Quote of the Day – 23 March – The Memorial of St Turibius of Mogrovejo (1538-1606)
Christ said “I am the Truth”, He did not say “I am the custom”‘.
Category: SAINT of the DAY
One Minute Reflection – 23 March – Friday of the 5th Week of Lent 2018 and the Memorial of St Turibius of Mogrovejo (1538-1606) – Today’s Gospel John 10:31-42
One Minute Reflection – 23 March – Friday of the 5th Week of Lent 2018 and the Memorial of St Turibius of Mogrovejo (1538-1606) – Today’s Gospel John 10:31-42
The Jews took up stones again to stone him...John 10:31
REFLECTION – “If all goes well with you on earth, how can you expect to be crowned in heaven for a patience you never practised? How can you be Christ’s friend if you will not be opposed? Therefore, you must suffer with Christ and for Christ, if you want to reign with Him.”…Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471) The Imitation of Christ, Book 2
PRAYER – Lord, through the pastoral care, suffering and zeal of St Turibius, You built up Your Church in Peru. Grant that the people of God may continually grow in faith and holiness. Accept his prayers on our behalf, that we may always be willing to stand at Your Cross. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever amen.
Saint of the Day – 23 March – St Turibius of Mogrovejo (1538-1606)
Saint of the Day – 23 March – St Turibius of Mogrovejo (1538-1606) ArchBishop, Lawyer, Missionary, Preacher, Reformer, Professor, – born Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo in 1538 at Mayorga de Campos, Leon, Spain and died on 23 March 1606 at Santa, Peru of natural causes. Patronages – Peru, Lima, Latin American Bishops, Native rights, Scouts, Valladolid. St Turibius predicted the exact date and hour he would die, which would come to pass. His reputation for holiness and learning was never forgotten for it led to calls for his Canonisation. Pope Innocent XI Beatified and Pope Benedict XIII Canonise him on 10 December 1726.
Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo was born on 16 November 1538 in the Valladolid province in Habsburg Spain to the nobles Luis Alfonso de Mogrovejo (1510–1568) and Ana de Roblès i Morán (1515–???); He was named in honour of Saint Toribio.
He was noted as a pious child with a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin who fasted once a week in her honour and recited rosaries often. He received an education befitting for a noble at the time; he entered the college at Valladolid in 1550 where he studied humanities. He became a professor teaching law to students at the reputed college in Salamanca. His uncle Juan de Mogrovejo served as a professor there as well as at the San Salvador High School in Oviedo before King Juan III invited him to teach at the college in Coimbra. Toribio accompanied his uncle there and studied at the college in Coimbra before returning to Salamanca sometime later. His uncle died not long after he returned to Salamanca for his studies. His learning and virtuous reputation led to King Philip II appointing him as the Grand Inquisitor on the Inquisition Court stationed at Granada in February 1571. He remained in that position until 1576 but not without impressing the king with his work.
During this time Philip II nominated him for the vacant Lima archbishopric despite his strong protests. He used his knowledge of canon law to remind him and the pope that priests alone could be designated with ecclesial dignities but the pope overruled him. Preparations were made for him to be ordained before the formal announcement could be made. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1578 in Granada (after four consecutive weeks of receiving the minor orders) and Pope Gregory XIII named him on 16 May 1579 as the Archbishop of Lima; he received his episcopal consecration in August 1580 from the Archbishop of Seville Cristóbal Rojas Sandoval. In September 1580 he departed for Peru alongside his sister and her husband.
The new archbishop first arrived in Paita on 12 May 1581 which was 600 miles – or 970 kilometers – from Lima. He began his new mission travelling to Lima on foot while he baptised and taught the natives. He was enthroned in his new see a week later. His favourite topic was: “Time is not our own and we must give a strict account of it”. He traversed his entire archdiocese three times on foot and alone; exposed to tempests and torrents as well as the wild beasts and tropical heat. He also had to deal with fevers and often threats from hostile tribes. He countered these all the while baptising and confirming almost one half million people which included the future Saint Rose and Saint Martin de Porres and also Saint Francis Solano (who later became a close friend) and Blessed Juan Masías.
He built roads and schoolhouses as well as chapels and hospitals; he never forgot about the religious and established convents for them to live in. In 1591 founded the first seminary in the western hemisphere and mandated that learning indigenous languages was a prerequisite in their formation. He inaugurated the first part of the third Lima Cathedral on 2 February 1604. He also assembled thirteen diocesan synods and three provincial councils during his tenure. He was seen as a champion of the rights of the natives against the Spanish masters. He learnt the local dialects for better communication with the native people and his own flock and was seen as a champion for rights and liberties despite Peruvian governors voicing opposition to him since he challenged their power and control.
Mogrovejo sought the reformation of diocesan priests and found that some of their behaviour had grown too scandalous to be continued. There were those priests who came to resent him for this though Francisco de Toledo supported his reform efforts and rendered assistance to the archbishop in that regard. He also oversaw the Third Provincial Council from 1582 to 1583 which Philip II had requested he oversee. He served as the council’s president but guided it rather than lead it; he involved himself in drafting important concilliar documents. Mogrovejo also worked to implement the decrees from the Council of Trent and made evangelisation a core theme in his episcopal career. He produced a trilingual catechism in Spanish as well as in the native languages Quechua and Aymara in 1584 while the council mandated confessional manuals to aid confessors while calling for preaching in indigenous languages. The council issued a decree from the council – one he endorsed – that proscribed excommunication to those clerics who engaged in business ventures since it was known that there were some clerics who exploited the natives for work and profit.
The council ended and Pope Sixtus V confirmed its decrees in 1588. He held two more provincial councils in 1591 and in 1601. Mogrovejo made three pastoral visitations that were all extensive in time. He visited each parish and would first inspect all objects for divine worship (he expected them to be in good condition) before talking to the parish priest about the life of the parish. He would then check the parish registers and then checked to see if the priest had the missal that Pope Pius V had mandated over a decade prior.
His prediction of the exact date and hour of his death, would soon come to pass. It was in Pacasmayo during a pastoral visit that he contracted a fever but continued labouring to the last and arrived at Saña in a critical condition. He dragged himself to receive the Viaticum and died not long after this on 23 March 1606 (Holy Thursday) at 3:30pm at the Saint Augustine convent. His final words were those of Jesus Christ on the Cross: “Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit”. His remains are interred in the archdiocesan cathedral.
His beatification was celebrated under Pope Innocent XI in 1679 (ratified in the papal bull “Laudeamus”) and Pope Benedict XIII later canonised him as a saint on 10 December 1726 through the papal bull “Quoniam Spiritus”. His liturgical feast was once celebrated on 27 April but is now celebrated on 23 March. His cult was once confined for the most part to South America but is now universal because of his pioneering reforms. He became the patron saint for the Latin American episcopate after Pope John Paul II proclaimed him as such in 1983.
Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne spoke on Mogrovejo as a tireless pastor who never tired “being close to God” whose “love for the poor manifested itself in the innumerable gestures” that marked his episcopal life. Thorne further elaborated that “in Saint Toribio we reinforce our conviction that the time devoted to God is a guarantee of a faithful dedication to the fulfillment of our duties and to the service of our brothers”.
