Quote/s of the Day – 19 February – The Memorial of Bl John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)
“Any friend of the poor, is a friend of God.”
“Take life in instalments.
This one day now.
At least let this be a good day.
Be always beginning.”
Category: SAINT of the DAY
One Minute Reflection – 19 February – The Memorial of Bl John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)
One Minute Reflection – 19 February – The Memorial of Bl John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)
Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours...Mark 11:24
REFLECTION – “In prayer,don’t mind the scaffolding. Get at God.”
PRAYER – God of mercy, teach us to live as You have ordained. Help us to follow Your commandments with courage and steadfast devotion. Let our Saviour be our master, help us to learn from Him, the ways of prayer in silence. Fill us with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that we may learn how to pray. Grant blessed Trinity, that by the prayers of Blessed John Sullivan, who so clearly gave himself totally in prayer, we may grow in holiness. Through Jesus our Lord, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 19 February – The Memorial of Bl John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)
Our Morning Offering – 19 February – The Memorial of Bl John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933) and Monday of the First Week of Lent – a Penitential Prayer from St Ignatius
Pardon Me, O my God
St Ignatius Loyola S.J.
(1491-1556)
Pardon me,
O perfections of my God,
for having preferred imperfect
and evil inclinations to Thee!
Pardon me,
O justice of my God,
for having outraged Thee by my sins.
Pardon me,
O holiness of my God,
for having so long stained
Thy sight’s purity, by my sins.
Pardon me,
O mercy of my God,
for having despised so long
Thy mercy’s voice.
In deep sorrow and contrition,
I cast myself at Thy feet.
Have mercy on me.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 19 February – Blessed John Sullivan S.J. (1861-1933)
Saint of the Day – 19 February – Blessed John Sullivan S.J. (1861-1933) – Priest, Religious, Lawyer, Teacher, Writer, Miracle Worker, Apostle of Charity. Patronages – Ecumenism, teachers. Blessed John (8 May 1861 – 19 February 1933) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Jesuits. Sullivan was known for his life of deep spiritual reflection and personal sacrifice; he is recognised for his dedicated work with the poor and afflicted and spent much of his time walking and riding his bike to visit those who were troubled or ill in the villages around Clongowes Wood College school where he taught from 1907 until his death.
From the 1920s onwards there were people who testified to his healing power despite the fact that he never claimed credit or causation for himself from these reported cases. Father Sullivan was known for his friendliness, his amiable nature was coupled with a somewhat shy temperament but one willing to aid those who needed it most. He was noted for his strong faith and for leading multiple penances on himself such as eating little.
Sullivan had long been admired during his life and was known as a man of inspirational holiness which prompted for calls for his beatification; the cause later opened and would culminate on 7 November 2014 after Pope Francis confirmed his heroic virtue and named him as Venerable. The same pope approved a miraculous healing credited to his intercession on 26 April 2016. His beatification, the first ever to take place Ireland, took place in Dublin on 13 May 2017 and was celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Amato.
Childhood and education
John Sullivan was born in mid-1861 at 41 Eccles Street in the old Dublin. He was born as the last of five children to Sir Edward Sullivan (10.07.1822–13.04.1885) – member of the Church of Ireland and a successful barrister who would later become the Lord Chancellor of Ireland – and Elizabeth Josephine Bailey (1823–27.01.1898) – a Roman Catholic from a prominent land-owning household in Passage West. Sullivan was raised as a Protestant and was baptised in the local Church of Ireland parish of Saint George on Temple Street on 15 July 1861. One sister was Annie Sullivan (1852-25.01.1918) and a brother was William (23.02.1860–07.07.1937). The girls were raised as Catholics while the sons were raised as Protestants. The first child was Annie and then came Edward, Robert and William.
In late 1861 the household relocated to 32 Fitzwilliam Place in Dublin. In 1873 he was sent to the Portora Royal School in Enniskillen with his brother William. In 1877 his brother Robert (1853–77) drowned after a boating accident in Killiney Bay along with Constance Exham who was the daughter of a family friend.
After his time at the Portora Royal School he followed in his father’s footsteps and went to Trinity College from 1879 where he studied classics. He was awarded the Gold Medal in Classics in 1885 and he studied for the English Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in London. During this period he travelled across Europe and spent time taking walking tours in Macedonia and Greece as well as Asia Minor. He spent several months in one of the Orthodox monasteries on Mount Athos and even contemplated entering it as a monk. He travelled through Southern Italy en route home but was forced to prolong his stay there due to contracting smallpox.
Upon his father’s death in 1885 he came into a comfortable inheritance. He was a frequent visitor to the Hospice of the Dying at Harold’s Cross where he brought comfort and companionship in addition to small tokens of food and drink as well as clothing to those ill people. Even after he became a teacher at Clongowes Wood College he continued these small luxuries to the poor including a bit of tobacco while also providing them with tea and sugar as well as oranges and apples. His brother novices remember him for his small kindnesses extended to his classmates.
Conversion and priesthood
Sullivan was received into the Roman Catholic Church on 21 December 1896 in a celebration that the Jesuit priest Michael Gavin presided over at Farm Street Church Mayfair in central London. His family had expressed their great surprise upon his decision to convert to the Catholic faith. He commenced his Jesuit novitiate on 7 September 1900 at Saint Stanislaus College at Tullabeg. On completion of his novitiate around 1901 he was sent for his philosophical studies – until 1904 – to Saint Mary’s Hall in Stonyhurst. In 1904 – once he concluded his studies – he went to Milltown Park in Dublin for his theological studies and the Archbishop of Dublin William Walsh later ordained Sullivan as a Jesuit priest in the chapel at Milltown Park on 28 July 1907. He said his first Mass at the convent of the Irish Sisters of Charity at Mount Saint Anne’s in Milltown.
Sullivan soon after took up a teaching position at Clongowes Wood College which was an all-male boarding school the Jesuits managed near Clane. From 25 July 1919 until 20 May 1924 he served as the rector of the Juniorate and Retreat House at Rathfarnham Castle on the outskirts of Dublin. Sullivan then returned to teaching at Clongowes Wood College after this. Sullivan was untiring in his attention to the sick and he would travel miles to make a sick call which was often on foot but also riding a battered bike. On one occasion a workman by chance passed the chapel at the school at 2:00 am to see Sullivan in deep prayer on his knees. Each Holy Thursday, he spent five or six hours kneeling before the altar.
Illness and death
In February 1933 he began suffering severe abdominal pains and so was transferred on 17 February from the college to Saint Vincent’s Nursing Home in Lower Leeson Street in Dublin while asking for his breviary to be brought to him. Sullivan died at 11:00 pm on 19 February 1933 with his brother Sir William Sullivan at his side; an old friend who was present at his death said: “He died well”. He was buried in Clongowes Wood Cemetery. In 1960 his remains were exhumed and transferred to Saint Francis Xavier Church on Upper Gardiner Street.
Beatification
In 1944 his name was placed on the list that the Jesuit postulator Carlo Micinelli had set up in relation to prospective sainthood causes that could be opened; opening the process saw him titled as a Servant of God. The informative process that opened in 1953 saw the accumulation of witness testimonies and documentation being gathered and this process was completed in September 1960. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints were given the evidence and validated the informative process in acceptance in 1969 prior to theologians approving his spiritual writings in 1972. On 22 February 2000 the C.C.S. issued the official “nihil obstat” to the cause which acted as a formal introduction to the cause and approval of its continuation.
In June 2002 another process was held in Dublin to collate further evidence and the findings of this particular tribunal were forwarded to the C.C.S. who validated it on 18 October 2002. In 2004 the postulation submitted the Positio dossier to the C.C.S. for inspection with their consulting theologians approving its contents on 19 November 2013; the C.C.S. later approved this on 16 October 2014.
On 7 November 2014 he was named as Venerable after Pope Francis – himself a Jesuit – approved a decree acknowledging the heroic virtue of the late priest’s life based on the cardinal and theological virtues. Sullivan’s beatification depended on the approval of a miracle that was an unexplainable healing after his death; one such case was investigated in Ireland and it received C.C.S. validation on 10 February 2006. The C.C.S. approved this miracle on 19 April 2016 after the medical experts and theologians approved it. The pontiff – on 26 April 2016 – approved a miracle attributed to the late priest’s intercession and thus approved his beatification to take place. The miracle approved was the 1954 healing of a cancerous tumor on the neck of the Dublin woman Delia Farnham.
