One Minute Reflection – 10 October – St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) Confessor, Priest of the Society of Jesus, – Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6, Matthew 19:27-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“And everyone who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My Name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life everlasting.” – Matthew 19:29
REFLECTION – “The Apostle Paul said: “Take off the old self with its practices and put on the new self” (Col 3,9-10)… This was the work Christ accomplished when He called Levi; He refashioned him into a new man. Similarly, it is as a new person that the former publican prepares a banquet for Christ, since Christ takes pleasure in him and he ,himself merits, to have a share in happiness, with Christ… He followed Him now, happy, lighthearted and overflowing with joy.
“I have the aspect of a publican no more,” he said, “I do not carry around the old Levi, any longer, I put off Levi when I put on Christ. I flee from my earlier life, my Lord Jesus, Thou alone, Who heals my wounds, I desire to follow. Who shall separate me from the love of God within Thee? tribulation? anguish? hunger? (Rom 8,35). I am bound to Thee by faith as by nails, I am held fast by the worthy bonds of love. All Thy commandments will be like a cautery which I will apply firmly to my wound – the remedy stings but it takes away the ulcerous infection. Lord Jesus, with Thy powerful sword, cut away the corruption of my sins, come quickly, lance my hidden and varied passions. Purge away all infection in the new bath.
Listen to me, you people who are fixed to the earth, you whose thoughts are intoxicated by your sins. I, Levi, was also wounded by similar passions. But I found a Doctor Who dwells in Heaven and pours out His remedies on earth. He, alone, can cure my wounds, since He, Himself, has none. He alone can remove the heart’s pain and the soul’s lethargy, for He knows everything that lies hidden.” – St Ambrose (c.340-397) Bishop of Milan and Father and Doctor of the Church (Commentary on Saint Luke’s Gospel, 5, 23.27).
PRAYER – O Lord Jesus Christ, model of true humility and its reward, we beseech Thee, that as Thou made blessed Francis one of Thy glorious imitators, by his contempt for earthly honours, grant us to follow his example and to share in his glory. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 10 October – St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) Confessor
Suscipe By St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Take, Lord and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, All I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To You, Lord, I return it. Everything is Yours, do with it what You will. Give me only Your love and Your grace, that is enough for me. Amen
Saint of the Day – 10 October – St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) Confessor, Priest of the Society of Jesus, Advisor, Missionary, Evangelist, Administrator par excelleance. Francisco de Borja y Aragon was the 4th Duke of Gandía, was a Grandee of Spain, a Spanish Jesuit and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus
“St Francis instituted at his Court, before he entered the religious life, the veneration of the Saints of the Month. Every Catholic, besides worshipping the Almighty, ought to honour the Saints. We should especially honour the Divine Mother, as the Queen of all the Saints, then, the foster-father of Christ, St Joseph and further,, our Guardian Angel and Patron Saint. Besides this, we ought to select some special Patrons, for whom we feel particular esteem and love. It is also very beneficial, to adopt the practice of the “Monthly Patrons.” This consists in selecting, on the last day of every month, a Saint whose festival will be celebrated during the following month. Daily should he be invoked and honoured. If possible his life should be read and something from it, be selected for imitation. We may also approach the Sacraments on his festival, or on the Sunday after it and employ a little more time than usual, in good works. It is known, that several great servants of God, at the end of their days, called upon the Saints whom they had honoured as their Monthly Patrons during life and it cannot be doubted, that they received benefit and comfort. “Everyone,” says St Bonaventure, “ought to venerate an especial Saint with great devotion. To him, he ought daily, to commend himself and practise some good work, in his honoru.” By Fr Francis Xavier Weninger SJ (1805-1888)
Because the life of St Francis Borgia is rather long for one post, I post below, a part of it on his childhood and youth. Hopefully, we do not have to wait a year before I add to it. It is excerpted from the Lives of the Saints by Fr Alban Butler (1711-1773.)
St Francis Borgia, Fourth Duke of Gandia and Third General of the Jesuits, was son to John Borgia, Duke of Gandia and Grandee of Spain and of Joanna of Arragon, daughter of Alphonso, natural son to Ferdinand V King of Arragon … who was the great-grandfather to our Saint. The family of Borgia or Borja, had long flourished in Spain but in 1455, received a new lustre, by the exaltation of Cardinal Alphonso Borgia to the Pontificate, under the name of Calixtus III.
St Francis was born in 1510, at Gandia, a town which was the chief seat of the family, in the Kingdom of Valencia. His pious mother had a great devotion to St Francis of Assisi and, in the pangs of a dangerous labour, made a vow that if she brought forth a son, he should be called Francis.
As soon as he began to speak, his parents taught him to pronounce the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, which he used often to repeat with wonderful seriousness. At five years of age he recited, everyday on his knees, the chief parts of the Catechism. All his diversion was to set up pious pictures, make little altars, imitate the ceremonies of the Church and teach them to the little boys, who were his pages. From the cradle he was mild, modest, patient and affable to all. The noble sentiments of gratitude and generosity, which he then began to discover, were certain presages of an innate greatness of soul – the former being inseparable from a goodness of heart and the latter, when regulated by prudence and charity, being the greatest virtue of a Prince, who is raised above others, only that he may govern and do good to mankind.
Francis, at seven years of age, could read his mother tongue and the Latin Office of the Blessed Virgin very distinctly. His father, therefore, thought it time for him to learn writing and grammar, for which purpose he appointed him a preceptor of known prudence, learning and piety, who was called Dr.Ferdinand. At the same time, he was furnished with a governor, whose business it was, at different hours, to fashion the young Prince to the exercises that were suitable to his birth, in proportion as his age was capable of them. It was the first care of the parents, in the choice of the masters whom they placed about their son, that they were persons of uncommon piety, whose example might be a continual lesson of virtue and whose instructions, should all ultimately tend to the grafting, in his mind, true sentiments of morality and religion, without which all other accomplishments, lose their value.
