Thought for the Day –32 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Blessedness of the Merciful
“Let us meditate now on the mercy of God, which is infinite even as His justice is infinite. “His mercy” says St Thomas Aquinas, “does not subtract from His justice but is, the fullness and the perfection of that justice.”(Summa Theologiae, I, q.21, a.2 ad2). All the merits which we can acquire in the sight of God, derive from His gratuitous gift of grace. God’s mercy and justice, therefore, are fused together in a wonderful harmony, which claims our gratitude and fidelity.
References to the mercy of God are numerous in Sacred Scripture. “You Lord, are good and forgiving,” says the Psalmist, “abounding in kindness to all who call upon you” (Ps 85:5). “Blessed be the Lord,” we read elsewhere, “my rock, … my refuge and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer ….” (ps 143:2). “Goodness and kindness follow me, all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come” (Ps 22:6)
When we leave the Old Testament and open the Gospel, we discover that it is a record of the goodness and mercy of God. We have only to recall Christ’s forgiveness of the Magdalen when she wept at His feet for her faults; the merciful judgement which He passed on the poor adulteress; His loving glance in the direction of St Peter who had denied Him; the grace so miraculously granted to St Paul on the road to Damascus and, the parables of the good Samaritan, the prodigal son and the good shepherd who went in search of the lost sheep. Finally, there are the consoling words to the repentant thief: “This day thous shalt be with me in paradise.” When we read this chronicle of infinite goodness and mercy, we should experience a boundless hope and confidence. It does not matter how great our sins, or our ingratitude, may have been. Once we have repented, God is ready to forgive us and to receive us with open arms!”
One Minute Reflection – 3 December – “Month of the Immaculate Conception” – Friday of the First week of Advent – Readings: Isaiah 29: 17-24; Psalm 27: 1, 4, 13-14; Matthew 9: 27-31 and The Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)
“And their eyes were opened …” – Matthew 9:30
REFLECTION – “Master, O Christ!, Master Who saves souls, God, Lord of all Powers both visible and invisible because You are the Creator of all in Heaven and under the heavens, of what is under the earth but also of what is on earth …: You hold all things in Your Hand because it is Your Hand, O Lord, that is the great power accomplishing Your Father’s will, shaping, forming, creating and guiding our lives in an inexpressible way.
This, then, is what created me, too and called me into being, from nothing. So I was born into this world yet wholly failed to know You, You my good Master, You my Creator, You Who fashioned me. I was in the world like someone blind and as though without God, since I did not know my God.
Then You, in person, pitied me and looked upon me, when You shone Your Light into my darkness, You converted me and drew me to Yourself, O my Creator. And when You had snatched me out of the depths of the pit … of this life’s pleasures and desires, then You showed me the way and gave me a guide who would lead me to Your commandments. I followed him, followed him without a care … but not only that, when I saw You there – You my Good Master – together with my guide and my Father, I experienced inexpressible love and desire. I was beyond faith, beyond hope and said: “Now indeed I see the good things to come” (cf. Heb 10:1), the Kingdom of Heaven is there. I saw before my eyes those things “that eye has not seen nor ear heard”(Is 64:3; 1 Co 2:9).” – St Simeon the New Theologian (949-1022) Monk (Hymn 37)
PRAYER – Lord, watch over Your people who come to You in confidence. Strengthen the hearts of those who hope in You. Give courage to those who falter because of their failures. In this holy season of Advent, lead them closer to You in faith and hope, by the power of your Holy Spirit. May they proclaim Your saving acts of kindness here on earth and one day, in Your eternal kingdom and may the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived without sin and Your great Missionaries, St Francis Xavier, and St Birnus bring us light and strength. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 3 December – Friday of the First week of Advent and The Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)
I Love Thee, God, I Love Thee By St Francis Xavier (1506-1552) Translated by Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)
I love Thee, God, I love Thee— Not out of hope for heaven for me Nor fearing not to love and be in the everlasting burning. Thou, my Jesus, after me Didst reach Thine arms out dying, For my sake suffered nails and lance, Mocked and marred countenance, Sorrows passing number, Sweat and care and cumber, Yea and death and this for me, And Thou could see me sinning. Then I, why should not I love Thee, Jesu so much in love with me? Not for heaven’s sake, not to be Out of hell by loving Thee, Not for any gains I see, But just the way that Thou didst me I do love and will love Thee. What must I love Thee, Lord, for then? For being my King and God. Amen
Saint of the Day – 3 December – St Birinus of Dorchester (c 660-650) the first Bishop of Dorchester, England, “Apostle to the West Saxons,” for his conversion of the Kingdom of Wessex to Christianity., Benedictine Monk. Born in c 600 in France and died on 3 December 650 at Dorchester, of natural causes. Also known as – Birinus of Genoa. Apostle of Wessex, Berin, Birin, Birch.Patronages – Berkshire county and Dorcester City and Diocese.
In the 7th century, an Italian Monk, (though probably born in France), named Birinus was consecrated Bishop in Milan by Archbishop Asterius. Subsequently, he was sent to Britain by Pope Honorius I to continue the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity began so courageously by St Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow Missionaries. Our Saint definitely seems to be endowed with a great Missionary spirit, zeal and charism of a great preacher, for in a very short time after his arrival in what is now Southampton, he had endowed the area with a Church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which still remains, although of course, restored many times.
