raises the minds of His preachers to contemplation of truths on high… so that they can abundantly pour down the rain of God’s word into our hearts. Thus they drink water from the spring so as to give drink to us too. Saint Bartholomew drew from the fullness of this spring when the Holy Spirit came upon him, as on the other apostles, in the form of tongues of fire (Acts 2:3).”… St Peter Damian (1007-1072) – Bishop, Doctor of the Church (Sermon 42, 2nd for Saint Bartholomew, PL 144, 726)
PRAYER – Almighty Lord and Father, strengthen in us that faith with which St Bartholomew gave himself wholeheartedly to Christ Your Son. Grant, at his intercession, that Your Church may become the Sacrament of salvation, for all the nations of the earth. We make our prayer through Jesus, our Lord and Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever, amen.
St Abban
St Abyce
St Agofridus of Lacroix
Bl André Fardeau
Bl Antonio de Blanes
St Emilie de Vialar (1797–1856)
St Eutychius of Troas
St George Limniotes
St Irchard
St María Micaela of the Blessed Sacrament
Bl Miroslav Bulesic
St Ouen of Rouen
St Patrick the Elder
St Ptolemy of Nepi
St Romanus of Nepi
St Sandratus
St Taziano of Claudiopolis
—
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Fortunato Velasco Tobar
• Blessed Isidre Torres Balsells
• Blessed Rigoberto Aquilino de Anta Barrio
Martyred in World War II: 6 Beati
Czeslaw Jozwiak
Edward Kazmierski
Edward Klinik
Franciszek Kesy
Jarogniew Wojciechowski
Luis Almécija Lázaro
Thought for the Day – 23 August – Thursday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14 and the Memorial of St Rose of Lima (1586-1617)
Who can begin to imagine how the smallest of our actions, done in love of God and neighbour, can lead to immense results? For we know that the mustard seed is tiny and grows into the greatest of shrubs.
When St Rose began taking in the destitute, the old and infirm, the poor and the sick, could she have dreamed that this small service would become the beginning of social services in Peru? Moreover, she became known and loved throughout Peru and remains so, by rich and poor alike, who look to her for protection from calamity and for the protection of God, by her prayers.
City officials and senators, carried her body to its grave and she was revered as a saint from the moment she died, in fact whilst she lived. It was impossible to hold her funeral for several days due to the immense crowds and so, she was finally buried privately.
St Rose found her own unique pathway to sanctity when her plans to become a nun were frustrated. Remembering, all is God’s will, nothing is random or wasted, go forth, find a way and set the world on fire in your wedding garment!
Glorious St Rose of Lima, you who knew, what it was to love Jesus with such a fine and generous heart. You, whom since infancy, despised the world’s vanities in order to embrace His Cross. You who loved, with unfailing devotion, our Heavenly Mother and professed a great tender dedication to the destitute, serving them, in the same way, Jesus did. Teach us to imitate your greatest virtues, so that we, following your example, may enjoy your glorious protection. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 23 August -Today’s Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14 and the Memorial of St Rose of Lima (1586-1617)
“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’...Matthew 22:11-12
REFLECTION – “What is that “wedding garment” then? … The wedding garment” is such charity as this. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.” Tongues have come in alone and it is said to them, “How came ye in hither not having a wedding garment?” “Though,” said he, “I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing.” See, these are the miracles of men who very often have not “the wedding garment.” “Though,” he says,” I have all these and have not Christ, I am nothing.” … If then I have not charity, though I bestow alms freely upon the poor, though I have come to the confession of Christ’s Name even unto blood and fire, these things may be done even through the love of glory and so are vain.
… For “the wedding garment” is taken in honour of the union, the union, that is, of the Bridegroom to the Bride. You know the Bridegroom – it is Christ. You know the Bride – it is the Church. Pay honour to the Bride, pay honour to the Bridegroom . If you pay due honour to them both, you will be their children. Therefore in this make progress. Love the Lord and so learn to love yourselves, that when by loving the Lord, you shall have loved yourselves, you may securely love your neighbour as yourselves.
…So then, have faith with love. This is the “wedding garment.”…St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor
“Thus, then, the obedient man,with the light of faith, in the truth burning in the furnace of charity … receives his end from Me, his Creator.”…St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – “God our Father, for love of You, St Rose of Lima left the world and gave herself to a life of penitence, austerity and charity. Help us by her prayers, so to follow the path of life on earth, in complete love of You and thus of Your children, that we may obtain the fulness of joy in Your presence in heaven and be clothed fit for the wedding feast. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering– 23 August – The Memorial of St Rose of Lima T.O.S.D. (1586-1617)
O God of Truth and Love
A Prayer of Penitence By St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
O omnipotent Father,
God of truth,
God of love,
permit me to enter into
the cell of self-knowledge.
I admit, that of myself, I am nothing,
but that all being
and goodness in me
comes solely from You.
Show me my faults,
that I may detest them,
and thus I shall flee from self-love
and find myself clothed again
in the nuptial robe of divine charity,
which I must have,
in order to be admitted
to the nuptials of life eternal.
Amen
St Catherine was St Rose’s model and both were, of course, Dominican Tertiaries.
Dominic was born to a poor family of Italian farmers in 1792. He was orphaned at the tender age of eight and an uncle and aunt raised him in the town of Merlano. Young Dominic was not sent to school but instead was taught to shepherd sheep. But the child always found time to pray as he tended the sheep and he also diligently taught himself to read and write.
AnaStpaul 
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