The beatification was celebrated in Dublin at the Saint Francis Xavier Church on 13 May 2017. He was also the first person to ever be beatified in Ireland.
The current postulator for this cause is the Jesuit priest Anton Witwer. The current vice-postulator is the Jesuit priest Conor Harper.
Devotions and legacies
There is a constant demand for blessings with his vow crucifix which is kept in the Saint Francis Xavier Church where his remains are located in the Sacred Heart Chapel. There is a special Mass celebrated in that church once each month dedicated to him and there is also an annual Mass to celebrate his life at the same church celebrated close to the commemoration of his 1933 death. The people of Kildare created their own monument to the late priest in Clane close to Clongowes Wood College.
Sullivan had been a Protestant until he reached middle age though that church was an important aspect to his life. On 8 May 1983 the retired Church of Ireland Archbishop George Simms gave the address at a memorial service to honour Sullivan’s life and work which was held in Saint Georges Church on Temple Street. The Catholic Auxiliary Bishop James Kavanagh attended and bought with him a text from Pope John Paul II reading: “His Holiness asks you to convey his cordial greetings to all present. In communion of prayer he gives thanks to Almighty God for the extraordinary gifts bestowed on Father Sullivan during his life and for the spirit of mutual understanding, reconciliation and goodwill which his memory enkindles between various christian communities in Ireland today”.
Miracles during his lifetime
There have been miracles reported during Sullivan’s life such as the two mentioned below:
The cure of Michael Collins (b. 1925) – nephew of the famed Michael Collins – from infantile paralysis. The child awoke one night in October 1928 in extreme distress and the summoned doctor diagnosed him with infantile paralysis. Mrs Collins drove to the school seeking out Sullivan’s assistance; Sullivan promised to say a Mass but also rode his bike to their home where he touched the child’s leg and prayed over him for two hours.
The cure of Miss Kitty Garry (aged ten at the time) from TB; he blessed her and the ailment left her after a month.
Memorials of the Saints – 19 February
Bl Alvarez of Cordova
St Auxibius
St Baoithin
St Barbatus of Benevento
St Beatus
St Belina
St Boniface of Lausanne
St Conon of Alexandria
St Conrad of Piacenza
Bl Elizabeth of Mantua
St Gabinus
St George of Lodeve
Bl John Sullivan S.J. (1861-1933)
Bl Józef Zaplata
St Lucia Yi Zhenmei
St Mansuetus of Milan
St Odran
St Proclus of Bisignano
St Quodvultdeus
St Valerius of Antibes
St Zambdas of Jerusalem
Thought for the Day – 18 February – The Memorial of Blessed John of Fiesole/Fra Angelico O.P. (1387-1455)
Thought for the Day – 18 February – The Memorial of Blessed John of Fiesole/Fra Angelico O.P. (1387-1455)
One of the greatest Christian artists is Giovanni Fiesole, better known to the world as Blessed Fra Angelico, the “Angelic Brother.” Fra Angelico is a patron saint for Catholic artists. His style of painting beautifully bridges the iconographic and gothic traditions. Giorgio Vasari, author of “Lives of the Artists,” referred to Angelico as a “rare and perfect talent.”
Very little of his writings have survived the centuries but one phrase still resonates, more than 400 years after his death. “He who does Christ’s work, must stay with Christ always.”
Saint Paul, in his letter to the Galatians said something similar. “I live; yet now, it is not I, but truly Christ, who lives in me. And though I live now in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and who delivered himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
What does it mean when Paul tells us it is no longer he who lives but Christ who lives in him? What does it mean to stay with Christ always?
In Paul’s time it was believed that the only way to have a right relationship with God was to follow the law, the Ten Commandments and all the thousands of rules that derive from them. But Paul rejected this idea and preached that the only road to justification, to having that right relationship with God, is through faith in Jesus Christ.
It is not enough to simply “follow the rules” and stay out of trouble. If that is all we do then we are trying to achieve heaven by our own merits. God wants more from us than that. God invites us into a relationship of friends and family, a relationship of love. This type of relationship is a living, dynamic one. To love Christ and to want to be near Him is to be crucified with Him.
It means standing up for the Truth even when it is unpopular. It means finding time to pray. It means that we stay faithful to the teachings of Jesus. And it means that when we fail, we humbly confess our sins as we would apologise to a friend we have hurt, so that that relationship can be restored. It means that we must reflect Christ to the whole world, so that when people look at us they do not see us, they see Christ.
For the Artist this means we must deeply consider our vocation, St John Paul described it as a vocation of beauty. Do we work to bring beauty to the world? Do we use our gifts to lift peoples hearts and minds to God? Does our work reflect His splendour and bring hope and joy to our brothers and sisters? This does not mean that every artist must confine themselves to religious art but it does mean that we may be called to sacrifice lucrative opportunities. or turn away from work that does not suit our vocation. But in the end that is what it means to live for Christ and not for ourselves. (Deacon Lawrence Klimecki – Speaker, Writer, Artist)
Blessed Fra Angelico, pray for us!
One Minute Reflection – 18 February – The Memorial of Blessed John of Fiesole/Fra Angelico O.P. (1387-1455)
One Minute Reflection – 18 February – The Memorial of Blessed John of Fiesole/Fra Angelico O.P. (1387-1455)
Well done you are an industrious and reliable servant…… Come share your master’s joy…………Matthew 25:21
REFLECTION – “In God’s house we must try to accept whatever job he gives us – cook, kitchen boy, waiter, stable boy or baker. For we know that our reward depends not on the job itself but on the faithfulness with which we serve God.”… Pope John Paul I
“Fra Angelico’s painting was the fruit of the great harmony between a holy life and the creative power with which he had been endowed.”… St Pope John Paul II
PRAYER – O God, in Your providence You inspired blessed Fra Angelico to portray the beauty and sweetness of heaven. By his prayers and the example of his virtues, grant that we may manifest this splendour to our brothers and sisters. Blessed Angelico, pray for us! Through Christ our Lord, amen.
Saint of the Day – 18 February – Blessed John of Fiesole/Fra Angelico O.P. (1387-1455)
Saint of the Day – 18 February – Blessed John of Fiesole/Fra Angelico O.P. (1387-1455) Born in 1387 in Vicchio di Mugello near Florence, Italy as Guido di Pietro – he died on 18 February 1455 in the Dominican convent in Rome, Italy of natural causes. He was known to contemporaries as Fra Giovanni da Fiesole (Brother John of Fiesole) and Fra Giovanni Angelico (Angelic Brother John). In modern Italian he is called il Beato Angelico (Blessed Angelic One); the common English name Fra Angelico means the “Angelic friar”. In 1982, Pope John Paul II proclaimed his beatification in recognition of the holiness of his life, thereby making the title of “Blessed” official. Fiesole is sometimes misinterpreted as being part of his formal name but it was merely the name of the town where he took his vows as a Dominican friar and was used by contemporaries to separate him from others who were also known as Fra Giovanni. He is listed in the Roman Martyrology as Beatus Ioannes Faesulanus, cognomento Angelicus—”Blessed Giovanni of Fiesole, surnamed ‘the Angelic’ “. Patron of Catholic Artists.
Fra Angelico was an Early Italian Renaissance painter described by Vasari in his Lives of the Artists as having “a rare and perfect talent”.
Early life, 1395–1436
Fra Angelico was born Guido di Pietro at Rupecanina in the Tuscan area of Mugello near Fiesole towards the end of the 14th century. Nothing is known of his parents. He was baptised Guido or Guidolino. The earliest recorded document concerning Fra Angelico dates from 17 October 1417 when he joined a religious confraternity or guild at the Carmine Church, still under the name of Guido di Pietro. This record reveals that he was already a painter, a fact that is subsequently confirmed by two records of payment to Guido di Pietro in January and February 1418 for work done in the church of Santo Stefano del Ponte. The first record of Angelico as a friar dates from 1423, when he is first referred to as Fra Giovanni (Friar John), following the custom of those entering one of the older religious orders of taking a new name. He was a member of the local community at Fiesole, not far from Florence, of the Dominican Order; one of the medieval Orders belonging to a category known as mendicant Orders because they generally lived not from the income of estates but from begging or donations. Fra, a contraction of frater (Latin for ‘brother’), is a conventional title for a mendicant friar.
