Category: PATRONAGE-ENGINEERS, Electrical, Mechanical etc

Posted in Against EPIDEMICS, GOLDSMITHS, SILVERSMITHS, GILDERS, MINERS, JEWELLERS, CLOCK/WATCH-MAKERS, METAL CRAFTSMEN, HORSES - and sick horses, JOCKEYS, all HORSE-related workers, Of BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, PATRONAGE-ENGINEERS, Electrical, Mechanical etc, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 1 December – “Good St Eligius” – St Eligius of Noyon (c 588-660)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 1 December – “Good St Eligius”- St Eligius of Noyon (c 588-660) Bishop, Goldsmith, Royal Courtier and adviser to the King, peace-maker, servant of the poor and of slaves. He founded Monasteries and donated his own property for the founding of the first female Monastery in the area. Born in c 588 at at Catelat, near Limoges, France and died on 1 December 660 at Noyon, France of high fever, Also known as – Alar, Elaere, Elar, Elard, Eler, Eloi, Eloy, Eloye, Iler, Loie, Loije, Loy, Additional Memorials – 24 June (translation of relics, and blessing of horses), 8 November as one of the Saints of the Diocese of Evry. Patronages – carpenters, cartwrights, clock/watch makers, coin collectors, craftsmen of all kinds, cutlers, gilders, goldsmiths, harness makers, horses especially sick horses, jewelers; jockeys; knife makers; labourers, locksmiths, metalworkers in general, miners, minters, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, saddlers, tool makers, Veterinarians, against boils, against epidemics, against equine diseases, against poverty, against ulcers, agricultural workers, basket makers, Eloois-Vijve, Belgium, Sint-Eloois-Winkel, Belgium,
Schinveld, Netherlands.

The Roman Martyrology states: “In Noyon in Neustria, now in France, Saint Eligius, Bishop, who, goldsmith and adviser to King Dagobert, after having contributed to the foundation of many Monasteries and built Sepulchral buildings of outstanding art and beauty in honour of the Saints, was raised to the See of Noyon and Tournai, where he zealously evangelised.”

The Legend of Saint Eligius and Saint Godeberta, by Petrus Christus.

Eligius was born around 588, originally from Chaptelat in Limousin. He belonged to a wealthy rural family who worked their own land, unlike many landowners who left the cultivation to slaves. He left the care of the family farm to one of his brothers and entered trade as a Goldsmith apprentice in a shop in which the Royal Coin was hammered, according to ancient Roman methods. He saved some of the income from his family and gave it in charity to the poor and to slaves. He was as clever in enamel as in gold chiselling. These professional qualities went hand-in-hand with a scrupulous honesty. When they asked him to make a golden throne for King Clothair II (613-629), he made a second with the extra gold he did not want to hold for himself.

This gesture, extraordinary at the time, earned him the trust of the King, who asked him to reside in Paris as the Royal Goldsmith, a Royal Court Officer and Court Counselor. Named coinmaster in Marseilles, he would redeem many of the slaves sold at the Port. When Dagobert became King in 629, he was summoned to Paris where he directed the shops of the Frankish kingdom in which coin was minted, which were in Paris on the Quai des Orfèvres at the present-day Rue de la Monnaie. Among others, he had the task of embellishing the tombs of Saint Genevieve and Saint Denis.

He made Reliquaries for Saint Germain, Saint Severinus, Saint Martin and Saint Columba and numerous Liturgical objects for the new Abbey of Saint Denis. Thanks to his honesty, his frankness and his capacity for peaceable judgement, he came so far into the King’s trust, that the latter called him to himself, and entrusted him with a peace mission to the Breton king, King Judicael.

St Eligius Consecrated Bishop of Novon

Great was the piety and prayer life of this layman, who often attended monastic offices. In 632 he founded the Solignac Monastery south of Limoges. While Eligius still lived, the Monastery had grown to count more than 150 Monks under the two rules of St Benedict and St Colomba: – the Monastery was under the protection of the King and not under the authority of the Bishop. The religious fervour and the ardour of the Monks, made it one of the most illustrious Monasteries of the time. One year after the foundation of Solignac, Eligius founded, in his Ile de la Cité home, the first Monastic house for women religious in Paris, whose direction he entrusted to Saint Aurea.