Memorials of the Saints – 23 March
St Turibius of Mogrovejo (1538-1606) (Optional Memorial)
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Bl Álvaro del Portillo Díez de Sollano
Bl Annunciata Asteria Cocchetti
St Benedict of Campagna
St Crescentius of Carthage
Bl Edmund Sykes
St Ethelwald of Farne
St Felix the Martyr
St Felix of Monte Cassino
St Fergus of Duleek
St Fidelis the Martyr
St Frumentius of Hadrumetum
St Gwinear
St Joseph Oriol
St Julian the Confessor
St Liberatus of Carthage
St Maidoc of Fiddown
Bl Metod Dominik Trcka
St Nicon of Sicily
St Ottone Frangipane
Bl Peter Higgins
Bl Pietro of Gubbio
St Rafqa
St Theodolus of Antioch
St Victorian of Hadrumetum
St Walter of Pontnoise
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Daughters of Feradhach: They are mentioned in early calendars and martyrologies, but no information about them has survived.
Martyrs of Caesarea – 5 saints: A group of five Christians who protested public games which were dedicated to pagan gods. Martyred in the persecutions Julian the Apostate. The only details we know about them are their names – Aquila, Domitius, Eparchius, Pelagia and Theodosia. They were martyred in 361 in Caesarea, Palestine.
Thought for the Day- 22 March – The Memorial of St Nicholas Owen S.J. (1562-1606) Martyr – “The Priest Hole Maker”
Thought for the Day- 22 March – The Memorial of St Nicholas Owen S.J. (1562-1606) Martyr – “The Priest Hole Maker”
Saint Nicholas Owen possessed great faith and courage and he is highly respected for this, for he is a Saint. However, what also makes him memorable, is how he used a rather obscure skill and talent for the good of God. His ability to make hiding places ultimately became a tool of God for protecting the Church.
Saint Nicholas reminds us that any of our talents, regardless of how seemingly unusual or unimportant, can be put to good use for the good of God and our neighbour. What are your talents and how can you use them for good?
Prayer
Dear God, please use me to do Your will. St Nicholas Owen, pray for us!
One Minute Reflection – 22 March 2018 – Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent and the Memorial of St Nicholas Owen S.J. (1562-1606) Martyr
One Minute Reflection – 22 March 2018 – Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent and the Memorial of St Nicholas Owen S.J. (1562-1606) Martyr
Rejoice … in the measure that you share Christ’s sufferings. When his glory is revealed, you will rejoice exultantly...1 Peter 4:13
REFLECTION – “Let us strive to face suffering with Christian courage. Then all difficulties will vanish and pain itself will become transformed into joy.”…St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Jesus, Man of Sorrows, in every suffering keep my eyes fixed on You. Let me keep ever before my mind the glory to come and so face the suffering with true Christian courage. Lord our God please grant that by the intercession of St Nicholas Owen, who suffered beyond all our understanding, for love of You, we may learn to suffer in silence and with true courage, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 22 March 2018 – Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent
Our Morning Offering – 22 March 2018 – Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent and the Memorial of St Nicholas Owen S.J. (1562-1606) Martyr
Transform me into Yourself
By St John Gabriel Perboyre (1802-1840) Martyr
O my Divine Saviour,
Transform me into Yourself.
May my hands be the hands of Jesus.
Grant that every faculty of my body
May serve only to glorify You.
Above all,
Transform my soul and all its powers
So that my memory, will and affection
May be the memory, will and affections
Of Jesus.
I pray You
To destroy in me all that is not of You.
Grant that I may live
but in You, by You and for You,
So that I may truly say, with Saint Paul,
“I live – now not I – But Christ lives in me.”
Saint of the Day – 22 March – St Nicholas Owen S.J. (1562-1606) The Priest-Hole Builder – Martyr
Saint of the Day – 22 March – St Nicholas Owen S.J. (1562-1606) The Priest-Hole Builde, Martyr , Lay Brother of the Society of Jesus, Assistant to St Edmund Campion- born in the 16th century in Oxford, England and was tortured to death on 2 March 1606 in London, England. Also known as • John Owen and • Little John. St Nicholas was a Jesuit lay brother who was the principal designer and builder of priest holes during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I of England. He was Canonised on 25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
St Nicholas was born in Oxford, England, around 1562 into a devoutly Catholic family and grew up during the Penal Laws. His father, Walter Owen, was a carpenter and Nicholas was apprenticed as a joiner in February 1577 where he acquired skills that he was to use in building hiding places. Two of his older brothers became priests. St Nicholas served as St Edmund Campion’s (1540-1381) assistant and was arrested for protesting Campion’s innocence. Upon his release, he entered the service of Henry Garnet S.J. around 1588 and for the next 18 years built hiding places for priests in the homes of Catholic families. He frequently travelled from one house to another, under the name of “Little John”, accepting only the necessities of life as payment before starting off for a new project. He also used the aliases “Little Michael”, “Andrewes”, and “Draper”. During the daytime he would work as a travelling carpenter to deflect suspicion.
Owen was only slightly taller than a dwarf and suffered from a hernia, as well as a crippled leg from a horse falling on him. Nevertheless, his work often involved breaking through thick stonework and to minimise the likelihood of betrayal he often worked at night and always alone. Sometimes he built an easily discovered outer hiding place which concealed an inner hiding place. The location of the secret room was known only to himself and the owner of the house. Examples of his work survive at Sawston Hall (Cambs),[Oxborough] [Norfolk] Huddington Court (Worcestershire) and Coughton Hall (Warwickshire). Harvington Hall in Worcestershire has seven “priest holes”. Due to the ingenuity of his craftsmanship, some may still be undiscovered. Below are 3 at Harvington Hall, the first 2 pics are the entrance and inside the hole. The third is another in the staircase.
For many years, St Nicholas worked in the service of the Jesuit priest Henry Garnet and was admitted into the Society of Jesus as a lay brother. He was arrested in 1594 and was tortured at the Poultry Compter but revealed nothing. He was released after a wealthy Catholic family paid a fine on his behalf, the jailers believing that he was merely the insignificant friend of some priests. He resumed his work and is believed to have masterminded the famous escape of Father John Gerard from the Tower of London in 1597.
Early in 1606, St Nicholas was arrested a final time at Hindlip Hall in Worcestershire, giving himself up voluntarily in hope of distracting attention from his master Fr Garnet who was hiding nearby with another priest. Realising just whom they had caught and his value, Secretary of State Robert Cecil exulted: “It is incredible, how great was the joy caused by his arrest… knowing the great skill of Owen in constructing hiding places and the innumerable quantity of dark holes which he had schemed for hiding priests all through England.”