Bishop Birinus’ original plan was to penetrate well into the interior of the country where no teacher had been before. But we know from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History that ‘on arriving in Britain and first coming to the nation of the West Saxons, where he found all to be confirmed pagans, he thought it more useful to preach the word there, rather than to go further looking for people to whom he should preach’.
In 635 King Oswald of Northumbria, who had already been converted to Christianity by Celtic Christians in Iona (Scotland), wanted to marry the daughter of Cynegils, King of the West Saxons and, therefore, came to Dorchester to visit Cynegils. There he found Cynegils receiving instruction in the Christian faith from Birinus. The outcome was that Birinus Baptised Cynegils, with Oswald standing as Godfather. The two Kings then granted land to Birinus in Dorchester for the establishment of his Episcopal See and Cathedral. Birinus thus became the first Bishop of the West Saxons.
St Birnus baptising King Cynegils,
Birinus died in 650 and was buried in Dorchester; he was canonised soon after. His relics (bones) were moved to Winchester around 690 by Bishop Hedda of Winchester but they were moved again to new Shrines in 980, by Bishop Ethelwold and in 1150, by Henri de Blois. In the early part of the 13th century the Augustinian Canons of Dorchester claimed to possess the relics of Birinus and this was accepted on very slender evidence following an enquiry instigated by Pope Honorius III and presided over by Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Whatever the truth about the Birinus relics, the Abbey became a popular place of pilgrimage. This led to an extensive programme of rebuilding including in c1320 the south choir aisle and a marble Shrine dedicated to St Birinus. The Shrine was destroyed and the relics lost in 1536 by the excesses of the English reformation but fragments of the vaulting were found in a walled-up doorway in the 1870s and these were incorporated in the 1960s in the reconstructed shrine that stands today in the south aisle of St Birnus’ Cathedral in Dorchester..
The stained glass roundel below, dated c1225, is in the east window of the St Birinus Chapel. It shows Birinus (spelt Bernius) with bowed head being blessed by an enthroned Archbishop, probably Asterius of Milan who consecrated Birinus for his mission to Britain. The third person is a layman, shown praying.
The Great East Window has a panel depicting Birinus preaching before King Cynegils and some of his people.
St Birinus built many Churches and we have records of him laying the foundations for St Mary’s Church in Reading and others such as the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Checkendon, near Reading. Tradition believes that Birinus built the first Church at Ipsden, as a small Chapel on Berins Hill, about two miles east of the present Church. Birinus Baptised King Cynegils’s son Cwichelm in 636 and grandson, Cuthred in 639, to whom he stood as Godfather too. The Catholic Church in Dorchester, one of the first built after the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in the United Kingdom in 1850 by Pope Pius IX and was dedicated to Birinus.
Vergine di Montesanto / Our Lady of the Holy Mountain, Rome, Italy (1659) – 3 December:
On the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, there used to be a small Church run by Carmelite Friars, called St Mary of the Holy Mountain after Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. The Church housed a miraculous Madonna and Child, believed to have been painted by a young aspiring female painter, Plautilla Bricci, with supernatural help. It is said that Plautilla Bricci, a Roman painter but also to become the first female architect, had some difficulties in shading Mary’s face and, at a certain point, decided to put down her brush and rest – upon awakening from sleep, she found the face of the Virgin finished to perfection!
After the painting was canonically crowned on 3 December 1659, Cardinal Gerolamo Gastaldi decided to build the Madonna a more splended Sanctuary. It was the work of three great architects. Gian Lorenzo Bernini modified Carlo Rainaldi’s original plan to give the building an oval shape more in keeping with its site and Carlo Fontana supervised its completion in 1679. Around the same time the “twin” Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli was built next door. The painting, hard to date but typical of the 1500s, occupies a large columned Altarpiece with stucco angels by Filippo Carcani. In 1953, Pope Pius XII designated the Basilica di Santa Maria in Montesanto the official Church for artists, who still come before the Virgin seeking divine help.
St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552) (Memorial) Priest, Missionary, co-Founder with St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) and St Peter Faber (1506-1546) of the Society of Jesus. One of the Greatest Missionaries since St Paul. His body is incorrupt.
St Abbo of Auxerre St Abran St Agapius St Agricola of Pannonia St Alvaro González López St Anthemius of Poitiers St Attalia of Strasbourg Bl Bernard of Toulouse OP Martyr St Birinus of Dorchester (c 660-650) Bishop, “Apostle to the West Saxons,” St Cassian of Tangiers St Claudius of Africa St Claudius the Martyr St Crispin of Africa St Edward Coleman St Eloque of Lagny
St John of Africa St Juan Bautista Ferris Llopis St Julián Heredia Zubia St Lucius St Lucy the Chaste St Magina of Africa St Mamas St Manuel Santiago y Santiago St Marcos García Rodríguez St Maurus the Martyr St Seleucus St Stephen of Africa St Theodore of Alexandria St Theodulus of Edessa St Valeriano Rodríguez García St Veranus Zephaniah the Prophet
Martyrs of Nicomedia: Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian – Ambicus, Julius and Victor. c 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. • Blessed Alvaro González López • Blessed Francisco Delgado González • Blessed Francisco Fernández Escosura • Blessed Juan Bautista Ferris Llopis • Blessed Julián Heredia Zubia • Blessed Manuel Santiago y Santiago • Blessed Marcos García Rodríguez • Blessed Valeriano Rodríguez García
Let us begin: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen
O Mary, Mother of God, endowed in your glorious Immaculate Conception with the fullness of grace; unique among women, in that you are both mother and virgin; Mother of Christ and Virgin of Christ, we ask you to look down with a tender heart from your throne and listen to our prayers as we earnestly ask, that you obtain for us the favour for which we now plead… ………………………………….. (State your intention here… ) O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of our petition if it be the Divine Will. Amen
Say the: Our Father… the: Hail Mary… the: Glory Be…
Thought for the Day – 2 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Thirst for Justice
“Jesus commands us, in the Beatitudes, to seek justice, that is perfection in the fulfilment of our obligations to God, to ourselves and, to our neighbour. He commands us, to hunger and thirst for this justice, which is identical to holiness.