A year after the death of King Dagobert, whom he had seen in the last moments of his life, Eligius left the Court together with Saint Audenus, who had served as adviser and Chancellor under Dagobert . Like Audenus, Eligius also entered formation and was Ordained Priest. On the same day, 13 May 641, they received the Episcopate: Saint Audenus to the See of Rouen; Eligius to that of Noyon and Tournai. Eligius put all his zeal into apostolic mission.

He died in 660, on the eve of his departure for Cahors. Holy Queen Bathilde travelled to greet him but she arrived too late.

There is a wonderful legend of St Eligius – the devil appeared to him dressed as a woman and he, Eligius, quickly grabbed him by the nose with his pincers. This colourful legend is depicted in two French Cathedrals (Angers and Le Mans) and in the Milan Cathedral, with the stained glass window by Niccolò da Varallo, a gift from the Milanese Goldsmiths in the fifteenth century. Ungfortunately, I cannot find any of these artworks.

In Paris, a Church was dedicated to him in the quarter of the blacksmiths, locksmiths and cabinet-makers. The Church of Saint Eligius was rebuilt in 1967. A church destroyed in 1793 was dedicated to him in the Rue des Orfèvres near the Hôtel de la Monnaie (the mint). In Notre Dame Cathedral, in the Chapel of Saint Ann, once home to the jewellers’ and goldsmiths’ confraternity, the jewellers and goldsmiths of Paris have placed his Statue and restored his Altar.

These are the Representations of this our little-known but o so holy and worthy Saint:
• anvil
• Bishop with a Crosier in his right hand, on the open palm of his left a miniature Church of chased gold
• Bishop with a hammer, anvil and horseshoe
• Bishop with a horse
• Courtier
• Goldsmith
• hammer
• horseshoe
• man grasping a devil’s nose with pincers
• man holding a Chalice and Goldsmith’s hammer
• man holding a horse’s leg, which he detached from the horse in order to shoe it more easily
• man shoeing a horse
• man with hammer and crown near a smithy
• man with hammer, anvil and Saint Anthony
• pincers
• man with Saint Godebertha of Noyon
• man giving a ring to Saint Godebertha
• man working as a Goldsmith.
(catholicsaintsinfo.mobi).

St Eligius at the feet of the Virgin and Child by Gerard Seghers
Posted in Against SNAKE BITES / POISON, Of a Holy DEATH & AGAINST A SUDDEN DEATH, of the DYING, FINAL PERSEVERANCE, DEATH of CHILDREN, DEATH of PARENTS, Of Catholic Education, Students, Schools, Colleges etc, Of GARDENERS, Horticulturists, Farmers, Of MONKS, OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS, PATRONAGE-ENGINEERS, Electrical, Mechanical etc, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 11 July – St Benedict of Nursia OSB (c 480-547) Patron of Europe and Founder of Western Monasticism

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 11 July – St Benedict of Nursia OSB (c 480-547) Patron of Europe and Founder of Western Monasticism.   Some of his many Patronages – of Europe, Against Poison, Against Witchcraft, Agriculture, Cavers, Civil Engineers, Coppersmiths, Dying People, Farmers, Fevers, Inflammatory Diseases, Kidney Disease, Monks, Religious Orders, Schoolchildren, Temptations.BenedictinosSaint_Bendict_of_Nurcia

St Benedict founded twelve communities for monks about 40 miles east of Rome, before moving to Monte Cassino, in the mountains of southern Italy.   St Benedict’s main achievement is his “Rule”, containing precepts for his monks.    The unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness influences it and this persuaded most religious communities founded throughout Middle Ages, to adopt it.    As a result, the Rule of St Benedict became one of the most influential religious rules in western Christendom.    For this reason, Benedict is often called the “founder” of western Christian Monasticism. Heiligenkreuz.St._Benedict