St Francis Borgia assists at the death of a impenitent by Goya
Before he was ten years old , Francis began to take wonderful delight in hearing sermons and spent much time in practising devotions, being tenderly affected to the Passion of our Divine Redeemer, which he honoured with certain daily exercises. In his tenth year, his pious mother fell dangerously ill; on which occasion, Francis, shutting himself up in his chamber, prayed for her with abundance of tears. This was the first time he used that practice of mortification, which he afterwards frequently made a part of his penance. It pleased God that the Duchess died of that distemper in 1520. This loss cost Francis many tears, though he moderated his grief by his entire resignation to the Divine will. Her pious counsels had always been to him a great spur to virtue and he took care never to forget them.
At that time, Spain was filled with tumults and insurrections of the common people, against the regency. The rebels, taking advantage of the absence of the young King, Charles V.(who was then in Germany, where he had been chosen Emperor,) plundered the houses of the nobility in the Kingdom of Valencia and made themselves masters of the town of Gandia. The Duke fled with his whole family. Going to Saragossa, he left his son Francis, then twelve years old, under the care of the Archbishop, John of Arragon, who was his uncle, being brother to his deceased mother. The Archbishop made up a household for his nephew and provided him with masters in grammar, music,and fencing, which he had begun to learn. The young nobleman laboured at the same time, to improve daily in grace and in every virtue.
At the age of fifteen, Francis was sent to Tordesillas, to be taken into the family and service of the Infanta Catharine, sister to Charles V. who was soon after to be married to John III. King of Portugal. The marriage was accomplished in 1525 but when the Infanta went into Portugal, the Duke of Gandia, who had greater plans for his son in Spain, recalled him, and engaged the Archbishop of Saragossa to re-assume the care of his education. When he had finished rhetoric, Francis studied philosophy for two years under an excellent master, with extraordinary diligence and applause. …
By the eighteenth year of his age, Francis had strong inclinations to entera religious state. … But in 1528, his father and uncle, to divert his thoughts from a religious life, removed him from Saragossa to the Court of Charles V. , where they hoped his thoughts would take a different turn. He considered his duty to his Prince, as his duty to God and although he willingly accepted, every mark of his Prince’s regard for him, he was very solicitous in all things to refer himself, his actions,and whatever he received from God, purely to the Divine honour. … (TO BE CONTINUED …)
St Aldericus St Cassius St Cerbonius of Populonia St Cerbonius of Verona St Clarus of Nantes Bl Demestrius of Albania Bl Edward Detkens St Eulampia St Eulampius St Florentius the Martyr St Fulk of Fontenelle St Gereon St Gundisalvus Bl Hugh of Macon
Bl Pedro de Alcantara de Forton de Cascajares St Pinytus of Crete Bl Pontius de Barellis St Tanca St Teodechilde St Victor of Xanten
Martyrs of Ceuta – 7 Beati: A group of seven Franciscan Friars Minor missionaries to Muslims in the Ceuta area of modern Morocco. Initially treated as madmen, within three weeks they were ordered to convert to Islam and when they would not they were first abused in the streets, then arrested, tortured and executed. • Angelo • Daniele di Calabria • Donnolo • Hugolinus • Leone • Nicola • Samuele They were beheaded in 1227 in Mauritania Tingitana (Ceuta, Morocco). Local Christians secreted the bodies away and gave them proper burial in Ceuta. They were Beatified in 1516 by Pope Leo X.
Thought for the Day – 9 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The Second Sorrowful Mystery The Scourging
“Tradition holds that Mary followed Jesus through the various stages of His Passion. It is impossible to believe that she would have abandoned Him in these tragic hours. She must, at least, have known of the cruel flogging which He endured and, while His body was being torn by lashes, she was most probably not far away, participating, by her maternal sorrow in her Son’s torment. Here, then, was a double Martyrdom – the Martyrdom of Blood and the Martyrdom of tears.
Life demands the shedding of blood and the shedding of tears! What are the motives which cause you sorrow in life? Are yours the tears of unsated ambition, of frustrated caprice, or of discouragement in times of trouble? Such tears are not worthy of a Christian. His, should be tears of repentance for his sins and tears of love for Jesus and Mary.”
Quote/s of the Day – 9 October – St John Leonardi (1541-1609) Confessor, Priest, Founder
“The medicine of God, is Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen, the measure of all things.”
“Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our “measure.” There is no realm, that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil, that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem, that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!”
“Those who want to work for moral reform in the world, must seek the glory of God before all else. Because He is the source of all good, they must wait for His help and pray for it, in this difficult and necessary undertaking.”
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”
One Minute Reflection – 9 October – St John Leonardi (1541-1609) Confessor, Priest, Founder – 1 Corinthians 1:4-8, Matthew9:1-8 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Which is easier to say: Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say: Arise, and walk?” – Matthew 9:5
REFLECTION – “And people there brought to him a paralytic.” Saint Matthew merely says that this paralytic was carried to Jesus. Other Evangelists describe, how he was let down through an opening in the roof and placed before the Lord, without expressing any particular request, leaving it to Him to assess the needs …
“When Jesus saw their faith,” the Gospel says, that is to say, the faith of those who had brought the man to Him. Consider how sometimes Christ pays no attention to the faith of the sick person – perhaps because, the latter is incapable of it, being unconscious or possessed with an evil spirit. However, in this case, this paralytic had great trust in Jesus, otherwise, would he have allowed them to let him down in front of Him? Christ responds to this trust with an extraordinary miracle. With the power of God, He forgives this man’s sins. Thus He showed, that He is equal to the Father, a truth He had already shown, when He said to the leper: “I will do it – be made clean” (Mt 8:3) … and when, with a word, He stilled the tempestuous sea (Mt 8:26), or when, as God, He had cast out the demons who recognised in Him their ruler and their judge (Mt 8:32). So here, He shows His adversaries, to their great astonishment, that He is equal to the Father
And once more, the Saviour shows here, how He turns away from anything spectacular or a source of vainglory. On all sides the crowd is pressing Him, yet, He is in no hurry to work a visible miracle by healing the external paralysis of this man …. He begins with an invisible miracle – by healing the man’s soul. This kind of healing, is far more beneficial for him and, outwardly speaking, less glorious for Christ.” – St John Chrysostom (345-407) Priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor of the Church – homilies on Saint Matthew’s Gospel, no. 29, 1.