When Christ tells us to hunger and thirst for justice, He imposes on us, the obligation of doing our very best to acquire the virtue of Christian justice, which is the sythesis of all the virtues. We must be aware, therefore, of laziness, apathy, tepidity, or mediocrity, for our advance in spiritual perfection, must be continuous. There must be no hesitation or backsliding. The high target which God has set for us, demands hard work and boundless generosity on our part. Jesus Christ loved us so much that He gave Himself entirely for us and shed His Precious Blood to the last drop, for our Redemption. How can we possibly be niggardly or half-hearted in our relatioas with Him?
Whenever God’s cause is at stake, whether in our efforts to achieve our own spiritual perfection or in the fulfilment of our obligations towards our neighbour, we should never refuse anything but, should display absolute dedication to God and to our fellowman. “Let us hunger,” said St Catherine of Siena, “for God’s honour and for the salvation of souls” (Vrev di perfezioe, p81). The hunger and thirst for justice, nourished by the love of God and of our neighbour, should exclude all mediocrity and selfishness from our lives. It should urge us on, as it did the Saints, towards the highest pinnacles of sanctity.”
Quote/s of the Day – 2 December – Thursday of the First week of Advent – Readings: Isaiah 26: 1-6; Psalm 118: 1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27; Matthew 7: 21, 24-27
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven but only the one, who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
Matthew 7:21
“On each occasion I say: ‘Lord, Thy will be done! It’s not what this, or that one, wants but, what You want me to do.’ This is my fortress, this is my firm rock, this is my sure support.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
“He who is his own master is a scholar under a fool.”
St Bernard (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
“Obedience unites us so closely to God that, in a way, it transforms us into Him, so that we have no other will but His. If obedience is lacking, even prayer cannot be pleasing to God.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus Doctor Communis
“Love Him, then, keep Him as a friend. He will not leave you as others do, or let you suffer lasting death. Sometime, whether you will or not, you will have to part with everything. Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death, trust yourself to the glory of Him, Who alone can help you when all others fail.“
One Minute Reflection – 2 December – Thursday of the First week of Advent – Readings: Isaiah 26: 1-6; Psalm 118: 1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27; Matthew 7: 21, 24-27
“Therefore, whosoever hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.…” Matthew 7:24
REFLECTION – “If anyone will piously and soberly consider the sermon which our Lord Jesus spoke on the mount, as we read it in the Gospel according to Matthew, I think that he will find in it, so far as regards the highest morals, a perfect standard of the Christian life and this, we do not rashly venture to promise but gather it from the very words of the Lord Himself. For the sermon itself is brought to a close in such a way, that it is clear there are in it all the precepts which go to mould the life. … He has sufficiently indicated, as I think, that these sayings which He uttered on the mount, so perfectly guide the life of those who may be willing to live according to them, that they may justly be compared to one building upon a rock.”…St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Father and Doctor of the Church (On the Sermon on the Mount)
PRAYER – Take pity on our distress, Lord God; show us Your love. May the coming of Your Son, strengthen us and cleanse us from all trace of sin. May we then follow His Words in complete obedience and fulfil Your Holy Will. And may the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of Our Lord and our Mother, help us on the way. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, our Master in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God with You now and forever, amen.
Dear Saviour, haste! Come, come to earth. Dispel the night and show Your Face And bid us hail the Dawn of grace. O come, Divine Messiah, The world in silence waits the day When hope shall sing its triumph, And sadness flee away. Amen
This is the Refrain from a beautiful Advent Hymn by Abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, a French Cluniac Monk, Poet, Composer and Playwright.
Saint of the Day – 2 December – Saint Athanasius of the Caves (Died c 1176) Monk, Hermit, miracle-worker and healer. Also known as – Athanasius of Macedonia, Athanasius of the Resurrection, Athanasius of Kiev, Afanasij of …
Athanasius was grievously ill for a long time. When he died, the Monks prepared him for burial. However, they all saw the dead man alive. He was sitting up and weeping. To all their questions he replied only: “Seek salvation, obey the Abbot in everything, repent each hour and pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, to His All-Pure Mother and to Saints Anthony and Theodosius, to allow you to end your life here. Do not ask me anything else, for I must pray.”
After this he lived for twelve years longer in solitude in a cave. During that time he spoke not a word to anyone. He wept day and night and partook of a little bread and water only every other day. Just before his death, he assembled the Monks and repeated his earlier words to them, and then he peacefully departed unto the Lord (in about the year 1176).
st Athanasius’ cave
The Monk Babylas, who had suffered illness and an infirmity of the legs for many years, was healed at his relics. “As I lay there,” he told the brethren, “I cried out in pain. Suddenly, Saint Athanasius appeared to me and said, ‘Come to me, and I shall heal you.’ I wanted to ask him how and when he had returned her, but he became invisible. I believed his words and asked to be taken to his relics. And indeed, I have been healed.” Saint Athanasius was buried in the Antoniev Cave.