According to Vasari, Fra Angelico initially received training as an illuminator, possibly working with his older brother Benedetto who was also a Dominican and an illuminator. The former Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence, now a state museum, holds several manuscripts that are thought to be entirely or partly by his hand. The painter Lorenzo Monaco may have contributed to his art training and the influence of the Sienese school is discernible in his work. He had several important charges in the convents he lived in but this did not limit his art, which very soon became famous. According to Vasari, the first paintings of this artist were an altarpiece and a painted screen for the Charterhouse (Carthusian monastery) of Florence; none such exist there now.
From 1408 to 1418, Fra Angelico was at the Dominican friary of Cortona, where he painted frescoes, now mostly destroyed, in the Dominican Church and may have been assistant to Gherardo Starnina or a follower of his. Between 1418 and 1436 he was at the convent of Fiesole, where he also executed a number of frescoes for the church and the Altarpiece, which was deteriorated but has since been restored. A predella of the Altarpiece remains intact and is conserved in the National Gallery, London, and is a great example of Fra Angelico’s ability. It shows Christ in Glory surrounded by more than 250 figures, including beatified Dominicans.
San Marco, Florence, 1436–1445
In 1436, Fra Angelico was one of a number of the friars from Fiesole who moved to the newly built convent or friary of San Marco in Florence. This was an important move which put him in the centre of artistic activity of the region and brought about the patronage of one of the wealthiest and most powerful members of the city’s governing authority, or “Signoria” (namely Cosimo de’ Medici), who had a cell reserved for himself at the friary in order that he might retreat from the world.
It was, according to Vasari, at Cosimo’s urging that Fra Angelico set about the task of decorating the convent, including the magnificent fresco of the Chapter House, the often-reproduced Annunciation at the top of the stairs leading to the cells, the Maesta (or Coronation of the Madonna) with Saints (cell 9) and the many other devotional frescoes, of smaller format but remarkable luminous quality, depicting aspects of the Life of Christ that adorn the walls of each cell.
In 1439 Fra Angelico completed one of his most famous works, the San Marco Altarpiece at Florence. The result was unusual for its time. Images of the enthroned Madonna and Child surrounded by saints were common, but they usually depicted a setting that was clearly heaven-like, in which saints and angels hovered about as divine presences rather than people. But in this instance, the saints stand squarely within the space, grouped in a natural way as if they were able to converse about the shared experience of witnessing the Virgin in glory. Paintings such as this, known as Sacred Conversations, were to become the major commissions of Giovanni Bellini, Perugino and Raphael.
The Vatican, 1445–1455
In 1445 Pope Eugene IV summoned him to Rome to paint the frescoes of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament at St Peter’s, later demolished by Pope Paul III. Vasari claims that at this time Fra Angelico was offered the Archbishopric of Florence by Pope Nicholas V and that he refused it, recommending another friar for the position. The story seems possible and even likely. However, if Vasari’s date is correct, then the pope must have been Eugene IV and not Nicholas, who was elected Pope only on 6 March 1447. Moreover, the archbishop in 1446–1459 was the Dominican Antoninus of Florence (Antonio Pierozzi), canonised by Pope Adrian VI in 1523. In 1447 Fra Angelico was in Orvieto with his pupil, Benozzo Gozzoli, executing works for the Cathedral. Among his other pupils were Zanobi Strozzi.
From 1447 to 1449 Fra Angelico was back at the Vatican, designing the frescoes for the Niccoline Chapel for Nicholas V. The scenes from the lives of the two martyred deacons of the Early Christian Church, St Stephen and St Lawrence may have been executed wholly or in part by assistants. The small chapel, with its brightly frescoed walls and gold leaf decorations gives the impression of a jewel box. From 1449 until 1452, Fra Angelico returned to his old convent of Fiesole, where he was the Prior.
Death and beatification
In 1455, Fra Angelico died while staying at a Dominican convent in Rome, perhaps on an order to work on Pope Nicholas’ chapel. He was buried in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
When singing my praise, don’t liken my talents to those of Apelles.
Say, rather, that, in the name of Christ, I gave all I had to the poor.
The deeds that count on Earth are not the ones that count in Heaven.
I, Giovanni, am the flower of Tuscany.
— Translation of epitaph
The English writer and critic William Michael Rossetti wrote of the friar:
“From various accounts of Fra Angelico’s life, it is possible to gain some sense of why he was deserving of canonisation. He led the devout and ascetic life of a Dominican friar and never rose above that rank; he followed the dictates of the order in caring for the poor; he was always good-humoured. All of his many paintings were of divine subjects and it seems that he never altered or retouched them, perhaps from a religious conviction that, because his paintings were divinely inspired, they should retain their original form. He was wont to say that he who illustrates the acts of Christ should be with Christ. It is averred that he never handled a brush without fervent prayer and he wept when he painted a Crucifixion. The Last Judgement and the Annunciation were two of the subjects he most frequently treated.”
Pope John Paul II beatified Fra Angelico on 3 October 1982 and in 1984 declared him patron of Catholic artists.
“Angelico was reported to say “He who does Christ’s work must stay with Christ always”. This motto earned him the epithet “Blessed Angelico” because of the perfect integrity of his life and the almost divine beauty of the images he painted, to a superlative extent those of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”— St Pope John Paul II
The First Sunday of Lent 2018 & Memorials of the Saints – 18 February
The First Sunday of LENT – YEAR B
St Angilbert of Centula
St Colman of Lindisfarne
St Constance of Vercelli
St Esuperia of Vercelli
St Ethelina
Bl John of Fiesole/Fra Angelico O.P. (1387-1455)
St Gertrude Caterina Comensoli
St Helladius of Toledo
St Ioannes Chen Xianheng
St Ioannes Zhang Tianshen
St Jean-François-Régis Clet
St Jean-Pierre Néel
Bl Jerzy Kaszyra
Bl John Pibush – one of the Martyrs of Douai
St Leo of Patera
St Martinus Wu Xuesheng
Bl Matthew Malaventino
St Paregorius of Patara
St Sadoth of Seleucia
St Simeon
St Tarasius of Constantinople
St Theotonius
Bl William Harrington
—
Martyrs of North Africa – 7 saints: Group of Christians who were martyred together, date unknown. We know nothing else but seven of their names – Classicus, Fructulus, Lucius, Maximus, Rutulus, Secundinus and Silvanus.
They were born and martyred in North Africa.
Martyrs of Rome – 5 saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know nothing else but their names – Alexander, Claudius, Cutias, Maximus and Praepedigna. They were martyred in 295 in Rome, Italy.
Thought for the Day – 17 February – The Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (1233)
Thought for the Day – 17 February – The Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (1233)
Can you imagine seven prominent men of any great city banding together, leaving their homes and professions and going into solitude for a life directly given to God? That is what happened in the cultured and prosperous city of Florence in the middle of the 13th century. The city was torn with political strife as well as the heresy of the Cathari, who believed that physical reality was inherently evil. Morals were low and religion seemed meaningless. In 1240, seven noblemen of Florence mutually decided to withdraw from the city to a solitary place for prayer and direct service of God. Community members combined monastic life and active ministry. In the monastery, they led a life of prayer, work and silence while in the active apostolate they engaged in parochial work, teaching, preaching and other ministerial activities.
Since criminals and people with evil purposes often band together for their common interests, good people often have to do the same. Faced with the immorality and blood feuds of thirteenth century Florence, the Seven Holy Founders banded together for their own spiritual good and succeeded in founding a whole new religious order. Good companions are on of the most powerful helps toward a holy life, for all of us are faced in a new and urgent way with the challenge to make our lives decisively centred in Christ. In this new day, we often find those ‘good companions’ online, let us too band together and live a holy life amidst the dangers around us!
Seven Holy Founders, Pray for us!