PRAYER – O God, Who in a wondrous way graciously urged blessed John, Thy Confessor, to propagate Thy faith among the pagans and through him brought together a new religious family in Thy Church for the education of the faithful, grant Thy servants, so to profit by his teaching that we may reach everlasting rewards. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 9 October – The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
O Jesus, Sweetest Love, Come Thou to Me (1940) By Fr Francis Xavier Lasance (1860–1946)
O JESUS, sweetest Love, come Thou to me. Come down in all Thy beauty unto me. Thou Who didst die for longing of me And never, never more depart from me. Free me, O beauteous God, from all but Thee; Sever the chain that holds me back from Thee; Call me, O tender Love, I cry to Thee; Thou art my all! O bind me close to Thee. O suffering Love, Who hast so loved me; O patient Love, Who wearies not of me. Thou alone O Love! Thou weary not of me! Ah! Weary not till I am lost in Thee, Nay, weary not, till I am found in Thee. Amen
Saint of the Day – 9 October – St John Leonardi (1541-1609) Confessor, Priest, Founder. Patron of Pharmacists.
Saint John Leonardi was born in 1541 in Diecimo, in the Province of Lucca, Italy. He was the youngest of seven children and was raised in his Catholic faith. His family was industrious and John was the same. Throughout his adolescence, John spent a lot of time working hard in a shop of herbs and medicines that was located in his home town. When he was seventeen years old, his father had enrolled him in a regular course in Pharmacy training in Lucca, with plans for him to be a future Pharmacist. John agreed to follow this path and worked very diligently to achieve his goals.
After studying for more than a decade, John was able to open his own Pharmacy shop, however, he did not think the moment had arrived for him to fulfil a plan that he always had in his heart. After a mature reflection and much prayer, he decided to enter the Priesthood. He left his career as a Pharmacist and began taking theological formation courses.
On the Feast of the Epiphany in 1572, John was Ordained a Priest and celebrated his first Mass. As a Priest, John realised how his passion for Pharmaceutics had helped him in his vocation. With his Pharmacist background, he was able to help people discover “the medicine of God,” which is Jesus Christ Crucified and Risen, “measure of all things.” He firmly believed that all people needed this medicine and he desired to “start anew from Christ,” as he often said. He spent a lot of time working in hospitals and prisons and spreading “the medicine of God” to these people.
John knew that the fundamental reason for his existence, was his personal relationship with Jesus Christ in order to save his own soul and because of this conviction, he knew that Christ took primacy over everything in his life. This conviction helped him live out his Priestly vocation. John decided to dedicate himself with enthusiasm to the apostolate among the youth, through the Company of Christian Doctrine. On 1 September 1574, he founded the Congregation of Reformed Priests of the Blessed Virgin, later known as the Order of Clerks Regular of the Mother of God. He encouraged his disciples to have “before the mind’s eye only the honour, service and glory of Christ Jesus Crucified” and, like a good Pharmacist, accustomed to giving out medicines, according to careful measurements, he would add: “Raise your hearts to God a bit more and measure things with him.” He chose the Blessed Mother to be the Patroness of his Order because he had a strong devotion to her. He always kept his gaze on our Lady and she was his teacher, sister and mother, who protected him and led him closer to Jesus Christ.
During his Priestly life, the Church was under spiritual renewal and many new religious institutes were forming. In May 1605, John sent Pope Paul V a report, in which he suggested the criteria for a genuine renewal of the Church. He explained that “whoever wishes to carry out a serious moral and religious reform, must make first of all, like a good doctor, a careful diagnosis of the evils that beset the Church, so as to be able to prescribe, for each of them, the most appropriate remedy.” He knew what the real medicine was for these spiritual evils and he explained it by saying, “Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our ‘measure.’ There is no realm that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!” This was John’s prescription for every type of spiritual and social reform.
John was also very much concerned with the Christian formation of the people, especially the young. He educated them in the purity of the Christian faith and in holy practices. John spent his entire life working hard to purify the Church and to evangelisie the world. His apostolic zeal and all of his evangelical efforts, led him to be one of the Founders of the College for the Propagation of the Faith.
On 9 October 1609, he passed away from influenza, which he contracted while he was giving himself to the care of all those, who had been stricken by the epidemic,in the Roman quarter of Campitelli. He was venerated for his miracles and religious fervour and was Canonised in 1938 by Pope Pius XI.
Bl Aaron of Cracow St Abraham the Patriarch St Alfanus of Salerno St Andronicus of Antioch St Athanasia of Antioch Bl Bernard of Rodez St Demetrius of Alexandria St Deusdedit of Montecassino St Domninus St Dorotheus of Alexandria
St Eleutherius St Geminus St Gislenus St Goswin Bl Gunther St Lambert St Publia St Rusticus St Sabinus of the Lavedan St Valerius
Martyrs of Laodicea – Three Christians Martyred together in Laodicea but no other information about them has survived but their names – Didymus, Diodorus and Diomedes. They Died in Laodicea, Syria.
Thought for the Day – 8 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The First Sorrowful Mystery The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
“To which group do you belong, you who claim to be a Catholic? Are you among the traitors who, by their sins, Crucify Jesus anew? Weep for your faults and ask your merciful Redeemer for forgiveness and for the strength never to fall again.
Perhaps you are ungrateful and asleep? Awake from your torpor! Pray to the Sorrowful Virgin to obtain for you the love of her Divine Son and the ardent desire of following Him in the path of sacrifice and of virtue.”
Quote/s of the Day – 8 October – St Bridget of Sweden (c 1303-1373) Widow
“We must show love for those who do evil to us and pray for them. Nothing is dearer or more pleasing to God than this.”
“There is no sinner in the world, however much at enmity with God, who cannot recover God’s grace by recourse to Mary and by asking her assistance.”
“Mary is the lily in God’s garden.”
Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy By St Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373)
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, who endured a Martyrdom of love and grief, beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus! Thou didst co-operate in the benefit of my redemption by thy innumerable afflictions and by offering to the Eternal Father, His only-begotten Son, as a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my sins. I thank thee for the unspeakable love which led thee to deprive thyself of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner. Oh! make use of the unfailing intercession of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son, that I may steadfastly amend my life and never again crucify my loving Redeemer by my sins and that, persevering till death in His grace, I may obtain eternal life through the merits of His Cross and Passion. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 8 October – St Bridget of Sweden (c 1303-1373) Widow – Timothy 5:3-10, Matthew 13:44-52 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out and shall separate the wicked from among the just. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 13:49-50
REFLECTION – “Our Lord was an example of incomparable patience. He bore with a “devil” among His disciples even to His Passion (Jn 6,70). He said: “Let them grow together until the harvest lest you uproot the wheat when you pull out the weeds” (cf. Mt 13,29f.). As a symbol of the Church, He preached that the net would bring back to shore, namely the end of the world, every kind of fish, both good and bad. And He made it known, in various other ways, whether openly or in parables, that there would always be a mixture of good and bad. But, nevertheless, He stresses, that we have to protect the Church’s discipline when He says: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother” (Mt 18,15)…
Yet today, we see people who think of nothing but stern commandments, who order that troublemakers be reproved, ‘not giving what is holy to the dogs,’ treating, like the publicans, ‘anyone who despises the Church, cutting off the scandalous member from the body‘ (Mt 7,6 ; 18,17 ; 5,30). Their stormy zeal so troubles the Church, that they pull out the weeds before their time and their blindness makes of them enemies, of the unity of Jesus Christ…
Take care not to let these presumptuous thoughts enter our hearts, trying to separate ourselves from sinners, so as not to be soiled by contact with them, wanting to form a band of pure and holy disciples. We will achieve nothing but breaking up our unity, under the pretext of not associating with the wicked. To the contrary, let us remember the parables of Scripture, their inspired words, their striking examples, where we are shown that, until the end of the world and the day of judgement, the bad will always be mingled amongst the good in the Church, without their participation in the Sacraments being harmful to the good, so long as these latter, have not played a part in their sins.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (On Faith and Works – Excerpt ch 3-5)
PRAYER – O Lord, our God, Who through Thy Only-begotten Son revealed secrets to blessed Bridget, grant that through her kind intercession, we, Thy servants, may rejoice and be glad in the revelation of Thy eternal glory.Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 8 October – “The Month of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Angels” and Mary’s Day
O Mary, I Give You My Heart By St Dominic Savio (1842-1857)
O Mary, I give you my heart. Grant me to be always yours. Jesus and Mary, be ever my friends and, for love of you, grant me to die, a thousand deaths rather than to have the misfortune of committing a single mortal sin. Amen
Saint of the Day – 8 October – St Bridget of Sweden (c 1303-1373) Widow – Patronages – Europe, Sweden, widows.
St Bridget, Widow By Fr Francis Xavier Lasance (1860-1946
St Bridget, known in the entire Church of God, on account of the many divine revelations with which she was graced, was born in Sweden, of noble and pious parents. Shortly before the birth of Bridget, her mother was in great danger of shipwreck but was miraculously saved. In the following night, a venerable old man appeared to her, who said: “God has saved your life on account of the child to whom you will give birth. Educate it carefully, for it will arrive at great holiness.” This command was faithfully followed by the pious mother as long as she lived. After her death, Bridget, then only seven years old, was given into the charge of a very devout aunt, who brought her up most piously.
When ten years of age, she heard a sermon on the bitter passion and death of our Lord, which made a deep impression on her young and tender heart. In the following night, Christ appeared to her, hanging on the Cross, while streams of blood flowed from His wounds. Bridget, deeply moved, cried out: “O, Lord, who has so maltreated thee?” “Those who despise My love,” answered Christ, that is, those who transgress My laws and are ungrateful for My immeasurable love for them. This vision remained in Bridget’s memory and caused her, from that hour, to manifest the most tender devotion to the Passion and Death of the Saviour, of which she could never think without shedding tears.
This vision was followed by many others, especially during her prayers, which the Saint loved so well that it seemed as if no other occupation could give her joy or contentment. She often rose quietly during the night and passed hours in pious meditation. She also used many ways and means, to mortify her delicate body, so as to resemble, in silently enduring pain, Him Who had suffered so infinitely more for her.
In obedience to her father, she, at the age of thirteen, gave her hand to Ulpho, Prince of Nericia, whose heart she won so entirely by her amiability and sweetness of manners, that she weaned him, in a short time, from gaming, immoderate luxury in dress and other similar faults and induced him to lead a life pleasing to God, by his assiduity in prayer and in going to Confession. She lived with him in undisturbed love and harmony. She was also very solicitous for her domestics and allowed nothing that might offend the Almighty or prevent His blessing from coming upon her house.
She became the mother of four sons and as many daughters. Two of her sons died in their innocence; two while travelling in the Holy Land. Two of her daughters lived at Court, and became models of all virtues. The third became a Nun and led a holy life and the fourth, Catherine, was numbered among the Saints; which is evidence of the pious care with which St. Bridget educated her children. She herself instructed them in religion and in the way of living piously and led them, from their most tender years, to practise works of charity and mortification, being an example to them in all virtuous deeds.
With the consent of Ulpho, she founded a hospital and waited daily, at certain hours, like a servant, on the poor and sick resident there. She often washed their feet, kissing them most reverentially.
Her husband became dangerously ill on his return from Compostella, whither he had gone with St Bridget, to visit the tomb of the holy Apostle St James. But St Dionysius, who appeared to Bridget, announced to her, besides other future events, that Ulpho would soon recover. She soon saw this prophecy fulfilled and had atoo, the joy of perceiving that Ulpho was disgusted with the world and desired to end his life in retirement. With the permission of his pious spouse, he went into a Cistercian Monastery, where he ended his life most devoutly.