Our Lady of Didinia, Cappadocia, Turkey (363) – 2 December:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of Didinia is in Cappadocia. It was before this Shrine that Saint Basil had begged the Blessed Virgin to remedy the disorders caused by Julian the Apostate. The Saint was granted a vision from Mary, which foretold the death of the emperor.”
The godless Emperor Julian threatened the City of Caesarea with destruction because of a grudge he bore. Saint Basil the Great (329-379) gathered the frightened inhabitants on Mount Didinia, where there was a Marian Church . After three days of prayer and fasting, Basil had a vision in which he saw Mary surrounded by celestial hosts and heard her say: “Go call Mercury to me. He shall kill the blasphemer of my Son.” Saint Mercurius (Mercury) was a Saint/Martyr who died in the year 250. He was a powerful man physically but also courageous. According to tradition, he was once facing a much superior army of Berbers when St Michael the Archangel appeared to him. St Michael gave Mercurius a sword shortly before the battle, telling him: “Mercurius, servant of Jesus Christ, do not be afraid. Take this sword from my hand and fight the Berbers with it. Do not forget your God when you come back victoriously. I am Michael the Archangel, whom God sent to inform you, that you should suffer for the Lord’s Name. I shall be with you and support you until you complete your testimony. The Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you.” Mercurius felt a strength and confidence granted to him from the sword of Saint Michael and was invincible in the combat. Not much later, however, he refused to burn incense before the false idols in thanksgiving for the victory and was subsequently tortured and killed for his faith in the true God. After the vision of the Mother of God, both Saint Basil and Libanius went to the Church of Saint Mercury. Upon their arrival they found that the arms of Saint Mercurius, which were usually hung there on display, were now missing. Remembering the words of the Blessed Virgin, they then went back to Mount Didinia rejoicing and spread the news of the death of the tyrant to the inhabitants. When the faithful went back to the City and the Church of Saint Mercurius, they found the lance of Mercury back in its accustomed place, although now it was wet with blood. The Emperor Julian had gone on campaign in Persia,but was forced to retreat from the region. It was later learned that he had died in that foreign land on that same night that Saint Mercurius’ weapons had disappeared. History records that he received a wound from a spear that had pierced his liver and intestines, suffering a major hemorrhage from the wound which killed him.
St Athanasius of the Caves (Died c 1176) Hermit St Avitas of Rouen
St Evasius of Brescia Bl Francisco del Valle Villar St Habakkuk the Prophet Bl Ivan Sleziuk Bl John Amero
Bleared Jan van Ruysbroec (c 1293-1382) Known as John “the Admirable,” “the Ecstatic Doctor,” “the Divine Doctor.” Priest, Hermit, Mystic, Spiritual Director and Spiritual Writer. Beatified on 1 December 1908 by Pope Pius X. About Blessed Jan: https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/02/saint-of-the-day-2-december-blessed-john-van-ruysbroeck/ St Lupus of Verona Bl Maria Angela Astorch St Nonnus of Edessa St Oderisius de Marsi St Pimenio in Rome St Pontian
Bl Robert of Matallana St Silvanus St Pope Silverio — Greek Martyrs of Rome – (9 saints): Several Greek Christians martyred in the persecutions of Valerian – Adria, Aurelia, Eusebius, Hippolytus, Marcellus, Mary Martana, Maximus, Neon and Paulina. They were martyred by various means between 254 and 259 in Rome, Italy and are buried in the Callistus catacombs, Rome.
Martyrs of Africa – (4 saints): Four Christians martyred in Africa in the persecutions of Arian Vandals – Januarius, Securus, Severus and Victorinus.
The Immaculate Conception was not, as many people mistakenly believe, a precondition for Christ’s act of redemption but the result of it. Standing outside of time, God knew that Mary would humbly submit herself to His will and in His love for this perfect servant, He applied to her, at the moment of her conception, the redemption, won by Christ, that all Christians receive at their Baptism.
It is appropriate, then, that the Church has long declared the month in which the Blessed Virgin not only was conceived but gave birth to the Saviour of the world, as the Month of the Immaculate Conception.
Holy Light on earth’s horizon, Star of hope to those who fall, Light amid a world of shadows, Dawn of God’s design for all.
Mary, Virgin of Advent, may we always walk with you in the Light of the Lord Jesus, the fruit of your womb! Amen
Let us begin: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
O most Holy Virgin, who was pleasing to the Lord and became His Mother, Immaculate in body and spirit, in faith and in love, look kindly on me as I implore your powerful intercession.
O Blessed Virgin Mary, glory of the Christian Catholic people, joy of the universal Church and Mother of Our Lord, speak for us to the Heart of Jesus, Who is your Son and our Brother. O Mary, who by your holy Immaculate Conception did enter the world free from stain, in your mercy obtain for us from Jesus, the special favour which we now so earnestly seek… ………………………………….. (State your intention here… ) O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this eart, you have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from Him the granting of our petitions if it be the Divine Will. Amen
Say the: Our Father… the: Hail Mary… the: Glory Be…
Thought for the Day – 1 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Blessedness of Those who Hunger and Thirst for Justice
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice” says Jesus Christ, “for they shall be satified” (Mt 5:6). These words oblige us to seek justice in our actions, if we desire the happiness which Our Lord promised to the just.