One Minute Reflection – 17 February – The First Saturday of Lent 2018
One Minute Reflection – 17 February – The First Saturday of Lent 2018
And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”...Luke 5:31-32
REFLECTION – “I am a sinner, whom the Lord has looked upon.”…Pope Francis
PRAYER – Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight and give Your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend Your sick ones, O Lord Christ.
Rest Your weary ones.
Bless Your dying ones.
Soothe Your suffering ones.
Pity Your afflicted ones.
Shield Your joyous ones.
And all for Your love’s sake. Amen…St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
Our Morning Offering – 17 February – The Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (1233)
Our Morning Offering – 17 February – The Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (1233)
Prayer to Our Lady
From the Servite Vigil of our Lady I
Loving Mother,
woman of prayer,
we turn to you and pray:
support our prayers
for ourselves,
for all your Servants,
for our friends and families,
for those who share the Christian faith
and for every person on earth
that all may know peace and salvation.
Ask the Father that we may truly know Christ,
be filled with the gifts of the Spirit,
protected in all adversity
and freed from every evil.
Help us to build God’s kingdom:
a kingdom of everlasting praise,
a kingdom of justice and peace
that will endure forever and ever.
Amen.
Saints of the Day – 17 February – The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order OSM – Formation on 15 August 1233
Saints of the Day – 17 February – The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order OSM – Formation on 15 August 1233. The Servite Order is one of the five original Catholic mendicant orders. Its objectives are the sanctification of its members, preaching the Gospel and the propagation of devotion to the Mother of God, with special reference to her sorrows. The members of the Order use O.S.M. (Ordo Servorum Beatae Mariae Virginis) as their post-nominal letters. The male members are known as Servite Friars or Servants of Mary. The Order of Servants of Mary (The Servites) religious family includes friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nuns, a congregation of active sisters and lay groups.
Between the years 1225 and 1227 seven young Florentines joined the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin—popularly known as the ‘Laudesi’ or Praisers. It was a period when the prosperous city of Florence was being rent by political factions and distracted by the heresy of the Cathari: it was also a time of general relaxation of morals even where devotional practices were retained. These young men were members of the most prominent families of the city. Whether they were all friends before they joined the Laudesi is not clear but in that confraternity they became closely allied.
The eldest was Buonfiglio Monaldo, who became their leader. The others were Alexis Falconieri, Benedict dell’ Antella, Bartholomew Amidei, Ricovero Uguccione, Gerardino Sostegni, and John Buonagiunta. They had as their spiritual director James of Poggibonsi, who was chaplain of the Laudesi, a man of great holiness and spiritual insight. All of them came to realise the call to a life of renunciation and they determined to have recourse to our Lady in their perplexity. On the feast of the Assumption, as they were absorbed in prayer, they saw her in a vision and were inspired by her to withdraw from the world into a solitary place and to live for God alone. There were difficulties, because, though three of them were celibates, four had been married and had ties, although two had become widowers. Suitable provision for their dependants was arranged and with the approval of the bishop they withdrew from the world and betook themselves to a house called La Carmarzia, outside the gates of Florence, twenty-three days after they had received their call. Before long they found themselves so much disturbed by constant visitors from Florence that they decided to withdraw to the wild and deserted slopes of Monte Senario, where they built a simple church and hermitage and lived a life of almost incredible austerity.
In spite of difficulties, visitors sometimes found their way to the hermits and many wished to join them but they refused to accept recruits. So they continued to live for several years,—until they were visited by their bishop, Ardingo, and Cardinal Castiglione, who had heard about their sanctity. He was greatly edified but made one adverse criticism: ‘You treat yourselves in a manner bordering on barbarity and you seem more desirous of dying to time than of living for eternity. Take heed, the enemy of souls often hides himself under the appearance of an angel of light . . . Hearken to the counsels of your superiors.’
Again the solitaries gave themselves up to prayer for light and again they had a vision of our Lady, who bore in her hand a black habit while an angel held a scroll inscribed with the title of Servants of Mary. She told them she—had chosen them to be her servants, that she wished them to wear the black habit and to follow the Rule of St Augustine. From that date, April 13, 1240, they were known as the Servants of Mary, or Servites.
They were clothed by the bishop himself, Buonfiglio being elected their superior. According to custom they selected names by which they should thenceforth be known, and became Brothers Bonfilius, Alexis, Amadeus, Hugh, Sostenes, Manettus and Buonagiunta. By the wish of the bishop, all except St Alexis, who in his humility begged to be excused, prepared to receive holy orders and in due time they were fully professed and ordained priests. The new order, which took a form more like that of the mendicant friars than that of the monastic orders, increased amazingly and it soon became necessary to form fresh houses. Siena, Pistoia and Arezzo were the first places chosen, and afterwards the houses at Carfaggio, the convent and church of the Santissima Annunziata in Florence and the convent at Lucca were established. Meanwhile, although the Servites had the approval of their immediate superiors, they had not been recognised by the Holy See. It was only in 1259 that the order was practically recognised by Alexander IV, and not until 1304 over sixty years after its foundation-that it received the explicit and formal approbation of Blessed Benedict XI. St Bonfilius had remained as prior general until 1256, when he begged to be relieved owing to old age. He died on new year’s night, 1261.
St Buonagiunta, the youngest of the seven, was the second prior general but not long after his election he breathed his last in chapel while the gospel of the Passion was being read. St Amadeus ruled over the important convent of Carfaggio, but returned to Monte Senario to end his days. St Manettus became fourth prior general and sent missionaries to Asia but he retired to make way for St Philip Benizi, upon whose breast he died. St Hugh and St Sostenes went abroad—Sostenes to Paris and Hugh to found convents in Germany. They were recalled in 1276 and, being attacked by illness, they passed away side by side the same night. St Alexis, the humble lay-brother outlived them all and he was the only one who survived to see the order fully and finally recognised. He is reported to have died at the age one hundred and ten.
Memorials of the Saints – 17 February
Seven Founders of Servants of Mary (Optional Memorial)
• Sts Alexis Falconieri
• St Bartholomew degli Amidei
• St Benedict dell’Antella
• St Buonfiglio Monaldi
• St Gherardino Sostegni
• St Hugh dei Lippi-Uguccioni
• St John Buonagiunta Monetti
—
St Alexis Falconieri – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
Optional Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order
St Antoni Leszczewicz
St Bartholomew degli Amidei – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Benedict dell’Antella – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Benedict of Cagliari
St Buonfiglio Monaldi – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Bonosus of Trier
Bl Constabilis of Cava
St Donatus the Martyr
Bl Elisabetta Sanna
St Evermod of Ratzeburg
St Faustinus the Martyr
St Finan of Iona
St Fintan of Clonenagh
St Flavian of Constantinople
St Fortchern of Trim
St Gherardino Sostegni – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Guevrock
St Habet-Deus
St Hugh dei Lippi-Uguccioni – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St John Buonagiunta Monetti – SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS
St Julian of Caesarea
St Loman of Trim
Bl Luke Belludi
St Lupiano
Bl Martí Tarrés Puigpelat
St Mesrop the Teacher
St Petrus Yu Chong-nyul
St Polychronius of Babylon
St Romulus the Martyr
St Secundian the Martyr
St Silvinus of Auchy
St Theodulus of Caesarea
Bl William Richardson
Saint of the Day – 16 February – Blessed Bernard Scammacca O.P. (1430-1487)
Saint of the Day – 16 February – Blessed Bernard Scammacca O.P. (1430-1487) – Religious Priest, Preacher, apostle of charity, mystic, with a gift of prophecy and a great devotion to the Passion of Christ. Born Bernardo in 1430 in Catania, Sicily and he died on 11 January 1487 of natural causes. Fifteen years after his death he appeared in a vision to the prior in Catania and asked that his remains be moved to the house’s rosary chapel, during this relocation, a man was cured of paralysis by touching the relics. He was Beatified in 1825 by Pope Leo XII (cultus confirmed). His body is incorrupt.
Blessed Bernard Scammacca was born in 1430 in Catania to upper-class and pious parents.