After being committed to the Marshalsea, a prison on the southern bank of the Thames, St Nicholas was then removed to the Tower of London. He was submitted to terrible “examinations” on the Topcliffe rack, dangling from a wall with both wrists held fast in iron gauntlets and his body hanging. As his hernia allowed his intestines to bulge out during this procedure, the rackmaster strapped a circular plate of iron to his stomach. When he remained stubborn, it is believed that he was transferred to the rack, where the greater power of the windlass forced out his hernia which was then slashed by the plate, resulting in his death. He revealed nothing to his inquisitors and died in the night between 1 and 2 March 1606. Father Gerard wrote of him:
I verily think no man can be said to have done more good of all those who laboured in the English vineyard. He was the immediate occasion of saving the lives of many hundreds of persons, both ecclesiastical and secular.
St Nicholas was canonised as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales by Pope Paul VI on 25 October 1970. Catholic stage magicians who practice Gospel Magic consider St Nicholas Owen the patron saint of Illusionists and Escapologists, due to his facility at using “trompe l’oeil” when creating his hideouts and the fact that he engineered an escape from the Tower of London.
There is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Nicholas Owen in Little Thornton, Lancashire.
Nostra Signora dei Sette Veli / Our Lady of the Seven Veils, Foggia, Italy and Memorials of the Saints – 22 March
Nostra Signora dei Sette Veli / Our Lady of the Seven Veils, Foggia, Italy (11th Century) – 22 March:
In the Cathedral of Foggia one can find an ancient and mysterious image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This icon, called “Our Lady of the Seven Veils,” once caused Saint Alphonsus to go into ecstasy, which I will describe below. As a young priest, St Pio of Pietreclina would make a visit to this image everyday.
In the eleventh century Foggia, Italy was a tiny town perched around the Tavern of the Owl. One day some local farmers saw three flames over a small pond or bog. Intrigued, they dug where the miraculous fire had been and discovered a large “table” buried in the mud. They realised that this “table” was actually a Byzantine icon that had remained somewhat preserved despite being soaked in water and mud. The image was cleaned and then cloaked with new veils. I assume there were seven veils and hence the name but I cannot verify this. The icon was then placed in the local Tavern of the Owl for veneration. Soon the tavern became a place of pilgrimage. In 1080 Robert Guiscard built a church to honour the sacred image. In 1172 the church was expanded by William II “the Good” of Sicily. The “face hole” is all that one can now see of the original wooden icon. It is black and the face is now indiscernible. However, on Maundy Thursday of 1731, the Virgin Mary’s white face appeared in this portal, which was usually black and dark.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori heard about apparition and went to Foggia to venerate the Immaculate Mother of the Saviour. He also received an apparition of the Virgin’s face in the small black portal. He described the Blessed Virgin’s face on that occasion as a girl of 13-14 with a white veil. The apparitions of the Virgin’s face on the icon continued until about 1745.
As the city grew larger, the church was decorated and enriched. The Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese, Spaniards and Bourbons considered the church to be one of the most important in Italy. It has served as the site for several royal weddings. Today, the image is said to be covered in seven layers of precious metal and embroidered material – hence the name Madonna of the Seven Veils.
St Avitus of Périgord
St Basil of Ancyra
St Basilissa of Galatia
St Benevenuto Scotivoli of Osimo
Bl Bronislaw Komorowski
St Callinica of Galatia
Bl Clemens August von Galen
St Darerca of Ireland
St Deghitche
St Epaphroditus of Terracina
St Failbhe of Iona
Bl François-Louis Chartier
St Harlindis of Arland
Bl Hugolinus Zefferini
St Lea of Rome
Bl Marian Górecki
St Nicholas Owen S.J. (1562-1606)
St Octavian of Carthage
St Paul of Narbonne
St Saturninus the Martyr
St Trien of Killelga
Thought for the Day – 21 March – The Memorial of St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)
Thought for the Day – 21 March – The Memorial of St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487) and Wednesday of the 5th Week of Lent 2018 (this reflection includes our Lenten Reflection for today.)
Although our minds are limited in their ability to attain God in this life, we are capable of “greater desire and love, and pleasure in knowing divine matters” than we are able to find in “the perfect knowledge of the lowest things.” Thus far Aquinas, who taught as one who knew. Saint Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487) was in perfect agreement. “God,” he once said, “gives us such a taste for prayer that we yearn for it as if we were waiting to go to a dance.”
The likeness was more than a bit incongruous, for the speaker was a true hermit, a man who had given up not only dances but nearly everything else that bound him to this world, even food. Born to a pious, upstanding peasant family, young Nicholas stood out for his goodness, simplicity and mortification. While still a young man, labouring in the fields and meadows of the valleys south of Lucerne, he fasted four times per week, explaining himself, when pressed, by saying, “Such is the will of God.” Until his fiftieth year, his life was that of an exemplary Swiss free man. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he served his canton both under arms and by holding civic office. And this pillar of the community raised up five sons and five daughters with the help of his exemplary wife Dorothy. Yet God persisted in calling him to a life beyond that of the domestic holiness he had already embraced and sent visions to him in his late-night prayer vigils and his moments of afternoon solitude in the fields, visions that beckoned him to leave all.
As the eminent Swiss theologian Charles Cardinal Journet (1891-1975) explained in his biography of the hermit-saint, “it no longer sufficed for him to walk along the roads of the world with God in his heart; he had to take the path set aside for him, that he might be taken by the hand and led to where he knew not.” What praise of Dorothy of Flue could be lovelier, Journet asked, than to admire her magnanimity in being able to They parted friends, just thirteen weeks after the birth of their youngest child and remained so. Several years later, a pilgrim visitor to Nicholas’ hermitage saw the saint, with joyous mien, lean out of the window of his tiny cell after the morning Mass to greet his family with a blessing: “May God give you a blessed day, dear friends and good people!” One is glad to know that his wife and children attended his deathbed. After all, she had never lost her husband completely. Honoured by Swiss Protestants, venerated by Swiss Catholics, Nicholas’s cult, uninterrupted since his death, was officially sanctioned by Clement IX (1667-9). In 1947 he was canonised by Pope Pius XII.
What lesson might Nicholas of Flue hold out for our generation? Were he alive today this simple Swiss peasant would doubtless be startled by our wealth. The recession of recent years seems to have done little to dull the edge of our consumption. The adjective “worldly” is now being used as a term of approbation, to signify the savoir-faire of the person who knows the latest fashions and ways of thinking. It is a telling linguistic development. Nicholas of Flue spent the last twenty years of his life in a tiny room with two windows. Through one of them, he could see something of the beauty of his native land, a beauty that nourished his reflection and piety: “O man, think of the sun so high in the sky and consider its splendour: but your soul has received the splendour of the eternal God.” Through the other, he saw the altar, whence came the very food of his soul. “We should carry the Passion of God in our hearts, for this is the greatest consolation to a man at the hour of his death.” The one thing needful indeed.