We must understand, of course, what is intended here by the word “justice.” It may be interpreted in two ways. According to its most common meaning, justice is the cardinal virtue which obliges us to give every man his due. Often in Sacred Scripture, however, the word is synonymous with perfection or holiness; that is, it is the synthesis of all the virtues. It is in this sense, that Jesus employs the term when He says: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice and all these things shall be given you besides” (Mt 6:33).
In its fullest sense then, justice embraces our relations with God, with ourselves and with our neighbour. In the first place, we must be just towards God and, therefore, in accordance with the Gospel precepts, we must “render to God the things that are God’s” (Mt 22:21). Since everything belongs to God, our Creator and Redeemer, we must offer everything to Him, including ourselves, all that we are and all that we possess. We have only obligations in regard to God and no rights because, we have received everything from Him. We oughts to obey Him, therefore, as our supreme lawgiver. We ought to adore Him and to love Him, with a greater love than we have for any creature or for ourselves because, He is the highest good, which merits all our love and which alone, can satisfy us. We should express our love, moreover, by our actions and by the complete dedication of ourselves to His honour and glory.
Justice, then, is in fact, Christian perfection and is the synthesis of all the virtues. That great pagan writer, Cicero, had already perceived this, when he wrote that “piety is the foundation of all the virtues” (Pro Plancio, 12:29) and that “piety is justice in regard to God” (De natura deorum, I, 4). Justice in our relations with God, demands, that we adore, love and obey Him. In this way, we lay the basis of all the virtues. “”
Quote/s of the Day – 1 December – The Memorial of St Edmund Campion SJ (1540-1581) and Bl Charles of Jesus de Foucauld (1858-1916) Both Martyrs
“To be a Catholic is my greatest glory.”
St Edmund Campion (1540-1581 Martyr
“The Gospel showed me that the first commandment is to love God with all one’s heart and that, we should enfold everything in love; everyone knows, that the first effect of love is imitation.”
“Every person is a child of God, who loves them infinitely: it is, therefore, impossible to want to love God, without loving human beings – the more one loves God, the more one loves people. The love of God, the love of people, is my whole life; it will be my whole life, I hope.”
“When you love, you feel like speaking the whole time with the one you love, or at least, you want to look at Him without ceasing. Prayer is nothing else. It is the familiar meeting with our Beloved. We look at Him, we tell Him we love Him, we rejoice to be at His feet.”
“I would like to be sufficiently good that people would say: ‘If such is the servant, what must the Master be like.’”
From the (Auto)Biography of
Blessed Charles of Jesus de Foucauld (1858-1916) Martyr
One Minute Reflection – 1 December – Wednesday of the First Week of Advent – Readings: Isaiah 25: 6-10a; Psalm 23: 1-6; Matthew 15: 29-37
“And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed …, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet and he healed them…” – Matthew 15:30
REFLECTION – “Again Jesus went up on the mountain where He sat down. Not only people who were healthy but also those suffering from various disorders, went up on the mountain where Jesus was sitting. Think of this mountain to which Jesus went up and sat down, as the Church. It has been set up through the word of God, over the rest of the world and all sorts of people come to it. To this assembly have come, not only the disciples, as if they were leaving behind the multitudes, as they did in the case of the Beatitudes. Rather, there are great crowds here, many of whom are deaf or suffer from many afflictions. Look at the crowds who come to this mountain where the Son of God sits. Some of them have become deaf to the things that have been promised. Others have become blind in soul, not looking toward the true light. Others are lame and not able to walk according to reason. Others are maimed and unable to work profitably. Each of these who are suffering in soul, from such things, go up, along with the multitudes, into the mountain, where Jesus sits.
Som,e who do not draw near to the feet of Jesus, are not healed. But those, who are brought by the multitude and cast at His feet, are being healed. Even those who come only to the edges, just the extremities of the Body of Christ, who feel themselves unworthy to obtain such things, are being healed. So now you come into the congregation of what is more commonly called the Church. See the catechumens? They are, as it were, cast in the far side or back of those who are the extreme end of the Body, as if they were coming merely to the feet of the Body of Jesus—the Church. They are coming to it with their own deafness and blindness and lameness and crookedness. In time, they will be cured,according to the Word. Observing this, you would not be wrong in saying, that these people have gone up with the multitudes into the Church, up to the mountain, where Jesus sits and have been cast at His feet and are being healed. And so the multitudes are astonished at beholding the transformations that are taking place. They behold those who are being converted from such great evils to that which is so much better.” – Origen Adamantius of Alexandria (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father – (Commentary on Matthew, 11).