Bridget lived thirty years after her husband had entered a Monastery and, being free from many former cares and anxieties, she devoted herself with great zeal, to a most perfect and penitential life. Her temporal possessions she gave to her children, clothed herself in a penitential robe, and unweariedly practised acts of devotion, charity and penane. She fasted four times in the week and on Friday, took only water and bread. She gave the greater part of the night to prayer, spending whole hours prostrate before the Crucifix or the Blessed Sacrament. Every Friday she let fall a few drops of boiling wax into a wound which she had, to remember, by the pain this gave her, the suffering of our Lord. She daily fed twelve poor persons and served them at table. She founded a Convent for sixty Nuns and gave them a Rule, which she had received from Christ Himself. These regulations were afterwards adopted by many houses of Religious men. This was the origin of the celebrated Brigittine Order. St Bridget herself, entered a Convent which she had founded and was a shining light to all in the practice of virtue.
Having lived there for two years, she was commanded, in a vision, to make a pilgrimage to Rome, with her daughter Catherine and thence to the Holy Land. On her return, a malignant fever seized her, which greatly increased when she had arrived at Rome and lasted a whole year. The great pains she suffered were made easy to her, by the thought of the bitter passion of our Saviour and for love of Him, she was willing to endure much more. She derived the greatest comfort from a vision in which God appeared to her and assured her of her salvation. The hour of her death was also made known to her by Divine revelation. She prepared herself most carefully for her end and after receiving the holy Sacraments, she breathed her last in the arms of her holy daughter and, rich in merits and virtues, went to receive her reward in Heaven, in the 71st. year of her age, in the year 1373. Before and after her death, God wrought many and great miracles by her intercession. Her body was taken to Sweden on the 7th of this month.
St Felix of Como (Died 390) the first Bishop of Como. Felix was a friend of Saint Ambrose, who praised him for his missionary activity and Ordained him a Priest in 379 and Consecrated him as Bishop in 386. St Ambrose sent him to evangelise the City of Como, as a testimony to the great missionary drive of the Church of Milan. St Felix is honoured as a zealous shepherd of souls. More about St Felix: https://anastpaul.com/2021/10/08/saint-of-the-day-8-october-saint-felix-of-como-died-390/
Thought for the Day – 7 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The Fifth Joyful Mystery The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
“By mortal sins, we lose Jesus and we lose our peace of soul. By venial sin, we put Jesus farther away from us. For this reason, we should not only avoid mortal sin, which leads to spiritual misery and death but also, venial sin, which diminishes our charity and weakens our spiritual life.
We should, moreover, have compassion for poor sinners, who are out own brothers and sisters and are supremely unhappy, even if they may not realise it. We should pray a great deal for them, so that they may soon return to Jesus, Whom they have lost. We should ask the Blessed Virgin and St Joseph to intercede for sinners, so that they may return forever to the merciful embrace of their Divine Redeemer.”
Quote/s of the Day – 7 October – The Month and Feast of the Most Holy Rosary
THE SEVEN BLESSINGS OF THE HOLY ROSARY
“The Rosary, recited with meditation on the mysteries, brings about the following marvellous results:
It gradually gives us a perfect knowledge of Jesus Christ;
It purifies our souls, washing away sin;
It gives us victory over all our enemies;
It makes it easy for us to practice virtue;
It sets us on fire with love of Our Blessed Lord;
It enriches us with graces and merits;
It supplies us with what is needed to pay, all our debts to God and to our fellow men and finally, it obtains all kinds of graces for us from Almighty God.”
St Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort (1673-1716)
“We put great confidence in the Holy Rosary, for the healing of evils which afflict our times.”
One Minute Reflection – 7 October – The Month and Feast of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Proverbs 8:22-24, 32-35, Luke 1:26-38 Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28
REFLECTION – “So the Lord now manifestly came to His own. Born by His own created order that He Himself bears, He by His obedience on the tree, renewed and reversed what was done by disobedience, in connection with a tree.
The power of that seduction, by which the virgin Eve, already betrothed to a man, had been wickedly seduced, was broken when the Angel in truth brought good tidings to the Virgin Mary, who already, by her betrothal belonged to a man. For as Eve was seduced by the word of an Angel to flee from God, having rebelled against His Word, so Mary by the word of an Angel, received the glad tidings that she would bear God, by obeying His Word.
The former was seduced to disobey God and so fell but the latter, was persuaded to obey God, so that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of Eve.
As the human race was subjected to death through the act of a Virgin, so was it saved by a Virgin, was precisely balanced by the obedience of Another. Then indeed, the sin of the first formed man was amended by the chastisement of the First Begotten, the wisdom of the serpent was conquered by the simplicity of the Dove and the chains were broken, by which we were in bondage to death.” – St Irenaeus (130-202) Bishop of Lyons, Martyr, Father of the Church (Against Heresies, 5)
PRAYER – O God, Whose Only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has merited for us the grace of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech Thee, that, meditating on these Mysteries in the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 7 October – “The Month and Feast of the Most Holy Rosary”
Through Thee, to Us,Our Saviour Came To Our Lady of the Rosary By St Amadeus of Lausanne O.Cist (1108-1159)
Through thee, to us, our Saviour came, Through thee, to Him, we fain would go. Our lives are marred by wrong and shame, Yet, confidence in thee we know. The friendship thou dost give to all Who love thy name, shall ever be Assurance thou wilt hear our call, Sweet Lady of the Rosary!
Thou art our Strength upon the way, Our Morning Star, to cheer and guide; Our Beacon Light to show the day, And lead us to the Saviour’s Side; A Comforter in ev’ry pain We find, O Mother blest, in thee, And seek we, never, thee in vain, Fair Lady of the Rosary!
Thy praises, Mary, we would sing, And all our faculties employ, That unto thee our hearts might bring A glory-crown of love and joy. Bless thou each humble effort made In thy regard and grant that we, May by thy influence be swayed, Our Lady of the Rosary!
Saint of the Day – 7 October – Saint Justina of Padua (Died c 304) Virgin and Martyr. Born in Padua she was Martyred in c 304 in Padua. Patronages – Padua, Venic and Santa Giustina, Italy. Also known as Giustinadi Padova.
The Roman Martyrology states today: “At Padua, Saint Justina, Virgin and Martyr, who was Baptised by blessed Prosdocimus, disciple of St Peter. As she remained firm in the faith of Christ, she was put to the sword by order of the Governor Maximus and thus went to God.”