One Minute Reflection – 21 March – The Memorial of St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)
One Minute Reflection – 21 March – The Memorial of St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him…Colossians 3:17
REFLECTION – “Each state of life has its special duties; by their accomplishments one may find happiness.”…St Nicholas of Flue
PRAYER – Holy Father, teach us to offer all we do to You and thus make it a perfect gift. By giving our best efforts to every aspect of our daily lives, we may be offer You our gratitude. Grant that by the prayers of St Nicholas of Flue, we may attain holiness and happiness as we continue our journey to our eternal home. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 21 March – St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)
Saint of the Day – 21 March – St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487) – born on 21 March 1417 at Sachseln, Canton Unterwalden, Lake Lucerne, Switzerland and died on 21 March 1487 at Ranft, Aargau, Switzerland of natural causes; his wife and children were at his side
His relics reside in the church of Sachseln, Switzerland. He is affectionately known as Brother Klause. Patronages – Switzerland, Pontifical Swiss Guards, Councillors, large families. St Nicholas was a Swiss hermit and ascetic who is the patron saint of Switzerland. He is sometimes invoked as Brother Klaus. A husband and father, a Mystic, a writer, farmer, military leader, member of the assembly, councillor, judge, he was respected as a man of complete moral integrity. Brother Klaus’s counsel to the Diet of Stans (1481) helped to prevent war between the Swiss cantons.
The Swiss affectionately call St.Nicholas of Flue “Brother Klaus.” They revere him as a great holy man and political Councillors, who contributed significantly to the formation of their peace-loving nation.
From his youth in Unterwalden, Switzerland, Nicholas was a member of a Catholic lay association called the Friends of God. Scattered throughout Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany, members sought closeness to Christ through a disciplined life, especially by meditation on his passion.
Though totally dedicated to peace, twice patriotism led Nicholas to fight in wars to defend Unterwalden. At age thirty he married Dorothy Wissling and during twenty happy years she bore him ten children.
At age fifty, however, Nicholas sensed God’s call to live a contemplative life as a hermit. Dorothy, also a member of the Friends of God, would not be opposed to such a desire. She believed that Nicholas had a divine commission and she and the children released him. So Nicholas left his family and spent the next twenty years in a remote cottage at Ranft. He prayed most of the night but in afternoons he welcomed visitors. It is reported but not confirmed, that during these years he took no food or drink, only Holy Communion.
In 1481, Nicholas played a major role in solidifying the unity of Switzerland. After the cantons secured independence by defeating the German king, Charles the Bold, a dispute threatened to divide the cantons. Representatives meeting at Stans disagreed over admitting Fribourg and Soleure to the confederation. However, at an impasse they consulted Brother Klaus. Within an hour after obtaining his advice, they agreed to include the territories.
A document from that period preserved Nicholas’s fundamental political wisdom.
“Always put God first and do not extend too widely the country’s frontiers that you may live more easily in peace, union and faithfulness to your dearly attained liberties. Do not mix in the affairs of others or ally yourself with a powerful stranger. Protect your country and do not hold yourself distant from it. Do not let grow among you self-interest, jealousy, hatred, envy and factions, or these will work against you. Dear friends, don’t let innovations and roguery seduce you. Hold on to the good, all of you together. Stay on the road in the footprints of your pious ancestors. Guard faithfully that which has been assigned to you. If you do that, neither storm nor tempest can harm you and you will overcome much evil.
Six years after the Stans meeting, on December 21, 1487, Nicholas died at Ranft after an illness of eight days.
St Nicholas was beatified in 1669. After his beatification, the municipality of Sachseln built a church in his honour, where his body was interred. He was canonised in 1947 by Pope Pius XII.
As a layman with family responsibilities who took his civic duties as an ancestral landowner seriously, Brother Klaus is a model of heroic manhood for many concerned with the flourishing of local communities and sustainable use of open land. He is the patron saint of the German-language association KLB (Katholischen Landvolkbewegung), the Catholic Rural Communities Movement.
Memorials of the Saints – 21 March
Bl Alfonso de Rojas
St Augustine Tchao
St Benedicta Cambiagio Frassinello
St Birillus of Catania
St Christian of Cologne
St Domninus of Rome
St Enda of Arran
St Isenger of Verdun
St James the Confessor
Bl John of Valence
Bl Lucia of Verona
St Lupicinus of Condat
Bl Mark Gjani
Bl Matthew Flathers
St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)
St Philemon of Rome
Bl Santuccia Terrebotti
St Serapion the Scholastic
Bl Thomas Pilcher
Bl William Pike
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Martyrs of Alexandria: A large but unknown number of Catholics massacred in several churches during Good Friday services in Alexandria, Egypt by Arian heretics during the persecutions of Constantius and Philagrio. They were martyred on Good Friday in 342 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Saint of the Day – 20 March – St Martin of Braga (c 520–580)
Saint of the Day – 20 March – St Martin of Braga (c 520–580) Archbishop, Monk, Missionary, Monastic Founder, prolific Ecclesiastical Writer. He was born in Pannonia, Central Europe and died in 580 at Braga, Portugal of natural causes.
About 550, St Martin arrived in Galicia, now northern Portugal, aboard a ship transporting pilgrims from the Holy Land. We know little about Martin’s background, except that he had received a Greek education in the East and training as a monk in the tradition of the Egyptian desert. The young monk seems to have come to Galicia as a missionary to a church infected with heresy.
The Suevi, a Germanic tribe that controlled Galicia, had adopted Priscillianism, a version of gnosticism that denied Christ’s humanity. Martin took a strategic approach to winning the Suevi to the Catholic Church. First he became the friend of King Theodomir and won the admiration of the royal family. Then, building on his personal relationships, Martin converted the king and his court.
Martin founded a monastery at Dumium, which served as his missionary base. Out of respect for him, the Suevian monarchs made him bishop of Dumium. Later they appointed Martin as Archbishop of Braga, which established him as the pre-eminent leader of the Galician church. In that position he held several councils that condemned Priscillianism and he promulgated teaching that restored its adherents to the church.
St Gregory of Tours (538-594) declared Martin the greatest scholar of his age. His writings included a guide to the Christian life, a description of superstitious peasant customs, a set of moral maxims and a version of the sayings of the Egyptian fathers. He died at his monastery at Dumium in 579. 
Memorials of the Saints – 20 March
Bl Ambrose Sansedoni of Siena
Anastasius XVI
Archippus of Colossi
St Benignus of Flay
St Cathcan of Rath-derthaighe
St Clement of Ireland
St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Bl Francis Palau y Quer
St Guillermo de Peñacorada
St Herbert of Derwenwater
Bl Hippolytus Galantini
Bl Jeanne Veron
Bl John Baptist Spagnuolo
St John Nepomucene
St John Sergius
St Jósef Bilczewski
St Maria Josefa Sancho de Guerra
St Martin of Braga (c 520–580)
St Nicetas of Apollonias
St Remigius of Strasbourg
St Tertricus of Langres
St Urbitius of Metz
St Wulfram of Sens
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Martyrs of Amisus – 8 saints: A group of Christian women martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details we have are eight of their names – Alexandra, Caldia, Derphuta, Euphemia, Euphrasia, Juliana, Matrona and Theodosia. They were burned to death c 300 in Amisus, Paphlagonia (modern Samsun, Turkey).
Martyrs of Rome – 9+ saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Nero. We know nothing else about them but the names Anatolius, Cyriaca, Joseph, Parasceve, Photis, Photius, Sebastian and Victor.