PRAYER – Prepare our hearts, we pray, O Lord our God, by Your divine power, so that at the coming of Christ Your Son we may be found worthy of the banquet of eternal life and merit to receive heavenly nourishment from His hands. Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 1 December – Wednesday of the First Week of Adven
Awaiting Baby Jesus Traditional Catholic Advent Prayer
My heart is beating, filled with joy, awaiting Mary’s baby boy. For with this child, we embrace the birth of God’s most precious grace. Baby Jesus, soon to come! For us comes the Promised One. Baby Jesus, God’s own Son, you will be the Chosen One to lead our flock into salvation. Our eternal life awaits. The birth of Jesus brings us nearer Heaven’s holy gates. Sing with joy and count the days, for soon to come, the Lord we’ll praise. Rejoice that Jesus will soon arrive, the Messiah and our faith alive. Amen
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
Our Lady of Ratisbon, Bavaria (1842) – 1 December:
One of the most famous examples of Our Lady’s bounty in granting favours to the wearers of the Miraculous Medal occurred less than ten years after the Medal had been struck. Alphonse Ratisbonne was a French Jew who had no religion. When his brother, Theodore became a Catholic and then a Priest, Alphonse was filled with aversion. He was a typical intellectual of the nineteenth century, a worshipper of humanity, who sneered at anything spiritual. In November 1841, Alphonse found himself in Rome, although his itinerary had not called for a stop in the Eternal City. There he met Baron de Bussiere. The Baron urgently requested him to wear the Miraculous Medal and to recite daily the prayer of St Bernard, “The Memorare”. Alphonse did so in the spirit of acceptance and of dare but without the slightest bit of faith. On 20 January 1842, Monsieur de Bussiere saw Alphonse walking along the street and invited him into his carriage. They stopped at St Andrea Delle Fratee because the Baron wished to see a Priest there. In order to kill time, Ratisbonne entered the Church. He was not very much impressed and was walking around rather listlessly. Suddenly the Church seemed to be plunged into darkness and all the light concentrated on one Chapel. Very much startled he saw there, our Blessed Mother bathed in glorious light, Her face radiant. He went toward her. She motioned with her right hand for him to kneel. As he knelt, he realised, at last, the sad state of his soul. He perceived, that mankind had been redeemed through the Blood of Christ and he was seized with a great longing to be taken into the Church of Christ. The Blessed Virgin spoke not a word but these things came to him as he knelt before her. The next day Alphonse was baptised by Cardinal Patrizi, Vicar of Pope Gregory XVI. The Holy Father as Bishop of Rome, ordered an official inquiry and after four months, the authenticity of the miracle was recognised. Alphonse Maria Ratisbonne, as he was named after his Baptism,bwcame a Priest too and devoted the remainder of his life to winning over his fellow Jews to Christ.
St Agericus of Verdun St Agnofleta St Alexander Briant Bl Alphonsine Anuarite Nengapeta St Ambon of Rome St Ananias of Arbela St Ansanus the Baptizer Bl Antony Bonfadini Bl Bruna Pellesi St Candida of Rome St Candres of Maestricht St Cassian of Rome St Castritian of Milan
St Eligius (c 588-660) Bishop St Evasius of Asti St Filatus of Rome St Florence of Poitiers St Florentius St Grwst St Jabinus of Rome and Companions Bl John Beche Bl Kazimierz Tomasz Sykulski St Latinus of Rome St Leontius of Fréjus Bl Liduina Meneguzzi St Lucius of Rome Bl Maria Clara of the Child Jesus St Marianus St Marina of Rome St Martinus St Nahum the Prophet St Natalia of Nicomedia St Olympiades St Proculus of Narni St Ralph Sherwin St Resignatus of Maastricht Bl Richard Langley St Rogatus of Rome St Simon of Cyrene St Superatus of Rome St Ursicinus of Brescia — Martyrs of Oxford University: A joint commemoration of all the men who studied at one of the colleges of Oxford University, and who were later martyred for their loyalty to the Catholic Church during the official persecutions in the Protestant Reformation. They are: • Blessed Edward James • Blessed Edward Powell • Blessed Edward Stransham • Blessed George Napper • Blessed George Nichols • Blessed Hugh More • Blessed Humphrey Pritchard • Blessed James Bell • Blessed James Fenn • Blessed John Bodey • Blessed John Cornelius • Blessed John Forest • Blessed John Ingram • Blessed John Mason • Blessed John Munden • Blessed John Shert • Blessed John Slade • Blessed John Storey • Blessed Lawrence Richardson • Blessed Mark Barkworth • Blessed Richard Bere • Blessed Richard Rolle de Hampole • Blessed Richard Sergeant • Blessed Richard Thirkeld • Blessed Richard Yaxley • Blessed Robert Anderton • Blessed Robert Nutter • Blessed Robert Widmerpool • Blessed Stephen Rowsham • Blessed Thomas Belson • Blessed Thomas Cottam • Blessed Thomas Pilcher • Blessed Thomas Plumtree • Blessed Thomas Reynolds • Blessed William Filby • Blessed William Hart • Blessed William Hartley • Saint Alexander Briant • Saint Cuthbert Mayne • Saint Edmund Campion • Saint John Boste • Saint John of Bridlington • Saint John Roberts • Saint Ralph Sherwin • Saint Thomas Garnet • Saint Thomas More.
Let us begin: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.