Saint Justina by Bartolomeo Montagna
Justina of Padua was a Virgin of noble birth in the City which claims her Patronage. her father, Vitalian, was a rich nobleman and Prefect of Padua. Her parents were converted to Christianity by the preaching of Saint Prosdocimo, also a Patron of Padua, and not having been blessed with children up to that time, they received Justina in answer to their prayer.
She was devoted to her religion from her earliest years and ultimately she took the vow of perpetual virginity. At this time arose the persecutions of the Christians by Nero and Maximian the Prefect who had succeeded Vitalian, proved himself particularly brutal.
Saint Justina with the Donor circa 1530, by Moretto da Brescia
As Justina would visit the prisons to comfort and encourage the Christians there, Maximian ordered her arrest. While she was passing by the Pont Marin near Padua, she was seized by the soldiers. When she was brought before Maximian he was struck by her beauty and endeavoured, by every means, to shake her constancy. However, she remained firm against all attacks and the Prefect caused her to be slain with the sword.
Paolo Veronese, The Martyrdom of Saint Justina
Medieval texts describe her as a disciple of Saint Peter the Apostle since Saint Prosdocimus, the first Bishop of Padua, is said to have been Justina’s teacher and his hagiography states that he was sent from Antioch by Peter. This, however is chronologically impossible as Justina, being a young woman in 304 could not have known Prosdocimus as he died in approximately 100.
St Justina is a Patron Saint of Padua. After St Mark, she is also a second Patroness of Venice. The Paduan Basilica and Abbey of Santa Giustina, house the Martyrdom of St Justine by Paolo Veronese. The Abbey complex was founded in the 5th century on Justine’s tomb and in the 15th century became one of the most important Monasteries in the region.
St Venantius Fortunatus ranks her among the most illustrious holy Virgins, whose sanctity and triumph have adorned and edified the Church, saying that her name makes Padua illustrious, And in his poem on the life of St Martin, he bids those who visit Padua, there to kiss the Sacred Sepulchre of the blessed Justina, on the walls of which, they will see the actions of St Martin represented in figures or paintings.
St Adalgis of Novara (Died c 850) Bishop St Apuleius of Capua
St Augustus of Bourges (Died c 560) Priest and Abbot. The Roman Martyrolog states of him today: “Near Bourges in Aquitaine, France, Saint Augustus, Priest and Abbot, who had his hands and feet so contracted that he could not support himself except with his knees and elbows. He was healed through the intercession of St Martin of Tours. He gathered around himself some Monks and waited intently on prayer.” His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2021/10/07/saint-of-the-day-7-october-saint-augustus-of-bourges-died-c-560/
St Canog ap Brychan St Dubtach of Armagh St Gerold of Cologne St Helanus
St Julia the Martyr St Justina of Padua (Died c 304) Virgin and Martyr St Marcellus of Capua (Died Third or Fourth Century) Martyr St Martin Cid St Osith St Palladius of Saintes St Quarto of Capua St Rigaldo
Mercedarian Nuns of Seville: Five Mercedarian Nuns at the Monastery of the Assumption in Seville, Spain noted for their piety – Sisters Agnese, Bianca, Caterina, Maddalena and Marianna.
Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
By Father Joseph Cacella, 1947
NINTH DAY
Intention: “The Spiritual Welfare of our Children”
Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of the Infant Babe of Bethlehem, and Our Mother, enkindle in our hearts the spark of youthful innocence. We know of thy great love for little children. It was to innocent children that thou deigned to appear, revealing the Message of Fatima and charging them with its propagation. We know no better way to show our regard for them, dear Mother, than to offer our prayers for all children everywhere.
Therefore, O Mother dear, we ask thee to watch over all children in all parts of the world, to guard and protect their homes, to preserve the schools wherein they learn and to keep them from being tainted by Godless education. Direct them in their play and in all their works that they may grow in age, wisdom and the love of God. Grant too, Blessed Mother, that the prayers of our children may hasten the end of all wars of carnage and devastation and grant unto this world an era of just and lasting peace. We pray that the world may return to Jesus, thy Son, through Reparation to thy Immaculate Heart.
Our Lady of Fatima, we beseech thee to inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation and protection of the souls of our children.. Amen
We pray our Daily Rosary now with the same Intention: “The Spiritual Welfare of our Children”
Thought for the Day – 6 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The Fourth Joyful Mystery The Purification of Our Lady and The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple
“During the ceremony, a devout man, enlightened by God, entered the temple. He asked and obtained, the privilege of holding the Divine Infant in his arms. This was Simeon, a holy old man to whom the Holy Ghost had revealed that before he died, he would see the expected Messiah, the Redeemer of the sinful race. Overjoyed as he held Jesus in his arms, he exclaimed: “Now Thou doet dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, in peace” (Lk 2:29).
May God grant that when we come to the end of our mortal lives, we may too have the pleasure of clasping Jesus to our hearts. Then we can say with confidence in God’s Mercy: Receive Thy servant in peace, O Lord. Forgive him and receive him into everlasting happiness.”
Quote/s of the Day – 6 October – St Bruno O.Cart (c 1030-1101) Priest, Confessor
“No act is charitable, if it is not just.”
“In the solitude and silence of the wilderness… God gives his athletes the reward they desire – a peace that the world does not know and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
One Minute Reflection – 6 October – St Bruno O.Cart (c 1030-1101) Priest, Confessor – Sirach 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40 – Scripture search: https://www.drbo.org/
“Let your loins be girt about and your lamps burning and you yourselves ,like men waiting for their master’s return from the wedding; so that when he comes and knocks, they may straightaway open to him. Blessed are those servants whom the master, on his return, shall find watching.” – Luke 12:35-37
REFLECTION –“God, the Word, stirs up the lazy and arouses the sleeper. For indeed, someone who comes knocking at the door is always wanting to come in. But, it depends on us, if He does not always enter or always remain. May your door be open to Him Who comes; open your soul, enlarge your spiritual capacities, that you may discover the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace and sweetness of grace. Expand your heart, run to meet the Sun of that Eternal Light that “enlightens everyone” (Jn 1,9). It is certain, that this true Light shines for all but, if anyone shuts their windows, then they themselves shut themselves off from this Eternal Light.