St Benedict is the twin brother of St Scholastica and is considered patron of many things.    He was born in Nursia, Italy and educated in Rome.Scholastica-and-Benedictmy snip - benedict and scholastica - domenico corvi 1721-1803

benedict and schalastica
St Benedict and hisd twin sister, St Scholastica

He was repelled by the vices of the city and around 500, fled to Enfide – thirty miles away.    He decided to live the life of a hermit and lived in a cave for three years.    Despite Benedict’s desire for solitude, his holiness became known and he was asked to be the Abbot by a community of monks at Vicovaro.    He accepted but when the monks resisted his strict rule and tried to poison him, he returned to Subiaco and became a centre of spirituality and learning. champaigne_philippe_dezzzscene_from_the_life_of_st_benedict-_the_poisoned_cup_of_wine

st benedict and the cup of poison
St Benedict and the Cup of Poison

He eventually moved back to Monte Cassino and destroyed a temple to Apollo on its crest and brought the people of the neighbouring area back to Christianity.    In 530 he began to build the monastery that was to be the birthplace of western monasticism.  data=dfJwSHpr2UU2dqoWYuGhCM6f93gIUaI8nJa4qy1CkuUIECsLTKt97nBY-VhQhXiVd_QY-L05N6sf2u3rW46w2dOiTQnblInFmXtgNjvDhRy3fFbi1V8nbtijMOtdHPafZzrH1YTVpMw1z2hkH7TuHn4S98gGrYdfEAmGGjSfyVFG-Zr-PNRk8

Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-2005-0004,_Italien,_Monte_Cassino
Monte Cassino in ruins after Allied bombing in February 1944.

1024px-Monte_Cassino_Opactwo_1
Rebuilt Abbey

Soon, disciples again flocked to him as his reputation for holiness, wisdom and miracles spread far and wide.    It wasn’t long and he organised his monks into a single monastic community and wrote his official Rule, prescribing common sense, a life of moderate asceticism, prayer, study, work and community under one superior.    It stressed obedience, stability, zeal and had the Divine Office as the centre of monastic life.    While ruling his monks, most of whom – including Benedict, were not ordained, he counselled rulers and Popes and ministered to the poor and destitute.    He died at Monte Cassino on 21 March 547 and was named patron protector of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964.    The Universal Church celebrates his feast day today. San_Benedetto_da_Norcia_ABst benedict and monks

The St Benedict medal is very popular among Christians to this day and are hung above doors and windows, for protection against evil.    It is believed that evil cannot enter your house if you protect every opening with a St Benedict medal and Crucifix.    The medal has an image of St Benedict, holding the Holy Rule in his left hand and a cross in his right.    There is a raven on one side of him, with a cup on the other side.    Around the medal’s outer margin are the words “Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur” – “May we, at our death, be fortified by His presence”.   The other side of the medal has a cross with the initials CSSML on the vertical bar which signify “Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux” “May the Holy Cross be my light” and on the horizontal bar are the initials NDSMD which stand for “Non Draco Sit Mihi Dux” “Let not the dragon be my overlord”.   The initials CSPB stand for “Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti” “The Cross of the Holy Father Benedict” and are located on the interior angles of the cross.   Either the inscription “PAX” Peace or the Christogram “HIS” may be found at the top of the cross in most cases.   Around the medal’s margin on this side are the initials VRSNSMV which stand for “Vade Retro Satana, Nonquam Suade Mihi Vana” ”Begone Satan, do not suggest to me thy vanities” then a space followed by the initials SMQLIVB which signify “Sunt Mala Quae Libas, Ipse Venena Bibas” “Evil are the things thou profferest, drink thou thy own poison”.st benedict medalst benedict medal 2st benedict crucifix and medal

The Medal of St Benedict can serve as a constant reminder of the need for us to take up our cross daily and “follow the true King, Christ our Lord,” and thus learn “to share in his heavenly kingdom,” as St. Benedict urges us in the Prologue of his Rule.

More on St Benedict, his Rule and the Medal here:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/11/saint-of-the-day-11-july-st-benedict-of-nursia-o-s-b-abbot-patron-of-europe-patronus-europae/saint-benedict-nursia-munsterschwarzach-germany-83888371768px-Einsiedeln_-_St._Benedikt_2013-01-26_13-50-02_(P7700)

Posted in ACCOUNTANTS, MONEY MANAGERS etc, CARPENTERS, WOODWORKERS, JOINERS, CABINETMMAKERS, CHEFS and/or BAKERS, CONFECTIONERS, EMMIGRANTS / IMMIGRANTS, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, Of a Holy DEATH & AGAINST A SUDDEN DEATH, of the DYING, FINAL PERSEVERANCE, DEATH of CHILDREN, DEATH of PARENTS, Of LAWYERS & CANON Lawyers, Attorneys, Solicitors, Barristers, Notaries, Para-Legals, Of PARENTS & FAMILIES of LARGE Families, PATRONAGE - HAPPY MARRIAGES, of MARRIED COUPLES, PATRONAGE - HOUSE HUNTERS, HOUSE SELLERS, PATRONAGE - of BASKET-WEAVERS, CRAFTSMEN, PATRONAGE - of MOTHERS, MOTHERHOOD, PATRONAGE - ORPHANS,ABANDONED CHILDREN, PATRONAGE - THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH, PATRONAGE-ENGINEERS, Electrical, Mechanical etc, PREGNANCY, SAINT of the DAY, St JOSEPH, TEACHERS, LECTURERS, INSTRUCTORS, WORKERS