Scammacca was well-educated in his childhood. Despite his education he spent his adolescence as a wild and dissolute man and during one such revel he received a leg wound in a duel with a man with whom he had quarrelled. His subsequent convalescence provided him with adequate time to reflect on what had happened as well as the course his life had taken. This made him realise that he was heading in the wrong direction and needed urgent changes. His healing over time renewed his links to his faith; he approached the Order of Preachers in 1452 in Catania and begged to be admitted into their ranks.
Bl Bernard became known for his range of charitable works and for his life of repentance for the life he had led, as well as for his strict adherence to the rule of St Dominic. He fostered a particular devotion to the Passion of Christ, which sometimes led him into ecstasies. He founded a hospital for the poor, which still exists. He also liked to spend time in the confessional and worked as a spiritual director. He had the gift of being a prophet and used that gift to warn others to change their lives. He also prophesied the date of his own death.
Scammacca was named the prior of the convent of St Dominic in Catania and later named as the prior of the convent in Palermo. He was also made the vicar general of the reformed Sicilian convents.
It was often said that when he walked in his convent’s garden the birds would come and sing to him but would stop at once when he stopped to reflect. On one occasion a porter was sent to his room to fetch him and the man saw a bright light under a door. He peeked in to see a child shining with light holding a book that Scammacca was reading from.
Bl Bernard died in 1487 in Catania. In 1502 it was said that he appeared in a vision to the prior of his convent and asked that his incorrupt remains be relocated the house’s chapel. During the translation a man was cured of his paralysis after he touched Scammacca’s relics.
Memorials of the Saints – 16 February
St Aganus of Airola
Bl Bernard Scammacca O.P. (1430-1487)
St Faustinus of Brescia
St Gilbert of Sempringham
St Honestus of Nimes
St John III of Constantinople
Bl Joseph Allamano
St Julian of Egypt
St Juliana of Campania
St Juliana of Nicomedia
St Nicola Paglia
St Onesimus of Ephesus
Bl Philippa Mareria
—
Martyrs of Cilicia – 12 saints: A group of Christians who ministered to other Christians who were condemned to work the mines of Cilicia in the persecutions of Maximus. They were arrested, tortured and martryed by order of the governor Firmilian.
• Daniel
• Elias
• Isaias
• Jeremy
• Samuel
The group also includes the three known have been sentenced to the mines –
• Pamphilus
• Paul of Jamnia
• Valens of Jerusalem
and those who were exposed as Christians as a result of these murders –
• Julian of Cappadocia
• Porphyrius of Caesarea
• Seleucius of Caesarea
• Theodule the Servant
They were martyred in 309 in Cilicia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey).
Thought for the Day – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682)
Thought for the Day – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682)
This is a special day for the Jesuits, who claim today’s saint as one of their own. It’s also a special day for people who have a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus—a devotion Claude de la Colombière promoted, along with his friend and spiritual companion, St Margaret Mary Alacoque. The emphasis on God’s love for all was an antidote to the rigorous moralism of the Jansenists, who were popular at the time.
Claude showed remarkable preaching skills long before his ordination in 1675. Two months later, he was made superior of a small Jesuit residence in Burgundy. It was there he first encountered Margaret Mary Alacoque. For many years after he served as her confessor.
As a fellow Jesuit and as a promoter of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Saint Claude must be very special to Pope Francis who has so beautifully emphasised the mercy of Jesus. The emphasis on God’s love and mercy are characteristic of both men.
“The past three centuries allow us to evalutate the importance of the message which was entrusted to Claude. In a period of contrasts between the fervour of some and the indifference or impiety of many, here is a devotion centred on the humility of Christ, on His presence, on His love of mercy and on forgiveness. Devotion to the Heart of Christ would be a source of balance and spiritual strengthening for Christian communities so often faced with increasing unbelief over the coming centuries.
May the canonisation of Claude La Colombiere be for the whole Church an appeal to live the consecration to the Heart of Christ, a consecration which is a self-giving that allows the charity and mercy of Christ to inspire us, pardon us and lead us in His ardent desire to open the ways of truth and life to all our brothers and sisters!”…St Pope John Paul II, during the canonisation of Saint Claude (31 May 1992)
St Claude de la Colombiere, pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682)
Quote/s of the Day – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682)
“May the Heart of Jesus Christ be our school!
Let us make our abode there.
Let us study its movements
and attempt to conform ours to them.
Yes, O Divine Jesus, I want to live there.”
“When the Holy Spirit is in a soul,
He communicates Himself,
in one way or another.
We can say that He makes virtue contagious
and turns a simple faithful into an apostle.”
“God is in the midst of us, or rather,
we are in the midst of Him;
wherever we are, He sees us and touches us,
at prayer, at work, at table, at recreation.”
“God is more honoured by a single Mass
than He could be by all the actions of angels
and men together, however fervent and heroic they might be.
Yet, how FEW hear Mass with the intention of giving God
this sublime honour!
How FEW think with joy on the glory a Mass gives to God.
How FEW rejoice to possess the means of honouring Him
as He deserves! . . .
If we only knew the treasure we hold in our hands!”
St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682)
“St Claude has been a dear friend of mine since I discovered his writings quite some years ago. . I count on his intercession. I turn to him when I feel my heart is tired and a little cold and distressed. This Saint of Hearts is a most willing guide leading us to the warmest Heart of Christ full of Mercy and Love.”
The Franciscan St John Wall O.F.M. (1620-1679) (Joachim of Saint Anne), who was martyred for the crime of being a Catholic priest near Redhill, Corcester, England on August 22nd, 1679, knew Saint Claude. After having spent a night in spiritual conversation with him, the soon–to–be martyr said,
“When I was in his presence I thought that I was dealing with Saint John returned to earth to rekindle that fire of love in the Heart of Christ.”
St John Wall O.F.M. (1620-1679)
One Minute Reflection – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682)
One Minute Reflection – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you...1 Peter 1:3-4
REFLECTION – “Lord, I am in this world to show Your mercy to others. Other people will glorify You, by making visible the power of Your grace, by their fidelity and constancy to You. For my part I will glorify You, by making known how good You are to sinners, that Your mercy is boundless and that no sinner, no matter how great his offences, should have reason to despair of pardon. If I have grievously offended You, My Redeemer, let me not offend You even more, by thinking that You are not kind enough to pardon me.” … St Claude de la Colombiere
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, Your great mercy, gave us Your Son! Surely nothing can be a greater proof to us of Your unending love and mercy to Your lowly creatures, we who are dust. Through Him, who died and rose for us, You have shown us the way of true mercy. Grant us this day that by the intercession of St Claude, we may take up our crosses with Him, never leaving the love of His Sacred Heart, so that we may join Your holy saints in eternal life. Through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682)
Our Morning Offering – 15 February – The Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (1641-1682)
Lord, be the Centre of Our Hearts
by St Claude de la Colombiere
O God, what will You do to conquer
the fearful hardness of our hearts?
Lord, You must give us new hearts,
tender hearts, sensitive hearts,
to replace hearts
that are made of marble and of bronze.
You must give us Your own Heart, Jesus.
Come, lovable Heart of Jesus.
Place Your Heart deep in the centre of our hearts
and enkindle in each heart a flame of love
as strong, as great, as the sum of all the reasons
that I have for loving You, my God.
O holy Heart of Jesus, dwell hidden in my heart,
so that I may live only in You and only for You,
so that, in the end,
I may live with You eternally in heaven, amen
Saint of the Day – 15 February – St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682)
Saint of the Day – 15 February – St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682) Religious Priest, Confessor, Patron of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Ascetical Writer, Teacher, Preacher, Missionary. Patronages – Devotion to the Sacred Heart, toy-makers, turners. St Claude was a Jesuit priest and the confessor of St Margaret Mary Alacoque, the visionary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St Claude was born on 2 February 1641 at Saint-Symphorien d’Ozon, Rhône, France and he died on 15 February 1682 at Paray-le-Monial, Saône-et-Loire, France of hemoptysis (coughing up blood). He was Canonised on 31 May 1992 by St Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy.
CLAUDE DE LA COLOMBIÈRE, third child of the notary Bertrand de la Colombière and Margaret Coindat, was born on 2nd February 1641 at St Symphorien d’Ozon in the Dauphine, southeastern France. After the family moved to Vienne, Claude began his early education there, completing his studies in rhetoric and philosophy in Lyon.