O Mary, ever blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Queen of angels and of Saints, we salute you with the most profound veneration and filial devotion as we contemplate your holy Immaculate Conception, We thank you for your maternal protection and for the many blessings that we have received through your wondrous mercy and most powerful intercession. In all our necessities we have recourse to you with unbounded confidence. O Mother of Mercy, we beseech you now to hear our prayer and to obtain for us, of your Divine Son the favour that we so earnestly request in this Novena. …………………………………… (Mention your request here…) O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son, while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Say the: Our Father… the: Hail Mary… the: Glory Be…
Thought for the Day – 30 November – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Blessedness of Those Who Mourn
“Blessed are they who mourn” (Mt 5:5), says Jesus Christ, in direct contrast to the opinion of the world, which believes, that happiness is to be found in merrymaking. Who is correct? The Gospel does not forbid us to rejoice, indeed, a blessing was given to the wedding celebration in Cana. This, however, was a manifestation of good and honest joy. It is the immoderate revelling of irresponsible worldlings and sinners, which is condemned in the Gospel. God does not promise these any of His consolations but, only remorse and perhaps despair. On the other hand, those who suffer are called blessed by Jesus Christ, Who has promised to console them. The consolations which they will receive are those which spring from their repentance, from the forgiveness which they obtain for their sins and from the expectation of everlasting life, which is promised to those who choose the royal road of the Cross. They will also enjoy, the consolations of contemplation and of the love of God.
The Catholic sheds tears of sadness, of repentance and of joy. He is sometimes sad because he is sensitive to the evil which exists in the world. When he sees so many of his fellowmen going from sin to sin, on the downward slope towards damnation, he is saddened and longs to remedy this situation, as much as possible, by prayer, good example and penance.
Perhaps you are indifferent to the evil which is being perpetrated in the world? Perhaps nothing has power to upset you, apart from yur own petty troubles and frustrated ambitions? This kind of sadness is not pleasing to God.
Another motive for sadness, is the great physical and moral suffering which afflicts so many of our brethren. We should be generous in tendering whatever assistance we can, generous also in our understanding and in our sympathy. Very often, a single gesture of compassion towards a man who is suffering, is of greater value than a substantial alms, which is offered with coldness and indifference.
The St Andrew’s Christmas Novena The Christmas Anticipation Prayer
The Novena is not actually addressed to Saint Andrew but to God Himself, asking Him to grant our request in honour of the birth of His Son at Christmas. You can say the prayer all 15 times, all at once; or divide up the recitation as necessary (perhaps five times at each meal). We say ours after the Family Rosary each day, with each member saying it a number of times to total 15.
Prayed as a family, the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena is a very good way to help focus the attention of your family and children on the Advent season. nd the reason for the festivities to come.
Pray 15 Times each day, until Christmas Day
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment, in which the Son of God was born, of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, ………………… [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Amen
Quote of the Day – 30 November – The Feast of St Andrew, Apostle of Christ, Martyr on the Cross for Christ
This is what the Apostle is claimed to have been said on the occasion of St Andrew’s Martyrdom, according to an ancient story (which dates to the beginning of the sixth century), entitled –
The Passion of Andrew:
“Hail, O Cross, inaugurated by the Body of Christ and adorned with His limbs as though they were precious pearls. Before the Lord mounted you, you inspired an earthly fear. Now, instead, endowed with heavenly love, you are accepted as a gift.
Believers know of the great joy that you possess and of the multitude of gifts you have prepared. I come to you, therefore, confident and joyful, so that you too may receive me, exultant as a disciple of the One Who was hung upon you….
O blessed Cross, clothed in the majesty and beauty of the Lord’s limbs!…
Take me, carry me far from men and restore me to my Teacher, so that, through you, the One who redeemed me by you, may receive me.
One Minute Reflection – 30 November – The Feast of St Andrew, Apostle of Christ – Readings: Romans 10: 9-18; Psalms 19: 8,-11; Matthew 4: 18-22
“At once they left their nets and followed him.” – Matthew 4:20
REFLECTION – “After Andrew had remained with Jesus (Jn 1:39) and had learned what he did learn, he did not keep his treasure concealed for himself but hastened to run quickly to his brother, Simon Peter, to share with him, the good things that he had received. Consider what he told his brother: “We have found the Messiah (which interpreted is Christ)” (Jn 1:41). Do you perceive, in these words, the fruit of what he had learned in such a short time? It shows, at once, the authority of the Teacher who taught His disciples and their own enthusiasm and will to learn from Him, since the very beginning.
Indeed Andrew’s eagerness, his zeal in wanting to spread immediately such a good news, supposes a soul who was longing to see the accomplishment of the many prophecies concerning Christ. It is a mark of brotherly kindness, of loving kinship, of genuine goodwill, to hasten to stretch out a helping hand to one another in spiritual matters. … ”We have found the Messiah”, he says; not any messiah but “the Messiah,” the one Christ they were awaiting.” – St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church (Homely on the Gospel of Saint John, 19,1).
PRAYER – Lord, in Your kindness hear our petitions. You called Andrew the Apostle, to preach the Gospel and guide Your Church in faith. May he always be our friend in Your Presence, to help us with his prayers. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Virgen de la Concepción, San Juan de los Lagos / Mary Immaculate of Saint John of the Lakes, Mexico) (1524) – 30 November, 2 February, 24 June, 15 August, 8 December:
Fray Miguel de Bolonia, of the Spanish Netherlands, was one of the first Franciscans to enter Mexico in 1524. A saintly missionary who learned the native languages and stood up for natives when Spanish rulers threatened them, he travelled through Mexico, teaching and building, until his death in 1580. In 1542, he founded the village of San Juan Bautista de Mezquititlán (land of mesquite trees), where he built a hospital and Chapel in which he placed a half metre tall Statue of Mary Immaculate. In 1623, some trapeze artists brought the body of their daughter to the San Juan Chapel for burial. The young acrobat had fallen during practice onto some upright blades, buried blade side upward, in the earth to ensure the show was more dangerous and exciting. The chapel caretaker, an old woman named Ana Lucia put the Virgin’s Statue on the girl’s breast and the child revived. The grateful father took the fragile Statue, made of cornstalks and glue, to Guadalajara for restoration. From then on, the Shrine’s fame and miracles multiplied.