Martyrs of San Saba – 20 saints: Twenty monks who were martyred together in their monastery by invading Saracens.
They were martyred in 797 when they were burned inside the San Sabas monastery in Palestine.
Martyrs of Syria – 3+ saints: A group of Christians who were martyred together in Syria. We know nothing else about them but the names Cyril, Eugene and Paul.
Thought for the Day 19 March – The Solemnity of the Feast of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church Go to Joseph
Thought for the Day 19 March – The Solemnity of the Feast of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church
Go to Joseph
J O S E P H
By Fr Francis Peffley
J
Joseph the Just Man
St John Paul in his apostolic exhortation “The Guardian of the Redeemer” calls Joseph the just man. What does that mean? It means that he was a holy man. A righteous man. A man of honesty, integrity, and virtue. St Joseph is the greatest and holiest saint after the Blessed Mother herself. In fact, some of the Doctors of the Church said that there was no grace ever given to any of the Saints (except Mary) that was not given to St Joseph as well.
St. Thomas Aquinas says that God gives grace proportionate to our office and to our state in life. So if you are a husband and father, you will be given the grace to be a holy husband and father. When someone has been ordained a priest he will be given the grace to be a priest. Think how much grace St Joseph received to be the foster father of the Son of God and the virginal spouse of the Immaculate Conception. So St Joseph is that just man. He is the greatest of Saints because he was the closest one to Jesus and to the Blessed Mother.
As fathers and husbands you are called to holiness ‑ an obligation of every member of the Church. It is not just the priests and nuns but everyone who is called to holiness. Every single person has this vocation ‑ the universal call to holiness. We should ask ourselves, “Am I developing the virtues that St. Joseph has? Am I developing the integrity and character of St. Joseph?”
O
Joseph the Obedient one.
Joseph was truly obedient to the will of God in his life. The Angel said, “Have no fear about taking Mary to be your wife.” As soon as Joseph knew God’s will for him, he obeyed. When the angel told Joseph that Herod was planning to destroy the child, Joseph immediately got up and began the flight to Egypt.
Some people ask if St Joseph was old. This is due to the apocryphal writings of the early church, ancient writings which were not divinely inspired, or approved by the Church as Sacred Scripture. These ancient writings say that when Joseph married the Blessed Mother he was 89 years old and that he died at the age of 111. There is nothing in the Bible to suggest that St Joseph was so old. We can be assured that Mary didn’t have to push St Joseph in a wheel chair through the desert. Actually, I believe that Joseph was young and strong. Obviously older than the Blessed Mother; perhaps in his 20s or 30s. He was her guardian and protector. Scripture speaks about Mary’s betrothal to a man named Joseph. It does not say he was an old man, as Simeon or Zachary. So Joseph wasn’t as old as some would like to claim him to be. Even in the ancient catacomb of Priscilla, Joseph was drawn without a beard showing him to be a young man.
But Joseph was an obedient man. Whenever he was warned in a dream he always obeyed the will of God. He never questioned Divine Providence. Even though Mary was 8 3/4 months pregnant, Joseph had to believe it was God’s will for them to leave Nazareth and go down to Bethlehem. This was to fulfil the prophecy of Micah that the Saviour would be born in Bethlehem. Joseph abandoned himself to the will of God. Ask yourself these questions: “Am I obedient to the will of God? Am I obedient to the Ten Commandments? Am I obedient to the teaching of Christ and the teachings of the Church on marriage and family life?” Go to St. Joseph to become obedient sons of the Church.
S
Joseph the Silent One.
There are no recorded words of St Joseph in the entire Bible. There are words in the Old Testament for the great patriarch that we can apply to St Joseph. But in the New Testament there are no recorded words for St Joseph. He’s always there, though, as a silent presence. In fact, even his death is wrapped in silence. There is no account as to how Joseph was buried. He’s a man of silence. A strong man. A man with a deep interior life. Silence in our life helps us develop a life of prayer. Joseph was a man of prayer who listened to the word of God. He was not distracted by the many exterior things ‑ he was always a man of interior life. Why? Because God lived in his very house.
We picture St Joseph as a silent worker, as a craftsman, who suffered in silence as well. He did not complain and he did not grow angry at God and say, “Why are you doing this, why do we have to flee to Egypt?” He was a man who accepted these things in silence. We should ask ourselves, “Do I have enough silence in my life? Do I spend enough time in prayer with Jesus? Do I listen to Jesus when he speaks to me during the Sunday readings? Do I spend time in the Blessed Sacrament chapel listening to Jesus who is truly present? Do I use my speech for lying, gossiping or backbiting? Or, do I truly follow St. Joseph by being a man of integrity and silence?”
E
Joseph the Example.
Imagine the kind of man Joseph was. God the Father picked Joseph out of the whole human race to be the man to raise his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. When you get a babysitter you don’t just pick anyone, even if it is for only a few hours. Imagine entrusting your only son to the care of another person. That is why adoption agencies have to be careful in selecting to whom they entrust other people’s children. That is why God chose the very best. He chose St Joseph to be a great example.
St Joseph was an example to Jesus in his words and in his actions. He has been called the World’s Greatest Father. Joseph was truly a father to Jesus in every way except for physical generation. He was the father who taught Jesus how to speak, how to read and how to make doors and ploughs. Note the example that St Joseph gave the Christ child and remember the saying, “Your example shouts so loudly I cannot hear what you say.” Isn’t that the way children look at their parents? What was the example that St. Joseph gave to the Christ child? He was the perfect example, the world’s greatest father, the educator of Jesus.
Joseph homeschooled Jesus and taught him the virtues. This was the Son of God who always had the beatific vision but (as the catechism says) He had to grow in the experiential and had to develop as a boy develops. Jesus looked up to St Joseph, even imitating his mannerisms. Let us ask ourselves, “What examples are we giving? What example do you give to your wife? To your children? Do you teach your children the faith? Do you study your own Catholic Faith by reading at least 10 ‑ 20 minutes every day? Do you make good use of your travel time to deepen your faith, so you can be a good example to your wife and children? Do you go on retreats? Are you living out your vocation as leader of your family?”
P
Joseph the Protector and Patron.
St Joseph is our benefactor who prays for us. Joseph is the patron Saint of fathers, husbands and workers. We should always pray that we will have the same kind of death that St Joseph had, dying in the arms of Jesus and Mary. He is the patron Saint of a happy death, which means dying in the arms of Jesus and Mary and Holy Mother Church. Go to St. Joseph for the grace of a happy death.
He is also the patron Saint of the universal Church. Everything that St Joseph did for Jesus he now does for the Church. Why? Because the Catholic Church is the mystical body of Christ himself. The Blessed Mother is the mother of the Church and St Joseph is the foster father and guardian of the Church.