It was during this period that Claude first sensed his vocation to the religious life in the Society of Jesus. We know nothing of the motives which led to this decision. We do know, however, from one of his early notations, that he “had a terrible aversion for the life embraced”. This affirmation is not hard to understand by any who are familiar with the life of Claude, for he was very close to his family and friends and much inclined to the arts and literature and an active social life. On the other hand, he was not a person to be led primarily by his sentiments. At 17 he entered the Jesuit Novitiate at Avignon. In 1660 he moved from the Novitiate to the College, also in Avignon, where he pronounced his first vows and completed his studies in philosophy. Afterwards he was professor of grammar and literature in the same school for another five years.
In 1666 he went to the College of Clermont in Paris for his studies in theology. Already noted for his tact, poise and dedication to the humanities, Claude was assigned by superiors in Paris the additional responsibility of tutoring the children of Louis XIV’s Munster of Finance, Jean Baptiste Colbert. His theological studies concluded and now a priest, Claude returned to Lyon. For a time he was teacher in the College, then full-time preacher and moderator of several Marian congregations.
Claude became noted for solid and serious sermons. They were ably directed at specific audiences and, faithful to their inspiration from the gospel, communicated to his listeners serenity and confidence in God. His published sermons produced and still produce significant spiritual fruits. Given the place and the short duration of his ministry, his sermons are surprisingly fresh in comparison with those of better-known orators.
The year 1674 was a decisive one for Claude, the year of his Third Probation at Maison Saint-Joseph in Lyon. During the customary month of the Exercises the Lord prepared him for the mission for which he had been chosen. His spiritual notes from this period allow one to follow step-by-step the battles and triumphs of the spirit, so extraordinarily attracted to everything human, yet so generous with God.
He took a vow to observe all the constitutions and rules of the Society of Jesus, a vow whose scope was not so much to bind him to a series of minute observances as to reproduce the sharp ideal of an apostle so richly described by St Ignatius. So magnificent did this ideal seem to Claude that he adopted it as his program of sanctity. That it was indeed an invitation from Christ himself is evidenced by the subsequent feeling of interior liberation Claude experienced, along with the broadened horizons of the apostolate he witnesses to in his spiritual diary.
On 2nd February 1675 he pronounced his solemn profession and was named rector of the College at Paray-le-Monial. Not a few people wondered at this assignment of a talented young Jesuit to such an out-of the-way place as Paray. The explanation seems to be in the superiors’ knowledge that there was in Paray an unpretentious religious of the Monastery of the Visitation, Margaret Mary Alacoque, to whom the Lord was revealing the treasures of his Heart but who was overcome by anguish and uncertainty. She was waiting for the Lord to fulfil his promise and send her “my faithful servant and perfect friend” to help her realise the mission for which he had destined her: that of revealing to the world the unfathomable riches of his love.
After Father Colombière’s arrival and her first conversations with him, Margaret Mary opened her spirit to him and told him of the many communications she believed she had received from the Lord. He assured her he accepted their authenticity and urged her to put in writing everything in their regard and did all he could to orient and support her in carrying out the mission received. When, thanks to prayer and discernment, he became convinced that Christ wanted the spread of the devotion to his Heart, it is clear from Claude’s spiritual notes that he pledged himself to this cause without reserve. In these notes it is also clear that, even before he became Margaret Mary’s confessor, Claude’s fidelity to the directives of St Ignatius in the Exercises had brought him to the contemplation of the Heart of Christ as symbol of His love.
After a year and half in Paray, in 1676 Father La Colombière left for London. He had been appointed preacher to the Duchess of York – a very difficult and delicate assignment because of the conditions prevailing in England at the time. He took up residence in St James Palace in October. In addition to sermons in the palace chapel and unremitting spiritual direction both oral and written, Claude dedicated his time to giving thorough instruction to the many who sought reconciliation with the Church they had abandoned. And even if there were great dangers, he had the consolation of seeing many reconciled to it, so that after a year he said: “I could write a book about the mercy of God I’ve seen Him exercise since I arrived here!”
The intense pace of his work and the poor climate combined to undermine his health, and evidence of a serious pulmonary disease began to appear. Claude, however, made no changes in his work or life style. Of a sudden, at the end of 1678, he was calumniously accused and arrested in connection with the Titus Oates “papist plot”. After two days he was transferred to the severe King’s Bench Prison where he remained for three weeks in extremely poor conditions until his expulsion from England by royal decree. This suffering further weakened Claude’s health which, with ups and downs, deteriorated rapidly on his return to France.
During the summer of 1681 he returned to Paray, in very poor condition. On 15th February 1682, the first Sunday of Lent, towards evening Claude suffered the severe haemorrhage which ended his life.
On the 16th of June 1929 Pope Pius XI beatified Claude de la Colombière, whose charism, according to St Margaret Mary Alacoque, was that of bringing souls to God along the gospel way of love and mercy which Christ revealed to us. (vatican.va)
It is said that the day after Claude’s death, Sister Margaret Mary received supernatural assurance that Claude needed no prayers, as he was in already heaven; he was enjoying the fullness of communio with the Trinity. Claude was considered a “dry” martyr, having suffered every abuse for the Christian faith except death. The life of Saint Claude was an example of being in correspondence with the Lord Himself –through the logic of Love– that he was known to be concrete example of mercy in the face of trials. Saint Claude’s life of holiness drew many of the Protestants to the Catholic Church. His was a trust that we must adopt: “In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded.”
May we learn from Saint Claude la Colombiere what it means to be in relationship with Jesus the Good Shepherd, true Divine Love.
Memorials of the Saints – 15 February
St Agape of Terni
Bl Angelus de Scarpetti
St Berach of Kilbarry
St Claude de la Colombierre S.J. (1641-1682)
St Craton
St Decorosus of Capua
St Dochow
St Druthmar of Corvey
St Eusebius of Asehia
St Farannan of Iona
St Faustinus
St Faustus of Monte Cassino
St Georgia
St Joseph of Antioch
St Jovita
St Onesimus the Slave
St Quinidius of Vaison
St Severus of Abruzzi
St Walfrid
—
Martyrs of Antioch: 5 saints
A group of Christians murdered together. We know the names of five of them – Agapev, Baralo, Isicio, Joseph and Zosimus.
Martyrs of Passae:
Castulus
Lucius
Magnus
Saturninus
Martyrs of Prague – 14 beati – Franciscan Friars Minor martyred together by a mob led by Lutherans:
Franciscan Friars Minor martyred together by a mob led by Lutherans.
• Antonín of Prague
• Bartolomeo Dalmasoni
• Bedrich Bachstein
• Christoffel Zelt
• Didak Jan
• Emmanuel of Prague
• Gaspare Daverio
• Giovanni Bodeo
• Girolamo degli Arese
• Jakob of Prague
• Jan of Prague
• Juan Martínez
• Klemens of Prague
• Simon of Prague
They were martyred on
• Shrove Tuesday 15 February 1611 at the Church of Our Lady of the Snows in Prague, Czech Republic
• body dumped nearby but given Christian burial on 19 February 1611 in the monastery
• re-interred in the side chapel of the church in 1616
Beatified
13 October 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI
Martyrs of Sweden:
Sigfrid
Sunaman
Unaman
Winaman
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Pere Vallmitjana Abarca
Thought for the Day – 14 February – The Memorial of Sts Cyril (827-869) & Methodius (826-885)
Thought for the Day – 14 February – The Memorial of Sts Cyril (827-869) & Methodius (826-885)
Wishing now to sum up concisely the profile of the two Brothers, we should first recall the enthusiasm with which Cyril approached the writings of St Gregory of Nazianzus, learning from him the value of language in the transmission of the Revelation. St Gregory had expressed the wish that Christ would speak through him: “I am a servant of the Word, so I put myself at the service of the Word”. Desirous of imitating Gregory in this service, Cyril asked Christ to deign to speak in Slavonic through him. He introduced his work of translation with the solemn invocation: “Listen, O all of you Slav Peoples, listen to the word that comes from God, the word that nourishes souls, the word that leads to the knowledge of God”. In fact, a few years before the Prince of Moravia had asked the Emperor Michael III to send missionaries to his country, it seems that Cyril and his brother Methodius, surrounded by a group of disciples, were already working on the project of collecting the Christian dogmas in books written in Slavonic. The need for new graphic characters closer to the language spoken was therefore clearly apparent: so it was that the Glagolitic alphabet came into being. Subsequently modified, it was later designated by the name “Cyrillic”, in honour of the man who inspired it. It was a crucial event for the development of the Slav civilisation in general. Cyril and Methodius were convinced that the individual peoples could not claim to have received the Revelation fully, unless they had heard it in their own language and read it in the characters proper to their own alphabet.