Meanwhile, the Town grew, changing its name to San Juan de los Lagos (St. John of the Lakes). A new Church was built and then another–each larger, more splendid, more worthy of the Immaculate Virgin. On 30 November, 1769, the Statue was installed in the third Church which is now a Basilica.
San Juan de los Lagos began holding a market fair in commemoration, annually around 30 November with festivities extending to the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December. The celebration eventually became so rowdy that the hierarchy decided to move the feast of the Virgen de San Juan de los Lagos to 2 February (Candlemas). The Candelaria fiesta has evolved into a month-long, mass pilgrimage to the Shrine from all over Mexico but 8 December is still observed, as well as 15 August (Feast of the Assumption). The beauty of the Sanctuary that hosts the Virgin, has become the main promoter of tourism in the region. After Our Lady of Guadalupe, it is the most visited Shrine in Mexico.
St Abraham of Persia Bl Alexander Crow St Anders of Slagelse Bl Andrew of Antioch Bl Arnold of Gemblours St Castulus of Rome St Constantius of Rome St Crider of Cornwall St Cuthbert Mayne St Domninus of Antioch St Euprepis of Rome Bl Everard of Stahleck Blessed Frederick of Regensburg OSA (Died 1329) Lay Friar of the Order of St Augustine St Galganus St Isaac of Beth Seleucia
Bl Joscius Roseus St Joseph Marchand St Justina of Constantinople Bl Ludwik Gietyngier St Mahanes the Persian St Maura of Constantinople St Merola of Antioch St Mirocles of Milan St Sapor St Simeon of Persia St Thaddeus Liu Ruiting St Trojan St Tudwal of Tréguier Bl William de Paulo Zosimus the Wonder Worker — Martyrs of Saxony – 6 saints: Missionaries who worked with Saint Willehad of Bremen. Martyrs. – Attroban, Benjamin, Emmingen, Folkard, Gerwald and Grisold. They were martyred on 30 November 782 at River Weser, Lawer Saxony, Germany.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War – Martyred Augustinians of Madrid – 51 beati and Martyred Hospitallers of Madrid – 7 beati – Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939.
Saint of the Day – 30 November – Blessed Frederick of Regensburg OSA (Died 1329) Lay Friar of the Order of St Augustine, devotee of the Blessed Sacrament. Born in the late 13th century in Regensburg, Bohemia (in modern Germany) and died on 30 November 1329 in Regensburg, of natural causes. Additional Memorial – 29 November in the Augustinian Order.
The Holy Communion of the Blessed Frederick of Regensburg by Jan van den Hoecke (1611-1651) (detail)
History has not left us a great deal of factual information about Blessed Frederick. Perhaps this is an indication of the ‘ordinariness’ of this servant of God, who spent his religious life in fidelity to the daily cycle of prayer and work, which characterises so many religious of his day and ours. Frederick reminds us that loyal devotion to one’s state in life, lived in fidelity to the Gospel is the means to holiness.
Blessed Frederick was born of poor parents in Regensburg, Germany. He entered the Augustinian Monastery of Saint Nicholas in that City as a lay brother. At that time, the Monastery of Saint Nicholas was considered to be the most important community of the Bavarian Province of the Order and even hosted the General Chapter of 1290, at which the first Constitution of the Augustinians was promulgated.
His life as an Augustinian was marked by humility and generosity, dedication to prayer and great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
His talents served the community principally as carpenter and woodcutter, activities in which he demonstrated his concern for his fellow religious and the needs of the Moonastery.
Frederick died on 30 November 1329 in Regensburg where devotion to him continued without interruption and the testimony of miracles attributed to his intercession, were gathered. Frederick is buried at St Cecelia Church in the City of Regensburg.
St Pius X Beatified him on 12 May 1909.
Blessed Frederick’s secret to holiness and message to us, is one of humble service and generous offering of self for the well being of others. His life of prayer and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament were the food that nourished his spirit and strengthened his daily resolve, to live for God and to practice love for his brothers – which is the heart of the Gospel.
PRAYER
Almighty and eternal God, source of all that is good, You gave to Blessed Frederick a wonderful spirit of dedication, of penance and a love for the Holy Eucharist. Through his prayers and example may we grow to be like him as your good and faithful servants. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen
The Holy Communion of the Blessed Frederick of Regensburg by Jan van den Hoecke (1611-1651)
Let us begin: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
O most Holy Virgin, who was pleasing to the Lord and became His Mother, immaculate in body and spirit, in faith and in love, look kindly on me as I implore your powerful intercession.
O most Holy Mother, who by your blessed Immaculate Conception, from the first moment of your conception did crush the head of the enemy, receive my prayer as I implore you to present, at the throne of God, the favour I now request… ……………………. (Mention your request here…)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, Mother of God, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for me and obtain for me from Him, the granting of my petitions. if it be the Divine Will. Amen
Say the: Our Father… the: Hail Mary… the: Glory Be…
AnaStpaul 
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