St Joseph lately has become the patron Saint of selling houses. I have to wonder about Aunt Selma selling her house by burying a statue of St Joseph facing east. I have to wonder if that is what God really wants us to do. If you want to sell your house, place a statue of St. Joseph on your mantle and do a nine-day novena to him. You don’t have to suffocate the guy! Keep him there and ask his intercession. He will help you sell your house or keep your job in every way. Remember that Joseph is the protector and the guardian of the whole Church, as well as ourselves as individuals. Ask yourself the question, “Do I pray to St. Joseph every day? Do I pray to him for a happy death?” Pray to him for your whole family that you will have a happy death. And ask St. Joseph to help you protect your family from all the immorality on TV or in the media.
H
St Joseph the Helper of the Blessed Mother.
St Joseph was the virginal spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In God’s plan of salvation he was a loving husband, kind, considerate, affectionate and self-sacrificing. St Joseph had an awesome responsibility with the Blessed Virgin. They worked as a team. St Joseph had the responsibility for spiritual leadership since he was the head of the family. God’s message from the angel was revealed to him even though the Blessed Mother was much holier through her Immaculate Conception. Obviously, Jesus as the Son of God and creator was far greater but St. Joseph was chosen because he was the head of that family, just as every one of you is the spiritual head of your family.
Joseph and Mary worked as a team. Remember TEAM spells “Together Everyone Achieves More.” Develop teamwork with your wife. I love the story that Zig Zigler tells of courtship after marriage using the example of Belgian horses. These huge Belgian horses could only pull 8,000 pounds individually. But when they are harnessed together, two horses working together can pull 32,000 pounds of weight. Isn’t that amazing? It almost defies every law of mathematics. So when you are joined with your spouse in an effort to move your family towards God, you will accomplish much more than if you were to do it individually. Ask yourself this question, “Am I a helper to my spouse?” Your vocation is really to get your spouse and your children to Heaven. This is your ultimate vocation in life.
Let us reflect on St Joseph: that Just man, that loving leader, that Obedient man; let us reflect on his Silence, his Example and his Patronage of our own lives and of the Church, and let us to try to imitate St Joseph the Helper of Mary.
God bless you.
Happy and Blessed Solemnity of the Great St Joseph!
Fr Francis Peffley currently serves as parochial vicar at Saint John the Apostle in Leesburg, Virginia.
One Minute Reflection – 19 March – The Solemnity of the Feast of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church
One Minute Reflection – 19 March – The Solemnity of the Feast of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church
Joseph, her husband, was an upright man...Matthew 1:19
REFLECTION – Saint Joseph was the just man by his constant fidelity, an effect of justice; by his perfect discretion, a sister to prudence; by his upright conduct, a mark of strength and by his inviolable chastity, a flower of temperance…St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Almighty God, at the beginning of our salvation, when Mary conceived Your Son and brought Him forth into the world, You placed them under Joseph’s watchful care. May his prayer still guide us and help Your Church, to be an equally faithful guardian of Your Mysteries and a sign of Christ to mankind. Through Your Son, our Saviour, in unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 19 March – The Solemnity of the Feast of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church, Patron of Fathers, Patron of the Dying
Our Morning Offering – 19 March – The Solemnity of the Feast of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Guardian of Jesus and Patron of the Universal Church, Patron of Fathers, Patron of the Dying, Patron of Workers. et al
Joseph, wise ruler of God’s earthly household
Joseph, wise ruler of God’s earthly household,
nearest of all men to the heart of Jesus,
be still a father, lovingly providing
for us, His brethren.
Saint strong and manly, chosen by the Father,
as trusted guardian of the Son eternal,
guide us as once you guided Wisdom’s footsteps
with sure direction.
Husband of Mary, loving and beloved,
teach us the joy of love so pure and holy,
warming our hearts with love
for God’s own Mother by your example.
Saint of the dying, blest with Mary’s presence,
in death you rested in the arms of Jesus;
so at our ending, Jesus, Mary, Joseph,
come to assist us!
Saint of the Day – 19 March – The Solemnity of St Joseph, Spouse of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Patron of the Universal Church
Saint of the Day – 19 March – The Solemnity of St Joseph, Spouse of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Patron of the Universal Church. The name ‘Joseph’ means “whom the Lord adds”. Patronages • against doubt and hesitation • accountants • all the legal professions • bursars • cabinetmakers • carpenters • cemetery workers • children • civil engineers • confectioners • craftsmen • the dying • teachers • emigrants • exiles • expectant mothers • families • fathers • furniture makers • grave diggers • happy death • holy death • house hunters • immigrants • joiners • labourers • married couples • orphans • against Communism • pioneers • pregnant women • social justice • teachers • travellers • the unborn • wheelwrights • workers • workers • Catholic Church • Oblates of Saint Joseph • for protection of the Church • Universal Church • Vatican II • Americas • Austria • Belgium • Bohemia • Canada • China • Croatian people • Korea • Mexico • New France • New World • Peru • Philippines • Vatican City • VietNam • Canadian Armed Forces • Papal States • 46 dioceses • 26 cities • states and regions.
St Joseph is invoked as patron for many causes. He is the patron of the Universal Church. He is the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed. He is also the patron of fathers, of carpenters and of social justice. Many religious orders and communities are placed under his patronage.
St Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Jesus, was probably born in Bethlehem and probably died in Nazareth. His important mission in God’s plan of salvation was “to legally insert Jesus Christ into the line of David from whom, according to the prophets, the Messiah would be born, and to act as his father and guardian” (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy). Most of our information about St. Joseph comes from the opening two chapters of St Matthew’s Gospel. No words of his are recorded in the Gospels; he was the “silent” man. We find no devotion to St Joseph in the early Church. It was the will of God that the Virgin Birth of Our Lord be first firmly impressed upon the minds of the faithful. He was later venerated by the great saints of the Middle Ages. Pius IX (1870) declared him patron and protector of the universal family of the Church.
St Joseph was an ordinary manual labourer although descended from the royal house of David. In the designs of Providence he was destined to become the spouse of the Mother of God. His high privilege is expressed in a single phrase, “Foster-father of Jesus.” About him Sacred Scripture has little more to say than that he was a just man-an expression which indicates how faithfully he fulfilled his high trust of protecting and guarding God’s greatest treasures upon earth, Jesus and Mary.
The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary’s pregnancy; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself great. His suffering, which likewise formed a part of the work of the redemption, was not without great providential import: Joseph was to be, for all times, the trustworthy witness of the Messiah’s virgin birth. After this, he modestly retires into the background of holy Scripture.
Of St Joseph’s death the Bible tells us nothing. There are indications, however, that he died before the beginning of Christ’s public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Humbly and unknown, he passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten he remained in the background through centuries of Church history. Only in more recent times has he been accorded greater honour. Liturgical veneration of St Joseph began in the fifteenth century, fostered by Sts Brigid of Sweden and Bernadine of Siena. St Teresa of Avila, too, did much to further his cult.