So even Christ remains outside, if you shut the door of your soul. It is true that He could enter but He does not want to use force, He does not put those who refuse under pressure. Descended from the Virgin, born from her womb, He shines throughout the universe to give light to all. Those who long to receive the Light, that shines with an everlasting brightness, open up to Him. No night comes to intervene. Indeed, the sun we see each day gives way to night’s darkness but the Sun of justice (Mal 3,20) knows no setting, for Wisdom is not overcome by evil.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan and Father and Doctor of the Church – (12th Sermon on Psalm 118).
PRAYER – May we be aided by the intercession of St Bruno, Thy Confessor, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that we, who have grievously offended Thy Majesty by sin, may, by his merits and prayers, obtain forgiveness for our offenses. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 6 October – Thursday: The Holy Eucharist
O DIVINE Heart of JESUS Pope Leo XIII Indulgence 100 Days, Once a day Raccolta 167 13 March 1901.
O DIVINE Heart of JESUS, grant, we beseech Thee, eternal rest to the souls in purgatory, the final grace to those who shall die today, true repentance to sinners, the light of the faith to pagans and Thy Blessing to me and mine. To Thee, O most compassionate Heart of JESUS! I commend all these souls and I offer to Thee, on their behalf, all Thy merits, together with the merits of Thy most Holy Mother and of all the Saints, Angels and all the Sacrifices of the Holy Mass, Communions, prayers and good works, which shall be accomplished today, throughout the Christian world. Amen
In Catholic Time, Thursday is the day of The Holy Eucharist – Our Lord instituted the most holy Eucharist on a Thursday, so it is fitting that we remember this greatest of sacraments on this day. The Eucharist is the greatest gift of God to mankind, as it is nothing less than Jesus Himself. What gift could be greater?
Saint of the Day – 6 October – Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus TOSF (1715-1791) Virgin, a member of the Third Order of the Friars Minor, Mystic, Ecstatic, Stigmatist, blessed with the gift of prophesy and of miracles. Recluse. Born on 25 March 1715 as Anna Maria Rosa Gallo at Naples, Italy and died on 6 October 1791 at Naples, Italy of natural causes. Also known as St Anna Maria Gallo, Maria Francesca. Mary Frances is the first woman from Naples to have been declared a Saint. Patronages – Pope Pius IX, who Canonised her, declared her to be a patroness of expectant mothers and of women having difficulty conceiving.
Anna Maria Rosa, as Saint Mary Frances was Baptised, was born in Naples in 1715 of a family that belonged to the middle class of society. Her mother, a devout and gentle woman, who had much to contend with from her hot-tempered husband, was quite worried before the birth of this child. But St John Joseph of the Cross, who lived in Naples at that time, calmed her and recommended special care of the child, as it was destined to attain to great holiness.
Anna Maria Rosa was scarcely 4 years old when she began to spend hours in prayer and sometimes arose at night for this purpose. Such was her desire to know the truths of the Catholic Faith that an Angel appeared to her and instructed her regularly. She had not yet attained her 7th year when she desired to receive Holy Communion. Her local Parish Priest marvelled at her knowledge of the Faith, as well as her ardent desire for the Bread of Angels and felt that he could not deny her the privilege. In fact, it was not long before he permitted her to receive daily.
Meanwhile, although physically of a very delicate constitution, the little saint was making herself useful to her parents by assisting them in their work. Her father, a weaver of gold lace, was anxious to have his children help as early as possible. He found that Anna Maria Rosa was not only the most willing but also the most skilled in the work.
She was 16 years old when a rich young man asked her father for her hand. Rejoicing at the favourable prospect, her father at once gave his consent. But when he told Anna Maria Rosa he was amazed to hear her, who had never contradicted him, declare her firm intention of espousing only her heavenly Bridegroom and asking his permission to become a Tertiary. He became so enraged that he seized a rope and whipped the delicate girl unmercifully, until her mother intervened. He then locked her in a room, where she received only bread and water and no-one was permitted to speak to her.
She considered herself fortunate to be able to offer her Divine Bridegroom this early proof of her fidelity – she regarded the trial as a pre-nuptial celebration. The earnest representations of a Priest made her father, who after all was a believing Christian, realise that he had done wrong and he finally consented that his daughter take the Tertiary Habit and serve God as a Consecrated Virgin at home, as was customary in those days. Filled with holy joy, Anna Maria now received the Habit and, with it, the name Maria Francesca and the Surname “of the Five Wounds of Jesus.” This name was prophetic of her subsequent life.
At home Mary Frances had much to endure. Her father never got over the loss of a wealthy son-in-law. When God favoured her with unusual graces — she was sometimes granted ecstasies at prayer and suffered our Lord’s agony with Him — her own brothers and sisters insulted her as an imposter. Even her Confessor felt obliged to deal harshly with her. For a long time she could find consolation nowhere but in the Wounds of Christ. At last her Confessor perceived that it was God Who was doing these things in Mary Frances. Since her mother had died meanwhile, he saw to it that she found a home with a fellow Tertiary. There one day, as she herself lay ill, she learned that her father was near death and she asked Almighty God to let her suffer her father’s death agony and his purgatory. Both requests were granted her.
Although she suffered continuously, Our Lord also gave Mary Frances great graces and consolations. She received the marks of the wounds of Christ and was granted the gift of prophesy and of miracles. She would wear gloves to cover the marks of the nails on her hands, while she did her work. When Pope Pius VI was crowned pope in 1775, she beheld him in a vision wearing a crown of thorns. Pope Pius closed his life 24 years later as a prisoner of the French Revolution at Valence. Mary Frances also prophesied the tragic events of the French Revolution and God heard her prayer, asking that she be taken from this world before they would happen. She died on 6 October 1791, kissing the feet of her Crucifix. God glorified her by many miracles.