Methodius had the merit of ensuring that the work begun by his brother was not suddenly interrupted. While Cyril, the “Philosopher”, was more inclined to contemplation, Methodius on the other hand had a leaning for the active life. Thanks to this he was able to lay the foundations of the successive affirmation of what we might call the “Cyrillian-Methodian idea”: it accompanied the Slav peoples in the different periods of their history, encouraging their cultural, national and religious development. This was already recognised by Pope Pius XI in his Apostolic Letter Quod Sanctum Cyrillum, in which he described the two Brothers: “Sons of the East, with a Byzantine homeland, of Greek origin, for the Roman missions to reap Slav apostolic fruit” (AAS 19 [1927] 93-96). The historic role they played was later officially proclaimed by St Pope John Paul II who, with his Apostolic Letter Egregiae Virtutis, declared them Co-Patrons of Europe, together with St Benedict (31 December 1980; L’Osservatore Romano English edition, 19 January 1981, p. 3).
Cyril and Methodius are in fact a classic example of what today is meant by the term “inculturation”: every people must integrate the message revealed into its own culture and express its saving truth in its own language. This implies a very demanding effort of “translation” because it requires the identification of the appropriate words to present anew, without distortion, the riches of the revealed word. The two holy Brothers have left us a most important testimony of this, to which the Church also looks today in order to draw from it inspiration and guidelines. Pope Benedict XVI, Wednesday, 17 June 2009
The work of Saints Cyril and Methodius are a powerful reminder of our role in the celebration of the Liturgy. God speaks to us—to each of us—in a language that we can understand and based upon that understanding we are called to live the Gospel. We pray today for more active participation, greater comprehension and the ability to successfully live the Word of God for all to see!
Almighty and everlasting God, who by the power of the Holy Spirit moved your servant Cyril and his brother Methodius to bring the light of the Gospel to a hostile and divided people, overcome all bitterness and strife among us by the love of Christ and make us one united family under the banner of the Prince of Peace, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever, amen.
Sts Cyril and Methodius, pray for us!
Saints of the Day – 14 February – Sts Cyril (827-869) & Methodius (826-885)
Saints of the Day – 14 February – Sts Cyril (827-869) & Methodius (826-885) Bishops, Confessors, Theologians, Missionaries, Writers, Preachers, Patrons of Europe, Apostles to the Slavs. Sts Cyril & Methodius were two brothers who were Byzantine Christian theologians and Christian missionaries. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they received the title “Apostles to the Slavs”. They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic. After their deaths, their pupils continued their missionary work among other Slavs. In 1880, Pope Leo XIII introduced their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1980, St Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia.
St Cyril’s Patronages – against storms, ecumenism, Slavic peoples (given in 1863 by Pope Pius IX), unity of the Eastern and Western Churches, Bohemia, Bosnia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Carinthia, Austria, Carniola, Circassia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia, Dacia, Dalmatia, Europe (given in 1980 by St Pope John Paul II), Khazaria, Krain, Krajna, Kranjska, Moravia, Pannonia, Russia, Silesia, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Ljubljana, Slovenia, archdiocese of, Maribor, Slovenia, archdiocese of, Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto, Ontario, diocese of. St Methodius’s Patronages – against storms, ecumenism, Slavic peoples (given in 1863 by Pope Pius IX), unity of the Eastern and Western Churches, Bohemia, Bosnia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Carinthia, Austria, Carniola, Circassia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia, Dacia, Dalmatia, Europe (given in 1980 by St Pope John Paul II), Khazaria, Krain, Krajna, Kranjska, Moravia, Pannonia, Russia, Silesia, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Ljubljana, Slovenia, archdiocese of, Maribor, Slovenia, archdiocese of, Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto, Ontario, diocese of.
Methodius and Cyril (born Constantine) were born into a prominent Christian family in Thessalonica. As the area in which they were raised was a popular spot for Slavic people to settle in, traditions tells us that the holy brothers grew up familiar with the Slavic language (Slavonic). While we know their father was a prominent officer in the army, little is known of their young lives. History has recorded that Methodius, the elder brother, rose to the position of an important civil authority, who likely dealt in law and trade. His brother, Cyril, was trained as a scholar, professor and philosopher who gained renown in Constantinople.
After some years in public service, Methodius grew tired of worldly affairs and retired, seeking out solace and contemplation in a monastery. Eventually, Cyril joined him there, refusing a district to govern, preferring quiet devotion to the Lord. Together they lived in peace until the Byzantine emperor, having received a request for missionaries by the Moravian prince Rastislav, sent the brothers as missionaries to modern-day Ukraine. Being familiar with the language and well-acquainted with administration and politics, they were the perfect choice for such a mission. And given Rastislav’s desire for independence from Germany, Eastern missionaries (such as Methodius and Cyril) could help him gain independence over Church affairs.
Cyril and Methodius firmly believed that the Liturgy should be celebrated in the native language of the people, for greater inclusion in the Mass—a tradition which continues today. At that time, many were committed to only celebrating Mass in Greek or Latin, but these holy brothers dedicated themselves to proving otherwise. Prior to their departure for Moravia, they created a script for Slavonic (which had not previously existed). Known as Glagolithic, this written script is considered the precursor to Cyrillic (named after Saint Cyril). The creation of this script would allow the translation of Scripture and Liturgy into the language of the people.
Upon their arrival, Cyril immediately began translating the Liturgy into Slavonic. This created anxiety in the German priests, who saw the use of language as the next step to Slavic independence, and they actively worked against the translation. As neither Cyril nor Methodius was ordained a bishop, they travelled to Rome with their candidates for the priesthood to see the pope. After an audience, the pope approved the use of the Slavonic language in services, ordaining the local priests and securing the presence of Catholicism in the region.
Sadly, Constantine never returned to Moravia. He entered the monastery, taking the name Cyril and not long after died. Methodius was stricken with grief and wished for nothing more than live the remainder of his days in the monastery but honoured a promise made to his brother and returned to finish their missionary work. Due to the political upheaval in Moravia, he was forbidden to return there. However, upon his ordination as bishop, he was invited to modern-day Serbia and Croatia, where he assumed the bishopric of Sirmium. There he continued to say Mass and administer baptisms in the native, Slavonic tongue.
Again, falling victim to the anxiety of the German priests and bishops, Saint Methodius was imprisoned and only released following Moravian independence from German and intervention from the pope. Again, Methodius traveled to Rome, meeting with the Pope, and explaining how important it was to celebrate the Liturgy in the tongue people understood. Instead of condemning him, as the German bishops had hoped, the pope gave him permission to use Slavonic in the Mass, in Scripture reading and in the office. He also made him head of the hierarchy in Moravia.
Saint Methodius, despite constant criticism and backlash, never stopped translating. It is said that he had translated the Bible and the works of the Church Fathers into Slavonic before his death.
Ash Wednesday 2018 and Memorials of the Saints 14 February 2018
Ash Wednesday 2018: The first day of the season of Lent, so called from the custom of marking the foreheads of the faithful with blessed ashes. Its date depends upon that of Easter, and this year it’s on 14 February.
St Cyril (Memorial)
St Methodius (Memorial)
St Valentine of Rome (Optional Memorial)
—
St Abraham of Harran
St Antoninus of Sorrento
St Auxentius of Bithynia
St Conran of Orkney
St Eleuchadius
St Juan García López-Rico
St Nostrianus of Naples
St Theodosius of Vaison
St Valentine of Terni
Bl Vicente Vilar David
St Vitale of Spoleto
—
20 Mercedarians of Palermo
Martyrs of Alexandria – 16 saints
Martyrs of Rome
Felicula
Vitalis
Zeno
Martyrs of Terni: Three Christians who gave proper burial to Saint Valentine of Terni. Martyred in the persecutions of Aurelius.