At present there are two major feasts in his honour. Today 19 our veneration is directed to him personally and to his part in the work of redemption and is his main Feast and a Solemnity in the Universal Church, while on 1 May we honour him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the difficult matter of establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order….Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
COLLECT PRAYER
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that by Saint Joseph’s intercession Your Church may constantly watch over the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation, whose beginnings You entrusted to his faithful care. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Memorials of the Saints – 19 March
St Joseph (Solemnity)
St Adrian of Maastricht
St Alkmund of Northumbria
St Amantius of Wintershoven
Bl Andrea Gallerani
Bl Anton Muzaj
St Apollonius of Braga
St Auxilius of Ireland
Bl Clement of Dunblane
St Colocer of Saint-Brieuc
St Corbasius of Quimperlé
St Cuthbert of Brittany
St Gemus
Bl Isnard de Chiampo
Bl Jan Turchan
Bl John of Parma
St John the Syrian of Pinna
St Lactali of Freshford
St Landoald of Maastricht
St Leontinus of Braga
St Leontinus of Saintes
Bl Marcel Callo – Martyr
Bl Mark of Montegallo
St Pancharius of Nicomedia
Bl Sibyllina Biscossi
—
Martyrs of Sorrento: A group of three sisters and a brother who were martyred together. We have little more than their names – Mark, Quartilla, Quintilla and Quintius. They were martyred in Sorrento, Italy, date unknown.
Mark
Quartilla
Quintilla
Quintius
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War
• Blessed Alberto Linares de La Pinta
• Blessed Jaume Trilla Lastra
Thought for the Day – 17 March – The Memorial of St Patrick (c 386-461)
Thought for the Day – 17 March – The Memorial of St Patrick (c 386-461)
Something strange and wonderful happened in Ireland. All alone, frightened for his life and among people who worshipped trees and stones, Patrick opened his heart to God.
That happens to a lot of us, doesn’t it? When everything’s going great, we don’t have any time for God. But then something awful and painful happens and there we are, back at God’s feet.
During those years, Patrick started to pray. He thought about God all the time and it gave him peace of mind. He knew that no matter how much he was suffering, God loved him.
Eventually, Patrick escaped from slavery and traveled to France, which in those days was called Gaul. We’re not sure exactly how much time Patrick spent in Gaul. But it was enough time for him to draw closer to God as he prayed and studied in a monastery.
One night, deep in a dreamy vision, Patrick heard voices. He heard many voices, joined together, pleading with him.
“Come back,” the voices cried, “come back and walk once more among us.”
Patrick knew it was the Irish people calling him.
Strengthened by the courage that only God can give, Patrick went back. He returned to the very people who had stolen him from his family, worked him mercilessly as a slave and knew little, if anything, about the love of the true God.
Before he left Gaul, Patrick was made the bishop of Ireland. He then travelled across the sea to teach Ireland about Jesus Christ.
It wasn’t easy. The people of Ireland practised pagan religions. They worshipped nature and they practised magic. They feared the spirits they believed lived in the woods. The Irish people believed they could bring evil spirits down on those they wanted to harm.
Patrick had a big job ahead of him. He had to show a country full of students that there was no point in horsewhipping nature. Trees can’t forgive your sins or teach you how to love. The sun, as powerful as it is, could not have created the world. Patrick explained things using simple examples that people could easily understand. For example, he used the three-leaf clover to show people how there could be three persons in one God.
Patrick preached to huge crowds and small villages. He preached to kings and princes. He preached in the open air and he preached in huts. Patrick never stopped preaching, and he never stopped teaching. He couldn’t stop—the whole country of Ireland was his classroom and he couldn’t afford to miss even one student!
Soon, Patrick had help. Men became priests and monks. Women became nuns. Wherever they lived, those monks and nuns settled in monasteries and set up schools. More students were being reached every day.
But, of course, the greatest help Patrick had was from God.
When he was young, Patrick had forgotten God but that would never happen again. He knew that God supported him in every step he took. God gave Patrick the courage to speak, even when Patrick was in danger of being hurt by pagan priests who didn’t want to lose their power over the people.
St Patrick, please, please pray for us all, you who faced it all!
Quote/s of the Day – 17 March – The Memorial of St Patrick (c 386-461)
Quote/s of the Day – 17 March – The Memorial of St Patrick (c 386-461)
All quotations from “The Confession of St Patrick”
“For that sun, which we see rising every day, rises at His command…”
“Each and all shall render account for even our smallest sins
before the judgement seat of Christ the Lord.”
“In a single day,
I have said as many as a hundred prayers
and in the night almost as many…”
“If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God…”
“I am Patrick, yes a sinner and indeed untaught;
yet I am established here in Ireland,
where I profess myself bishop.
I am certain in my heart that ‘all that I am,’
I have received from God.
So I live among barbarous tribes, a stranger and exile
for the love of God.”
“May the strength of God pilot us,
may the wisdom of God instruct us,
may the hand of God protect us,
may the word of God direct us.
Be always ours this day and for evermore.”
St Patrick (c 386-461)
One Minute Reflection – 17 March – The Memorial of St Patrick (c 386-461)
One Minute Reflection – 17 March – The Memorial of St Patrick (c 386-461)
“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”…Matthew 6:26
REFLECTION – “And He watched over me before I knew Him and before I learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil and He protected me and consoled me as a father would His son.”…St Patrick
PRAYER – You, O God, are our Father! How glorious is that fact and Your love. Teach us to trust in You and to follow the way You taught through our Lord and Saviour, Your Son, Jesus Christ. Allow that by the prayers of St Patrick, we may all come to see Your Face, the Face of our Father, to gaze on You, to love and worship You, with Christ and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen
Our Morning Offering – 17 March – The Memorial of St Patrick (c 386-461)
Our Morning Offering – 17 March – The Memorial of St Patrick (c 386-461)
Excerpt from St Patrick’s Breastplate (also known as The Deer Cry)
I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need;
the wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
the word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
the vice that gives temptation force,
the natural lusts that war within,
the hostile men that mar my course;
of few or many, far or nigh,
in every place and in all hours
against their fierce hostility, …….
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the name,
the strong name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three,
of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation:
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 17 March – St Gertrude of Nivelles O.S.B. (626-659)
Saint of the Day – 17 March – St Gertrude of Nivelles O.S.B. (626-659) was a 7th-century Religious Abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles located in present-day Belgium. She was born in 626 at Landen, Belgium and died on 17 March 659 at Nivelles, Belgium of natural causes. Patronages – against fear of mice and rates, against suriphobia, fever, mental disorders, insanity, of cats, of gardeners, innkeepers, hospitals, the mentally ill, pilgrims, travellers, suriphobics, sick, poor, prisoners, Landen, Belgium, Nivelles, Belgium, Wattenscheid, Germany. Attributes – a nun with a crosier, with cats, with mice, a woman spinning.
Our Saint was born at Landen, Belgium in 626 and died at Nivelles, 659; she was just thirty-three, the same age as Our Lord. Both her parents, Pepin of Landen and Itta were held to be holy by those who knew them; her sister Begga is numbered among the Saints. On her husband’s death in 640, Itta founded a Benedictine monastery at Nivelles, which is near Brussels and appointed Gertrude its abbess when she reached twenty, tending to her responsibilities well, with her mother’s assistance and following her in giving encouragement and help to monks, particularly Irish ones, to do missionary work in the locale.