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

Posted on by AnaStpaul

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-patron-of-the-church-unknown-19th-century-italy
Unknown artist, 19th century, Italian

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.

dream of st joseph

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 Parschj m and joseph

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.

Posted in Against SNAKE BITES / POISON, GOLDSMITHS, SILVERSMITHS, GILDERS, MINERS, JEWELLERS, CLOCK/WATCH-MAKERS, METAL CRAFTSMEN, PATRONAGE-ENGINEERS, Electrical, Mechanical etc, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 17 March – St Patrick (c 386–461) “The Apostle of Ireland,”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 17 March – St Patrick (c 386–461) “The Apostle of Ireland,” P riest, Bishop, Missionary. Patronages – against fear of snakes or ophidiophobia. ophidiophobics, against snake bites, against snakes, of barbers, hairdressers, barrel makers; coopers, blacksmiths, cattle, engineers, excluded people, miners, Ireland, Nigeria (1961), Loiza, Puerto Rico, 29 Diocese.

Although we think of Ireland when we remember St Patrick, he wasn not born in Ireland.   He was born probably in Scotland but sources differ on this point – he might have been born in England or in France.   His father was a Deacon and his grandfather had been a Priest.  

Patrick

But Patrick’s happy, carefree childhood life ended one day when crowds of strangers appeared on the horizon.   They looked dangerous and frightening and they were.   They were pirates and thieves, on their way to capture slaves to take back to Ireland.   Patrick was one of those hundreds of captives.   He was snatched from his family and his home.   He was taken from all of his future hopes and dreams.   Patrick was thrown on a ship, bound in chains and taken over the sea to Ireland.   He was sixteen years old.   For six years, Patrick was a slave in Ireland.   He was put to work watching sheep and cattle.   Patrick had just enough food to live on and when not working, he tried to rest in tiny huts which were damp and cold.

But something strange and wonderful happened in Ireland.   All alone, frightened for his life and among people who worshiped trees and stones, Patrick opened his heart to God.

During those years, Patrick started to pray.   He thought about God all the time and it gave him peace.   He knew that no matter how much he was suffering, God loved him.

Eventually, Patrick escaped from slavery and travelled to France, which in those days was called Gaul.   We are 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 practiced pagan religions.   They worshiped nature,and they practiced 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 worshiping 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.

Patrick’s most famous prayer (excerpt below) shows us how close he was to God. It’s called “St. Patrick’s Breastplate.”   A breastplate is the piece of armour that protects a soldier’s heart from harm.   We have this prayer and his own story in one of the few certainly authentic writings of Patrick – his Confessio, which is above all an act of homage to God for having called Patrick, unworthy sinner, to the apostolate.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left.

ST PATRICK'S CONFESSIO

Patrick banishes all snakes from Ireland
The absence of snakes in Ireland gave rise to the legend that they had all been banished by St. Patrick chasing them into the sea after they attacked him during a 40-day fast he was undertaking on top of a hill.    This hagiographic theme draws on the Biblical account of the staff of the prophet Moses.   In Exodus 7:8–7:13, Moses and Aaron use their staffs in their struggle with Pharaoh’s sorcerers, the staffs of each side morphing into snakes. Aaron’s snake-staff prevails by consuming the other snakes.

 Patrick’s walking stick grows into a living tree
Some Irish legends involve the Oilliphéist, the Caoránach and the Copóg Phádraig.   During his evangelising journey back to Ireland from his parent’s home at Birdoswald, he is understood to have carried with him an ash wood walking stick or staff.   He thrust this stick into the ground wherever he was evangelising and at the place now known as Aspatria (ash of Patrick) the message of the dogma took so long to get through to the people there that the stick had taken root by the time he was ready to move on.

St Patrick died between 461 and 464 at Saul, County Down, Ireland of natural causes