273 in Terni, Italy – Apollonius, Ephebus, Proculus.
Martyrs of Alexandria: A group of Christians murdered in various ways for their faith in Alexandria, Egypt. We know the names and a few details about 16 of them – Agatho, Agatone, Ammonio, Ammonius, Antonius, Bassiano, Bassianus, Cirione, Cyrio, Dionysius, Dionysius, Lucio, Moses, Moses, Proto and Tonione.
Thought for the Day – 13 February – The Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P. (1190-1237)
Thought for the Day – 13 February – The Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P. (1190-1237
“You have no doubt heard that our kind Father, Master Jordan, his two companions and ninety-nine other persons have been taken from this wicked world by shipwreck in a violent storm. However, dear brothers, do not let your hearts be saddened by this awful calamity; for God, in His mercy, has already greatly consoled us, who have become orphans through the untimely death of a good Father. After the storm, the bodies of our three confrères were washed ashore and bright lights in the form of crosses shone over them every night until they were found and buried where they lay by those who escaped from the disaster. These, together with many others, have borne testimony to the miracle. Moreover, the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, drawn to the place of the catastrophe by reports of so marvellous an occurrence, testify that they experienced a sweet fragrance all round; while those who touched the bodies declare that this fragrance did not leave their hands for more than ten days. Indeed, this same sweet odour pervaded the locality until the fathers at Ptolomais came in a boat and took up the bodies for burial in the conventual church of that city. There now repose the remains of our late beloved Master General; and many wonders have in this short time been attributed to his intercession. Blessed be God in all His works. Amen”
All through his religious life the second head of the Order had been regarded as a very saintly man. A number of prodigies were said to have been wrought by him. Others came after his death; while several very holy persons declared that, in visions, they saw his soul ascend into heaven. All this, together with the facts recorded in the letter just quoted, occasioned a devotion to the man of God which continued through the course of centuries and caused him to be given the title of Blessed Jordan of Saxony. After a thorough study of this immemorial veneration by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, Leo XII, who reigned from 1823 to 1829, allowed the Friars Preacher the world over to say mass and recite the divine office in his honour. Throughout his Order he is held in an esteem second only to that which is accorded to Saint Dominic.
It is not commonly known or understood the highly efficacious intercession available to us all and thus we pray, Blessed Jordan of Saxony, Pray for us!
Quote of the Day – 13 February – The Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P. (1190-1237)
Quote of the Day – 13 February – The Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P. (1190-1237)
“There are two ways of keeping God’s word, namely, one, whereby we store in our memory what we hear and the other, whereby we put into practice, what we have heard (and none will deny that the latter is more commendable, inasmuch, as it is better to sow grain, than to store it in the barn).”
Blessed Jordan of Saxony (1190-1237)
Our Morning Offering – 13 February – The Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P.
Our Morning Offering – 13 February – The Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P.
O Lord, King of all!
By St Albert the Great O.P. (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church
We pray to You, O Lord,
who are the supreme Truth,
and all truth is from You.
We beseech You, O Lord,
who are the highest Wisdom,
and all the wise depend on You for their wisdom.
You are the supreme Joy,
and all who are happy owe it to You.
You are the Light of minds,
and all receive their understanding from You.
We love, we love You above all.
We seek You, we follow You,
and we are ready to serve You.
We desire to dwell under Your power
for You are the King of all.
Amen.
Saint of the Day – 13 February – Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P. (1190-1237)
Saint of the Day – 13 February – Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P. (1190-1237) Religious Priest, Preacher, the Second Master-General of the Domican Order, after St Dominic himself. He was born in 1190 at Padberg Castle, diocese of Paderborn, Westphalia, old Saxony (in modern Germany), though it is rumoured to have been born in Palestine while his parents were on a pilgrimage, and named after the River Jordan but this is apparently aprochryphal. He died by drowning in 1237 in a shipwreck off the coast of Syria while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He is buried in Acre. Patronages – against drowning, of the Dominican Order, Vocations to the Dominicans. Attributes – Dominican writing, a pen, a lily.
Mothers hid their sons when Master Jordan came to town…
These ten short words sum up in a humorous kind of way, the outstanding legacy of the successor of St Dominic. It not only gives the impression that this new group of mendicant preachers had a clearly defined and essential role to play, challenging the infectious heresies so prevalent at the time (as was confirmed by Pope Honorius III in 1216 when he formally recognised the Order) but also that people were powerless to resist when confronted with it. Of Blessed Jordan we are told that that during his tenure as Master General, between 1222 and 1237, over 1000 novices joined the Dominicans, new convents were established and new provinces formed. Under his rule the Order continued to win many of the best men available, particularly in the Universities where many a Professor was seduced. With such a charming figure sweeping through the neighbourhood is it any wonder that mothers tried to keep their sons out of reach?
A German of noble descent born in 1190, he had been in the Order a mere two years before his election as Master General in 1222. By today’s standards, his rapid accession may appear hasty, a point he himself was quick to highlight when he became the first Provincial of Lombardy in 1221. In the Libellus he writes:
‘In 1221, at the General Chapter in Bologna, they saw fit to make me the first Provincial of Lombardy, although I had only been in the Order one year and had not struck root as deeply as I ought to have done. I was to be placed over others as their superior, before I had learned to govern my own imperfection. I was not present at this Chapter myself.’
Despite his anxiety, he must have made quite an impression on his brothers during his short tenure in the Order. We are told about the type of person he was by those who knew. It is obvious that he possessed all those qualities the ideal leader should have. Inspired by his brother and friend St Dominic, he was abounding in faith, kind and compassionate, humble, authoritative and yet at the same time understanding. He had the ability to attract people by his sincerity. His style of life complemented his style of words; something that was evidently lacking at the time among the Clergy and Religious. This was vital at a time when ‘reform’ was the buzzword of the day.
His great love for the poor was well known. There is a story said of him that:
‘Meeting a vagabond upon the road who feigned sickness and poverty, he gave him one of his tunics, which the fellow at once carried straight to a tavern for drink. The brethren, seeing this done, taunted him with his simplicity: ‘There now, Master, see how wisely you have bestowed your tunic.’ ‘I did so,’ said he, ‘because I believed him to be in want through sickness and poverty and it seemed at the moment to be a charity to help him; still, I reckon it better to have parted with my tunic than with charity.’
Our Blessed Jordan may well be still speaking to us today! Not all those people who present themselves as being needy these days may be genuine. However, when we stop caring, we stop striving to be like Jesus. Let us never restrain God’s work in our hearts but allow ourselves to be moved by compassion . Perhaps it was this genuineness that caused Mothers in the district to be wary of his arrival.
Jordan died in a shipwreck on his return from Palestine, where he had visited the local convents of the Order; the shipwreck occurred off the coast of Syria in 1237. It is perhaps fitting that this great servant of the Order of Preachers, who was kept at arm’s length by the Mothers who feared his magnetic appeal on their sons, should nestle snuggly within the loving embrace of the Mother of God as famously depicted in that famous vision of St Dominic.
Memorials of the Saints – 13 February
St Adolphus of Osnabruk
St Agabus the Prophet
St Aimo of Meda
Bl Beatrix of Ornacieux
St Benignus of Todi
Bl Berengar of Assisi
St Castor of Karden
St Christina of Spoleto
St Dyfnog
St Ermenilda of Ely
Bl Eustochium of Padua
St Fulcran of Lodève
St Fusca of Ravenna
St Gilbert of Meaux
St Gosbert of Osnabruck
St Guimérra of Carcassone
St Huno
Blessed Jordan of Saxony O.P. (1190-1237)
St Julian of Lyon
St Lucinus of Angers
St Marice
St Martinian the Hermit
St Maura of Ravenna
St Modomnoc
St Paulus Lio Hanzuo
St Peter I of Vercelli
St Phaolô Lê Van Loc
St Stephen of Lyons
St Stephen of Rieti
AnaStpaul 
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