Saint Gertrude’s piety was evident even when she was as young as ten, when she turned down the offer of a noble marriage, declaring that she would not marry him or any other suitor: Christ alone would be her bridegroom.
She was known for her hospitality to pilgrims and her aid to missionary monks. She gave land to one monk so that he could build a monastery at Fosse. By her early thirties Gertrude had become so weakened by the austerity of abstaining from food and sleep that she had to resign her office and spent the rest of her days studying Scripture and doing penance. It is said that on the day before her death she sent a messenger to Fosse, asking the superior if he knew when she would die.
His reply indicated that death would come the next day during holy Mass-the prophecy was fulfilled. Her feast day is observed by gardeners, who regard fine weather on that day as a sign to begin spring planting.
Devotion to St. Gertrude became widely spread in the Lowlands and neighbouring countries.
Commonly seen running up her pastoral staff or cloak are hopeful-looking mice representing Souls in Purgatory, to which she had an intense devotion, just as with St Gertrude the Great. Even as recently as 1822, offerings of mice made of gold and silver were left at her shrine. Another patronage is to travellers on the high seas. It is held that one sailor, suffering misfortune while under sail, prayed to the Saint and was delivered safely.
Just before her death in 659, Gertrude instructed the nuns at Nivelles to bury her in an old veil left behind by a travelling pilgrimess and Gertrude’s own hair shirt. Gertrude’s choice of burial clothing is a pattern in medieval hagiography as an expression of humility and piety. Her death and the image of her weak and humble figure is in fact a critical point in her biographer’s narrative. Her monastery also benefited from this portrayal because the hair cloth and veil in which Gertrude was interred became relics. At Nivelles, her relics were only publicly displayed for feast days, Easterand other holy days.
s.
Memorials of the Saints – 17 March
St Patrick (c 386-461) (Optional Memorial)
St Agricola of Châlon-sur-Saône
St Alexander
St Ambrose of Alexandria
Bl Conrad of Bavaria
St Diemut of Saint Gall
St Gabriel Lalemant
St Gertrude of Nivelles (626-659)
Bl Gertrude of Trzebnica
St Jan Sarkander
Bl Josep Mestre Escoda
St Joseph of Arimathea
Bl Juan Nepomuceno Zegrí y Moreno
St Llinio of Llandinam
Bl Maria Bárbara Maix
St Paul of Cyprus
St Stephen of Palestrina
St Theodore of Rome
St Thomasello
St Withburga of Dereham
Martyrs of Alexandria – Also known as Martyrs of Serapis: An unknown number of Christians who were martyred together by a mob of worshippers of the Graeco-Egyptian sun god Serapis. They were Martyred in c 392 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Thought for the Day – 16 March – The Memorial of St Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649) Martyr
Thought for the Day – 16 March – The Memorial of St Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649) Martyr
St Jean de Brébeuf is a giant of Canadian history. His writings in the Jesuit Relations, for example, offer an invaluable window into life in 17th-century Canada, while his gift for languages, which prompted him to create the first Huron dictionary, earn him the label of Canada’s first ethnographer. Brébeuf’s impact on the Canadian experience looms large; he is credited with everything from coining the term lacrosse to penning the lyrics of The Huron Carol, a Canadian Christmas classic.
One of the most telling details of his life, however, is found in the name the Huron people gave him — Echon. One translation means “healing tree,” a reference to Brébeuf’s height and gentle nature. The alternative translation, however, “one who carries a heavy burden,” speaks to the spiritual life of the most famous of the men known collectively as the Canadian Martyrs.
When the Iroquois tribe infiltrated them, he was captured with many others. A missionary to his death, he addressed the Huron who were captured with him, telling them, ”God is the witness of our sufferings and will soon be our exceeding great reward. Let us die in this faith…Sustain with courage the few remaining torments. They will end our lives. The glory which follows them will never have an end.” It is said he never cried out once but suffered in silence. His heroic virtue of suffering is laid out as an example for us all, to continue to fight the fight and win the race.
St Jean de Brébeuf, pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 16 March – The Memorial of St Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649) Martyr and Friday in the 4th Week of Lent 20
Quote/s of the Day – 16 March – The Memorial of St Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649) Martyr and Friday in the 4th Week of Lent 2018
CCC 2473: Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the faith:
it means witness even unto death.
The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose,
to whom he is united by charity.
He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine.
He endures death through an act of fortitude.
“Let me become the food of the beasts,
through whom it will be given me to reach God”
[This quote at the end is from the Letter to the Romans by S. Ignatius of Antioch].
“Nothing can happen to me that God doesn’t want.
And all that He wants, no matter how bad it may
appear to us, is really for the best.”
St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr
“The smallest of life’s events are directed by the Lord.
Creatures are instruments but it is the hand of Jesus that directs all.”
St Theresa of the Child Jesus (1873-1897) Doctor of the Church
“Martyrdom is a grace which I do not think I deserve.
But if God accepts the sacrifice of my life,
may my blood be a seed of freedom and
a sign of that hope will soon be a reality.”
Blessed Oscar Romero (1917-1980) Martyr
One Minute Reflection – 16 March – The Memorial of St Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649) Martyr and Friday in the 4th Week of Lent 2018
One Minute Reflection – 16 March – The Memorial of St Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649) Martyr and Friday in the 4th Week of Lent 2018
..Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for according to his own words, God will take care of him…Wisdom 2:20 (Today’s First Reading)
REFLECTION – “My God and my Saviour Jesus, what return can I make to You for all the benefits You have conferred on me? I make a vow to You never to fail, on my side, in the grace of martyrdom, if by Your infinite mercy You offer it to me some day.”…St Jean de Brébeuf
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, only in You re we able to stand against our enemies, those within and without. Seeking to follow Your Son, our Saviour, Lord give us strength! Grant we pray, that by the intercession of Your Holy Martyr, St Jean de Brébeuf, we may obtain the courage and be filled with Your Holy Spirit, to go forth in truth, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 16 March – The Memorial of St Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649)
Our Morning Offering – 16 March – The Memorial of St Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649)
Jesus, What Can I Give You in Return?
Prayer of St Jean de Brébeuf SJ (1593-1649)
Jesus, my Lord and Saviour,
what can I give You in return
for all the favours You have first conferred on me?
I will take from Your hand, the cup of Your sufferings
and call on Your name.
I vow before Your eternal Father and the Holy Spirit,
before Your most holy Mother
and her most chaste spouse,
before the angels, apostles and martyrs,
before my blessed fathers,
Saint Ignatius and Saint Francis Xavier,
in truth, I vow to You, Jesus my Saviour,
that as far as I have the strength,
I will never fail to accept the grace of martyrdom,
if someday You, in Your infinite mercy, should offer it to me,
Your most unworthy servant…
My beloved Jesus,
here and now, I offer my body and blood and life.
May I die only for You, if You will grant me this grace,
since You willingly died for me.
Let me so live that You may grant me
the gift of such a happy death.
In this way, my God and Saviour,
I will take from Your hand, the cup of Your sufferings
and call on Your name, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!
Amen
AnaStpaul 
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