Saint Mary Frances was buried in the Church of the Alcantarines, Saint Lucia del Monte, Naples, which she attended during her life, very near the tomb of Saint John Joseph of the Cross. On 6 October 2001, her remains were transferred from the Church of Santa Lucia to the house where she had spent the last half of her life. It is now the Shrine of St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds. It is still a common practice for expectant mothers to go there to be blessed with her relic. Many votive offerings from mothers who credit her with their successful deliveries are displayed in the Sanctuary.
Devotion to our Saint has long continued in the neighbourhood where she lived in Naples and of which she is the Patron. The residents credit her intercession, with the little damage the sector endured during World War II, when over 100 bombs were dropped on it!
On 12 November 1843, Mary Frances was Beatified by Pope Gregory XVI and on 29 June 1867, she was Canonised by Pope Pius IX.
Notre-dame-de-toute-aide de Querrien, France / Our Lady of All Help (1652) – 6 October, for the Feast of the Holy Rosary on 7 October) 15 August (the Assumption) and the Sunday following 8 September (Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady):
According to legend, in 574, the Monk Saint Columban came from Ireland and landed on the coast of Brittany with 12 companions. The Monk Saint Gall, friend and companion of St Colomban, was part of the group. The latter stopped at Querrien and there, he found a clear and limpid spring gushing out of the ground “so that the inhabitants can knead bread there” . St Gall also built a wooden Oratory which he dedicated to Our Lady. He placed there, a wooden Statue, representing the Virgin and Child , a Statue he had sculpted himself. Over time, the Oratory was abandoned, it disintegrates and the Statue fell to the ground and was buried in the mud near the source of the spring..
On 15 August 1652, Jeanne Courtel a 12-year-old girl, deaf and dumb from birth. while guarding the family’s sheep saw a “beautiful lady” who spoke to her. Thereupon, Jeanne was immediately able to hear and to speak to the great astonishment of all the inhabitants of the village. A few days later, Jeanne saw the beautiful lady again who asked to have the ground dug up near the source of the spring, where the Statue of the Virgin was buried. The wooden Statuette was found at the place indicated,, confirming for the people, the authenticity of the Apparition. There were a total of fifteen appearances of Our Lady with which Jeanne was favoured, until September of the same year. From that time on, pilgrims arrived and numerous miracles were recorded.
Shortly after this miracle became known, there was a second one just as remarkable. There was a community benefactor whose son was at death’s door with a high fever. Invoking Our Lady before this same Statue the man saw his son instantly cured. After this second wondrous miracle, the Statue was moved into the Chapel and there were many miracles that followed. One miracle was worked in favour of a religious Sister who had been terribly burned and was she was instantly cured. A Priest, falsely accused of a crime, was acquitted after special prayers to the “miracle lady.” The statue had had no name before this but the Parishioners decided now to call her Our Lady of All Help, Quick Help, or Our Lady of Good Remedy. The local Bishop, Denis de La Barde, launched an investigation and went there to verify the child’s declarations. Satisfied with his hearings, he had a chapel erected in 1652 to organise the devotion of the faithful. After having carried out a canonical investigation, the Bishop of Saint-Brieuc issued a positive opinion on the Apparition and decided to have a Chapel built and to organise worship there. The following 29 September, the Bishop returned to bless the first stone of the Chapel during a celebration which brought together 1,500 pilgrims. On 14 August 1950, a great celebration was held in the Sanctuary. This celebration was attended by 20,000 pilgrims, several Bishops, the Abbots of Brittany and 200 Priests from Saint-Brieuc, Rennes and Vannes , for the crowning of the Statue of Notre-Dame de Tout-Aide . It was Archbishop Clément Roque of Rennes who placed the crown designed by Émile Daubé and made by goldsmith René Desury on the head of the Statue. This coronation was carried out with the authorisation and blessing of Pope Pius XII.
The Processional Statue of Our Lady of All Help
The Statue itself is only about 60 centimetres tall. The Blessed Virgin Mary is crowned, and holds her Infant Son in one arm, and a sceptre in the other. At the time of the French Revolution and during the accompanying Reign of Terror, the Abbey was destroyed. A pious lady took the Statue of Our Lady of All Help and safeguarded it until the trouble was over. After her death the Statue was restored to the community. The Statue of Our Lady of All Help has survived several wars since.
In 1998, a series of renovations began which would continue for several years. Today pilgrimages continue all year with often as many as 10 000 attending the major celebrations. The current Church incorporates the small Chapel (the remains of which, can still be seen on the north side of the building).
There is a short and very lovely prayer which, for centuries, has been associated with this Statue. It is, “Oh, Mother of All Help, say but one word in our behalf to Thy Divine Son, for He cannot refuse thee any favour. Amen.”
Bl Isidore of Saint Joseph St Iwi St John Xenos Bl Juan de Prunera St Magnus of Orderzo Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus TOSF (1715-1791) Virgin, a member of the Third Order of the Friars Minor, Recluse.
St Pardulf St Renato of Sorrento St Romanus of Auxerre St Sagar of Laodicea
Martyrs of Capua – 4 Saints: A group of Martyrs who were either killed in Capua, Italy, or that’s where their relics were first enshrined. We now know nothing but their names – Aemilius, Castus, Marcellus and Saturninus.
Martyrs of Trier: Commemorates the large number of Martyrs who died in Trier, Germany in the persecutions of Diocletian.
Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
By Father Joseph Cacella, 1947
EIGHTH DAY
Intention: “The Conversion of Sinners”
Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of the human race, thou have given unto us the means of destroying the menace of atheism and godless lives. Thy Promise of conversion for those unfortunate victims of false beliefs, has instilled joy and hope into the nations of the earth. We grieve for those who are victims of such vice. Grant, we beseech thee. Oh Mother, that grace and faith may come to those separated from thy Son by error and discord. We fail, if we heed not thy Message of Fatima. We know thy wishes and,, therefore, we promise to make Reparation to thy Immaculate Heart, through the Most holy Rosary and the Five First Saturdays, that sinners may hear the Word of God and keep it.
Our Lady of Fatima, Refuge of the human race, inflame our hearts with the love of Reparation. Amen
We pray our Daily Rosary now with the same Intention: “The Conversion of Sinners.”
AnaStpaul 
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